new owner

[bikemad]

Hullo, I'm Ian and I live in Albany West Australia.

I've only recently bought a 34,000klm old 1985 FJ1100 in very very good stock condition.

We owned(previous wife) the same model when they first came out and it was a bike both she and I rode
though I owned a Suzuki gsx1100 at the time.
After a while she complained that she wasn't happy when moving a static big bike so we sold it and bought her a smaller bike.
I had the decision of selling my gsx1100 or the FJ1100 at the time to do the deal and the big Yamaha moved to a new home.
A decision that I not always felt right!

Anyway when the FJ1100 I've just bought came up for sale  I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Bikes of this age in really nice condition rarely surface and especially in my bark yard!

I'd like to keep the bike looking as standard as possible but would like to improve the front brakes without removing the anti- dive units and
replacing the calipers.
I'm new to the Forum so I will look through all the mods done to see if I can see how others have done it!!

Thanks Ian.

[TexasDave]

Hi Ian. Welcome to the forum and owning another FJ. Lots of info and knowledge from members here. I also like to retain the stock look my 84. Good luck with your "new" bike.  Dave

[fjfool]

hi Ian and welcome
many ideas about front brake improvements here
to stay stock(ish):
EBC HH pads will do wonders
then some stainless brake lines- you can get them made up in black so you dont look too modified
rebuilding those 30 year old calipers would prolly help too

[The General]

 :hi:Welcome Ian. We`ve got a few here from WA. I`m not sure you need brakes in Albany. Plenty of long roads, esp that plain one cross the Nulla. But like that other fjfool says, you`ll be surprised at the stopping power of those EBC HH pads.

Wow! only 34oooklms, better give her a decent run over to the high country next March when we get together. 

[FJmonkey]

Welcome Ian, looks like you already got some good advise on improving your brakes. Make sure you have good rubber to get full use of your brake improvements. Not good to have front wheel stop while you are still moving forward.

The Aussie crowd keeps getting bigger, I wonder if more people are just clearing out the garage or shed and finding the forgotten FJs. 

[bikemad]

Hullo guys,

thanks for the welcome and some advice on getting the brakes sorted, good to be on board!
I will order some EBC HH front pads straight up and see how we go from there.
I haven't got as far as pulling the calipers off for a decent inspection and I'm sure 30 year old brake hoses don't help!
On the South coast of WA we have some great roads to ride on (with bends!!).
Strange you say that FJ1100's seem to be popping up all over the place in Oz?

Cheers Ian.

[Bones]

Welcome Ian, you'd be surprised how many people own an FJ in Australia 1100 or 1200. There'd be a lot more that aren't even registered on this forum.

Have a look here and see if anyone lives near you and add yourself to the list.

https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=724879#

[X-Ray]

34000 kms? Nice, have you got any pics to share with us, ( we like pics . )

[bikemad]

I'm not very computer savvy so posting photo's is a bit beyond me!

[X-Ray]

Heres a few pics of Ians unreal looking FJ11, looks georgeous! 

[great white]

Mmmm, looks minty fresh!

[Troyskie]

Very very jealous Ian, sweet beast!

[bikemad]

Thanks' X-Ray for your help in posting the photos! much appreciated.
Since the photos I've had a look at the front brakes and the bike has nice meaty EBC HH compound front pads fitted already.
I've ordered a set of braided lines and will keep the anti-dive units on the bike but blank them off.
So with everything fresh we'll see how the brakes respond.

Cheers Ian.

[Timbo-1]

Welcome Ian, you got a mint one there... ..good work.
This forum has a wealth of info, enjoy...
Cheers Timbo..

[bikemad]

I've had the bike out on a few longish runs and I had forgotten how nice these bikes are on the open road!
I recently sold a Kawasaki GTR1000(2003 model) and this has just so much more poke, the seat is really comfy and
the riding position just about perfect for me.
I upgraded the front brake hoses to braided and blanked off the anti-dives and the brakes are good now, the bike had EBC HH pads already fitted.
A very happy camper!!

Cheers Ian.