Happy Owner

[squidley63]

Hello everybody.  I just purchased a 1989 FJ1200 this week and did a lot of research on your site to look into a few issues that the bike has and to decide to finally purchase the bike.  It is the dark blue color scheme which really impressed me with the almost different color under different lighting.

I have been riding motorcycles since I was 14 years old and for about 6 years didn't own a car while going to high school and college.  I've owned quite a few dirt bikes, followed by a rebel 250.  My favorite past bike was my beloved MaximX.  I owned a zx6e after that one and my last bike was a zx750f which finally got to the point that to repair it would have been more than it was worth.

I enjoy working on and modifying my motorcycles and like to do long hauls with an occasional blitz down my favorite roads which I'm hoping the FJ will fit in with.  I was really impressed with the power and the handling of the bike so far isn't as bad as I thought it might be.  I'm a big guy so I don't mind tossing around a heavy bike through the corners.  I have some disability in my left leg so I don't like to have to row the gears through the corners like I used to.  I'm not ready to admit the problem and go with an air shifter, but I do like the locomotive like power band on the FJ.

Anyway, I'm glad that I'm not the only one that likes older motorcycles and try my best to keep them on the road so another kid can see them and think "that bike is cool" like I did growing up

[baldy3853]

  welcome aboard nice intro but tell us where u are. enjoy the site a lot of very good people here 
Lord Baldy

[racerman_27410]

Welcome to the group!


i think you will find the FJ very hospitable...... shifting is mostly optional in the twisties.... just stick it second or third gear and have fun riding the monster torque!


KOokaloo!


Frank

[FJmonkey]

Welcome Squidley, with the FJ you will find that 2nd & 3rd are good for the twisties, 4th for the sweepers, 5th is for that quick transition into 6th..... Damn!!! No 6th gear... Ok, 5th is to get you quickly between the twisty parts. Careful though, some of us love our FJ's so much we make then even better with upgrades. We call it Moditus, it's a fun disease to have. Keep us posted on all your mods, we love to see what others have done.

[yamaha fj rider]

Welcome glad you joined us.    Sounds like the FJ is a great choice and as you know this is where you get the best advise for anything FJ. Congrats on your 89 and it's blue we blues need to stick together and resist the reds. 

Kurt   

[weymouth399]

If you want to get technical. It's not dark blue metallic, it's shiny black according to Yamaha.
I know it looks dark blue met, mine does too. Maybe it lost it's identity in the translation from, Jap to American.

Bob W

[yamaha fj rider]

  Blue or black it's not red.  Won't be long and somebody will want him to paint it. Just sayin. Don't join the red side!!!!!!!   Be careful watch out for  DARTH MONKEY. 

Kurt

[squidley63]

I'm color blind so I'm just going by what my wife told me

I'm really liking the FJ a lot.  It needs some attention to the front end(new fork seals, oil change, and brakes cleaned/pad replacement), but it feels a lot lighter than most people make it out to be.  I know it's no flyweight, but I find that my 280 lb self has no trouble getting the bike over from one side to the other and feel the steering is actually about the perfect amount of lightness to still feel secure.  I find most of the new bikes(zx10, r1, and gsxr1000) are actually too twitchy for my liking.  The FJ seems to fit my riding extremely well.

I'm sure once I get the front end settled I'll really really like it a lot as right now it likes to pogo on the front end because of the lack of fork oil to dampen things out.  Will have to see after getting it back to stock whether or not I do the progressive springs and some form of emulator or not. 

[Steve_in_Florida]

I, too, am a happy, happy FJ pilot!

My `90 model is the second bike I've owned and the third I'd ever ridden. (I'm currently rebuilding it, and regularly ride a `92 FJ.)

It's so smooth and comfortable; just perfect for long trips.

I guess someone in design at Yamaha forgot to plan the obsolescence!

Steve