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Joe's FJ1200

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  • #61
    Love it!
    I remember reading about wheel alignment years ago, in the article they measured new stock motorcycles and found that they were slightly misaligned from the factory. Might be interesting to put the stock wheel on the back and see how it measures up with that?
    Now should you want a newer bike some day it will be thousands more to duplicate what you currently have, and more yet to get something better.

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    • #62
      Originally posted by mike343sharpstick View Post
      Love it!
      I remember reading about wheel alignment years ago, in the article they measured new stock motorcycles and found that they were slightly misaligned from the factory. Might be interesting to put the stock wheel on the back and see how it measures up with that?
      Now should you want a newer bike some day it will be thousands more to duplicate what you currently have, and more yet to get something better.


      Thanks! Youre the only reader of this thread so...I appreciate the time you take to comment

      I read somewhere that there was a slight misalignment from the factory as well. If there was a reason for it I dont remember.....I dont think that you could get it 100% dead on...unless you have lasers and calipers and such....I was within 1/16th of an inch with some string and a measuring tape...I felt that was good enough. I found a nice flat surface and took my hands off the bars slightly to see if there was any obvious pull or wandering.....I didnt notice anything so I think I am G2G..... . I thought about swapping the wheel and doing some measurementsfor comparison......but it took me quite a while to dial the new one in and I just dont wanna do it again!


      I was looking at more modern bikes...maybe someday I will upgrade....but for now...I am getting a kick out of trying to build a bike that can hang with more modern bikes for the least ammount of money possible. Every thing I have done so far has been relatively cheap and has changed the bike dramaticaly for the better....

      I am going to recover the stock seat next....I think that seat allows more side to side ass movement for spirited riding than the corbin does...

      Also, I am talking with a painter friend of mine about possibly painting the bike....Looking at an aircraft theme...rivets, nuts, bolts, oil streaking and nose art...If he can do it cheap I may pull the trigger....
      Last edited by JOES66FURY; April 28, 2015, 02:12 PM.
      If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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      • #63
        Hey - I'm reading too! I just don't have anything to add. All my bike experience was maybe 30+ years ago. You have the bike looking great and the main thing is that you're having fun with it.

        Dan

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        • #64
          Lots of us are reading. Loving this bike
          more and more.

          I just put one of the replacement seat covers on our 440 Kawasaki, it was an excercise but turned out very nicely. Several people have commeted that it looks far nicer than the factory cover. It was just a stock replacement through BikeBandit, and only $60.

          If I understand you right, you are thinking of something more custom, I think that company does stuff like that too though.

          So when does Microdquirt go on?
          Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

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          • #65
            Funny.. I think I comment, I know I read..
            On my chain driven bikes, alignment is a given.. Not much to align with shaftys.

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            • #66
              I only look at the pictures. I buy Playboy if I want to read something...

              haha. Nah, I'm watching with interest... just not a helluva lot to add to it.
              Last edited by Beagle; April 29, 2015, 08:06 AM.
              Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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              • #67
                Originally posted by STINEY View Post
                Lots of us are reading. Loving this bike
                more and more.

                I just put one of the replacement seat covers on our 440 Kawasaki, it was an excercise but turned out very nicely. Several people have commeted that it looks far nicer than the factory cover. It was just a stock replacement through BikeBandit, and only $60.

                If I understand you right, you are thinking of something more custom, I think that company does stuff like that too though.

                So when does Microdquirt go on?

                I have a nice seat on it now from Corbin. It is very comfortable but it doesnt allow for much side to side ass movement. In the garage I have the stock seat that has good foam but the cover is toast. I also have a few yards of marine grade vinyl and some 3M spray glue and some clamps....I aint skeered.....So, for mountain fun I can toss on the stock seat and for longer highway rides I can toss on the Corbin....

                I have found that I need to learn to ride this bike over again. I was used to how it handled before and have found that the way I rode it then is not the way to ride it now....


                If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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                • #68
                  That's a pretty tall bike but you're pretty tall too. A lot of folks put a Corbin on to get their feet closer to the ground.
                  Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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                  • #69
                    With the larger rear wheel out back it likely turns into a corner much slower.
                    You can increase turn-in speed by two different methods, or both.
                    1. Raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps, (if you can). Depends on the style of clip-on handle bar you have. This will esentially lower the front of the bike, but more importantly it will change fork angle and decrease "trail". I would recomend trying this first, move the fork tubes up in the triple clamps about .25 inches and give that a try. Alternatively, if you want to slow down turn-in behavior do the opposite. Same thing can also be achieved with different or adjustable triple clamps, but that's in the more advanced session.
                    2. If your shock has a ride-height adjustment (Not spring preload, that's different) you can also raise the rear of the bike to get the same result.
                    Another way to rais or lower the back is to change the swingarm linkage (i.e. dogbone) if you have a raising rate rear linkage. Be aware this may also change the swingarm geometry.

                    There is a thrid way to adjust this; that's with a more agressive style of tire. If you look at a Pure raod-racer the tire cross section will be somewhat pointy in the center. Lots of reasons for this, but one of them is to get quick turn in. If you look at the cross-section of big touring tire it will be more round. This will give you a more stable, but slow turn in. On a street bike howerver, the center of any rear tire will wear anyway, so a more sporty tire is esentially a temporary change.

                    If you go too far you will notice the bike feeling twitchy when traveling in a straight line. Worst-case scenario is the dreded tank slapper, but with your FJ I doubt you could ever achieve that kind of geometry. The first-gen CBR 900RR's commonly had this problem as they had a steep fork angle and a strange 16" front wheel. Typically a stock bike set up for track-days or racing (Back when I was doing this many moons ago) will have the rear raised signifigantly, and the front lowered moderatly. Opposit of a car in that you typically want to raise a race-bike to gain ground clearance when cornering in addition to getting more agressive steering geometry.
                    Last edited by mike343sharpstick; April 29, 2015, 10:29 AM.

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                    • #70
                      Very interesting Mike. I've been wanting to slightly lower the front of my 1100swapped GS750 for years, I have a good reason to experiment now.

                      Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

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                      • #71
                        If does feel a bit lazy in turns.....I did raise the rear with dog bones I made but according to the FJ gurus, I am still not high enough. According to popular opinion, the rear tire should just touch the ground when on the center stand to get the most from the tire mod. Right now, with the dog bones I made, I am still about an inch to an inch and a quarter from the ground. I will make another set of bones in the near future. I esitmate that shortening them about another .5 of an inch will net me the distance I want. My shock does have provisions for raising and shortening but right now it is at the end of the lengthening adjsutment.

                        I'll also play with th fork adjustment as well, jsut to see what it does. I like to know how things work and how one adjsutment affects another...this stuff is a good lesson in that.
                        If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Like Mike says.. Moderation.. He says .25 inch.. Don't get big headed and think if .25 is good, .75 is gooder! It most likely will not be..
                          I rode a bike after the forks were moved in the clamps.. It was a scary ride.. I couldn't wait to get back on mine!

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                          • #73
                            Right on. It seems the average motorcyclist isn't aware of this kind of thing so If I can educate a few folks it's worth it. Most new sport-bikes and dirt-bikes have a series of machined in notches/rings around the top inch or so of the fork tube to make adjusting front ride height easier.

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                            • #74
                              I've not done much lately, after the fat bastard pulled out in front of me and caused me to high side it really damaged some parts on the bike. Because the parts are rare and expensive it took a while to get everything back together.

                              I got the last few pieces in a few weeks ago and got it all together. I decided to take it for a little ride on Monday and it ran fine, then I rode on Thursday and it ran like total ass. Popping and sputtering, backfires and it wouldn't idle. It was a fuel problem, that much I knew. I checked then pump and filter and saw nothing that stood out. I figured it was the carbs from sitting for a couple months. I tore them down, cleaned them and used some low pressure air to blow out the ports. Once I got it back together it fired up straight away and fell into a nice idle. It runs much better. I am going to pull the tank, flush it and coat it in hopes of curbing this issue. there was some brown sediment in the bowls I did not like.

                              I picked up a second job so I could pay down some bills and spend some money on the projects...

                              If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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