FJowners.com

a few years ago, I purchased Country Joe's (Joseph Berk) 1990 FJ. It came with no plastics on it and some that came with was crash damaged. I sourced all the needed bodywork and sis a Satin White paint job. The bike was named Casper.

The Satin white became a nightmare to keep clean and i repainted it a metallic brown. The white paint job is being redone. This time I will be using a metallic/pearl white that comes on the 2015 Ford F150 Platinum pick up. The same Black/Red and Silver graphics will be used.

The first step was to get a chin cowling.


Fred

Cool. Your tool organization method seems eerily similar to my own.

More pictures as things progress, please.

Ted

Nice!  You can never have too many FJs, right?

I was messy with my dad's tools as a kid.  Karma is real - my kid is a tool explosion every time he goes to the shop.

I picked up the paint and have began prepping the body work.



Fred

While Casper's clothes are getting refreshed, I decided to look into the forks and the very harsh ride. I found nothing out of the ordinary during disassembly. The dampening rod bushings are pretty worn and new parts are on order. We will see how they ride with fresh oil and fork seals once the painting is complete.



Fred

Fred - are you painting it yourself?  If so, can you go over the gun, compressor, etc you are using?

Chris,

I will be painting the bike myself and not using a gun or compressor. I will be shooting it with these. I have used them for a few things and they work well for me and I get a good finish.

I shot the lower cowling with color matched paint mixed at an O'Reilly's Auto store. Same for the lid on my Givi top case and lids on the Givi saddlebags.


Fred

I find painting is a lot like welding.  There are 2 basic approaches.  You can go at welding with the wrong technique, materials etc and grind everything back into shape.  You can paint quickly and sand many of the imperfections back out.  I'm not saying one is right or wrong.  If you saw me weld you would know how I approach welding!   :dash2:  I spend 10 times as much time prepping to paint as I do actually painting. 

My friend picked up this Hot Staple plastic repair kit at a garage sale and has not used it yet. There are cracks in the 30 year old plastic. I decided to be the guinea pig and try it out. I am really impressed. The kit came with 7 different shapes of staples...

Fred

Video of the Hot Stapler

https://youtu.be/hlUaZ4_7-4I

Fred

Thanks Fred - super relevant info for folks as these plastics get older

Finally got around to shooting the parts. I changed the apparatus of paint delivery. I purchased a small air gun and used my compressor. The finished product is by no means show quality, but I am extremely happy with the results. The fuel tank and main fairing will be striped tomorrow once on the bike.


Fred

I took inspiration from your hot staple gun tool Fred and decided to try something similar on re-attaching the rear left piece of my belly pan. Not having the correct tool, I grabbed a couple of paperclips, a pair of long nose pliers, a blowtorch and a roll of duct tape.

I superglued the parts together and put some duct tape on the outside of the pieces, over the joint. Then I heated the paper clips until glowing red in my pliers and stuck them into the plastic across the joint - one each side of the mounting hole. Then, I applied a liberal coating/build-up of Plastifix (Plastex) on the inside and used that to fill the hole where a piece had broken off at the edge. Once it had “set”, I sanded and painted (fine brush) over the join.

Before re-fitting to the bike I tried tweaking and bending the panel by hand to see if it cracked and it felt great.

The belly pan has been back on the bike for about 150 miles now and so far, all is great.

I think I’ll be looking for a hot staple gun kit myself in the near future......seems like a great tool for 30 year old plastics.

Finished getting the decals on this afternoon. Installed all the bodywork. Pictures do not do justice. There are flaws and imperfections in the plastic. My thoughts are, it gives the bike a bit of character. I have ordered the Casper decal for the tail cowling.


Fred

That looks really good Fred.

That's really sweet Fred  :good2: - did I read somewhere that you've done this for Anne Marie (or sold the bike to her), or is this your "second bike" ?

One other question though - did you only paint the right hand side of the bike ?? :sarcastic:

Hope we get to see it in the metal at a rally sometime soon Fred.

Painting of the FJ has been in the works for a long time. Anne Marie loves her 6th gen VFR800 and may never sell it. I did tell her that she could ride this one once the paint was finished. I purposely set up the suspension so the seat height would be lower. She is only 5'2" (157.50cm) tall. I then looked at the weight of her VFR800 and it is only about 30lbs less in weight.

She rode Casper today, about 45 miles and some of it in rain. She told me she actually touches her feet on the ground better on the FJ.



Fred

Video of Anne Marie riding Casper....


https://youtu.be/qWv-2Zv7W2g

https://youtu.be/en6gNIMNrN8

Fred

Nice paint job.  :good2:

I would not have the confidence to do it myself. When I had my '93 painted I did a lot of prep sanding. The paint guy said it was not nearly enough. I know my limits.

The Casper decals came in today. Contemplating whether or not to add one on the air scoop.



Fred

All of the previous photos have been with the Ermax Satin Grey flip windscreen. I found the old Chrome Double Bubble from my 89. It is very scratched and cracked in a few spots, but looks good from a distance.

I had ordered a Dark Iridium windscreen 4-5 years ago and never did anything with it. I decided to cut it into shape and see how it would look on Casper.

Fred

Late September and early October has 2 annual rallys that I like to attend. They are on opposite coasts. The Vintage Yamaha Rally in Robbinsville, NC. and the RPM Rally in Oakdale,  CA.. Being in Kansas, I like to attend both, but can not in the same year, so I alternate and the Vintage Yamaha Rally is on the even numbered years. The West Coast folks will have to wait until next years RPM Rally or maybe sooner at the 2021 WCR.


Fred

Casper looking very nice !  is there 2 different screens in the pictures ? the crome one in the top picture looks best the seatcover also great !

Anne Marie also looks nice do you have her phone number ?  :sarcastic:

Yes there are 2 different windscreens in the photos. The Satin Grey flip windscreen is from Ermax and the Chrome double bubble is a CBR1100XX windscreen cut to fit.

Fred