31 years later, finally have an FJ.....

[great white]

Yes, it took a long time, but I finally have an FJ in the garage! I'd lusted after one in 84 when they first came out. I was in high school and the FJ was the newest and hottest WMD in the sportbike world. Unfortunately, the 5-6 grand they cost at the time was far outside of my reach. So I had to settle for having the sales brochures all over my walls and weekend trips to the dealer to stare, sit and drool. The salesmen at the shop very soon knew me by first name. They were good guys: they knew I could never afford it but they let me sit on it and would start it up for me now and then. Ah, youth and lack of funds......

I went through a long list of yammy 2 strokes (RD/RZ 350/400), and a few other used sport bikes such as a GS550ES and a first gen V45 Interceptor (still have the interceptor, although it's pretty modified now and haven't ridden it since 09). I even used to race RD's at shubie in amateur, but I was a better at building hot bikes than riding them at race speeds. After wadding a couple RD's and one spectacular get-off that made everyone in the pits think I'd killed myself, I admitted to myself I just wasn't a racer. I wasn't horrible, i was just never going to be great and it was getting expensive to build bikes only to eventually turn them into paperweights.

I was a "sport bike" kinda guy then and still sort of am. But at 50 years old and a 26 year career in Helicopter Search and rescue operations, my broken and battered bod is no longer "sportbike friendly", so the search for a more agreeable steed began this year. We had also moved into a house with a single+ car garage, so my car projects (83 mustang, 62 TBird, 2004 300m Special) had to go. It was time anyways. Need to downsize, retirement is just around the corner.

I came across an 1983 Venture while surfing Kijiji for my high school lust bike (like I always do), an 1984 FJ1100. The FJ1100 had become that "bike that got away" for me. Over the years it turned into a "bucket list" thing for me.

The Venture ad was very simple: 1983 Yamaha Venture, 31,000 kms, $2650 (CAD), "see it to believe it" and a single picture of it in summer by some water:



The ad was a couple months old, but I sent an email out of curiosity anyways. The bike was still for sale and he sent me a phone number.

As it turns out, he's got a bit of a story with the bike. He's the original owner. As a young single guy he worked a 6 week on, 6 week off job. He would take his XS1100 all over NA in his off time until it finally wore out around 200,000 kms. He traded it on the Venture new, intending to keep riding.

VERY shortly after, he changed jobs to a regular 7 day a week cycle and shortly after that came marriage and kids. No more taking off on long road trips, and the Venture ended up in his heated garage under a cover. He only got it out less than a 1000 kms a year-ish. He always stored it IAW the local bike shop recommendations (ie: oil cylinders,change oils, etc.). He still cared for it as he had the clutch repaired/replaced and the front brake master rebuilt when the seals (apparently) dried out.

He also said he wanted it to go to a good home and would let it go to the right guy for $2150.

The only problem is he was in PEI and I was in NS. Almost as far away in NS as you could get. 6 hour drive one way, 12 hrs round trip. I made arrangements to drive over on the weekend and look at it.

Now here's a twist: I had a long running "want add" on Kijiji stating I was looking for a mint condition 84 FJ1100 and would pay top dollar for one (high school lust bike/bucket list thing). I also stated I would consider all other years depending on price or condition. Not barely an hour after hanging up the phone, I get and email from a guy saying he has an 89 FJ1200 he would be willing to let go, cheap. I call the guy up and after a few minutes of chatting he says he's had it for a year, doesn't really want the bike (took it on part trade for a car) and was thinking of asking $1000 but would let it go for $850. The kicker is he's also on PEI and about 20 mins away from the guy with the Venture. Almost like it was meant to be! He agrees to meet me same day as I'm over to look at the venture. Sure,it's not an 1984 FJ1100, but it's still an FJ. Maybe better than an 84 since by 89 they had sorted the #2 shift issue and fitted proper brakes on modern 17" wheels. And at 850 bucks I'm not ruling it out as an option/good buy to put a tick mark in the box on that bucket list....

So the day comes, I borrow a friends 6x10 steel deck trailer, hook it up to my 3/4 ton diesel, drop the missus in the passenger seat and head out.

I get to the venture and the guy leads me into his garage. It's bloody mint! Well, as mint as a 32 year old bike can be. I'll let pics do the talking:







Engine cases need a strip and polish and there's some paint fade on the top surfaces but that's about it.

One of the perks of him being the original owner was everything the bike came with was there. Lock chain, tool kits,manual, etc. even his original warranty card. All of it looks like the day Yamaha put it in the crate and shipped it from Japan.

Needless to say, I handed him the $2150, loaded the bike on to the trailer and shook his hand good bye. I got a heck of a steal...err, deal. I didn't beat him up on price because he had already dropped 500 bucks on his asking and he threw in the bike cover and a couple helmets. The bike is well worth the $2150 price around these parts.

I drive over to the FJ guy and he's waiting for me. The FJ1200 is in pretty distressed condition. Not really trashed, but it's just gone through some hands that didn't give it a lot of TLC. But, I can tell it's never been down (not even the foot peg feelers are scratched), it runs half decent and it's all there. It runs a little rough and dies when dropped in gear (kick stand switch, but someone has tried jumpering the clutch switch). But there's no obvious signs of engine distress (IE: smoke, noise, etc). It sounds like it just needs a good round of carb work as most carbed bikes do when they've been left to sit more than a couple months. I'll let pics will tell the rest of the story again:







The gent starts talking about the things on the bike (I think mostly so I don't try and beat him up on price). As he's talking, I just pull out $850 bucks and hand it to him. He gets a big grin on his face and says thank you very much. I probably could have haggled him down a bit more, but his price was fair and I'm a straight shooter. He'd already dropped $150 off his asking before I even got there. I don't see the need to "p" a guy off for a few dollars. It's only money after all. We shake hands and part as friends.

We load up and head out. The trip home is uneventful, other than we decide to stop overnight in Amherst rather than push the last 4 hrs.

Yet another twist: I guy I had sent an email to about parting an 86 Royale calls while we are driving. It's on the truck's Bluetooth speaker so the missus can hear it. He says he has a whole bike minus the engine, final drive, radio head and top box luggage. I tell the guy I don't really have much more than a couple hundred to spend since I'm out buying bikes at the moment (already had the venture on the trailer). He just pops out a couple hundred would be fine for everything that's left, he just wants it out of his way. I look at the missus, she gives me that look and says "go get it". Love that woman! It's a parts bike, but what the heck. My 83 is essentially a stripper, I might look to see if I can put the Gucci stuff like Air suspension and cb on it. The VentureCruise control would be nice, since I broke my wrist doing my job and my hand goes number after holding the throttle for 15 minutes. Anyways,nothing wrong with having parts. I'll just break it down into bin-able sizes and store it in the garage loft. *jump ahead a week - picked up the parts bike, seemed good enough when I looked at it. Turns out closer inspection on the breakdown into parts revealed it was a turd. Very little useable left on it at all. Yeah, I got taken. Win some, loose some *

I get the bikes home:



and roll them into the garage:



While I'm waiting to register and insure them, I fixed a few little niggles like a couple broken tabs on the venture side covers and I pulled the gawd awful tail piece luggage rack of the FJ. The rack really messed up the tail fairing. Not sure if I'm going to try and plastic weld it or just replace it. I also notice they have the wrong year mufflers on it and have added a couple pieces of exhaust pipe to span the gap between mufflers and collector box (I'll fix that this winter by relocating the brackets welded on the mufflers).

Once legal, the Venture reveals it's got an issue on the first ride. Big miss, really big. Huge. I figure it's a combination of old gas in the carbs gumming things up and probably carbon fouled plugs from idling on choke in the guy's garage a lot. I had noticed it ran a little rough when I first looked at it. Looking back, I think the guy was a little nervous when I was looking at it, probably worried it was something wrong and I was going to haggle on it. Small potatoes for me to find and fix it, even if it was a carb rebuild (I had already figured on a bare minimum drop them in the ultrasonic and sync job since it had been sitting so much). I had picked up some plugs the day before as I was pretty sure they would be knackered from sitting/idling all those years.

Man o' jezz boy! Are those plugs a PITA to get out! Worse than the V4 in my Interceptor and that's saying something! I get 'em out and sure enough, carbon fouled. But the biggest surprise was the LH front spark wire: went to pull it off and the wire wasn't threaded into the plug cover! Bingo, miss found.

Back together and a ride up the street reveals the miss is gone. Runs pretty good. It's still got a roughness to it,but that's likely the carbs needing a good fettling and balance. Too much freeplay in the throttle makes it hard to be smooth at low speeds. The rear brake master is seized on, rusted pivot holding the pedal on. A quick disassemble and cleaning sorts that out. 120 KPH reveals it to be rock solid and it actually seems to suck down to the pavement. Pretty sure the carbs need a good going through as once it gets fully up on the main jets it runs smooth and pulls like a freight train.

So that's where the Venture sits. Rideable, but needing work. This weekend will see a good going through for adjustments and fluid/grease change/lube.

The FJ12, however, ran like poo when I got it home. Who-ever's hands it had previously passed through either didn't want to spend the money or didn't know what to do with it mechanically. Very likely why the gy is happy to let it go for 850 bucks (and the it won't run in gear thing). 5 minutes fettling with carb adjustments and it's running almost as smooth as the day Yammy made it. While a bit beat up, it still pulls hard enough to flatten your lungs against the back of your rib cage! My lungs get several rounds of bruising on that first ride....love it!

Prolonged riding on the FJ won't be a normal option for me though: 10 mins of ripping around and my wrist is bothering me, both wrists. I'm not sure who hung the "sport tourer" name on this bike but it feels like full sportbike crouch to me, wrists are screaming, back is protesting and it feels like my knees are in my crotch. I can't image being on one of the newer "repli-racers"...ouch.

So the FJ12 will just be a fun "hair on fire" weekend rip on local roads bike. A recapturing my youth sort of deal. Lots of great roads here for that and I'll be able to let that big four howl to it's heart's content - that sound is pure food for the soul.

This winter will see the FJ12 torn down to the frame and properly sorted. Cosmetics will be addressed and I'll probably do a variation on the red/silver paint scheme of my high school desire. Drivetrain seems solid, so I'll just tear the carbs down, drop 'em in the ultrasonic and give them a going through. But not a lot of plans other than that for the drivetrain.

3 grand, 2 bikes. A solid touring bike, a bucket list item checked off, a nice winter project and a small overnight trip with the missus.

So, over all pretty good!



P.S. If you're reading this part, thanks for hanging in for the whole, long story!

[CatTomb]

Welcome to the asylum! Great story and well worth the read.

Enjoy your toys!

[aviationfred]

Wonderful story and great finds on the bikes.  Welcome to the forum  

For the FJ, there are a few items that can be added/changed to was the pressure on your wrists, knees and back.

RPM sells handlebar risers that raise the OEM bars up 3/4 of an inch. It does not sound like much, but it can be immediately noticed. rpmracingca.com

There are also straight tube bar options that can be found on eBay Hermany for a little over twice the cost of the RPM risers.

For your knees, a combination of adding an inch of foam to the seat and adjustable/lower footpegs that can be found on eBay France. I can get you the link if you want.
The photo is of the adjustable pegs on my '89

Fred

[ZOA NOM]

Now THAT'S how you do your first post!

Welcome aboard!

[great white]

Wonderful story and great finds on the bikes.  Welcome to the forum  

For the FJ, there are a few items that can be added/changed to was the pressure on your wrists, knees and back.

RPM sells handlebar risers that raise the OEM bars up 3/4 of an inch. It does not sound like much, but it can be immediately noticed. rpmracingca.com

There are also straight tube bar options that can be found on eBay Hermany for a little over twice the cost of the RPM risers.

For your knees, a combination of adding an inch of foam to the seat and adjustable/lower footpegs that can be found on eBay France. I can get you the link if you want.
The photo is of the adjustable pegs on my '89

Fred

I'll likely just leave it stock-ish since it's going to be a weekend "fun bike". a quick blast around the local mountain-y roads will do just fine. No long distance on the FJ12, the Venture will do that duty.

But thanks for the pics. Those pegs would be easy peasy to spin up on my lathe and mill if I wanted to go that way.

Cheers

[great white]

Now THAT'S how you do your first post!

Welcome aboard!

LOL! Thanks, I try.

[Mark Olson]

Welcome to the group 

3 grand and 2 bikes is a deal ....Great wife you have there ..  liked reading your adventure report .. 

[X-Ray]

Excellent write up!! Enjoy your new toys!

[fj johnnie]

 Welcome aboard. We have a stalker member who lives in Parrsboro.

[great white]

Welcome aboard. We have a stalker member who lives in Parrsboro.

Stalker member?

That doesn't sound too good......

[Tiger]

  Hi and welcome...nice intro'

What part of that beautiful province of Nova Scotia do you hail from

John.

[movenon]

Welcome.  You now have some projects ! Great write up and sounds like you got some good deals there. 
George

[Firehawk068]

Great Intro-Post! 

Welcome!

Nice pictures, and a couple good finds on the bikes. Score!

[FJmonkey]

Welcome, very nice introduction. There are s few mods you can do to make the FJ more comfortable. Lower the pegs, add foam to raise the seat, and bar risers from RPM. Foam grips, also from RPM, helps a little regarding vibration. Sync the carbs also works on reducing the vibrations. I would love to see what the '89/'90 looks like in the Red/Silver colors. My recent '89 is Stormy Blue and I was considering a "Derek" paint job. After totaling his '86 Derek got a '91/92' and painted it like his '86 ambulance. So please post up pics when you paint it, regardless of color scheme.

[great white]

So the po called me yesterday.

He wanted to know if I would be willing to sell the FJ to friend of his.

I politely declinded and he explained why. Seems his friend was watching the bike languish in his storage shed and had eyes on it for a legends car. The po told him if he had known that he would have sold it to him.

So it looks like I saved it from being chopped up for just the engine.

This would also explain why they are getting so hard to find around here as the legends series has become quite popular on the local short tracks. People are out head hunting them to strip them for the engine.

Well, this is one fj that never need fear the sawsall again!