I was coaching this past weekend for N2 at the Pitt Race complex. A kid shows up (I say kid because they're all kids to me) on a really nice stock '85 FJ1100. I mean it still had 16" wheels and stock brakes. We were riding in the novice class but I can tell you he was making that bike fly. It almost makes me wonder why we ever made all the modifications to the original FJs. I followed him for an entire session and he was upper quartile for the group. I think better brakes would have helped as he had to initiate braking a bit early to get bike ready to turn. In any case I had the most fun that session just reliving the past. :yahoo:
I'm no track expert, but I did a C.L.A.S.S. at Road Atlanta on my FJ when it was stock 24 years ago. (That was the time Reg Pridmore yelled at me - about my rear tire, which was visibly not-new.)
My FJ had the 1988-and-later 4-piston calipers and bigger rotors, and I had good tires and good brake pads, but the bike was not always reassuring to brake and corner even at my Novice group pace. With the stock brakes and suspension, I never got quite what I was expecting out of braking, or leaning in for a corner, or standing up exiting a corner. I had to leave a big margin, because I was never sure how much of it I was going to use.
The stock brakes always had a soft lever and not-quite linear response since new. I just thought "that's what modern motorcycle brakes are like" until I tried a VFR700 and it felt fantastic and stopped effortlessly. My favorite part of the FJR brake system on my FJ now is the lever feel, it's two-finger light and it's firm and reassuring and predictable, and I'm sure that would help. (I NEVER got the hang of braking hard on the stock set-up, and even that was probably miles better than the two-piston ones on the pre-1988 bikes.)
Cornering with the stock suspension was always work, and that "kink" on Road Atlanta's back straight that barely even registered as not-straight at 110 mph in a Miata was a big ol' scary curve at 135+ mph on a stock FJ. I rolled off the throttle most laps because I just couldn't mentally acclimate to leaning, straightening, and then braking downhill and setting up to corner hard for 10A. I really didn't want to wind up in the gravel outside 10A like that 900SS guy did, and I didn't want Reg to yell at me again, and I couldn't reliably modulate my braking and my corner entry turn-in accurately enough to be sure I could keep from sliding the front, or braking too little and running wide.
The higher ride height in back that I get from the Penske could have probably been gained from different dogbones, but with the stiffer fork springs and appropriate damping, it turns in more predictably and holds a line mid-corner more easily. The bike feels like it's 100 lbs lighter, and it does what I expect this way, within the limits of how I can ride it.
It's not that it's "faster" this way, it's that it feels better to me to ride this way and I feel more comfortable going faster on it - the limited speeds I can ride it are slightly less-limited.
The way it's set up now, everyone who has ridden both prefers it to the 998. I did a track day at Barber on the 998 a few years ago and I agree with everyone else who has tried both, "the FJ with the Penske / Racetech works better than the 998 does." If I get another track day this summer, I'll take the FJ.
A very successful FJ on the race track (but obviously not stock :sarcastic:)
I haven't read any of their race reports in a while - thanks for the reminder!
I used to run my FJs at track days. They're very capable bikes with minimal modification. Low center of gravity. Easily managable power available through whole RPM range.
Other folks:
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/classic-racer/20210817/281638193269680 (https://www.pressreader.com/uk/classic-racer/20210817/281638193269680)
Serious race bike:
https://bikereview.com.au/classic-racer-t-rex-racing-fj1200/ (https://bikereview.com.au/classic-racer-t-rex-racing-fj1200/)
One of our very own, Ron Oort has been out several times this year on his FJ. He has been making improvements to the bike after each outing.
Here are a couple of videos from early this year.
https://youtu.be/2GKHvCrsWAM
https://youtu.be/0eYk1Wssn7o
Keep an eye out for future posts from him and maybe he'll post the 2023 schedule of the events he's going to attend.
Very cool! I have no videos of mine. No pictures either, I think.