Can you make a bike too good?

[Mark Olson]

You just need a few mods and the fj is good for it all. Too good ?  Is not an option .
keep on riding and get to know your fj and she will not let you down.

[redwolf50]

My first bike was a 65 Triumph 650tiger...lived her and lost a part of me when i had to let her go..next was a 77 sporty and we had a long time relationship..then the 02 dyna..now i have  Christine all of which have certain aspects which they share..i.e. they respond to a certain amount of attention..to be on a bike that's that smooth i don't think i could do..I love to hear and feel what my rides are. doing....and after only 6 weeks or so. absolutely love Christine..she handles like a dream,she's quick (sometimes too quick)and has soul!!!

[Burns]

My favorite Ford Mustang is the XR-7 Mercury Cougar; my favorite Brit Bike is the XS-650 Yam and my favorite motorcycle –period- in the FJ 1200.  These choices are all for the same basic reason; each is the ultimate expression of its genre while leaving some room for the owner to tailor the vehicle to his personal tastes.

For me the FJ strikes the perfect balance between mechanical presence and unobtrusive functionality, while providing bullet-proof reliability and maintaining that quintessential motorcycle quality of being owner/operator maintainable. It is nimble and flat out FUN to ride.

The numbers for a stock bike are 150mph top speed and 11 seconds through the quarter - really now, for the real world that exceeds all requirements.

On the "personalize" side I've figured out how keep all of the original character of the bike while dramatically improving its comfort zone and actually improving the handling.  The answer is dead-nuts simple.

News at 11.

[the fan]

Can a bike be too good... If used for its intended purpose I say no. Can it be too focused? Definitely, emphatically yes.

My YZF is a good example.

Stock it was a fun bike, reasonably quick, handled god in the type of roads I like and comfortable enough for a 400-500 mile ride. It sucked on the superslab, but I don't like slabbin it anyway.

When I started riding it on the track both coaching and racing I kept identifying areas for improvement until it reached a point that I don't think the Yamaha engineers would recognize it... The forks contain none of the OEM internals, The ergonomics were altered to better suit the track, the swing arm was swapper out for stronger lighter parts, Wheels swapped (and lightened) to accept modern rubber, the shock was modified to the point that Fox parts no longer fit......

For a track bike it is very good and likely one of the best 90's era vintage 600 supersports around. Hell last time I had it on a dyno it was putting out over 105hp up from a stock 82-85... But when I took it out on the street it had lost all of its character. Sure I could easily carry suicidal pace over roads like the cherohola, but for anything else it pretty much sucked. So much so that I swore at the 2011 fall rally that I would not return until I bought a different machine. I replaced it in late 2013 with an SV1000 that has some of the character I remember but a little less focused. Trying hard now not to take it too far as I fix the little issues that bug me..

Lesson learned. When modifying your bike keep an eye on the past and future. Avoid making it into something different than what you fell in love with or you may end up hating it and forgetting why yu fell in love in the first place. You can pick up a first gen R1 for about the same money as a nice FJ so if that the what you want go that way rather than destroy a fine all around machine. Of course if scratchin ain't your thing that FJ still looks pretty good.