FJowners.com

I was just reminded of how cool I thought the Radian was when I first saw it, and this is a good way to test out polls.

Here's a link to a Radian like first impressed me:http://www.badrad600.com/JQ7S6325.jpg (http://www.badrad600.com/JQ7S6325.jpg).

Funny that the first bike I've really loved (after owning a Suzuki, a Kawasaki and a Honda) is also a Yamaha...

-Tom

The Radian is a cool bike.  One of the other bitchenest bikes around was the Fazer. Not the FZ but the FZX700 or 750 if in Canada.  Some people called it the minimax but it had no real similarities.  Have had two of em and would love another.
(http://seattle-motorcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/smallfazer.jpg)

not too many choices in the poll but the radian was cool with the genesis 5 valve motor and bad boy styling.... my friend Mark (140lbs) had one and he was pretty good at hustling it down a twisty road.


Frank

Quote from: Ratchet_72 on March 26, 2009, 06:50:15 PM
The Radian is a cool bike.  One of the other bitchenest bikes around was the Fazer. Not the FZ but the FZX700 or 750 if in Canada.  Some people called it the minimax but it had no real similarities.  Have had two of em and would love another.

I knew there was another cool Yamaha around that time period but couldn't remember the model.

Handsome bike -not the 'coolest' but handsome.  I'd ride one.

Dan

I thought the Radian was a neat all-rounder, but my heart belonged to the 500 Interceptor and the GPz lineup at the time.

Frank, maybe the bike your friend had was a Fazer?  (700cc 5-valve liquid-cooled Genesis engine.)  The Radian was an air-cooled 600 4-valver. 

All the major manufacturers were going their own way back then - it was a golden era, of sorts.  Yamaha was putting their 5-valve Genesis FZ750 motor in all sorts of unlikely things.  They did the Fazer, and John The Beer Scientist had a Maxim X - shaftie cruiser with a 700cc version of the FZ motor.  Yamaha also did a liquid-cooled V-twin sport tourer, the Vision. 

On the air-cooled side of things, they were doing the various Secas including the turbo and the well-rounded Seca 750. 

And of course, that was the heyday of the V-Max and the FJ, both of which had long production runs.

BIll,

you are correct sir it was a Fazer that Mark had...saw the picture of it a few posts up..... like a mini Vmax in looks..... but handled surprisingly well.


Kookaloo!  :good2:

Back when the radian came out a friend of mine bought one and it sucked it was a slow crappy bike compared to my little fj600. I wouldn't even ride with him unless, he would ride his 1976 kz900 or 1000 at least Then he could keep up.

Quote from: Ratchet_72 on March 26, 2009, 06:50:15 PM
The Radian is a cool bike.  One of the other bitchenest bikes around was the Fazer. Not the FZ but the FZX700 or 750 if in Canada.  Some people called it the minimax but it had no real similarities.  Have had two of em and would love another.
(http://seattle-motorcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/smallfazer.jpg)

I've had to take a pass on a couple of very nice Fazers over the past few years... the next one won't get away.    :good:

Neither will the next nice SRX600, either.

Randy T
Indy

Quote from: 86fj1200 on August 01, 2009, 10:47:14 PM
Back when the radian came out a friend of mine bought one and it sucked it was a slow crappy bike compared to my little fj600. I wouldn't even ride with him unless, he would ride his 1976 kz900 or 1000 at least Then he could keep up.

The Radian was actually a nice little bike.  I am wondering if it was the rider of the Radian, and not the ride itself.  The Radian was not quite as fast as your fj, but only by a few tenths in the 1/4 mile and a few mph on the top end. And it was a probably not way of the mark in handling either. It's easy to go fast on a fast bike, it takes some skill and effort to stay up with a smaller cc cycle.  I used to ride the 86 FZ and it would only run out at 135 mph.  But I would toast most guys on the liter bikes just out of pure nerve and skill. That and I only weighed 135 lbs. fully dressed.  Oh, and I was crazy. And "was crazy" could be arguable as still crazy.  :crazy:

It seems you road your fj600 in the same fashion, hence your friend needed a bigger bike to stay up.

Later.......

I also used to have an '86 FZ750... It used to whisper to me, "Faster! Faster!"   :D

Quote from: threejagsteve on August 03, 2009, 02:57:03 AM
I also used to have an '86 FZ750... It used to whisper to me, "Faster! Faster!"   :D

Something about the half fairing on the FZ750 that was just so cool, and it could MOVE.

Quote from: rktmanfj on August 01, 2009, 11:14:57 PM

Quote from: Ratchet_72 on March 26, 2009, 06:50:15 PM
The Radian is a cool bike.  One of the other bitchenest bikes around was the Fazer. Not the FZ but the FZX700 or 750 if in Canada.  Some people called it the minimax but it had no real similarities.  Have had two of em and would love another.
(http://seattle-motorcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/smallfazer.jpg)

I've had to take a pass on a couple of very nice Fazers over the past few years... the next one won't get away.    :good:

Neither will the next nice SRX600, either.

Randy T
Indy

I see them here in Cali every so often. Sometimes in San Fran although those Bay Area bikes area usually used up. There's one on the Sacramento Craigs for $1300, at least that's what he wants. I'll take a look if you want.

The really cool part about the Fazer is that the FZR1000 motor will bolt right in.....

Quote from: the fan on August 06, 2009, 09:15:15 PM
The really cool part about the Fazer is that the FZR1000 motor will bolt right in.....

Ohhh GOD NO! You really shouldnta told me that. Shit. The wife already hates Craigslist, now I feel another mission comin on.

Did I mention that you can swap the transmission from a YZF750 into the FZR1000 cases to gain a 6th gear?

     Have you ACTUALLY seen a Fazer on the net/real-life that has done this FZR1000 swap? Dude, your killin me.  Was there a post on a forum somewhere? I have got to research this.
     What really sucks is I passed on a FZR1000 parts bike that had a running motor (86/87 I believe.) Which means I coulda used the front end for the FJ.

Not in person, but have seen it discussed many times. Here are about 5 minutes worth of search results. Its never really been all that big an interest for me as I prefer smaller bikes.

http://www.fzx-fazer.com/portal/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=165 (http://www.fzx-fazer.com/portal/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=165)

Fazer with FZR-1000 engine installed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij8iCOemQw8#lq-lq2-hq)

Quotehttp://www.angelfire.com/retro/torkezilla1/html/1fzx_6_Fazerfaq.htm

Q: I want more power. What are my options?

A: The most common engine upgrade, the 4-1 exaust / k&N filter / Dynojet kit should give you not a huge but a noticeble power gain.
If you own a Fazer 700 you can simply swap the engine for a FZX750 or FZ/FZR750 and take advantage of the extra 50cc. These engines are direct swaps with no or irrelevant mods.
If you're a power freak, you can always swap your engine with the '87 or '88 FZR1000 engine. Shhhh! Keep this secret. This engine swap requires only a few mods as it must use the stock Fazer water pump and shift shaft.
The later Exup1000 engines are not supposed to fit, due to the decreased (from 45º to 35º) engine block inclination, but I've seen a small number of FZXs with Exup engines in them, so I guess they fit alright... however I'm not sure about the amount of labour needed to shoehorn them into the FZX chassis...
You can also keep your Fazer crank and 6speed box and swap only the FZR1000 engine block / rods / pistons / head / carbs and have the 911cc conversion. This is a more or less "famous" mod among racers and engine tuners.
Or you can simply fit the '88 FZR1000 37mm carbs on your Fazer and take advantage of the extra gulp of gas.
Wiseco has a big bore piston kit for the FZ/FZR750. Any aditional info on this would be appreciated and it will be added here. Thanks.

Q: Which parts are interchangeable with the FZ/FZR 750 and FZR1000?

A: Engine parts are pratically all interchangeable, some parts depending on the year of making.
FZ750 wheels are a direct swap to the Fazer. Later FZ750 front wheel (17") is not a direct swap because of the rotors size.
Early FZR1000 rear wheel (4.5"x18") is not a direct fit but can be machined to fit. Wheel hub have 5 rubber fins instead of the Fazer 3.
Early FZR1000 Genesis front end is a direct swap to the FZX chassis, as the steering stem is identical. So, this is an easy way to get beefy forks, huge brakes and a 17" front wheel in your FZX.

If anyone would know the answers it would probably be these guys:
http://www.fzrarchives.com/ (http://www.fzrarchives.com/)
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/fzxfazer/ (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/fzxfazer/)
http://www.fzx-fazer.com/portal/ (http://www.fzx-fazer.com/portal/)

I do know that the early FZ/FZR motors were very similar to the FZR1000, but the later Exup 1000 was a different case.

I owned an 86 FZ750 and an 89 FZR750R (OW01) back in the late 80's/early 90's and sold them to race dirty bikes....I never was very bright.