Slim Chants

Just when you think things are going well … I ordered a replacement windscreen for my FZ750. The one it came with is cracked. This is the last thing I need to do before taking it in for a safety check. So I got excited when I called the bike shop and they told me it had just arrived. When I picked it up however, I found it was the wrong one. They ordered me one to fit a FZR750. Now I sure wish I had a FZR750. Those bikes are fast! With an aluminum frame they weigh almost a hundred pounds less than my FZ750. Though the race position is a less comfortable ride. Anyway, I called the dealer and he says they’ll get the new one ordered on Monday and send the old one back.

Weather like this and my mount still isn’t ready. Damn, I’m itching to ride.

Further inspection reveals brake problems. The rear rotor is badly scored. I suspect the pads are also shot because of the dragging sound I can hear when I turn the back wheel by hand. I’m hoping that is the cause, in any case. It could also be a bad bearing. The local bike salvage yard wants around $100 CDN for a rotor in good shape but I managed to find one in the Ottawa area on eBay so I bought that. Pads were also easy to come by on eBay. I’m going to replace them all. This bike will be in tip-top condition when I put it on the road.

I’ve completed the clutch rebuild. The new gasket arrived but I didn’t have time before the camping trip so reassembly had to wait.

I managed to find a spare master cylinder at a local salvage dealer and after installation, fluid replacement and bleeding the clutch worked well. I like the extra stiffness offered by the Barnett springs. And the EBC plates grab well without sticking. I’m very pleased with the results.

New EBC clutch plates arrived last week preceded by Barnett springs the week before. I drained the oil and tore down the clutch on Saturday morning. The oil was way past its prime. But the clutch was not seized. The problem must lie in the hydraulics. I’m in the process of negotiating purchase of a used master cyclinder (along with a stock seat) but in the longer term I’m considering dropping serious coin on Brembo clutch and brake master cylinders. The friction plates were quite worn, however and I’m glad I decided to rebuild it. The EBC/Barnett combo should make for a heavy duty, trouble-free clutch.
I should have ordered a clutch cover gasket. The old one came apart n pieces. Bike shops were closed on Saturday due to the long weekend so I had to wait until today to call. ’87 parts aren’t stocked so they have to order it in. My local dealer is Performance Cycle. I bought the oil filter there and it was less than any deal on eBay. I expect they’ll be seeing a lot of me. I’ll be taking the bike there for safety when she’s ready to ride.

I topped up the water level in the battery and put it on a trickle charge for a few days. Lo and behold, the engine starts. It’s running on the lean side but it runs. The clutch is seriously seized, though. I’ve tried all the tricks to engage it without success so I’ve ordered a set of Barnett clutch springs and EBS clutch plates. I’m going to rebuild it.

New front signals arrived late last week and I’ll probably put those on this weekend.

My FZ750 on Day 1

I bought a 1987 Yamaha FZ750 from my brother last week. She needs some TLC to look pretty and some minor clutch work plus a tune up to run. I used to ride many years ago and I even test rode one of these in ’86. They’re a really nice sport bike, plenty fast enough for me and less likely to kill me or cause me to lose driving privileges than the current technology. Plus it was cheap and should be cheap to insure as well. I’m a lot more careful these days. I got the crazies out of my system years ago. And I love working on bikes and snazzing them up. This will be fun.

The FZ was a revolutionary design in its day.  If you’re interested in a good comparison with Suzuki’s GSX750R, check out this page which lists FZ750 specs and also has a writeup from CycleWorld magazine.