Buying a second-hand FJ
Because that huge power plant has such
good mid-range torque, there is little temptation for owners to get rev happy.
This bodies well for longevity, a trait for which the FJ is well known. High
mileage bikes are not a problem as long as they have been properly maintained.
Don’t worry about a minor ticking noise
on the left side (even more, look for it, because it is a signal that the valve
clearances are ok), but beware of a starter chain that causes a growl that won’t
go away when the engine warms. It means ultra high mileage.
Don’t worry too about the distribution
chain: it is a super-strong triple item that will last for +
There are very few known problem areas
for this bike. The most common repair is a rounded-off second gear cog. This
comes from lazy shifting or always maximizing acceleration though the gears.
This is a common problem with FZR and FZ 750 models too. Because repairing the
gear requires splitting the cases, this can get an expensive trait.
Look for a properly maintained chain in
good condition. This is an expensive chain, and with the power of this engine,
you won’t want to replace it with a cheap unit. A freshly installed,
high-quality chain is a good item to have. The only chain recommended is the OE
spec DID ZVX-M 530.
Rear wheel bearings can be burned out if
improperly lubricated. This was most severe in the FJ 1100s
and FJ 1200 pre-88 models, and was largely cured in later models. Anyway, my
experience tell me that the wheels, swing-arm bearings or linkages bushes are
only a problem for those of you that lived in rainy, dark places, with snow and
salt in winter. For these of us that sacrificed ourselves testing our bikes
because we live in sunny, warm places, where you can use your motorbike 300 days
in a year ;-) it doesn’t seem have problems in + 100.000 kms.
Suspension is going to be a little tired
when you buy your FJ, and FJs rear shock always has been at the soft side. Think
that a good shock is an expensive affair.
Anyway, think that your second-hand FJ
is a lot of years old, and you will need to check or change a lot of points.
Make your own budget and be aware of the hidden or possible breakdowns. (Like my
overcharging regulator, only apparent when the fluid boiled completely after a
week, leaving the battery cells dry and the bike stalled)
When I decided to look around for my
“new” FJ 1200, I did a forecast around 1.500 to 2.000 € to buy the bike PLUS
around another 1.500 € to fix all the possible problems. Think that comparative
with a car, a bearing failure or a motor breakdown is more dangerous riding a
motorbike, and things like the brakes would be in needing of a total stripping
and revamp.
Like a guidance, I did the following list of
items to check
before to buy my FJ:
- Check for oil leaks, rust bolts (that are a pain to remove), and look for a stable idle. If you can, check the compression of the cylinders. Make offer to the seller to pay the compression test in a workshop. It is money well invested, and this test can inform you about the real motor shape
- Check if the bike spends a lot of gas and if it vibrates too much at a cruise speed (around 4-5000 rpm). It could be the carb diaphragms holed. Expensive to buy and cheap to repair
- Check for brake clutch fluid leaks and clutch engagement.
- Start the bike, engage 1st gear and with the clutch lever engaged, high the rpm to see if the bike want to jump forward (to test clutch discs wear).
- Drive the bike (if it is possible) and see if the motor rpm goes up without perceptible speed increase when you open the accelerator (the clutch slips)
- Take out the air filter to check it. It is a 10 min affair and it speaks about the correct maintenance of the bike: that black and cogged filter tells you that the “cared and recent revised” item is not true at all, and then thinks that the oil has not been changed in at fewer 5 years.
- Check exhaust for holes or corrosion. And those metal bumps
on the exhaust surface are inner oxidation signals.
-
Check chassis
alignment. Look for damaged fairing fixing points. They talk to you about
repaired crashes. Brake and clutch levers, “curvy” foot pegs or rear brake
pedal or shift lever are indicatives about crashes too
-
Check fork tubes to
look for corrosion or little points where the external surface has been
damaged for debris or stones of the road. Fork tubes are expensive spares
-
Check suspension. Anyway, you
will have to change shock and fork oil and springs, so it is not too
important. The newest FJ could you buy is from 1998, so the suspension is at
less 10 years old. If new FJ were at the soft side, think about the
suspension state, after all this time
-
Look for rear
suspension linkages fitting point’s cracks or damages.
-
Check swigarm
movement and look for cracks. You could weld a steel FJ 91-on swig arm, but
not the previous FJs aluminium one.
-
Check for too much
balance weight glued to the rims to balance the tyres. It could be a damaged
rim, very difficult to balance properly.
-
Check tyres for
mismatches between front and rear and look for little cracks at their walls.
When the motorbike has been improperly stored for long time, the tyres will
be badly damaged and can be dangerous.
-
Check the brake
discs: thickness and cracks. To see if those are warped, manually turn the
wheel and check for free movement along its complete turn and look for any
resistance to the movement. For the rear wheel, simply lift the bike in the
centre stand and for the front wheel, with the bike in the centre stand;
tell to anybody to push on the rear to lift the front.
Strip all the system, clean the calipers with WD 40 (or MR
Proper and water) and check for leaks
Check master cylinder for leaks and clean it with break
fluid
Grease the calipers pistons with Vaseline or brake fluid
and get rid of all the excess of it before to refitting
Fit new hoses, rigid ones. Not too expensive and great
improvement in performance and security over your 10 years old hoses.
-
Little fairings or
cosmetics cracks due to vibration and age
-
Damaged bearings,
not apparent checked at 1st inspection, but with their races
marked and in needing of change.
Replace of the head bearings is my worst nightmare in the FJs. I
changed them 10 years ago in my FJ 1100 and again in my new FJ when I bought it.
It is near impossible to follow the workshop manual procedure: punch the inner
bearing races with a screwdriver and a hammer: there is no area to base the
screwdriver to push the down bearing race.
In my 1100, I got take out the down head race welding a piece of
iron to have area to punch it out, and in my 1200 with a little radial-saw, mm
to mm grinding for 10 hours the race surface until it collapse, being horrified
for the possibility of damage the chassis inner head . In my
there is another method, but anyway, it is not easy task.
To help you to calculate you own budget, this is all the things I revised and I changed in June 2003, when I bought my motorbike. Think that I did it the entire job in a workshop (my dad’s car one), with good tools, and that I am a competent mechanic (and when I’m not, my Dad is always around, jeje). So think that or you take your bike to a good service shop, (and the labour hour is expensive), or you must invest in good tools and in a Haynes or Yamaha workshop manual… or change your dad ;-)
Anyway, the Yamaha valve clearance tool
is essential, and a good vacuum gauge to sync the carbs. And estimate that I did
the job in about 16 hours of labour, that it could be similar to a professional
service, because I know very well FJs.
I spent around 800 €, between parts and
fluids. The most expensive item I have bought is the rear shock, and I had the
fancy of the hydraulic preload, but even without that, a good Hagon is around
350 €. Think that, like you will see below, I have had not to change rear
linkages bearings or wheels bearings, brake pads, clutch plates, master
cylinders seals, corroded fork tubes, worn tyres, worn chain & sprockets or
damaged exhausts because I found an exceptional maintained FJ. So my initial
budget of 1.500 € in spares is not too far away if any of those things are in
needing of a replacement. Think too that if you spend more money in a good 2nd
hand FJ, you will spend less in spare parts.
Anyway, earth to earth missiles like FJs
for around a grand total of 3.000 to 4.000 € to leave them like new is a
bargain!
-
Valve clearance
-
Oil and oil filter
-
New spark plugs.
Wires checked
-
K&N air filter.
-
Clean carbs and
balance them, checking the intake tubes for little cracks or holes
-
New clutch hose.
Master cylinder stripped and cleaned
-
Fuel filter. Fuel
lines checked
-
New clutch fluid
(DOT 4)
-
Front fork oil
seals and bushes. My FJ leaked by the right leg fork, but I would have
change the bushes anyway, because if those are worn the fork hydraulic is
shot. And if you change the bushes, you must change the oil seal
-
New fork oil
-
Rear linkages
stripped and greased
-
Swing arm stripped
and bearings greased
-
New rear shock
-
Wheel bearings
greased and revised
-
Stripped, cleaned
and hoses changed front & rear
-
New brake fluid
(DOT 4)
-
Chain revised and
greased
-
Lights checked
-
Accelerator cables
oiled
-
Retighten all the
chassis and exhaust bolts
-
Repair various
fairing little cracks