Little steps

Christmas 2011 came and went and the FJ remains in the garage. Now that we are close to "new year" and "new year resolutions" all thoughts have again turned to the bike. What can we get done in 2012?

In a matter of days Peter came over and with full intentions of sorting the wiring. However we got sidetracked and ended up installing the "four into one" headers and an exhaust that looks like a Milo tin. But it certainly doesn't sound like one.

Back into it

It is raining, a bit cold and I am at a loose end so what better thing to do than wander down to the garage and see what stuff I can progress on the FJ project.

For some time now we have been talking about "cutting" the frame to give the bike a more aggressive and "street-fighter" look but there has been indecision. What do we cut off, where do we cut, what if it doesn't look so good once it is cut off?

"before"

I thought "Aaahh ,,, stuff it". Got out the Dremel and started shaping the front fender. Then I got adventurous and got out the angle grinder and shaved a couple of "inches" from the frame at the back. End result looks OK.

"after" (with a bit of plastic fender attached to under the seat)

The seat looks a bit "dicky" but there are moves afoot to have it reshaped into a single seat. I also had a go at reshaping the broken plastic front fender.

Cut off the cracked bit and then cut even further (where line marking is)

Cafe racer with back frame shortened, new headlight and front fender

Now it's starting to look like a cafe racer ......

I'm going to spend this afternoon searching the web for a suitable exhaust system and handlebar mirrors.

Will it ever start

It's now getting towards the end of March and still we can't get the donor bike to run. Our intention was to get the bike running then sell it to finance the "build" of the cafe racer.

We have replaced the diaphragms in the carburettors, installed a starter motor (for another donor bike), put in a new ignitor and ignition switch and still nothing.

Next step is to get some decent spark plugs and see if they make a difference. In the meantime I'm off to the coast ...

The Simple Plan

It's "workshop day" and Paul is at Yamba so Peter and I decided to go it alone. The plan was simple ... meet at my garage at 9am, fit the carbs and get the bike running, and then have a discussion on where to from there ...

Well we fitted the carbs ... did not get the bike running and then had some lunch. After fish and chips we bought a new speedo on Ebay and then Peter left as he was going out that night.

What do the army reckon about plans ... something about them being perfect right up until "execution".

Progress at last

Last Saturday it was hot; stinkin' hot! But that was no reason not to meet at Paul's place and try and make some progress on the bike. Peter was late arriving so Paul and I began work on putting the handlebars back together after we have positioned the clipons on the frame. Everything went surprisingly well and in no time the clipons were installed (even if they were upside down). Ooh well.

Next step was to change the oil and filter. By this stage Peter had arrived so he took the lead and emptied all the old oil into a bucket and then filled the "Yam" with nice new Motul.

At the same time Paul decided to start reassembling the old motor. Once we have it back in one piece we plan to sell it to some cart racers who apparently love the old FJ 1100 motors for their go-carts.

The "workshop day" was productive. Next week we plan to buy the headlight brackets and headlight along with some rear vision mirrors that fix to the ends of the clipons.

Well .. what have we been doing? Aaugh now let me think. Ooh yes, we have bought another 2 FJ's to help with the cafe racer project.


After pulling apart the engine of FJ1100 (no 1) and discovering that we had a cracked (but welded back) engine block, a chipped piston crown (sorry that was me getting a bit brutal) and no special tools to get the clutch plates out, we lost a bit of interest in the project ... until.


Peter saw two FJ1200's for sale on ebay for $2,000. We checked them out and before we knew it we had bought both bikes for $1,100. Actually one of the FJ's cost $1,000 (No 2) because it was in running order and easily ready for registration and the other was a "barn job" that had been stored out on a farm at Laidley for the last 2 years. It (No 3) cost us $100.

Not a lot happenin ....

Can you believe it? It is almost a month now since the last blog entry and what has happened. Well to put it bluntly ... not a lot.

Peter has been frigging around with the carbs and we have finally decided to get them dynojetted. He will then clean the casings with "carb cleaner" and polish the tops. They should come up a treat when this has been done.



Ian and Peter spent a lazy Sunday grinding off all those useless fittings on the frame in preparation for getting it powdercoated.

The decision has been made to get the frame done in "shiney black". I think we are all leaning towards a completely black bike (frame, motor and tank) with the odd bit of orange here and there ... I think.