FZ1 Pazzo Racing Levers

January 17, 2015

As a final winter upgrade, inspired by a bent clutch lever I replaced the FZ1's OEM levers with Pazzo Racing levers. I'm usually not into "bling" (decorative upgrades), but these are really nice levers that go well with the OEM black bars.  They do have an easy adjustment switch feature that is nicer than the stock levers.

Pazzo levers

The FZ1 levers are PN# F-14 brake and Y-688 clutch.  Note that they are quite a bit shorter than OEM levers.

OEM clutch lever

Installation
 
Installation takes 10 - 15 minutes.  Simply unbolt the OEM lever with a 10mm socket.  The brake lever also requires a flat screwdriver to unscrew it from the top.  Clean bolts, regrease them, bolt in new levers.  Threading the clutch cable into the new lever is straightforward.

Pazzo brake lever

Pazzo clutch lever

Brake lever detail

Clutch lever detail

Riding Impression

As the levers are shorter the action is more abrupt than the OEM levers and takes a bit of getting used to.  The first thing I did was back down the driveway and stall the bike.  Also it's not possible to get more than 3 fingers on the levers.  This has not been a problem so far.  After a few rides they feel natural but there is a brief period where they're a bit clumsy.

Edit 2015-11-21: Unfortunately after about a year with the short levers I succumbed to wrist and shoulder pain in my clutch arm. So I had to replace the Pazzo levers with OEM. If I can find regular length Pazzo levers I'll get those, but there are more important mechanical issues at the momement.

FZ1 Holeshot Stage 1 kit, part IV: Timing Advancer

January 11, 2015

A timing advancer is included in the Holeshot FZ1 Stage 1 kit.  The idea is to replace the stock timing disk under the right side engine cover with a disk that causes the spark to fire slightly sooner. According to the Holeshot site this improves gas mileage, throttle response, and allows the use of regular 87 octane gas.

FZ1 Timing Advancer kit

Interestingly the Holeshot site advises not to run the timing advancer without first installing the Stage 1 kit while it claims the slip-on can be run with the stock carburetor settings.  While I trust Dale's judgment I wouldn't install any performance upgrades without first doing the carburetor tuning (Stage 1 or Stage 2 kit or equivalent).  To do otherwise is asking for trouble in my opinion.

There were a few reasons why I delayed installing the timing advancer, the most important being none of the installation methods were very appealing.

I've installed Holeshot timing advancers on 2 Bandits and the install is trivial.  Unbolt the right side engine cover, remove a hex bolt, swap timing disks, reinstall the bolt, and put the engine cover back on.  30 minutes at most if there are engine guards in the way.

Unfortunately the bolt securing the timing disk on the FZ1 also turns the motor.  So there is no way to remove it with a regular socket wrench without finding some way to stop the engine from turning with the bolt as you turn it.  Otherwise the engine turns and the bolt never gets loose.

The Holeshot kit instructions outline 3 ways to do this, none of which I liked.

1. Dale's recommendation:  spin the bolt out and reinstall with an air impact wrench, using red threadlock on the bolt.  I don't like using air tools unless there are no other alternatives because of the high amount of force delivered to bolt heads and threads.  And I don't like threadlock.
2. Put the bike in 6th gear, step on the rear brake to hold the rear wheel in place (thus holding the motor), and loosen the bolt with a socket wrench.  Internet variation, put a 2-by-4 through the rear wheel rim underneath the swingarm to block the wheel from moving when the motor tries to turn.  Not recommended by Dale due to stress put on internal engine/transmission components, and I tended to agree with that.
3. The manual's preferred method: purchase a Yamaha magneto rotor holder, Yamaha PN# 90890-01235 ($129 at the local shop), remove the right side cover and hold the alternator rotor with the rotor holder to stop the engine from turning, while turning the bolt loose on the left side.  Requires replacing the right side cover gasket (Yamaha PN# 4XV-15451-00-00, $7.00).  Not recommended by Dale due to time and expense involved.

Ultimately I decided to go with option #3, being safest.  $150 and 3 days later I was the proud owner of a Yamaha YU-01235 magneto rotor holder and alternator side cover gasket.

With the rotor holder the install is not difficult and can be done by one person.  First remove left and right side covers, keeping the bolts in order as they are different lengths.  Some oil will drain from each side.

Right side cover bolts in order

Left side cover and bolts in order

Remove old right side cover gasket.  This was the hardest part, about an hour of painstaking scraping, attempting not to gouge gasket mating surfaces on the engine and cover.  Place rotor holder tabs into appropriately-sized holes in alternator rotor.  I put a rag on the handle and braced it against the frame slider.

Rotor holder

With the rotor holder in place it was easy to remove the timing bolt.

OEM timing disk and bolt

Holeshot timing advancer and OEM timing disk

The next step was to simply swap the timing disks and bolt in the Holeshot timing advancer (writing side out).  Then bolt the covers back on and check the oil level.

Holeshot timing advancer installed

Initial Ride Test

The timing advancer does make a difference.  The bike is quicker taking off from a stop and I haven't had any trouble with 87 octane gas (I only use Chevron though).  As far as gas mileage it seems like I'm not doing quite as well as before but the difference is not that much.  Part of the issue is I ride the bike differently now (more throttle all the time) since it performs and sounds better.  Roll-ons destroy mileage!

FZ1 Post Stage 1 Initial Road Test

January 9, 2015

My first few ride tests were without the timing advancer and of course Bay Area traffic is always congested, so I hit a top speed of maybe 50MPH in a week of 60-mile-a-day round trip commuting.

In spite of that the Stage 1 kit had some immediately noticeable effects, most notably easier starting, smoother idle, and more available low RPM power.  In fact I could roll on the throttle at 3k without lugging the engine.  Launching from a stop was a bit quicker, and of course the sound from the slip-on made the bike feel much more present and got rid of that appliance-like feel.  Not as resonant as the same muffler on the Bandit but still an improvement.  Were drivers noticing me more as I lane-split past?  Honestly, hard to say.  But at least I wouldn't be in danger of being hit on a stealth bike like before.

The one downside I noticed right away was a gassy smell coming from the bike after riding it.  I'm still not sure whether this is due to the enrichening effect of the Stage 1 kit, or if there is a small leak somewhere.  The bike is certainly not putting gas on the floor or anything like that.  I noticed the Bandits also smelled a bit gassy after their Stage 1 kits were in although with the FZ1 the smell is more noticeable.

On the whole, after a week of commuting my first impression was that the kit was less of a complete makeover than the Stage 1/Comp 1 upgrade on the Bandit.  After the upgrade the Bandit felt like a sleeping bike that had been suddenly woken up.  It almost felt like a new bike.  The FZ1 still felt like an FZ1, maybe like an FZ1 that had been given a cup of coffee.  Granted, the unmodified FZ1 was a higher performing bike than the Bandit to begin with, so maybe I shouldn't have expected as much. And the Stage 1 kit definitely accomplished my main goal of tuning the bike for use with the Holeshot slip-on.  I briefly discussed my 1st impressions with Dale Walker at Holeshot, and in a nutshell he said the timing advancer would make the improvements much more noticeable. Also that the FZ1 was just engineered to be more high-strung.  The 5-valve engine is fundamentally designed to make more power at higher RPM and that would still be the case after the upgrades unless I wanted to mess with the gearing (which I didn't).

I'd read conflicting information about the effects and possible side-effects of timing advancers so initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to install it.  That and the fact that I didn't like any of the install methods, more on that next.  After talking with Dale I decided to go ahead with it.

FZ1 Holeshot slip-on

January 2, 2015

There were a lot of reasons for getting rid of the stock muffler on the FZ1, not just for better performance or to give the soulless clock-like engine tick some much-needed character.  The OEM can is huge and can drag on the ground during aggressive cornering, which happened to me more than once.

Awful stock muffler

Further, the bike is so quiet and mild-mannered that I actually felt it was a safety issue in heavy traffic.  Not to go too far into the "loud pipes save lives" debate... whether they do or not, while no doubt there is such a thing as too loud, there is also such a thing as too quiet, and the stock FZ1 comes off as an apologist for loud pipes and motorcycles in general.  It is OK for a motorcycle to sound like a motorcycle without being offensive.  It is an important distinction.

Granted the Holeshot comp slip-on is a more aggressive-sounding option than street model, but it is not overwhelming like some of the Harley exhausts I hear rumbling through town on a daily basis.  I have a comp slip-on on the Bandit, and at low RPM is has a nice throaty sound that is not loud enough to raise an eyebrow with the local law enforcement.  Additionally it has a very clean, almost OEM look to it.  One just needs to practice good judgement.

Although the Holeshot site says the muffler can be used without jetting, this is not good practice.  A more free-flowing muffler will allow more air through the system without increasing the amount of fuel in the mixture, which will further aggravate overly lean stock settings and could cause premature engine wear.  The Stage 1 kit is really a minimum prerequisite for running a higher performance muffler.

The slip-on kit comes with the elbow pipe, clamps, and muffler.  In addition some type of high temp RTV sealant is needed.  I used the stuff they sell on the Holeshot site but any high-temp RTV should do.  One does not need the stock muffler gasket.  The Holeshot elbow pipe doesn't have enough clearance for it.

Holeshot slip-on kit

The first step is to remove the stock muffler, an easy job in principle.  There are only 2 bolts.  Unfortunately mine was pretty much welded on from 74k of low-speed stop-n-go commute mileage.  After copious amounts of Tri-Flow failed to free it, I had to heat it with a propane torch and whack it with a hammer to get it loose.  Hopefully I won't ever need it again.

Stock muffler removed

With the stock muffler off the elbow pipe can be test-fit.  There is a center-stand stop on the pipe which needs to line up with the center-stand in it's upward position.

Elbow pipe test-fit

With the elbow pipe positioned, the muffler can be test-fit.  After everything is positioned properly, take everything off, apply RTV sealer to all the pipe fittings, then reattach everything.  Tighten the clamps and the main bolt that holds the pipe to the passenger peg.  Ideally, wait 24 hours for the sealant to dry.  Although this is quite difficult, I really believe the muffler and pipe won't seal perfectly unless the sealant is allowed 24 hours to dry before firing up the bike.

Beautiful new muffler

After 24 hours I did fire it up, and was told it rattled the floor in the wife's office above the garage.  Whether it did or not, the Holeshot slip-on is a great improvement!

The last outstanding item was the timing advancer but my free time had come to an end.  I wanted to road test the bike on the daily commute without the timing advancer installed, but wasn't sure if it was safe to operate without it.  Ultimately I talked to Dale Walker at Holeshot and he assured me I could safely run the bike without the timing advancer, though it would be a great improvement to get it installed.

FZ1 Holeshot Stage 1 Kit, part III: Carb Reinstall

January 1, 2015

I had hoped to finish up on the 3rd day but it was more difficult getting the carburetors back in than I thought it would be.

Lube Cables

Before attempting to reinstall the carbs I took the opportunity to lube the throttle and choke cables at the disconnected engine side which hardly ever happens.  I have one of those clamp-on cable lubers which sometimes works and sometimes just backfires Tri-Flow all over everything.

Reattach Throttle Cables

Hooking up the throttle cables with the carburetor on end is the first step.  That was tricky but not as bad as I thought.  There is more cable slack than it seems, which is helpful.  The routing of the rear cable is key.

Reattach Lower Vent Hoses

With the carburetors slid partway back into the bike, the 2 underside vent hoses can be reconnected. The hoses don't have any extra length, the hose clamps are small and hard to get to, and it's tedious and frustrating.

Carbs slid partway back into the bike

Force Carbs into Intake Boots

Loosen the clamps around the intake boots.  Loosen them some more.  Squirt Tri-Flow all over the round carburetor ports, put some on the inside of the intake boots, and push them in as hard as possible, and push more.  Repeat again and again...

I finally ended up pulling the carbs into the boots as hard as I could from the front of the bike.  They are supposed to make a "thunk" sound and have a definite "seated" feel when they're seated, and they never did.  I got them in as far as they would go after many repeated attempts.  Then snugged the clamps with the special Holeshot driver.

Carbs seated

Reconnect Everything

As long as all the hoses are well labeled this really isn't too bad.  Refer to Pat's procedure, go slowly in reverse order, and don't skip any steps.  Make sure there are no hoses left over...

Reconnected right side coolant hose

Almost forgot, reconnected choke cable

The air box should be reseated on the carb air intakes before reconnecting upper vent and AIS hoses. It was a bit frustrating but nowhere near as bad as the underside vent hoses.

Reconnecting air box

Reconnected AIS and upper vent hoses, cable label detail

Final Steps: Reinstall Battery, Reattach Air Box Covers, Side Panels, Tank and Seat

All pretty self-explanatory.  No surprises here besides a stripped negative-side battery screw which prevented connecting the battery.  Very frustrating to be stopped just outside the gate.  Fortunately I carry a spare battery screw in my tank bag for occasions like that.  Lucked out again!

The Moment of Truth:  Will it Start?

At first, no.  The carbs had no gas in them whatsoever and even after the fuel pump was done clicking the bike didn't start.  After the 3rd attempt it fired right up into a smooth, even idle.  Success, although preliminary.

Post-Install Tuning

I did a quick carb sync (see Pat's procedure, I will document it someday).  The Holeshot instructions, as well as Pat's site, also recommend adjusting the ExUP and calibrating the throttle position sensor (TPS), neither of which I did.

I didn't get the chance to do a road test before the day was over, and I wanted to get the timing advancer installed before going through the full RPM range anyway. But it got late and I ran out of time.  End of day 3.

FZ1 Holeshot Stage 1 Kit, part II: Jet Kit Install

December 31, 2014

Day 2 of the project was the actual carburetor work:  installing new jets, checking float levels, adjusting mixture screws, and installing carb shims.  As complicated as it sounds, with the exception of nervously drilling out the mixture screw plugs the kit install was much easier than removing the carbs from the bike.

Installing New Main Jets

The first step is to turn the carbs upside down and open the float bowls to get to the floats and main jets.  The instructions recommend to do this one bowl at a time, although this is not possible given the new jet sizes.

Note: This should be done in an extremely clean, dust-free environment.  A spec of dust can clog jets or float needles and render the bike inoperative.

Each float bowl has a cover with 4 screws holding it on.  The screws are extremely difficult to remove.  I ended up whacking all of them with an impact screwdriver, and ruined a couple screws.  Fortunately the Holeshot kit provides replacement hex bolts which are used to secure the covers after new jets are installed.

Floats and jets

The main jets are the largest of the round slotted brass fittings sticking up between the pink floats.

FZ1 carburetors are odd in that the main jet sizes are not all the same.  In #1 and #4 (outer) the stock size is 132.5 and #2 and #3 (inner) the stock size is 130.

The Holeshot kit calls for a 130 jet in #1 and #4, and 127.5 in #2 and #3.  However the kit does not include 130 jets, so the 130s from #2 and #3 end up being swapped into carbs #1 and #4.  Then the 127.5 jets from the kit go in #2 and #3.

Actual jet replacement is easy, just hold the base with an 8mm open end wrench and unscrew the jet with a large flat screwdriver.

At this point it's a good idea to check the float levels.  Pat's Ivan's Jet Kit install page has some guidelines for how to measure and set float levels, and Holeshot sells a nice float gauge which I bought, that makes this easier. Suffice to say I've never adjusted float levels from their stock positions when installing a Stage 1 kit, and one can spend quite a long time bending float tabs random amounts trying to get the levels perfect.  I did measure the levels and found them to be within a mm of spec, and decided not to mess with it.  That way lies madness.

After the jet swapping is done the covers should be put back and the screws replaced with the hex bolts from the Holeshot kit.

Mixture Screw Adjustment

This is the hardest part of the kit. There are brass plugs covering the mixture screws that must be drilled out and removed.  The kit includes a drill bit and self-tapping screw to help with removal of the plugs.

The brass plugs can be seen in the first photo, they are the brownish-colored circular metal disks with a tiny hole in the middle.

The hazard here is that if one drills too far one can drill through the mixture screw underneath the brass plug, thus ruining it. The best way to avoid this is to create a drill stop by cutting a ball-point pen in half and then sliding the pen half over the drill bit.  That way the drill bit can only go a small distance.  Did I do that?  No.  Stupid, stupid.

There is a lot of brass dust created that is best vacuumed up with a shop vac after drilling.  It is hazardous to get any debris near the carburetors.

So 3 of the 4 plugs came out perfectly and I managed to drill into the mixture screw in carb #3 almost enough to ruin it.  Fortunately there was just enough of the screw left to turn it delicately with a jeweler's screwdriver.  The base setting is 3.5 turns out from bottom.  Turn the screw in all the way (clockwise) until it doesn't turn anymore, then back out 3.5 turns.

Brass plugs drilled out

Shims

The next step is to turn the carburetors right-side up and unscrew the black caps on top to install shims, one cap at a time.

The caps are spring-loaded and there is a tiny o-ring and spacer that can fly out, so they need to be removed carefully.  Take note of the position of the o-ring and spacer.

Cap removed, showing spring and o-ring

Underneath the cap is a delicate rubber diaphragm that needs to be gently peeled off the carb, while removing the plastic needle cap in the center of the diaphragm.  There is a tiny spring that can go flying.

The base setting is 3 shims (they look like steel washers), which get slid over the pointy end of the needle.  Then reinstall the needle and diaphragm and move on to the next carb.

Needle with shims:

After the shims are done the carbs are ready to be reinstalled in the bike.

Air Box Mod

This can be done anytime before the tank goes back on.

The air box has a rubber cover which gets discarded, except for tabs on the right and left side that fit over posts on the frame.  The rubber tabs are needed to secure the tops of the plastic side panels.  This is another one of those steps that can't be undone.  So I very tentatively cut up my air box cover with a scissors.

A 1" hole saw is needed to drill a hole in the air box lid.  The drill bit in my hole saw became detached somehow and I had a heck of a time getting the hole saw not to drift all over the place.  But eventually I got the hole drilled in the center of the lid.

After drilling through the air box lid it's a good idea to clean up the air box hole with sandpaper to prevent plastic shavings from entering the air box.

1" air box mod

So ended day 2 after 5 hours or so.  Up next, carb reinstallation.

FZ1 Holeshot Stage 1 Kit, part I: Carb Removal

December 30, 2014

I was generously gifted a Holeshot Stage 1 kit and comp1 slip-on for X-mas this year.  While I greatly appreciated the gifts and was very eager to get rid of the OEM muffler, in spite of the fact that I've installed 2 Bandit Stage 1 kits (with help), I had a fair amount of apprehension about this install.  The FZ1 is a more complicated bike and more difficult to work on, the carburetors had never been out, and procedures of this complexity always offer plenty of opportunities to turn a decently-running bike into salvage.  I had a 4-day weekend over the New Year's holiday to do the install so I convinced myself now or never.  My schedule allowed plenty of time to proceed slowly and cautiously: day 1 for carb removal, day 2 for kit install, day 3 for carb reinstall, and day 4 for the slip-on.

Prep

To prepare I read the Holeshot kit instructions, the carb removal and disassembly procedures in my Clymer manual, and the excellent carb removal and Ivan's Jet Kit installation procedures on Pat's FZ1 site. The Holeshot Stage 1 kit appears to be easier to install than Ivan's with less drilling required. While it appears less comprehensive I was mainly interested in adjusting the mixture to safely run the Holeshot slip-on, with peak performance being a secondary consideration. I didn't feel I needed the added performance or complexity of Ivan's kit.

Stage 1 kit and instructions

Carb Removal

Even with Pat's excellent instructions this proved quite time-consuming.  The FZ1 is tightly packed and doesn't allow a lot of room to work.  There are a total of 6 vent hoses and 2 coolant hoses into the carburetor, as well as fuel tank vent hoses, AIS, etc.  A lot to keep track of.  One of the air box bolts is inconveniently behind the fuel pump, and Yamaha likes to threadlock everything.  Not to mention that my FZ1 has a lot of miles and has been to the Salt Flats twice so there is corrosion to deal with.

First the easy stuff:  remove seat, side panels, tank, battery, and air box covers.  I got stuck early on, apparently Yamaha used red threadlock on the 3 screws retaining each air box cover.  Why??? The air box covers were nearly impossible to remove and I stripped one of the screws trying to get it out.  Note to self, use impact screwdriver next time.  Fortunately I had long ago been gifted a Desmoparts stainless steel fastener kit which had replacement air box cover bolts I never installed.  Saved a trip to the hardware store.

Tank, battery, and side panels removed

Next, label and remove top R/L vent hoses, AIS hose, and carb fuel hose.  Hoses removed:

Top hoses removed

Next up, loosen air box and move it as far back as possible.  There are 3 bolts total, one on top and one on either side, plus the 4 clamps that hold it to the carburetor.

Fuel pump, air box with side cover removed

Next, the coolant hoses, one on each side.  The manual says to drain the coolant, but Pat's procedure said the hoses could be blocked instead.  I clamped them with binder clips before pulling them off the brass carburetor fittings.

Right side coolant hose, binder clamp

After the upper hoses are out of the way the choke cable can be disconnected.

Next, two lower vent hoses on the left side of the bike.  I carefully marked one of the hoses and its fitting with white-out to make sure I got them back on in the right order.

Left side vent hoses

Next, the throttle cables have to be loosened, both at the control end and the carburetor end.  Pat notes only the top adjuster on each cable needs to be loosened at the carb end.  I put a piece of masking tape on the rear cable, although they are color-coded and the adjusters are different from each other.

There is a big white electrical connector that has to be disconnected, then I loosened the intake boot clamps.  This required a special long-handled hex driver to reach the inner clamps.  I used the Holeshot driver which works really well.  Then sprayed a generous quantity of Tri-Flow at the opening of each boot.

Finally there are two vent hoses clamped to the underside of the carbs.  I was able to reach under there with a long needle-nose pliars to slide the clamps down the 2 hoses.  This was difficult and took a long time.

After all that the carbs were ready to slide out the left, note that the throttle cables and 2 lower vent hoses are still connected.  Per experience with the Bandit kits carburetors can scratch off frame & engine paint as they're moved around so I covered all surfaces with soft rags.

Carefully sliding carbs out the left side

There is not a lot of room to slide the carbs out, and it still seems like there is a lot of plumbing in the way.  As the carbs come out the final 2 vent hoses can be disconnected from the bottom, and once out the throttle cables can be disconnected, front first.

Carbs out, finally

As per suggestion I stuffed clean rags in the intake boots to prevent dirt from getting in there.

In total it was about 4.5 hours to get to the point where I could open up the carbs to install the kit.  But I was beat so I decided to get a fresh start the next day.  So ended day one.  Note that the Holeshot instructions say the kit can be installed right next to the bike without removing the throttle cables.  This sounded precarious to me so I fully disconnected the carbs and brought them to my work bench.  Note that the float bowls are full of gas and will vent gas everywhere as the carbs are rotated.  They can be manually drained by opening the drain screws, or by rocking the carbs back and forth, which will drain the carbs out the two vent hoses.

Carbs out, engine side