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They look ok Feliks, as above hard to tell but is there a LARGE lip at the top of the barrels or just a small lip? Are the pistons upsized? cos that might give you some idea about what has been done over the years to the engine. You could try the old fashioned "wiggle" test, just shove the pistons in the barrels and see how much wiggle room there is and if it slops about then you need to hone it or even rebore, but as I said they look ok in the photos, no major scoring, there's some, but nothing huge and there is always some scoring just from normal use. Best to leave it alone really if it all seems tight and your happy with the fit. Might be an idea to run it with some upper cylinder lubricant (REDEX) when you first fill it with fuel just to give it a bit of help. Best of luck with it tho.

Thanks all, that answered my question. Think I will go for the powder coat if I can find someone local but rattle cans are another good idea, didn't know you could get Hammerite in spray cans so that might be better still. Food for thought though. Much obliged.

Ok would like to pick your brains please, as some of you know I have just got myself an FJ1200 which to say the least has been a bit neglected, every nut bolt and fixing is as rotten as a carrot and generally rusty and crusty, don't think it has been cleaned in the 20 years the PO has had it. What I need to ask is what type of paint should I use on the frame, I'm just about to take the engine out and refurb it and that leaves me with the chance to get the frame painted but not really sure which way to go with it, I repainted the XJ a few years ago but that was a bit time consuming actually about 6 weeks work and the thought of another 28 layers of paint makes me think it's a bit OTT. So I could stove enamel it or have it sprayed professionally or just rub it back to a good surface and then rattle can it, I'm trying to keep the cost down if I can but if I paint it again that get's really expensive really quickly, the last lot of paint was £45 per half litre + VAT (UK tax) so if you have any ideas about what has worked best for you over the years I would be grateful for your comments. Thanks all.

Nice one Feliks it's always nice to have a bin full of spares and nut's and bolts are worth there weight in gold sometimes. JAMMY = LUCKY. POSTY = POSTMAN/WOMAN SNOWCAT = REALLY !!!!!

Hi Stuart, same age as you and still riding, it just gets better and better mate, nothing like a sunny day and an endless road to aim at, glad your back amongst us, welcome to the YOC.

Me I liked "HITLERS PERSONAL ARSE BOLLOCK" don't know why but it made me laugh.

Half a million dollars for a bike from 1983, fuck me I must be worth 10 million then !!!! My wife would gladly pay the postage and packing ???

Welcome to the YOC mate, glad to have you back, older riders are always welcome.

Hi Phil, welcome to the YOC.

Only in England would you turn a V1 rocket engine into a motorbike and sidecar. look forward to the V2 version !!!!

NO !!! Not petrol, use a degreaser something like GUNK will do or even hot soapy water at a pinch, all you want to do is make sure that the oil ways in the crank are not bunged up, you can use an air line to blow them through and just soak the crud off. Any degreaser will do as long as you remember to wash it off and oil the crank after you have it clean.

Oh dear here we go again !!!

Why don't CAR drivers have to do the same thing? it's bloody ridiculous, at 17 you can drive (if you can afford it and the insurance) a Ferrari or anything including a thousand horse power engine, yet your not capable of riding anything over 125 cc on a bike, where is the sense in all of this? RANT OFF. emoticons not working for me so had to do my own.

Thank you Alex your a star mate, hope you had a good break and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and yours. PS Can't get the "emoticons" to work on my machine, just stopped working? the ones on the bottom work ok but the ones in the "SHOW ALL" have stopped responding and freeze if I use more than 1. Any Ideas ?

Hi Kieran, might be anything mate, where does the noise come from? Have you checked your wheel bearings for instance or even something rubbing. If it's your clutch then you have to have the cover off to see what's going on unless you can see through aluminium, try it on the centre stand in gear and see if you get the same noise cos with the best will in the world "I have a grinding noise" is not much of a description mate. Also it is usual to say Hi on most forums (new members section) before asking strangers for advice, bit like when you meet someone down the pub you don't just ask a total stranger how to fix your bike before you say hello do you? Welcome to the YOC by the way it's always nice to have new folks join in and stick around for a laugh, we get A LOT of one hit wonders here who just want an answer and then dissapear never to be heard from again till their bike goes pop.

Hope you all enjoy your day's at work, I'm retired so don't go anywhere if it's wet or cold, just spend the day taking the FJ apart and generally getting stuff done at my own pace, not gloating or anything but it's nice to get out of bed at 9;30 and then have an hour for my breakfast before going into my heated garage Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Don't shout cos I'm a lucky git you will get your turn as well !!!

Don't matter what race you are what language you speak or the land you come from we all have this in common.

One dumb arse then two dumbarse's and finally three dumbarse's none of which can actually ride round corners, that's what happens when you have to much money and no bloody idea !!!

Hi Hitch, Welcome to the YOC.

Well done whoever fixed it, was thinking I might have to make new friends elsewhere !!!

Mine is playing up to, I have not turned off the JAVA nor is it in need of an update this is horrible. Will wait a few days and come back then, Bye for now and hope to see it sorted soon.

Sorry mate did not mean you would BODGE it just that anything you do to it had best be on the up and up with the Insurance company as they just love telling you that they are not going to pay cos it has been modified and they were not told, by the way ANYTHING is classed as a modification if it not original to the bike, Yes I know it's stupid but that's the way they work, so even if you change the exhaust from standard to a DEP system that gives no extra HP to the bike tell them as it is usually more expensive to replace than the original, NOT telling you how to spend your money either as it's yours and none of my business but just be aware that you can void your insurance even if it's just moving a few wires around under the headlight to remove the restrictions that it came with. I really hope you get the bike you want and it does it for you as the more youngsters that enjoy riding the better, us old farts will not be around forever and it's people like you that will be the next in line telling the next lot of nutjobs how not to do something, we have all been there so have fun and stay safe.

Your insurance company will when you bang it down the road then your in a world of shit, at 17 they expect you to mess with your bike and the fact you have written it down on here will be noticed, there is at least one member on here who is an insurance underwriter so you just told him what your doing !!! I assume you want all this stuff to make it go faster and then of course you WILL bin it cos we were all 17 once as well and we have all destroyed one or more bikes in our time so no point in telling you not to, just keep it to yourself !!! Someone will know how to do the things you want just wait a while till they read your post and get back to you, hope you got deep pockets cos some of your parts list is not cheap.

Hi Daz welcome to the YOC, if that's your old bike then what the F does the new one look like?

Try an Advert in the "CLASSIFIEDS" section that might get a better response.