DutchFJ1200

Gridlock coming to work again yesterday due to a fatal accident on the main road to Falmouth involving a bike rider but little did I know how involved we were. A deck hand of ours, working on an on-call basis, was making his way to Falmouth at 05:30 yesterday morning in drizzely & dark conditions to crew one of our boats. When he came to a blind corner he was faced with a young 30 y/o female biker sliding towards him on the deck and into his path. She must have fallen off her 125-bike due to leaves or the ridiculous amounts of diesel on the roads these days. Regretfully he was unable to avoid her and crashed himself after trying. The guy is pretty shook up. http://www.piratefm.co.uk/news/latest-news/2098748/biker-dies-after-a39-crash/ Drove past the scene this morning. Chilling !!!! Be safe out there guys.

Be careful with that 2nd gear. The teeth on the cog of 2nd are made of cheese so I wouldn't make a habit of that. 3rd,4th & 5th fill yer boots but mind that 2nd mate.

Bugger Grouch. Every bikers' nightmare. Hope you/they catch the barstuard ......and make him pay through the nose.

Driving standards are pretty poor iwo position on the road and filtering for a turn off. Also poking their noses out of a merging road just expecting all the other traffic to stop and give them right of way. Not mentioning the pricks that see you coming on the bike and move over to block the way past - very infuriating. By the same token some people go out of their way to let you pass. Now where it gets tricky is the situation I just experienced a couple of hours ago coming home from work : Major through road blocked due to an accident - yes, involving 'cagers' -and the whole lot diverted via tiny back roads during rush-hour. Cagers, trucks & busses having to use Cornish back lanes hardy wider than the width of a truck. Before the road closure there is already a mile of commuters bobbing and weaving - in the diversion a lot of frustrated and impatient lemmings that have moved 25 yards in the last half an hour. These guys are very tricky customers : the ones you pass + the ones you meet head on

Good man. btw as for revving the t*ts of it until 6000 RPM ........ no need for. You'll just spend more on chain & rubber in the long run. With all that torque 3 or 4 K for daily use will do....... although opening up the taps once or twice is fun...fun...fun when conditions allow.

Tasky, let's agree to disagree but I do not subscribe to your view ..... by light years ..... pun....pun .... pun

I hope he gave you a right kick in the nuts as well When you get on that thing this first thing your right thumb does is flick those lights on ................... ALLWAYS !!!! Tip: get some cheap as chips LED's from China and wire them in. The standard light is a sickly candle at best.

Check your throttle for smooth operation - cable & throttle grip (rubber grip not catching/dragging ??). if something seems sticky lube it or free up. What mileage has the bike done ? If throttle and cable ok you may have to look further : Totally unrelated but the gurus on here advised to have my carbs refurbed because my float valves were fubared and it started running ropey. Best bit of advice I got and when done by my bike shop it ran like new....... and still does. Checked this afternoon .......... a shade over 6K revs will give you 180Kph ............... hehe that's 111Mph and 3500 revs left in the tank Yours a continent import as well then ?

Generic copper washer will do. Tip: check your air filter as well. FJ's don't like a clogged up one. The 4 pots drag a lot of air through them and need to breathe.

Yup !!. When you do oil don't forget the filter. Mind the fekkin PLUG When you cover the floor under the chain track you can chuck some of your old oil over the chain. It'll like it muchly. A bit messy at first so have a few rags at the ready.

The beauty of the FJ1200 is that you have torque on tap accross the range. If you turn your right hand all the way in 4th/5th it will just keep going until you bottle out. By that time you've already left your kidneys and liver where you started That's why you do not have to red-line (or rev the t*ts off) this bike to get going hence the overall engine longevity. 10W40 is good - do give it an oil change at first opportunity. Then you got peace of mind and know where you are. MIND the fekkin sump plug torque because thread in the aluminium sump pan is made of cheese.

Hi Jon, Welcome to the madhouse. I'm sure the anoraks will chime in soon. So where are the pictures of that mint machine ?

Hi Slice, Thanks mate. Got to say that there was very little contamination in the old oil when it gushed out of the pan. Got peace of mind now and will probably suck it out next two changes and kick the plug/pan issue into the long grass. Somehow feel a bit uncomfortable drilling into the pan, swarf and all, and re-tapping or fitting a helicoil. I know my technical limitations and it just wouldn't feel right. Not for me to do anyway lying on the floor of my garage - I'll have a chat with my bike shop next mot and see what they think/quote for sorting it.

Update : Normal service on the low flying machine has been resumed Dropped the new oil yesterday evening. Degreased plug and what remains of the thread in the pan. A small bit of PTFE tape + a copious amount of Blue Loctite 243. To top it orf : encased the plug in Belzona (for the uninitiated : Belzona is a 2 component metal paste that goes off like granite) Weather is too nice to drive around at 50mph with butt clenched wondering if the damn thing is going to make an unscheduled exit Will see in 5000 miles what I'm doing next. Funny ol' world : Grouch can't get the damn thing out - I was afraid it was going to drop out by itself ............ go figuire Carry on !!

Thanks mate, Should have clarified my title better : Nothing wrong with the plug - its the thread in the bottom of the shite aluminium sump it screws into.

Gents, Did a full service myself yesterday : pads/oil/filters-air-oil/brake fluids. Was prepared for a 'stiff' sump plug but to my surprise it was no effort at all. When I pulled the strands of PTFE tape off the plug + the absence of a copper washer alarm bells should have started ringing. (thanks PO or bike shop ) When replacing the plug I had my answer. A quick Google proved that this is a bit of a design fault on the FJ. Many owners have extensive experience with the issue. To little thread in the pan or to high torque settings for the SS plug in the manual. Got 3 options : a)drill & tap one size bigger, b)helicoil. c) glue the damn thing in with loctite and change oil in future taking one of the oil cooler pipes off/glue plug shut and suck oil out (but then you never get to the crud in the bottom of the pan). Being pretty vertically technically challenged option c is the only one realistically open to me. Dropping 3 litres of oil on the tarmac is not desirable. Thoughts ? PS.: Ignorance is bliss : I would have driven that bike to the ends of the world ........ now less so

Valuable tips there Bipp (and others) thanks. Fortunately the riding position on the FJ is fairly comfortable & good wind protection and at the high speeds I'm generally doing there will be no chance of boredom. It's just that the seat is fairly low for my 6ft (lower than my XJ-650) and my legs are in such a position that my toes are always on the pegs with my heels not supported. Hey, I may just stuff a thin cushion in my leathers for added comfyness Note to self : do some squats & sit-ups over the next 2 weeks to loosen the old frame a bit. Now lets hope for decent weather on the 31st.

Gents, I mainly use the FJ for commuting and the fairly short 2hr. jaunt to the Brixham office. Never for cruising or holidays so square butt syndrome never has been that much of an issue. Weather permitting I'm looking at going to Cloggie land to sail in a National Championship in two weeks time and my mate lives in the North so looking at 1050 Km (652 Miles) .......... one way. I'd like to cover distance pretty swiftly without having to stop every 50 yards because my butt is hurting. Putting fuel in the thing is about as much of a stop I'm prepared to make. (maybe the odd fag brake) What tips, hints do you know of to prevent that. Cheers.

Hah :-) I see now that was your post/vid ....... old age kicking in. Expect the unexpected !! Here endeth tha lesson

Case nbr 2 : if you do decide to call a cager a wanker make sure he doesn't pull up next to you at the next junction

Hello Owen Welcome mate. Dunno what speed you were travelling at but you being a young pup I guess you still have a few things to learn : When doing this look 5 cars ahead - even look which way their wheels are pointing. Your second overtaking attempt wasn't smart with oncoming traffic. Never argue with cagers - just ignore and carry on. (ok giving them the birdie will suffice) Cheers! I rest my case :-)

Pffff As for warp 8 today without 'stuck-on' 'bluetacked' speedo's .......................... topped out at 130 on the way back gents. Good ride.

What ..... come again !! looked at this a couple of times and can only see your needle pegged at Zero. So you say that if you're tearing along at warp 7 ....... then you tell the sheriff...... sorry mate my speedo is duff ..........and expect to get away with that ???? Or am I dim and missing a trick here? Off tomorrow to head office in Brixham again .................A30 + A38, here I come............. at warp 8

Although your speedo was duff I had a look myself this afternoon : you're just touching 6K revs tops which translates to a whisker over a ton. Yup! .... too smooth

Me again As per advice from the distinguished gents on this forum IIRC : better to go V-Power i.e. the spensive stuff to avoid deterioration of carburetor seals, thingamabobs/whatchamacallits due to the higher content of ethanol in the cheap stuff. See I know all the expensive words ......... Edit : an FJ don't like 'sitting' in traffic ....... full stop !!!