Need advice

Depends on how much work you feel like doing. Broadly I see two choices:

Option 1) Track down the used parts, likely from eBay or even this forum, and replace them yourself.

Option 2) Sell it and start over with another bike.

I wouldn't do Option 3) have it fixed. Who knows what else the PO did wrong that will later on fail?

Speaking of, what did PO do? Use only pure water for coolant? I guess that might cause rust. IIRC, the proper coolant has anti-corrosion additives.

My favorite option would be #2. Financially painful, but the sooner you get that problem bike out of your life, the sooner you can get one in better shape to enjoy riding.

I don't know who buys bikes that are in this condition. Possibly someone who has the time, interest, and garage space to do Option 1.

Sorry for your loss.

Desert is spot on!

Since it does not seem like you are heavily mechanically inclined, it might be best for you to get rid of it. It will be a lot of work.

'09 parts are def available from Partzilla. The rest can be obtained from eBay and Amazon. But, again, it is a lot of work.



Still trying to figure out what a "throttle box" is.

Can you post up some pics?

DesertBike said:

I was looking at the 2004 parts diagrams and it doesn't appear to me that there are any coolant passages in the intake, or throttle bodies. Which makes sense, as those parts shouldn't get very hot.

Click to expand...

There are 2 coolant lines to the cold, fast idle wax motor located on the bottom left of the throttle body assy.
Those lines could be blocked, or where the leak is located. That wax motor is not available separately from Yamaha, but complete throttle body assemblies can be had from e-bay. Anything from 2008 - 2012 would be a direct fit.
Here is one example for a reasonable price. It is not mine and I have no association with the seller and I have no knowledge of the condition. But if I was looking for one, I would buy this one.
12 Yamaha FJR 1300 FJR1300 A throttlebodies throttle bodies & gas fuel injectors | eBay

The water pump, radiator, and thermostat and housing, and some of the metal water pipes could be other cooling system parts that would need attention. Most of those can be found on e-bay either used or new.

Just depends on how much work you would be willing to do and how much risk you would be willing to take that some other cooling system problem would be a show stopper after replacing the obvious stuff.


dan

YMMV, No Lifeguard on Duty, Contents May Settle, etc.

Hilighted are the metal tubes that are rusted through.

Well....... let's clarify "rust"...... iron oxide can occur with steel, whereas the vast majority of the FJR cooling system (and engine block) is aluminum, so aluminum oxide.

I'd try to find out if there was coolant in the system or plain water..... it was normal for a bit of crud to partially block the wax motor, and since it is a small fitting, block the port in the rad also.... but if the tubes rusted through, might be because the tubes are thin and small.......

The engine block and rad are aluminum, so I'd remove rad cap and see what you can see.... drain the system, and as it's draining, look in the rad and look for white flakes, which would be aluminum corrosion. I can't imagine someone just running water, but I could imagine someone topping off the system with just water...... you are the detective with the eyes there and I'm curious. If you don't see flakes or very few, then chances are there was coolant (however dilute) and it would have some anti-corrosion additives circulating. You could also get an antifreeze tester and see what the temperature protection is...... will give you an general idea of how dilute the coolant is.

So the fix for the wax motor is a set of used TB's from ebay, those ones are a darn good price, go for it. If the rad (inside) looks decent, few flakes, and nothing too significant in the drained coolant, then chances are rad is OK, engine should be OK. You could run the drained coolant through a coffee filter and see what you have, then let us know. My feeling is the system is OK, I'd keep the bike, none of this is hard or expensive, and you can do all this yourself with a little help from your friends.....

However, you do need new coolant, and wait for those TB's to show up before filling the system. What I would recommend is fill and flush with a flushing agent that dissolves aluminum flakes.... nothing strongly acidic or basic, something like Prestone Cooling System Cleaner....... if I were doing it, remember cooling system capacity is ~2.5 quarts, I'd dump the Prestone into a container and then add water until you get 2.5 quarts total. Fill via the rad until full, put the cap on and run the engine for 15 minutes, rad fans will come on, if you want to prevent overheating put a portable fan in front blowing into the rad. I'd shut down for an hour (leave the portable fan running). Then drain and fill with distilled or deionized or reverse osmosis water. Run it again until the cooling fans come on and shut down...... when sufficiently cooled down, drain the water. Now fill with 50-50 aluminum compatible coolant.... Prestone is fine.

But really, before all that, tell us what you find upon inspection and the first drain of the system....... will advise further after that.