1985 Yamaha FZ750 - rebuild

[The Jed]

I think that's the worst part of a projct....fixing what other people already "fixed". i hate snapping off/stripping bots almost as much as i hate hunting down wiring gremlins.

[The Jed]

....and I should pay more attention to my spell check...

[Sandy]

Just looking at the picture with your brake rotors brought me back to my FZ750 I had back in the day. It was a great bike, I raced it, toured with it and put 100,000 kms on it. It was as good the day I sold it as the day it was new. They can take a real beating. Anyway, those laminated rotors were very prone to warping when used hard for an extended period of time. Good thing is the solid, drilled rotors from the RZ350 and probably a few other models are a direct bolt on and don't warp. Maybe check the runout when you get a chance.

[GateKeeper]

I think that's the worst part of a projct....fixing what other people already "fixed". i hate snapping off/stripping bots almost as much as i hate hunting down wiring gremlins.

I am just glad it's not worse....and it was the only one that he messed up....I will look at getting all new ones, or just grab one from the parts bke I have....

Just looking at the picture with your brake rotors brought me back to my FZ750 I had back in the day. It was a great bike, I raced it, toured with it and put 100,000 kms on it. It was as good the day I sold it as the day it was new. They can take a real beating. Anyway, those laminated rotors were very prone to warping when used hard for an extended period of time. Good thing is the solid, drilled rotors from the RZ350 and probably a few other models are a direct bolt on and don't warp. Maybe check the runout when you get a chance.

Sounds like I should have a long run with this one, if it's anything like yours was....I will check on the runout for sure, this one is the rear so it might not be too bad, I will probably be more worried about the fronts. My parts bike has a solid drilled rotor for the rear, going to see if it's any good, maybe use it on this one, or look for as you mention something from a RZ350, going to have to search E-bay.....Thanks for the tip

[GateKeeper]

tear down 8

Well a bit more progress tonight, I finished disassembling the rest of the swing arm....then got to the front end a bit removed the top tripple tree, and now the frame sits on her own. Tomorrow going to finish up tearing down the front, take the front rim off of the forks, the rotors, the lower tripple tree, and that will be the end of the tear down I believe....

I have inquired about powder coating the frame, the rims, and a few tidbits, can't believe the initial pricing, 600 to 700 bucks, this will include all prep work, and then powder coat, well after a bit of searching and some luck, and a point in the right direction I seem to have come across a company that will do it for 350....wow, so this bike might get a better paint job than my GS, but I am still on the fence, 350 bucks can go a long way in the rest of the bike, so I have to give it some more thought....

So soon it will be time to start the clean up of all the parts removed, have to go to the store and re-stock on some cleaning supplies.....

Well a few pictures to show the work tonight, and as you can see it's almost done.......
































So far the best part is it seems all the bearings are in great shape, gong to clean them, grease them up, and it should be good to go for another 30 years......

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[Sci85]

Coming together Nicely GK. That rear shock is filthy though. And if experience is any indication, those shock linkage bearings are probably done and the shock is more than likely ready for a rebuild. How many miles are on it?

[GateKeeper]

Hello Sci.......

Yes it's going along, but at a snails pace, I have no reason to rush or hurry on this one, the GS is up and running, so this is a project that can be done over the long run, I would like to get her done before the riding season is over to at least try out the bike, but we shall see..

As for the shock, I have no idea if it's good or bad, or just dirty, I have never taken apart a shock so that will be an experience as well, if it's easy to do I will go for it, if not, I have one on the other bike, it looks really clean so it might be in better shape.

How many miles, you ask.....gauge shows 58 thousand something or another....

I am sure each and every part will be looked and changed or rebuilt as required....

Cheers

[SVSooke]

My take on that shock is not as bad as Sci's.In my experience leaking shocks are usually pretty oily,that looks more grimy to me.Most OEM street shocks are not rebuildable unlike they're dirt bike counter parts.

[GateKeeper]

This is good to know, Thank you SVSooke....

[GateKeeper]

hydraulic clutch cleanup

Well tonight I found a bit of time to clean up the hydraulic clutch system. After seeing what my buddy Spyug found, and the headache it cost him, I wanted to be a bit proactive and completely pulled it all apart, cleaned it all up and when ready it will all go back together, and I will know it should not give me any grief.

Now I forgot (shame on me) to take before pictures, there is one in an earlier post on how dirty this area was, and it's more or less about as bad as what Spyug had, however the piston did move back and forth via hand pressure, so it was not as bad and it was not stuck....Seals all seem to be good, no pitting in any critical areas, so it should be good to go.

It will need some painting, but what part won't......

And a few pics....










Piston is not bad at all




I hate pitting, but at least this is not a critical issue and does not affect the function, it's only cosmetic, and once the parts are put together it's not even seen.




Fairly clean on the inside, I will admit I did clean it up, but really it was not bad...




Seals are still good, lucky me, I can just reuse them...









all the parts.....I think it needs to get SS Allen bolts for sure...

[spyug]

Looks good. I'm glad you decided to start there. Its a nice easy pieces to cleanup. Are you going to stay with the gold paint? I shot mine with some black for now just to cover it. I am thinking that come next winter I will haul out the engine and repaint it all. Maybe then I'll put it back to gold.

So are you going to get stuck in with the frame next?

[GateKeeper]

not sure on the paint scheme as of yet, wouldn't mind the gold, but all black can be just as good, but that is not original, it's sort of why I did not strip it all off....

Work on the frame, no, not yet, there are still many other little bits to work on, radiator and fan, alternator, frame for the headlight, rear sprocket, front forks and so on.....

Little bits and pieces, then I will get to the big items, might even do the engine and carbs way before I get to the frame,,,,then again I should do it now and let it cure while I do the rest of the parts, that actually makes more sense, now that I think of it, it's more or less the way I did the GS.....

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[spyug]

I just looked again. What happened to cause all that pitting in the sprocket cover? That is mighty strange. I don't think it makes any real difference but it is odd.

You might also want to take the Dremel tool and put a brass brush to that cylinder bore, it still looks a bit grotty no?

I thought you would do the frame as you did last time. Give it some time to set up nicely before things get bolted back on.

So what do you figure, back on its tires by Aug.? Sept.? next year?

[GateKeeper]

Yes I don't like the pitting either, but am not too worried about it, once the slave goes in it's all covered up and you can't see it, however I think there is damage to the cover itself, not pictured, but it seems there is a part broken, or torn up by the chain or something to that effect, again one cannot see it as it is on the inside so I am not going to worry about it.

I did take the Dremel to the cylinder bore, but since my brass brush was almost down to nothing it didn't do a great job, however I did take some 2000 grit paper and went at it with that, so the bore is actually very smooth, it just looks discolored.

Yes I should sand and wire wheel the frame and prime and paint, and let it cure, while I do all the other items, it would be the way to go......unless I powder coat....LOL

I am still sort of on the fence on that....

If I don't procrastinate and work on it at least a little bit most nights, I should have her back on the road before seasons end, I would like to take her for a spin while the weather is still good...

The only thing I will probably not have done to my liking is the body panels and body paint, she just might be naked for her first test ride.....

I will have to go and get some wire wheel brushes for the drill, and the dremel if I am going to get at that frame......

and sad to say....I went Turkey hunting this morning, and unfortunately came back empty handed, but it was nice to be in the outdoors even if it was a wee bit on the chilly side......

Cheers

[GateKeeper]

Swingarm

Well just a bit of work tonight, nothing special and nothing major, but every little bit gets it closer to completion....

so it was a bit of varsol, rags, wire wheel, and it came out clean, needs more work, going to give it a satin finish, since it's not in a perfect condition and it will be a good way to mask the imperfections....

a few pics....
























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