DutchFJ1200 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Cheers Dutch, that'll be my first job tomorrow morning, before that sun gets too high Riding up to the test centre on Wednesday in town the sweat was dripping onto my glasses even with helmet vents open. Talking of which being an air cooled monster how do they cope in this heat? I'm guessing on the open road between 40 and upwards they are fine but crawling through town might it get a bit too hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchFJ1200 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 24 minutes ago, thanetman said: I'm guessing on the open road between 40 and upwards they are fine but crawling through town might it get a bit too hot? 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 It will get hot and you will sweat your balls off BUT as soon as you open it's throat you'll forget all about hot cold or even if your breathing ! As Dutch say's they are a sweet ride and probably the most torquey bike I have ever ridden, your going to enjoy the next month or so and going home will make you feel sad. It's never going to handle like a 125 or 600 but it's surprisingly easy to filter with, narrow and flickable, I miss my old bus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 Cheers people. As regards threading plugs I'm careful with that from my cheapo chinese 125 with crappo metal - turn one of the original bolts too much and the top snaps off. Stick a decent English steel bolt in and it threads the block! As for a sealing washer does it have to be a specific one for that bike or will a generic one the right size from a car parts place fit as there's plenty of motor factors around here. Timbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchFJ1200 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 First big ride out and it's nice to be able to pull away from a junction onto a dual carriageway without waiting for a huge gap in the traffic coming up Pulled onto the A2 and it went up 125kmh before I realised it and it didn't even go past 5000 rpm. Only the wind blast on my helmet made me look down at the speedo.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 Righto, I'll do that but the rideout did show up one big problem - when you come to a stop and put the bike in neutral the revs we're sometimes (but not always) taking a few seconds to drop back to idle and on two occasions they stayed at about 3000rpm so the traffic next to me probably thought I was after a race! Any ideas? It happened a lot more when it was hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnerz89 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Might just be a sticky throttle cable, or carbs. Try some redex in it Sent from my E6553 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchFJ1200 Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 49 minutes ago, thanetman said: the revs we're sometimes (but not always) taking a few seconds to drop back to idle and on two occasions they stayed at about 3000rpm went up 125kmh before I realised it and it didn't even go past 5000 rpm. 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 ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 Yep mine was imported, going by the writing on the swing arm could be Germany. It's done 77,000 km so not massive mileage. To get the cables off I'll need to remove the fairing as my screwdrivers are too long to fit the gap between According to what I was given with the bike the carbs have been cleaned so mystery as to why it's still a bit stuttery but guess I can have them done again. I've got some new plugs to go in it but I need to burn off a bit of fuel first as I almost filled up the tank. I'll get a holder for my mobile phone and use it's gps speedo in future. Just been for another hours ride and it is very comfy, not even feeling tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 You don't have to take the faring off to get at the cable, take the tank off and it's right there? In fact everything is right there, best part about this bike is that most of the time you just need to rotate the tank 90 degrees and you can reach most everything you need to service it. Buy a new fuel filter if you can and replace that (bottom of tank) then check the slow running screw in the middle of the carbs, give it a shot of WD40 or some such, especially right up to the end of the thread, don't forget to also lube the spring and actuator as they get crusty and make the engine slow to drop the revs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Cheers Slice, sadly I won't be riding it anywhere today as the clutch went last night, Checked the reservoir and it's empty and looks like a fluid dribble over the left hand side of the engine down the bottom. Called the mobile mechanic who serviced it before I bought it and he said he replaced the clutch seals and he'll come round Tuesday to check it out but gives me time today to oil the springs and do the idling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 If you have a fluid leak then new seals are not going to cure the problem if you have already done it, the bore wears on the cylinder and the only way to cure it is to replace eh clutch slave cylinder, FJ club does them, for about £30 I think, they also do an uprated seal kit which I used but if it's gone to far then replacement is the only option. READ THIS>http://www.fjcatalogue.com/catalog/item/7221205/7432061.htm Then this>http://www.fjcatalogue.com/catalog/item/7309025/10277777.htmb a used bike they are breaking with a spare clutch slave cylinder for £40. A new one is £140 so bit of a bargain! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Should have said, you have to be a member to order stuff from them but it's only £12 a year so no biggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfjman Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I've had my current FJ1200 for 27 years now. It's done fully loaded touring at the height of summer in Southern France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, in heavy traffic and +30 C temperatures for hours on end - so no worries about overheating in English summertime. Just make sure you change the oil regularly. As others have mentioned the clutch slave cylinders seals go occasionally, but they're easy to fix. Nothing much on the FJ is difficult to do, but honestly, I would seriously recommend you join the FJOC - Phil Hacker is THE guru for FJ's and the club servicing is excellent and cheap. You can ride your bike there, stay and drink tea while watching them service your bike - or just sit and read. The other benefit is that Phil (or Ernie) can tell you about all of the upgrades and improvements you can make that will bring the bikes characteristics more up to date. After all of these years I've still not found another bike that beats the FJ as an all-round high performance bike that can tour with the best of them - although our Fazer 1000 gets close-ish :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 Joined! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanetman Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 Out of interest has anyone had their carbs synced before and if so what sort of price does that cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted September 5, 2016 Moderator Share Posted September 5, 2016 Around 20quid for the gagues. Its the easiest job on the bike so long as the adjusters are free. Changing plugs is harder. And im not being sarcastic. Makes a real difference too. Used to do my old 600 as soon as i felt her hesitate at 6k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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