The Mikuni TMR flat slides would be my choice. They have rollers on the slides.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/116885339938

They do have a unique jingle jingle jingle as roll down the road.

Quote from: Pat Conlon on Yesterday at 06:48:56 PMYes, the Mikuni RS38's are common. IIRC Travis is running a set on his FJ.

I have my 86 engine rebuilt with 1219 Wiseco's and 38 MIKUNIS on it. Started today first time.....Mozart sound....

Yes, the Mikuni RS38's are common. IIRC Travis is running a set on his FJ.

Quote from: fj1289 on December 06, 2020, 10:12:57 AMAnother option - but not CV's (at least I don't so) - some GSXRs came with flat slides from the factory.   They may be a bit more well behaved - but will be very hard to find!

Sounds like you would really like the roller slides of the Keihin FCRs -  really smooth compared to the Mikuni flat slides. 

Here you go: Mikuni flats 38mm

Quote from: ajacstern on May 27, 2022, 01:58:21 PMHello all,

Hope everyone is doing well. Over the winter I decided to convert my '87 FJ1200 to 17" front and rears. So far I have only converted the rear as I wanted to get a feel for the difference each individual change made. I used a 93-97 gsxr1100w rear wheel (I believe) and a 180/55/17 Dunlop Roadsmart 4. 38f/42r psi. For the brake I wanted to keep the original mounting point so I used a GSX750F Katana rear caliper and torque arm, had to hammer the torque arm a little for clearance but it bolted right up after that. Unfortunately, removal of the rear wheel now requires removal of the caliper as well, not sure if that is the same with the underslung, if not then I may switch to the underslung after all.

I went out for a test ride and at first it felt great. Tire heated up very fast, quite sticky, feedback and compliance felt good. On low speed turns the bike felt like it wanted to fall into them and you had to turn the bars the other way to keep the bike up, but it wasn't crazy bad given I don't do Motogymkhana. Once you got to 20-25mph the handling feels absolutely perfect. However, at high speeds (55mph+) the handling is incredibly stiff, takes your whole body weight to switch lanes quickly. This problem was present with the old wheels too and is the main reason I switched, though it feels a little bit worse now. I am hopeful that switching to a late model front wheel and raising the forks will fix this.

The biggest two new problems come in the braking department. I tried to trailbrake a little bit and the bike violently shot upright, much more than it has ever done before. It used to be fairly accepting of trail braking but now it is barely possible to turn and brake at the same time, this is using the front brake. I don't know if this is because of the wider rear, 0.3" lower rear ride height, or switch to radial tires. Has anyone had this and found a fix? It is bad enough that I would go back to the 16"s which I really don't want to do. The other issue is that this rear brake is barely a suggestion. It is functional, but even if I stand on it with my heel it can't lock up the rear and barely slows the bike down. If that is somewhat normal I will switch to sintered pads but don't want to throw money when the caliper is simply not up to the task...

Thank you!

So FZR 1000 87/88 front wheel fits 86/87 forks set up?
I have 86 with progressive springs, just rebuild and anti-dice plate and wondering if I can put FZR rim straight on it.

Thanks 

I am in the middle of de-rusting and repainting the silver portion (front) of the frame on my 1985 FJ-1100 and I am planning the next phase of the project, which is cleaning and repainting the engine.  From the earlier posted photos you can see that the only solid black areas that have survived on the engine are the valve cover, the area beneath the fins, and the area around the gearbox, and those are very weathered.

While I appreciate the visual aesthetics of black painted fins and bare aluminum edges, does painting the fins adversely affect air cooling on the early FJ's?  I am inclined to do whatever is best for the longevity of the engine.

What are the alternatives to re-painting the fins black?

Can the exterior engine be successfully restored while it is in the frame, or is it necessary/best to remove the engine before repainting it?  The bike has been largely disassembled, but I have not removed the engine up to now.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and suggestions!

Steve

     

Quote from: RPM - Robert on Yesterday at 10:35:03 AMCorrect on the 86/87 model it should not flow any fuel until vacuum is applied. If it is flowing fuel the petcock is bad.

The 84-85 has a prime function which will flow fuel when the selector switch is in the prime position but in the on position it should not flow fuel until vacuum is applied.

Thank you Robert.

Correct on the 86/87 model it should not flow any fuel until vacuum is applied. If it is flowing fuel the petcock is bad.

The 84-85 has a prime function which will flow fuel when the selector switch is in the prime position but in the on position it should not flow fuel until vacuum is applied.

Guys,

Sorry if this is an obvious question, but I want to understand how the petcock operates on an '86/'87 model.

The petcock is vacuum-operated, and the electrical connection is only for the simulated reserve.

So if the tank is removed from the bike and the wire for the reserve valve is disconnected, should fuel leak from the petcock or not?

From what I understand, until vacuum is applied, no fuel should flow. Right?

Thanks.
 

Quote from: giantkiller on February 23, 2026, 09:12:44 PM

Quote from: axiom-r on February 23, 2026, 06:01:54 PMHere are some shots of my carbs after disassembly and about 60 minutes total at 175 degrees in Chem-Crest 235

Carb porn

Agreed!