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Hello everyone I’m hopfish from southern Arkansas and new to fz1 owner ship but I have a diamond in the ruff or whatever you wanna call it and having to overhaul it. Just a quick overview wiring fire, another’s horrible attempt at fixing said wire fire, been sitting since 2009.

So nothing worked at first except intermittent gauge blinks, tried to undo someone’s rewire attempt got frustrated, ordered pre-used harness and installed. And that’s when things got much better gauges came on, headlight came on, relays clicked , and my luck sometimes goes my way cause the bike has 24k miles or at least this cluster does which is low for and 01? But the starter button has 12v on both wires when key is on (which is a bad ground?) but I can jump the solenoid and it will crank (so better news) so now it’s TLC time and a few little issues but I need experienced help and know yall are the people to confide in
 
Hopfish said:
Hello everyone I’m hopfish from southern Arkansas and new to fz1 owner ship but I have a diamond in the ruff or whatever you wanna call it and having to overhaul it. Just a quick overview wiring fire, another’s horrible attempt at fixing said wire fire, been sitting since 2009.

So nothing worked at first except intermittent gauge blinks, tried to undo someone’s rewire attempt got frustrated, ordered pre-used harness and installed. And that’s when things got much better gauges came on, headlight came on, relays clicked , and my luck sometimes goes my way cause the bike has 24k miles or at least this cluster does which is low for and 01? But the starter button has 12v on both wires when key is on (which is a bad ground?) but I can jump the solenoid and it will crank (so better news) so now it’s TLC time and a few little issues but I need experienced help and know yall are the people to confide in
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Welcome, sounds like a hefty job, but rewarding when you can return the FZ1 to active duty ;) Goodluck :)
 
Bought a '91 for ridiculously cheap back in June. Has 94k miles on the clock, on it's 2nd engine (an '03) with 30K on it, ran like crap when I bought it and the owner thought there was some major engine problem. Hence, cheap. Finally got around to looking into it. #3 and #4 cylinders not firing (exhaust pipes cold). Spark on all 4, gas getting to carbs, good compression numbers. Hmmm. Check carb sync just for giggles - #3 and #4 had sky-high vacuum. Aha. Turns out one of the compression springs controlling the central carb sync mechanism had popped out and 3 and 4 were way, way off. The spring was sitting atop the starter motor. I put it back in and the bike runs great. Sometimes you win.
So far I've been out on it a total of once in town. Didn't get past 3rd gear or over 5k revs. Haha. It has great low end grunt. Didn't know what to expect here - people's opinions are all over the map when you read on the web. It will be interesting to compare it with my SV1000 once I've fixed a couple of things (like a missing front engine mount bolt!).
Anyway - I've already used this site a bunch. Thank you to the owners, the admins and the members who post all the useful information herein. I hope some time soon I can contribute too.
 
Hello everyone I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I go by Grady. I have a 2002 FZ1. I used to belong to another FZ1 forum years ago, but in seems to not be on the internet any longer. I joined it when I first got this bike and found so much good information on there as well as help from some knowledgeable people on rebuilding it. It was also the best place to find parts at a reasonable price. So I joined this forum in hopes that it will be similar to the one I just mentioned. I'm self employed doing whatever I can to stay busy. Besides riding my bike I like to fish and spend time outdoors away from the rat race.
 
Rub_ber_Toe said:
Hello everyone I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I go by Grady. I have a 2002 FZ1. I used to belong to another FZ1 forum years ago, but in seems to not be on the internet any longer. I joined it when I first got this bike and found so much good information on there as well as help from some knowledgeable people on rebuilding it. It was also the best place to find parts at a reasonable price. So I joined this forum in hopes that it will be similar to the one I just mentioned. I'm self employed doing whatever I can to stay busy. Besides riding my bike I like to fish and spend time outdoors away from the rat race.
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Welcome,

If you’re referring to FZ!OA it closed it’s doors at least 3 years ago. Many still miss it but it had gotten very slow near it’s end. Pat’s FZ1 info is still available online. Search engine on this site pulls up a lot of good info on both Gens.

This site could use more contributors. Parts come up occasionally, but if you need something quick ebay is best bet. You got me CA Dreamin about La Honda Road Hwy 92 area.
 
Rub_ber_Toe said:
Hello everyone I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I go by Grady. I have a 2002 FZ1. I used to belong to another FZ1 forum years ago, but in seems to not be on the internet any longer. I joined it when I first got this bike and found so much good information on there as well as help from some knowledgeable people on rebuilding it. It was also the best place to find parts at a reasonable price. So I joined this forum in hopes that it will be similar to the one I just mentioned. I'm self employed doing whatever I can to stay busy. Besides riding my bike I like to fish and spend time outdoors away from the rat race.
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Welcome! Not as awesome as FZ1OA was but still functioning. A lot of the people left are either die hards or psychopaths that just can’t give up the bike. Enjoy!
 
Hey everyone, new member here from Europe. So I just bought a 2008 FZ1 GT, sight unseen from Italy. Was a good price and pretty low mileage. It arrived yesterday and ooooh boy did I buy myself a lemon... First of it's dirty beyond belief. There's so much caked on chain lube and dirt everywhere that I'm starting to think it was not washed since it left the dealership. Plastics are pretty faded from the sun so it looks it spent quite a lot of time outside.
Started tearing it down today for a proper inspection, service and cleaning.
5 threads mangled - 4 threads that hold the bolts for the passenger footpegs and the center one of the gas tank plastic cover. Damn, helicoils will have to do.
Clutch cable is on its last legs. Can't remember ever having to work so hard to pull in the clutch lever.
One of the turn signals got broken during transport. At least the owner put all the OEM turn signals in one of the luggage bags.
Battery - not even close to being correct. 8Ah and only 130 CCA. The service manual is asking for a 11,8Ah, 230CCA battery...
I suspect there might be an oil leak from the timing chain cover (the one on the side). But it might be just really dirty. Will have to check when the bike is properly cleaned.
Started draining the fluids and sweet baby Jesus the coolant came out pitch black. Never seen anything like it. The radiator inside seems a bit rusty, but just light surface rust. Adding a photo of the coolant. You would think it's oil being so black. Guess I'll need to flush it with vineagar and distiled water at least a few times. Hoping I won't need a new radiator.
Both front brake calipers seem super sticky, seems I'll need to rebuild those too.
Adding some photos of the work I did today. Finished up early as I felt a bit defeated after finding so many things that will need fixing. Did not even check if the rotor is the OEM handgranade. Probably is, seeing how neglected this bike is.
I do't think I even listed everything, there's just so much to do.
At least it sounds and seems to run great (for now). Plus it is completely stock with a full set of Givi luggage
 

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Welcome aboard! It does look like you have a bit of a project there. I think black coolant is a new one to me. It looks like you are finding a lot of issues, but it sounds like you have the skills to recognize them and know the right direction to go. Good luck and keep us posted on the effort. I can't wait to see the first ride post!

It is unfortunate that some of the FZ1s didn't get treated well, but they are amazing bikes!
 
Blue Flash said:
Welcome aboard! It does look like you have a bit of a project there. I think black coolant is a new one to me. It looks like you are finding a lot of issues, but it sounds like you have the skills to recognize them and know the right direction to go. Good luck and keep us posted on the effort. I can't wait to see the first ride post!

It is unfortunate that some of the FZ1s didn't get treated well, but they are amazing bikes!
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Thanks for the warm welcome! Coincidentally warmth is all I need right now (-26C/-15F right now where I live)
Yeah it definetely seems like a project, but at least I'll be busy doing something I really enjoy
Spent half the day flushing the cooling system, at least it's coming out clear now. Will check it after running the bike for a bit
 
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