Springtime Makeover Thread

FZ1riderNY

FZ1riderNY

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i180.photobucket.com
I figured that since I am getting a bunch of things for the bike this Spring, that I would devote one thread for all the goodies. They started trickling in this morning at work so I'm happy for that. Saturday I am starting disassembly of the parts going out for repair and paint so I'll post all my updates here. I'll probably be doing a few videos for the Brake Line Upgrade, Dyna Bead installation, plus others.

Here's the nice goodies that came today.
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My tires will be here Monday according to my tracking number. More stuff to follow.
 
I like these sorts of threads, they give me plenty of ideas :)
I'll look forward to your updates, have fun.

BTW You'll like the HEL brake lines, I just fitted a denim blue set (with black ends) to my FZ1N.
I've been using them for years on all my other bikes, they are good quality stuff.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
Thanks Bud. By the way.......what happened to the Florida vids???? I was hoping to see some.
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My bad! :D I've been spoiling my wife this week and forgot all about it! I added to two of them to the FZ1inFL thread and now have 5 more uploading. I'll link to those ones tomorrow. Enjoy!!
 
Oh, and Billy, we will want some video of your project as well. :D Break out the camera and roll the film!

I've found that stopping and starting the video camera often beats editing. :D 2 - 3 minutes at a time works great.

Are you starting this all soon? Of course, you'll be able to ride a lot sooner than us in NH!!
 
I'm sure you're going to like the brake line upgrade since you're on the stock 10 year old lines. Plus the red is going to look great against the black ;) I still need to get my Givi V35 saddle bags and my Magical Racing windscreen...
 
NJFZ1 said:
I'm sure you're going to like the brake line upgrade since you're on the stock 10 year old lines. Plus the red is going to look great against the black ;) I still need to get my Givi V35 saddle bags and my Magical Racing windscreen...
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Yeah, thanks. I almost went with the "transparent red" but I'm glad that I switched to the solid at the last minute. It matches the rim tape perfectly.
 
Day 1 Progress

Okay, I spent most of my day sitting alone in my garage. I was throwing out an old stand I made some time ago for my son and figured that I'd screw down a couple of 1x10 pine boards to the top and made a spiffy table. Now I have somewhere to sit and clean parts and stuff.

Okay here's the pictures, enough jibber jabber.........

I started with the tail section removal.
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I was surprised at how easy this GenI tail section is to remove. Seven bolts and two plastic tabs and your done.
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Here is the tail section of my makeshift table. Okay, I know the color sucks but thats what the shelves were.
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Another surprise today! Since Deals Gap, I tried this polish that someone had. I forget who. But it was awesome. I know that Tony uses it. Well, I was looking for some of my own and the cheapest I could find it was on Ebay for 9 bucks a can. Just on a hunch, I called this Honda dealer near my house and found out they had a bunch of it. I chatted with the guy for a while on the phone and he told me that if I wanted some he would give me a good price. Well I ran over with Richie today and found out that they had moved. We were sitting in front of a boarded up building! I called him on the phone and he said that because of the high winds, that the sign must have blown down. It winds up that they moved into a larger building 2 BLOCKS from my house! Yes! Walking distance! We ran over and he gave me the cleaner for 6 dollars a can. If anyone needs any just let me know. Aside from the polish he told me that he would personally mount my tires next Wednesday for 20 dollars a pop! Thats 20 less than the cheapest guy that I went to last time! The facility is huge with about 70 brand new bikes on the giant showroom floor. The guy was also very kind which is a switch for me. There must be a new owner or something because I have had at least two bad experiences there in the past. I'll snap some pics on Wednesday so you guys can see.

My new stash!!!
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Okay, back to the post:
I used my Mighty Vac to suck out the 4 gallons of gas from the tank. It worked awesome. Three shots and it was empty. I made three trips to my car and loaded the 4 gallons in the car and kept a half gallon for the bike when it comes time to start it.
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The tank came off without a hitch.
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This is a couple of shots of the damaged tank which will soon sport new paint and be good as new!
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I help the painter out a little by removing the cap, float, and petcock, and masked them off.
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I looked up at the clock and noticed that it was almost 6pm. I had enough gas fumes for one day. Tomorrow is Fairings, upper and lower, brake lines, anti freeze, and wheel removal. More pics to come! Thanks for looking.
 
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Great start Billy. Also a lucky deal having that shop move in so close to home AND find out the guy is a decent business man. :tup:

So, I never realized that the Gen I subframe is welded to the frame, thus, I guess, you have just a complete frame, right?

I may have to take you up on that cleaner for a couple cans to try it out. :D

Thanks for the pics and show! I actually had to log in and work from home today. There's issues but I had to prove it wasn't my servers or SAN that was the culprit. I hope to get out there tomorrow and wrench a little before the Daytona 500 starts. :tup:
 
FZ1inNH said:
Great start Billy. Also a lucky deal having that shop move in so close to home AND find out the guy is a decent business man. :tup:

So, I never realized that the Gen I subframe is welded to the frame, thus, I guess, you have just a complete frame, right?

I may have to take you up on that cleaner for a couple cans to try it out. :D

Thanks for the pics and show! I actually had to log in and work from home today. There's issues but I had to prove it wasn't my servers or SAN that was the culprit. I hope to get out there tomorrow and wrench a little before the Daytona 500 starts. :tup:
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Thanks Eric. Yeah, the frame is complete. Once I have everything off I'm going to clean everything inside and out as well as cleaning all the connectors and applying some dielectric grease to all. If I had a couple more dollars I would have sent the swingarm out to powdercoat it black but it doesn't look feasable at this time. At least the entire bike will have new paint though! PM me your address again please as I have misplaced it. Thanks!
 
Despite it being President's Day, the UPS truck was still on the road working which was good for me! The tank and tail section left today for paint although I'm still awaiting my Partshark order after a solid week! (UGH!) since he will need the tank emblems to do the job. Of course I called and what do you think is holding up the entire order????? Thats right!, the two flippin' emblems! Oh well, what can you do?

Anyway, todays goodies!......

The Dynabead Set came with both the 1oz. bag, the 2oz. for the rear, and the injector bottle.
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Also arriving today was a brand new set of Bridgestone 023 Sport Touring Tires, looking great I might add.
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So things are moving along nicely. Not as quick as I would like, but nicely none the less. More stuff to come soon!
 
I like the way that rear tire looks ;) Guess you'll be all set to ride by the time the warm weather rolls around. I thought about doing some work on the FZ1 (connecting rear turn signals), but it was just too damn cold to be out. It was a shame too because I had the day off from work. Oh well I'm sure the warm weather will eventually get here and the days are getting longer. Riding season is right around the corner :D
 
NJFZ1 said:
I like the way that rear tire looks ;) Guess you'll be all set to ride by the time the warm weather rolls around. I thought about doing some work on the FZ1 (connecting rear turn signals), but it was just too damn cold to be out. It was a shame too because I had the day off from work. Oh well I'm sure the warm weather will eventually get here and the days are getting longer. Riding season is right around the corner :D
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Oh man, you aren't kidding. We went from Summer to Winter all over again and the worst part is that now I have an appointment to have the tires mounted this Wednesday which means that no matter how cold tomorrow evening is I must get the wheels off the bike, which means I have to get the lowers off first so I can sit the bike on the jack without wheels. I may borrow an electric heater tomorrow just for one night to get it done. I know I could probably change the appointment, but I'm trying to get a good relationship going with this guy at the dealership for future dealings. (Wink Wink).
 
I have been doing some research online regarding the use of Dyna Beads to balance the tires. Seems like it's about a 50/50 split for and against. One blog had a good point though. He said unless you maintain your tire pressure from a compressor that also contains a filter to remove the moisture in the air then you run the risk of the beads not being able to move around freely inside the tire due to the moisture. I thought it was a good point to consider.
 
FSTZ1 said:
I have been doing some research online regarding the use of Dyna Beads to balance the tires. Seems like it's about a 50/50 split for and against. One blog had a good point though. He said unless you maintain your tire pressure from a compressor that also contains a filter to remove the moisture in the air then you run the risk of the beads not being able to move around freely inside the tire due to the moisture. I thought it was a good point to consider.
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Thanks FSTZ1, I have done some homework also and have read about the same thing. I have explained the the guy at the dealership that I am using the dynabeads and that he needs to keep the solution to a minimum when lubing the inner sidewalls. Also, I use an old "tankless" compressor which will not expell any moisture when filling the tire with air. It's a dinosaur but still works great. Once the guy mounts them, I am bringing them home first and remove the valve stem. I'll keep them upstairs in the house for a day to make sure that whatever moisture dries up and then do the install. As you said that it's about 50/50 split and I can best assume that many don't follow the instructions to a tee before dumping them in. Thanks for the heads up. I'll heed your advice and let you know how it goes!
 
Looks great, Billy. I love threads like this, too.

Aren't you going to have to remove the tank protector, or are you only having him retouch the mark on the tank? I saw you did a nice job taping it up for the painter, but I thought I saw a tank protector on there.

Also, how do the bolts look as you take them out? After so long I was wondering how they are holding up or if they are looking pitted or corroded? Just curious about Yamaha parts longevity.

Keep us up on the work. Looking forward to seeing it in person.

I've started working on some things for Michelle's Ninjette. Ordered a windscreen and fender eliminator for her, then found myself ordering a Shad TopCase Mounting Kit for my FZ.

Reading your post about how easy it was to remove the tail on the Gen I made me jealous!

Good luck.
 
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