2 Fjs to buy, which one should I get?

[Targan]

In my area there are two FJs for sale for the same price and I'm having a tough time deciding which to buy. Opinions?
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/mcy/4344176676.html
http://tucson.craigslist.org/mcy/4366845131.html

[Capn Ron]

Targan,

For the same money, I'd take the '90.  It's had a few sensible things done to it over the years and is mostly original.  The '89 has been a near complete tear-down and built with a LOT of modifications that can be good...or can be terribly wrong.  In the '89 you are buying each and every modification, part choice, gasket installation, torque of a bolt and potential shortcuts.  Mind you, each of these nearly hundreds of decisions and executions may have been done perfectly and it's the dream bike you've always wanted...but the potential of sorting out the previous owner's vision is grand.  The '89 reads more like a well cared for, low mileage example that hasn't been messed with too much and has the suspension sorted.  Seems like a more sane platform to start with.

Cap'n Ron. . .

[Targan]

Targan,

For the same money, I'd take the '90.  It's had a few sensible things done to it over the years and is mostly original.  The '89 has been a near complete tear-down and built with a LOT of modifications that can be good...or can be terribly wrong.  In the '89 you are buying each and every modification, part choice, gasket installation, torque of a bolt and potential shortcuts.  Mind you, each of these nearly hundreds of decisions and executions may have been done perfectly and it's the dream bike you've always wanted...but the potential of sorting out the previous owner's vision is grand.  The '89 reads more like a well cared for, low mileage example that hasn't been messed with too much.  Seems like a more sane platform to start with.

Cap'n Ron. . .

Ok, that's exactly the answer I was looking for, but not the one I wanted to hear lol. Thanks for the advice. I'm still going to check out the 89 in person though. The 90 is another story because it's a bit farther away and I'd be dissapointed in not returning home with a bike. I'm going to ask both owners for maintenance records first, that may help with my decision. That freakin 90 though looks AMAZING. Super clean.

[Capn Ron]

Well, good luck in whichever you end up with.  When I started looking for an FJ1200 in 1997, I looked at about a dozen all around Los Angeles.  It was amazing the range of care...or lack thereof...I came across.  Some that had been wrecked, highly modified, some with mega miles on the clock...in the end I found a very low mileage '92 ABS that was owned by a helicopter mechanic and the precision in his work spilled over into his personal vehicles.  I knew there wouldn't be any surprises down the road and the typical grousing over the previous owner's work would be kept to a minimum.  Here it is 17 years later and I'm still lovin' my FJ!   

Cap'n Ron. . .

[rlucas]

Targan,

For the same money, I'd take the '90.  It's had a few sensible things done to it over the years and is mostly original.  The '89 has been a near complete tear-down and built with a LOT of modifications that can be good...or can be terribly wrong.  In the '89 you are buying each and every modification, part choice, gasket installation, torque of a bolt and potential shortcuts.  Mind you, each of these nearly hundreds of decisions and executions may have been done perfectly and it's the dream bike you've always wanted...but the potential of sorting out the previous owner's vision is grand.  The '89 reads more like a well cared for, low mileage example that hasn't been messed with too much and has the suspension sorted.  Seems like a more sane platform to start with.

Cap'n Ron. . .

+1. Excellent advice, especially if this is your first FJ. You'll learn more, and the stock motor is more than adequate, performance-wise.


rossi

[Vsekvsek]

 two fjs for sale in the same area....must be a disturbance in the force

[FJmonkey]

two fjs for sale in the same area....must be a disturbance in the force

That is the disturbance in the Force!!!

[andyb]

Meet both owners and feel them out.  Nothing wrong with a bike that already has a bucketload of the mods you'd want already done, IF they're the ones you want done, and they were done well.  Find out who did the motor work, etc etc.

Otherwise, get ready for the joy that is finding wheels, swapping stuff, etc.  I think my choice would depend heavily on how much you were comfortable doing yourself, as well as the impression you get from each owner and the up-close detail appearance of each.

[ribbert]

Meet both owners and feel them out. 
..........as well as the impression you get from each owner ........

That is an excellent point. I have always believed you can tell almost as much about a vehicle by your impressions of the owner as you can with a cursory inspection of the machine. This can extend to peripheral things like the state of their house, the condition of other vehicles in the driveway, even their personal appearance, body language, their enthusiasm when talking about the bike etc.

This touches on another subject I don't understand. I have been buying vehicles all my life, In two jobs it was a major part of what I did and in one job it was all I did. Even with my background as a mechanic, there is still only so much you can check out on a prospective purchase, but you check what you can and hopefully hedge the bet but you still get caught out from time to time.

I cannot for the life of me understand the growing popularity of buying used, and in the case of FJ's, old motorbikes or cars over the net, sight unseen. Yes, there are exceptions and yes, people do get lucky but age alone suggests most of these are going to be knocked around and tired.

Photos are next to useless in determining condition and owners (sellers) are biased, can be ignorant or straight out dishonest.

I don't get it.

Noel

[TexasDave]

I agree with Noel. However I bought my FJ off Ebay sight unseen as it was 3000 miles from where I live. The pictures looked good but who knew if they were pictures of the actual bike. The add stated " 2nd owner, low mileage, always garaged, never down, new battery, new rear tire, battery tender, manual, cover and completely stock. Left out "only ridden slowly to church every Sunday by an old lady". Since it was a buy it now at a good price I pulled the trigger. Called the PO (an old guy like me) who assured me add was correct. Sometimes you luck out. Part of what sold me was bike was stock and not modified. The other thing was second old man owner so it couldn't have been ridden too hard. Together they owned it for over 29yrs and if the mileage was right didn't ride it much and took care of it. Its now on the third old man owner, garaged and covered.  Dave

[bcguide]

It's so hard picking the right bike l can never decide.  Now if you looking for a wife just go with the one with the biggest, well you know. Anyway check them both out and rember these are not the only two FJ's left.     I would have a good look at the one with the big bore kit that kind of goes with my advice on wives though.
seen's how ape is mentioned you might ask if they used ape studs in  the build, if they had l would pass on it.

[TexasDave]

Don't acquire bikes or women on looks or biggest ______ . I've done that with girlfriends and one wife. Big mistake! Test ride! Test ride!  Dave   

[Targan]

Thanks for the continued advice guys. Unfortunately NEITHER of these guys are responding back to my emails  I sold my Seca and am ready to buy! Anxiety is going to kill me.

[airheadPete]

Meh... They'll get around to it. Why don't you just call the Tucson guy? He has his number listed.

I've always made decisions based off of my evaluation of the owner, I don't really even want to see the car or bike first. Hasn't failed me yet. By the time we've talked a bit, I have a good feel whether I even want to see the bike or not. (I like the Tucson bike, looks stock, nice mods, great shape. The Phoenix bike is nice too, but you're buying someone else's hot-rod project. If you like that sort of thing, good, but I'd really need to trust the previous owner and his mechanical skills. It'd either be wild fun, or a rolling hand grenade.)

Good luck (God, I wish I still lived down there... sob.)

[Derek Young]

Both of those look like fun bikes to ride. If I only had those two to choose from, I would go for the 90 as it looks to be mostly unmolested(you can be the one to do the molesting).

If you have the time and patience to wait, I recommend waiting for a 91 or newer model to come available.  The rubber mounted engine really does make for a nice ride.

Derek