85 FZ750

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Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

Rory brought the FZ to my door last Friday. :smt006

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Not quite as good as the pics kijiji pics made it look but pretty nice for its 30 years. Didn't help it was covered in dust and leaking fork fluid everywhere. The very first thing you notice about this bike is just how heavy it is. Sport bikes have gone through a lot of development in 30 years and they have lost more than 100 lbs in weight.

A couple of days later, after a quick wash she was up on the work platform.

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9 hours later it looked like this ....

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The fuel tank interior is nothing short of a horror show. Someone did the cream lining which has subsequently peeled and continued to rust so there is all kinds of crap inside it. The fuel must be at least 2 years old as I had never seen fuel this colour. The fuel petcock is corroded and due to a missing filter was clogged with crap. Thankfully there is a large inline fuel filter so the fuel pump should be OK. Hopefully there will not be too much grunge in the pump as I am not sure it can be disassembled for cleaning.

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Thankfully the carbs were not as bad as I had expected them to be. There was still lots of liquid fuel inside them and only a bit of green sludge. Nothing really goopy or solid.

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The carbs have been stripped down and all the small parts and accessible bits are being detail cleaned. For this we can thank the miracle of ultrasound. :smt023

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A few of the bad things about this bike include the exhaust, which is an OEM Yamaha part .... just not for this bike. Thus the mount is a bit bodged but worst of all, the entire exhaust has to be removed in order to drain the engine oil. Kind of a PIA to say the least.

It looks like the valve guides/seals in 3 of the 4 cylinders are leaking but that shouldn't be terminal and can get fixed later.

The fork seals are leaking badly and I have found a few missing small parts, mostly nuts & bolts and strangely a very small rubber o-ring gasket inside one of the carb needle jets.

The front brake rotors are not OEM. I believe they are actually RZ350 rotors, which is actually OK with me as the stock vented disks on the FZ sucked. I have replaced the brake fluid with new and the brakes bled up quite nicely.

The hydraulic clutch is another story. I suspect the master cylinder needs to be rebuilt as it does nothing at all. There was fluid in the reservoir and fluid at the slave bleed screw but nothing happens when the lever is worked. A rebuild kit has been ordered.

The oil and coolant were actually in fairly decent shape although strangely the oil was overfilled and the filter looked like it hadn't been changed in a while. Both are being replaced.

One really good thing is that the tires are virtually new. The front retains all the mold whiskers and the rubber is nice and pliable. :smt023
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
solo 2
Posts: 306
Joined: Fri May 27, 2011 9:20 am
Location: Edmonton, Canada

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by solo 2 »

Cleans up nice Peter, I see you wasted no time in disassembling it...man after my own heart. BTW my 500 tank had that Kreem shit in it, it takes a while but acetone dissolves it, just make sure it doesn't run on to the outside of the tank.
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

Acetone. Never thought of that. Good tip.

Forks are coming apart next. New seals and oil are due.

Then it is off to the shop for valve adjustment just to make sure.

I need a couple of small parts for one carb and new float valve O-rings and then the carbs will be done.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

Question on the acetone: From reading I understand it will attack and destroy any rubber or seals. The FZ has some kind of fuel level mechanism inside it with what looks to be a rubber float. Additionally this contraption is bolted into the bottom of the tank with presumably some kind of seal in place to make it liquid tight. I suspect that acetone would ruin both those things?

Work completed so far:

Valve clearance has been checked - bike has to go in to shop to have a few shims changed.
Fork seals replaced. Just need to bolt the front end back together and that will be complete.
Flushed fuel pump - YAY ... it works.
Carbs are almost back together - just waiting on a couple of parts and some O-rings
Clutch master cylinder has been disassembled and is awaiting arrival of rebuild kit
Brakes, front & back have fresh fluid.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
silverstrom
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Re: 85 FZ750

Post by silverstrom »

Hooligan wrote:Question on the acetone: From reading I understand it will attack and destroy any rubber or seals. The FZ has some kind of fuel level mechanism inside it with what looks to be a rubber float. Additionally this contraption is bolted into the bottom of the tank with presumably some kind of seal in place to make it liquid tight. I suspect that acetone would ruin both those things?
I work with acetone frequently. It ruins my nitrile gloves. That tells you what it can do to rubber seals. Remove whatever you don't want damaged, just to be safe.

Is this concerning the failed tank liner? The recommended product to remove tank liners is methylene chloride. It's found in paint stripper, such as the can labelled Heirloom at Lowes, Home Depot and others.

I've seen people remove liners without damaging paint by wrapping the tank in layers of protection. Plastic followed by aluminum foil. The Heirloom stripper is thick, so you can better control it's movement. Move the tank around to strip one area at a time. Not so much with acetone. It will go where it wants to go.
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

I have cleaned out the tank and soaked it in a low strength rust remover. I think for now that will do until I get the bike up and running. A more detailed internal cleaning of the tank can wait till winter or next year.

Then I will pull the internal stuff out of the tank and do a better job.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
solo 2
Posts: 306
Joined: Fri May 27, 2011 9:20 am
Location: Edmonton, Canada

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by solo 2 »

I know of nothing that will remove kreem (except applying it) that will not eat the paint almost immediately on contact. The nice thing about acetone is water will wash it off completely as it is hydroscopic. Careful is the key word and make sure it is sealed really well, it will eventually eat through almost anything.
Hellgate
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Location: OKC & AUSTX

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hellgate »

Methal Ethal Keytone will remove Kreem. It is nasty ass shit and you need a space that is well vented. You need to fill the tank and let it stand for several days. It's a PITA process, but it will work. I use Caswell on my tanks as it does not allow moisture to get under it like Kreem. POR 15 is another good option too. I've done two tanks with Kreem and have had it fail both times. One took several years, the other 1 year.
Cheers!

Pete

'12 Tuono V4R APRC, '05 R6, '88 RZ350, '82 XV920R
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

Yeah ..... I'm not getting involved with 20L of MEK.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
Hellgate
Posts: 244
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 2:37 pm
Location: OKC & AUSTX

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hellgate »

I don't blame you.
Cheers!

Pete

'12 Tuono V4R APRC, '05 R6, '88 RZ350, '82 XV920R
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T.RexRacing
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Re: 85 FZ750

Post by T.RexRacing »

5 liters would probably do the job.
There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.
Salvador Dali
solo 2
Posts: 306
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Location: Edmonton, Canada

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by solo 2 »

Home depot sells 4L tins of acetone and its essentially non-toxic unless you're planning on drinking a bunch.
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

Front end is back together. However the brake pads are a mess. Figured I'd try running them in the ultrasonic tank to see what happens. They can't get any worse.
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
Hooligan
Posts: 1966
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:37 am
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: 85 FZ750

Post by Hooligan »

The ultrasonic cleaning of the brake pads worked really well. I wiped off the worst of the oil & dirt and then ran them in the ultrasonic cleaner a half dozen cycles. They came out perfectly clean. I sprayed them off with brake cleaner to make sure there was no soap residue from the tank and left them to dry. Perfect! :)
'82 RD350LC in '81 colours, OEM pipes, UNI filters
'85 FZ750
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L.B
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Re: 85 FZ750

Post by L.B »

What did you use for solution?Water based?
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