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1981 Fuji Royale - Complete! (first overhaul)

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1981 Fuji Royale - Complete! (first overhaul)

Old 03-03-18, 04:24 PM
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polymorphself 
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1981 Fuji Royale - Complete! (first overhaul)

Finally finished the Fuji. It's is all original except for consumables, saddle and barrel adjusters on the brakes. Overhauled the headset, BB and hubs, cleaned, polished and waxed. I learned a lot and screwed up a lot but I'm happy with the outcome.

Big thanks to @qcpmsame for tons of advice, @9volt for the replacement FD and @pastorbobnlnh for saving the freewheel.
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Last edited by polymorphself; 03-03-18 at 04:32 PM.
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Old 03-03-18, 04:28 PM
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camjr
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Very nice! Enjoy the ride!
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Old 03-03-18, 04:29 PM
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Originally Posted by camjr
Very nice! Enjoy the ride!
Thanks! It was done for my girlfriend but I'm sure she will!
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Old 03-03-18, 06:37 PM
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Very, very nice, you have ressurected the Fuji beautifully. Chapeau sir.

Bill
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Old 03-03-18, 06:46 PM
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Nice job. Over the years I've had many steel Fuji bikes. All were decent riders.
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Old 03-03-18, 06:49 PM
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Beautiful bike, nice job.
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Old 03-03-18, 07:01 PM
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Very nice, I have 5 '81 to '86 Fujis, they can be addictive.
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Old 03-03-18, 07:16 PM
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It turned out really nice. I love the metallic red!

One suggestion for your next one. Use a separate piece of bar tape to wrap at the base of the brake lever before you perform the full bar taping. You won't have that open triangle of exposed bar at the base of the lever then. Here is a picture from the RJ The Bike Guy '
'

Youtube video that shows how it's done.


Last edited by Don Buska; 03-03-18 at 07:29 PM.
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Old 03-03-18, 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Don Buska
It turned out really nice. I love the metallic red!

One suggestion for your next one. Use a separate piece of bar tape to wrap at the base of the brake lever before you perform the full bar taping. You won't have that open triangle of exposed bar at the base of the lever then. Here is a picture from the RJ The Bike Guy 'RJ the Bike Guy'

Youtube video that shows how it's done.

Thank you! And yes it's a very nice red, hard to capture the sparkle in photos.

And actually I had watched that video and wanted to do this, but this being my first time I was not sure how much extra length would come in a roll of newbaums and didn't want to risk running out. But now I know there's enough leftover! And thanks for the tip anyways.

I also used another one of his videos to learn how to wrap cloth tape. Actually, I used many of his videos for most of everything
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Old 03-03-18, 07:56 PM
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Originally Posted by polymorphself
Thank you! And yes it's a very nice red, hard to capture the sparkle in photos.

And actually I had watched that video and wanted to do this, but this being my first time I was not sure how much extra length would come in a roll of newbaums and didn't want to risk running out. But now I know there's enough leftover! And thanks for the tip anyways.

I also used another one of his videos to learn how to wrap cloth tape. Actually, I used many of his videos for most of everything
I've only been at this C&V rebuilding stuff for about four years now. The RJ videos were my reference source too and I still watch his new posts. If I don't actually use his methods, I at least see the alternatives to my methods. BTW, I wrap from the bar top center-down and I know RJ does from the bar ends - up. As someone else mentioned this type of work gets to be very addictive.
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Old 03-03-18, 11:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Don Buska
BTW, I wrap from the bar top center-down and I know RJ does from the bar ends - up. As someone else mentioned this type of work gets to be very addictive.
In this video, using cloth tape, he actually does top center-down as well, which is what I did:
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Old 03-04-18, 12:08 AM
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Nice job! Good choices on the colors
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Old 03-04-18, 07:36 AM
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The power shifters are a nice upgrade. The S-12-S, which was the model above the Royale, came with them. A few slight shades of difference between the two. Great bikes. I have owned quite a few of both models. The Toyota Camry of bikes. That red one is exceptionally nice. IMHO, they also look great in dark blue!
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Old 03-04-18, 08:13 AM
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Beautiful. Great job.
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Old 03-04-18, 08:46 AM
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Very nice build. I had a 1978 Dynamic 12 that was my first "decent" bike. I liked it a lot, but didn't have much to compare it with at the time. I lusted after a Fuji America, but couldn't afford it. Still looking for an America in my size, but no luck so far. Patience is a virtue, from what I've been told.
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Old 03-04-18, 09:54 AM
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Old 03-04-18, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Piff
Nice job! Good choices on the colors
Thanks! The very few pictures that I could find of the red model always had black wrap, saddle and brake housing (the scheme it was sold with); I wanted to do something a little different with it.
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Old 03-04-18, 01:40 PM
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Looks great!
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Old 03-04-18, 04:17 PM
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Nicely done sir. I'm a big fan of the Fuji Royale. I have had a few, rebuilt and moved along. Always fun to find these because IMO they have good "bones" to work with.
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Old 03-04-18, 04:37 PM
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Yes, a super nice result!
I renovated a blue one, but the frame was not nearly as nice as yours.

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Old 03-04-18, 08:19 PM
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Very Sharp! Chapeau on the first rebuild, ride it and smile

Edit I forgot I restored a 1979! Not nearly as lovely and shiny as yours though. I got this as a frame set so its a bit of a hodge podge but I did find a
Fuji branded crank.

Fuji Royale Side view by Ryan Surface, on Flickr

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Old 03-04-18, 08:32 PM
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Originally Posted by 67tony
I renovated a blue one, but the frame was not nearly as nice as yours.
Do you mean the build of the Royale vs Royale II frame in general or the condition? Because if you were to look closely mine has a fair share of paint chips on the seat tube, as well as some spots near the dropouts. The pictures were just taken in a way that mostly hides it Yours looks very clean minus the spots on the seat tube.

Last edited by polymorphself; 03-04-18 at 08:37 PM.
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Old 03-04-18, 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by polymorphself
Do you mean the build of the Royale vs Royale II frame in general or the condition? Because if you were to look closely mine has a fair share of paint chips on the seat tube, as well as some spots near the dropouts. The pictures were just taken in a way that mostly hides it Yours looks very clean minus the spots on the seat tube.
I'm guessing the frames were built with similar tubing, but that's only a guess. I flipped mine to a friend, and did not spend a lot of time trying to touch up the "patina". I do remember that it rode real well, though.

On some of my renovations, I'd take the fork into a pharmacy and find a nail polish that matched. On other projects I've tried Testors, and even mixing different Testors colors together. That's pretty tricky, though, with a lot of trial and error to endure.

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Old 03-05-18, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by 67tony
On some of my renovations, I'd take the fork into a pharmacy and find a nail polish that matched. On other projects I've tried Testors, and even mixing different Testors colors together. That's pretty tricky, though, with a lot of trial and error to endure.
So there’s actually a place near me that will match and mix the paint for anything you bring in and it’s pretty cheap. Might give it a shot.
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Old 03-05-18, 09:48 PM
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Gorgeous!
Makes me miss my only metallic red bike. A Western Flyer 26" w/ coaster brake.
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