Winter Project - Reviving a Wounded FJR

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Sunday update (as I'm watching the Ravens play pretty poorly via DVR).... a lot of progress today! First off, a HUGE Shout Out to kaitsdad for his very helpful write on plastic removal!
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So I didn't repeat this in the photos.

The windshield comes off easily:

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Big screen FJRForum goodness as I study kaitsdad's write up.

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I've read and seen a few shows about doing auto engine restoration. So, as I'm not in a hurry and would really like to NOT have leftovers and/or missing hardware. I decided to label as best I can the hardware I removed.

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As smaller pieces came off, I needed to save real estate and preserve plastic. I've kicked and cracked plastic laying on the floor before! Not this time! I setup a bin to temporarily store these extras while I await the new engine.

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Then....... I got sidetracked.
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The PO had to use a registration sticker for his work. And there's just not many places to put those darn things! My wife has one on her Vulcan 750. Thank goodness they are not used much any longer.

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I busted out a scraper and was careful not to gouge the fork tube.

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Scrape.... peel..... scrape scrape scrape.... peel.... (rinse and repeat...and repeat)

Then I cleaned up the metal with some metal polish/cleaner a bit and -

VOILA!

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I go back to concentrating on the plastic and after some more screw removals and careful manipulation, everything comes off gracefully with no breakage on the plastics or hardware!

A nice view of the nose. Interesting view also of the windshield adjusting mechanism.

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I took a mess more photos but these are just the highlights.

Here's how the future revived FJR sits tonight.

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The engine is in transit and should arrive this week!

More to come.
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You're right GM! Another motivator is time. Let's just say there are some folks in DC who are deciding on whether or not I go to work tomorrow.

If not, my time table will get pushed up for sure!

Let's hope so though... I've got plans for some heated grips and a Givi top box rack. Farkle money set aside is hard enough to come by! I'd hate to have to give it to Insurance, electric or Mortage People.
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Thanks for that link!

Let's see how long Congress wants to give me an unpaid vacation.... I should be able to get more work done on the FJR by tomorrow.

 
Hmm, Congress is not helping out with this winter project and with the speed at which Congress makes decisions.... you are going to have this completed before winter really begins. Don't you have other projects that need to be completed first?

Any chance you would be up for lying to us a little and telling the story very very slowly so we have something to watch over the winter?

 
Funny wingshot! You're right! Things are accelerating quickly. I'm still taking pics and can post them more slowly.... actually sometimes it feels like it takes more time for me post the report than to do the work.
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Digest no pic version now:

The engine will arrive today.

I've got the airbox, throttlebodies, radiator and exhaust off/out. Things do go a bit slower when working alone. But I have a fellow Furloughed Buddy coming up this am to assist. He just finished rebuilding his Volvo turbo engine.... now he's bored. So, yeah....... things are rocking!

 
Nice to see this coming along! Sorry if the condition of things are pretty shitty - I never took time to really wash it.

So did the original transmission totally lock up?

 
Hey Paul! No apologies needed Man. As I said outright. This thing was loved but ridden! As it should be. It's not bad at all. I'm taking time to hit most pieces in the wash tub and give them a good cleaning regardless.

I didn't ride it, but we put it on the center stand and ran it though the gears only once. When we hit the transition from 3rd to 4th the rear wheel locked up and killed the engine. It took some doing to get it out of gear. In neutral we tipped the bike on both sides while running and the grinding sound still occurred as it did with you. The replacement engine is the best route.

And the "new" engine has arrived!

I'll have more pics up this weekend.

Yesterday we encountered a snag. The clutch side engine mount (at the frame slider) seems to be seized.
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I'm soaking it with PB Blaster..... Otherwise the old engine's ready to come out!

 
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Alright! Things slowed down a bit this weekend. Some other house stuff and out side of house stuff needed attention.

I do have pics to post on the current progress which will most likely get posted tomorrow.

I have a question though which puzzles me. Here's a pic of my CURRENT 2007 engine coming out:

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And here's a pic of the "new" engine to be installed:

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I'd like some assistance identifying what "Gen/Version" of clutch slave cylinder is on the replacement AND the stuff next to it - Black connector etc.

I'm hoping I can just move what I have to the replacement, but IF this engine is from another year.... I'd like to ID just what year that is! Everything else SEEMS like it's the same as far as I can tell.

Thoughts? (and thanks!)

 
God I hope not. I don't think so as there is a place for the shift linkage.....

But as this is my first FJR transplant.....
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I'm phoning for help!

Well.... now I'm starting to wonder. This COULD be an AE engine. GAH!
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Hrm.

 
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Is that the engine out of an AE?
Certainly looks like it. Let's hope it's as easy as swapping out AE pieces for standard and it'll work...
--G
I think there are some fundamental transmission differences i.e. neutral at the bottom for AE. Since the tranny is the issue with the current engine, it might not be good news. Hope I'm wrong.
 
Well, having an "all up" would not be a show stopper. It would make your bike one of a kind for a FJR. My best friend from Junior high had a '76 KE 100 and it had an 'all up' shift pattern. Just enjoy being unique... and don't try to downshift from 1st at speed.I think you would get the hang of it fairly quickly.

 
I'm still doing some research now. I think it may work. My only concern is the gear position indicator. I don't think that would be accurate as the shift pattern would be different.

I definitely have an AE engine. The Ebay seller was great. I just should have asked more questions as it wasn't advertised as either. Frankly, being new to the FJR, I had completely forgotten about the AE model!

(sigh)

Well, this should be interesting. Stay tuned!

 
The (non AE) gear position indicator switch is a plug with 6 contact surfaces. (one for each gear plus neutral) There is a spring-loaded pin in the transmission that makes contact with each of these contact surfaces to tell the bike what gear you are in. I do not know how this works for the AE but for the A, this is how the computer "knows" you are in neutral.

1) Your gear indicator on the dash is unlikely to indicate the correct gear (at least not for neutral and 1st)

2) Your neutral light will not be on when the bike is in neutral

3) you won't be able to start the bike in neutral because the ECU thinks it is in gear

4) You WILL be able to start the bike in gear without the clutch pulled (BAD)

Since the gear indicator switch works by successively grounding the contact pads, you could probably simply rewire the connector plugs and reverse the N and 1st.

This, of course, assumes that the gear indicator mechanism on the AE is remotely similar to the A. If it isn't, you may have a problem.

Maybe you can sell the engine for close to what you paid for it and find a "dead" engine somewhere that has an intact transmission (shouldn't cost much).

 
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