So..what's the secret? Throttle stop, pull a plug wire off, pull a vacuum line off a carb?
My only bike experience before the fj is my 1100 goldwing.
Getting on the fj is like climbing off a Clydesdale and jumping on a wild mustang that isn't saddle broke.
I had it for a decent ride today and got to stretch her legs a bit.. :shok:
Bad news is..I have a leaking fork seal to fix.
I think you've just discovered the famous FJ Kookaloo!
:gamer:
The FJ is very deceptive with its performance, around town riding with minimal throttle openings and it's an absolute pussy cat with no slow riding hiccups, but get out on the open road and twist that throttle wide open through the gears and you'd better be hanging on tight.
Yah before you know it you'll be throwing in a big bore. Then puttin a turbo on it. Then a 1480 and a turbo! :biggrin:
Pilots going back to the piston age had the expression, "He's got good hands."
What they meant was a person who would change the controls as they go with constant feedback sensing of cause and effect in imperceptible movements.
I've seen this difference in other applications too; like some guys just cannot control a chainsaw or a variable speed drill. They shouldn't be let near power tools. It's all or nothing with them. Rev the shit out of it and shove it into the wood and wonder why things are getting damaged or becoming dangerous. I waited a year before trading bikes with a friend because he's never seemed to show me he's got particularly adept feel for tools or motorcycles.
I move my fingers more visibly when controlling a desktop mouse than I do with the throttle grip. I would barely even call it turning the grip. If I could show someone my hand is moving, that would in actuality probably be too much input on the FJ.
Quote from: giantkiller on August 20, 2021, 06:05:39 AM
Yah before you know it you'll be throwing in a big bore. Then puttin a turbo on it. Then a 1480 and a turbo! :biggrin:
stop it..I own a corbin seat now because of you. :good2:
I don't posses the experience or skill set to really put it through it's paces so it will remain stock. Well maybe an aftermarket exhaust some time.
With the goldwing you really need to give it throttle before it wakes up..and it isn't a slouch but wow..it doesn't throw you back in the seat like this...
Quote from: 5speed on August 20, 2021, 07:50:39 AM
With the goldwing you really need to give it throttle before it wakes up..and it isn't a slouch but wow..it doesn't throw you back in the seat like this...
The torque is impressive and well known on the FJ as well. Speaking of Goldwings, a few years ago a younger brother owned a 1500 Goldwing and he came for a ride with us one day, I had my wife on the back with me as well and he was solo, got side by side doing 100kph and did a top gear roll on, the FJ just pulled away like he was at a standstill and left him for dead, asked him later if he had a problem and he said no he screwed it on but I just took off. Did the same to another brother on a seperate occasion on his Suzuki gsx1400 where it took him two gear down changes to get past, but that's another story...
Quote from: Bones on August 20, 2021, 03:33:03 AM
The FJ is very deceptive with its performance, around town riding with minimal throttle openings and it's an absolute pussy cat with no slow riding hiccups, but get out on the open road and twist that throttle wide open through the gears and you'd better be hanging on tight.
Back in the middle 80's a magazine editor....Joe Morgan (last name is wrong) called the FJ a "velvet sledgehammer" I always thought of it this way.
Quote from: Bones on August 20, 2021, 03:33:03 AM
The FJ is very deceptive with its performance, around town riding with minimal throttle openings and it's an absolute pussy cat with no slow riding hiccups, but get out on the open road and twist that throttle wide open through the gears and you'd better be hanging on tight.
I quickly learned to leave it in second gear around town...I had it in third and it was bogging a bit so I gave it some gas...oops. lol
Quote from: Motofun on August 22, 2021, 06:51:46 AM
Back in the middle 80's a magazine editor....Joe Morgan (last name is wrong) called the FJ a "velvet sledgehammer" I always thought of it this way.
Joe Minton. CYCLE magazine. I think I still have that article
I bought my first FJ in 1991, a pink stripe, and rode it a few years. It was stock the entire time. Previous bike was a Honda 900F.
What dawned on me was the FJ was extraordinarily competent anywhere I was using it, and at any speed. It was the first bike I owned that was capable of anything I could throw at it, and, it dawned on me the only limiting factor was me. The bad news was it could compel me to write riding checks my skill set couldn't cash.
I'm not that guy anymore. But, the 1989 I bought last year is reacquainting me with riding and working on my bike.
Good luck.
Ted
Quote from: Motofun on August 22, 2021, 06:51:46 AM
Quote from: Bones on August 20, 2021, 03:33:03 AM
The FJ is very deceptive with its performance, around town riding with minimal throttle openings and it's an absolute pussy cat with no slow riding hiccups, but get out on the open road and twist that throttle wide open through the gears and you'd better be hanging on tight.
Back in the middle 80's a magazine editor....Joe Morgan (last name is wrong) called the FJ a "velvet sledgehammer" I always thought of it this way.
Joe Minton, written in Motorcyclist Magazine - i still have the issue with the article in it somewhere in my collection. That very comment was what drove me to close my first FJ, as soon as i could afford one, in 1986.
Joe was my favourite writer/contributor of that whole era (closely followed by Gordon Jennings, Ken Vreeke, Art Friedman and later on by Nick Ienatsch)