Yamaha FZS600 Fazer Part 4 Feeling Flushed!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics|September 2019

The mighty Fazer 600 is up and running – though not quite as smoothly as we’d hoped.

Alan Dowds
Yamaha FZS600 Fazer Part 4 Feeling Flushed!

One of the tips I picked up early doors when working on bikes is that 95 per cent of the time running problems are down to electrics, and the ignition system in particular. That was certainly true back in the early 1990s, before properly sealed connectors and super-reliable components became par for the course. Back then, water, corrosion and old tech like frame-mounted coils with their sprawling HT leads and plug caps caused no end of problems, with dodgy sparks the cause of much starting and idling troubles.

Fast-forward to 2019, and it’s fair to say that much of this has been sorted on modern bikes: multi-connector blocks have rubber gasket seals all round, plug-top coils have banished HT leads, and ECU boxes are totally sealed, packed with solid-state components which have massive MTBF (mean time between failure) statistics. Nothing’s perfect of course, but it’s fair to say that electrical and ignition problems have become far less common.

Working on the mighty Fazer 600 though, I reckon that my old-school tactics are sound. Regular readers will recall that last month I stripped and cleaned the mucky old carbs, and was feeling pretty sure of myself as I refitted them, bolted in a brand new Motobatt AGM battery from Wemoto, and filled the renovated fuel tank with fresh unleaded. A thumb of the starter, and we burst into life – albeit a rather lumpy, uneven life. The little Thundercat-derived engine is hunting about, clearly running on one, then two, and maybe three or four cylinders as I twist the throttle and the revs rise. Gah!

Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICSSe alt
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Honda VFR750R - RC30

If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2021
Mountain tension!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Mountain tension!

Award-winning motorcycle engineer!

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2021
Fazer set to STUN!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Fazer set to STUN!

What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!

This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!

For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!

We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…

Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Splitting links
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Splitting links

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2021
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!

It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2021
Metal magic!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Metal magic!

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021