My Dad's Bike - 2012 Yamaha FJR1300

[Sonreir]

I inherited this bike from my dad a couple of weeks ago. Had to bring it home on the trailer because it had been sitting outside (unused) for almost two years and wouldn't start. A little research mentioned that these bikes are prone to getting water in the tank (especially when left outside and if the tank wasn't full; both things true).

Plans for the bike are to get it running again and to return it to mostly stock with a few upgrades. I'm planning a memorial trip down Hwy 101 to San Diego later this year. My dad and I had always planned to do that ride together, but it never seemed to get scheduled. After he got out of basic back in 1970, he bought his first bike (Suzuki X6) and rode from Albuquerque to San Diego. There was something in San Diego he really wanted to show me, but my memory fails me. I keep hoping it will come back to me.

Anyway... here's how she looked when we got her home.

 

[Sonreir]

About five hours of work later, all the plastics are finally off. What a chore.

I've also removed the makeshift trailer hitch, homemade voltmeter and ammeter, and the wiring for said items.

 

[Sonreir]

As of last weekend, the rear is cleaned up and back together. New LED replacement bulbs all around and I've added a brake light modulator. I still need to clean up the dangly portion of the tail. I'll probably stop by the auto parts store and grab some plastic polish on the way home from work today.

 

[Sonreir]

Just got her running over the weekend. Drained all the old gas, put in new spark plugs, and tossed a bottle of K100 into a couple of gallons of the fresh gas. Turned over the engine a bunch of times, but nothing. Pulled the plugs and they smelled faintly of fuel, but not as much as I would have expected. I added a couple of drops of fuel into cylinder two, closed everything back up and tried again. I got a little popping that stopped after two or three tries of starting.

I was getting pretty frustrated at this point, so I pulled one of the emissions hoses from the air box and put a couple of shots of starting fluid in. More popping, but it went on a bit longer this time. Tried a second time, but also held the bike at half throttle. She fired up, revved to 3000 RPM, and then died again. Third time (with more ether) was a charm. The engine started, revved up to 3000 RPM again, but held steady.

Since then, I've drained the old oil (it looked a little light in color, but otherwise not too bad). Coolant looks OK. I still have some more electrical work to do up front and a lot more plastic to clean before I button things up.


https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPO241gqnyInvFlf8Iuvsje8jdJJ9X6vvS85GXs

In the video, you can also see the new EarthX battery I installed. It's just under the right handlebar controls (what a weird place for a battery).

 

[canyoncarver]

Right on Matt.

 

[irk miller]

Crazy amount of business stuffed into the front end of that bike.

 

[Sonreir]

Crazy amount of business stuffed into the front end of that bike.

Yeah... it's nuts. The underseat area is for the air box and additional storage. Up front is the battery, solenoid, fuse box, windsheild adjustment mechanics, and a ton of wiring. Even getting to the headlight bulbs was a couple of hours of work.

 

[hooligan998]

I love the feejers. Awesome job getting it running! I'm looking to get one of these one day, hopefully in the not too distant future.

 

[adventurco]

Nice work so far Matt. FWIW i've had great luck with VHT Satin Black Epoxy on Plastics. Light scuff, acetone cleaning and direct spray.

 

[Sonreir]

Nice work so far Matt. FWIW i've had great luck with VHT Satin Black Epoxy on Plastics. Light scuff, acetone cleaning and direct spray.

Thanks, man. I'll have to take a look. There's some rash on the front right panel and mirror when it got dropped in the driveway a few years back. I was hoping I'd be able to sand it out and give it a light spray. I can try the satin black one some of the other plastics while I'm in painting mode.

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Following, sir.

 

[Sonreir]

I put another five hours of work in on Sunday.

It turns out there is definitely a correct order to follow when putting on or taking off the plastics. I had the battery in and out of the bike on four separate occasions because I'd missed one of the screws on the fairing (some can only be reached with the headlight off and others will only fit after everything is mostly assembled).

After two busted knuckles, a screwdriver to the palm, running a metal tab through the "webbed" part between my pinky and ring fingers, and a whole hell of a lot of questionable language, I have the front of the bike back on. I've removed the wiring for the rear camera, ammeter, voltmeter, and the HIDs (and relays for them). LED bulbs are now in place for the headlights. I ordered some for the front turn signals, but they're not working. I'll probably swap back to incandescent for those.

Not pictured is a lot of the plastics I cleaned up. I still need to spend some time on the panniers and the big side panels, but just about everything else is looking pretty good.

 

[Sonreir]

The rest of the front plastics are on and I've also put the stock windshield back. Just the dashboard to put back together, then I need to source some knobs and hardware for the headlight levelers (my dad had removed them a while ago for reasons unknown).

I hope he'd like my choice for the license plate bolts.

 

[canyoncarver]

The rest of the front plastics are on and I've also put the stock windshield back. Just the dashboard to put back together, then I need to source some knobs and hardware for the headlight levelers (my dad had removed them a while ago for reasons unknown).

I hope he'd like my choice for the license plate bolts.

I dig them too.

 

[Sonreir]

All finished. Took her for a short ride on Friday afternoon. Front end feels a little unstable but heavy at the same time. Might just be me getting used to a 600 pound motorcycle, but I also hadn't checked the tire pressures. After sitting unused for almost two years, it might just be time for new rubber anyway.

I need to track down a little hardware for the headlight level adjusters (knobs are both currently AWOL), but other than that, I think we're done.

 

[1fasgsxr]

Job well done. I would bet the front tire is just low on air.

 

[Maritime]

+1 on nice job and also yes to the low pressure. makes a big bike feel even heavier.

 

[Sonreir]

Yup. Tire pressures.

Front was at 15PSI and rear was at 20. Both sitting at a healthy 35, now. Much better.

 

[Sonreir]

Just picked up this tailer for $200. The plan is to clean it up and paint to the match the FJR and then get the necessary hardware for linking it all up. The wiring will definitely be redone and I have plans to change out the rear trailer lights for something more closely resembling a motorcycle tail (separate turn signals and a combined running/brake light).

New stainless hardware is already on order and I have a can of Yamaha Metallic Blue paint I never got around to using. All the wiring supplies and lights I already have laying around the shop.

Also gotta figure out something for the wheels. Not sure if I'll be keeping the stock steelies or maybe replacing with aluminum.

 

[Hurco550]

Nice get on the trailer. Good to have a fellow weirdo who wants to pull a trailer behind a bike lol aluminum wheels look better, but when I was building my single rail trailer that I was trying to keep light, I found that the 12" skinny aluminum trailer wheels like that often weighed as much or more than the same size steel. This wasn't easy info to find. I ended up calling several manufacturers. Anyhow, for ordering trailer parts, I've had great luck with etrailer.com . They have competitive pricing and shipped fast!

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