Long time XJ rider- considering purchasing an FJ

[Ross1]

I have a garage full of Yamaha's (three 900's, a couple 750 SECA's and a couple XS 11's) and currently ride two of the 900's and a 750.
The rest are in various stages of repair/restoration and one parts donor 750.     
Swore off chains (except my bicycles), but am reconsidering. I'm looking for an affordable, comfortable, reliable tourer which I can work on myself.
Figure that my ballpark budget is $3k total.

Wondering if there are any members with XJ riding time, who can share opinions and comparisons.
                                                                                                                                             Thanks, Ross

[jscgdunn]

you should be able to find a very nice FJ for $3000 for sure. welcome!

[JPaganel]

Wondering if there are any members with XJ riding time, who can share opinions and comparisons.
                                                                                                                                             Thanks, Ross

Had a 750 Seca I gave up on, still have a 550 Seca and an FJ600 (that's an XJ600 outside US).

You are going to love how much easier the carbs come out of an FJ compared to an XJ...

[Bill_Rockoff]

I have a bit of seat time on a Seca 750; two different college friends owned one (the same one) in the late 1980s.  Also, John The Beer Scientist had a Maxim X for a while (shaftie cruiser with the 5-valve engine) and I spent a day riding around San Francisco on that.

A $3,000 FJ1100 or FJ1200 would be the nicest one on the planet.  The FJ's weak spots (braking on the 16" front wheel's little bitty 1980's brakes, the handling) would not be weak spots compared to an XS1100 or a Seca. 

An FJ does have a chain, true.  Chains have come a long way since the 1980's.  I replace the two sprockets and the chain as a set, I use name-brand top-of-the-line stuff including a D.I.D. X-ring chain, and I spray chain wax on it every couple thousand miles / adjust it every few thousand miles.  I get 20,000 to 25,000 miles out of a chain. 

The FJ originated during the end of the era that gave us the Seca and the XS (in fact, the FJ engine is a twin-cam variant of the XS1100 engine) and that's when the Japanese were discovering "horsepower."  So, it should pull through mid-range like an XS1100 that has gone on a 100-lb diet, and then it should wake up around 7,000 rpm and pull hard to above 9,000 rpm.  (Mine showed peak power at 8,500.)  To paraphrase what Carroll Smith wrote in "Drive To Win" about race cars, the FJ does have an engine and, if you're used to single-cam air-cooled stuff or smaller-bore air-cooled stuff from the pre-FJ era, you should leave it alone because it's plenty fast enough like it is.

The FJ straddled the era where the Japanese were discovering "brakes."   The '88 and later bikes had a 17" front wheel with 298mm front rotors; even with factory calipers and pads, one of those will slow down harder than any stock XS or Seca that isn't currently crashing into something.  Better still is a set of aluminum calipers from an early FZ1/R1/R6/FJR, ideally with master cylinder to match.  With the right tire on the right road in the right conditions, that setup will let you lift the back of an FJ off the ground with two fingers on the brake lever and you can brake, hard, any time.  The aluminum "blue-spots" make braking a joy.

The FJ development ended before the Japanese discovered "handling."  I rode a YZF1000R once, 15 years ago, and compared to that thing my FJ1200 felt like a bunch of motorcycle parts flying in loose formation.  But, there are things you can do to help a lot. 

- Modern radial tires, especially on an '88 or later that already has a 17" front wheel, are an amazing difference. 
- For earlier bikes with the 16" front, you can fit the fork lowers and wheels/brakes from a later FJ onto the earlier FJ.
- You can swap in entire new forks and front wheel from something more modern, like a CBR or FZ1, into the factory triple-clamps, or press an FJ stem into another bike's clamps and put on the entire front suspension and wheel/brakes.
- You can do pretty well by retrofitting the factory forks with $200 worth of fork cartridge valve emulators and $150 worth of stiffer springs up front and $50 worth of new fork oil. 

It gets a bit more expensive out back, although you can do wonders with shorter linkage dogbones to raise the rear ride height.  But a rear shock that 1) has the right spring installed (the stock FJ spring ain't even close) and 2) lets you raise the ride height without messing with the spring preload adjustment and 3) has proper damping, will change your world.  Is it absurd to spend $700-$1100 for a shock absorber on a bike where you can buy a running example for $1500?  Maybe.  Will anything corner as well on a rough road as a $1500 FJ with another $1500 spent on the suspension front and rear?  Doubt it. 

[Ross1]

    Thanks for the comments. I started out thinking that I'd find a newer front end (17" wheel/forks/brakes) for a 900 that needs some work. Quickly realized that it'd be better to put the money into an intact FJ.
    Just put SS lines, new rotors, front/rear shocks, rebuilt brakes/fork/headset and an LED headlight (B.T.W., the LED is amazing) on one of my 900's. The four point deer that I avoided running into on the way home one evening recently paid for the upgrades by avoiding paying the deductible for my medical insurance (for the Emergency Dept. visit). Not to mention repairs to the machine.
    I divide cars and motorcycles into two systems, the STOP system and the GO. Am comfortable rebuilding carbs (have learned who sells non-ethanol gas in my vicinity) and adjusting valve stem clearance, but am very fussy with the brakes and steering components. The STOP systems are where most of my upgrade dollars tend to go.
   
     Out of curiosity, are there preferred retailers for parts. At XJbikes.com there's a gentleman (Len @ XJ4ever.com) who has just about every part for every XJ from the 400's to the 1100's. Prices ar a hair high, but the service is great and he is a wealth of info.

    I'm 60 and have been an R.N. for 25 years (mostly Emergency and open-heart ICU). Decided a few years ago to go back to school and get a Masters degree. Will be done spring of 2017. Want to take a few months and travel North America, before starting the new career.
    So I have a year and a bit to find and fix-up the bike with which to have this jaunt. I'm looking forward to getting the machine, and picking the collective expertise of FJowners.com.

[JPaganel]

     Out of curiosity, are there preferred retailers for parts. At XJbikes.com there's a gentleman (Len @ XJ4ever.com) who has just about every part for every XJ from the 400's to the 1100's. Prices ar a hair high, but the service is great and he is a wealth of info.

Len's counterpart here is Randy. http://rpmracingca.com/

Sells parts, rebuilds carbs, knows these bikes inside and out. Also, he has some stuff that he actually designed specifically for the FJ, like the rear shock. 



One difference you'll find between the XJ and the FJ crowds is the eternal pod question. The FJ guys are all about tossing the airbox (although, personally I find the reasoning funny). Randy sells the pods and the jets.

[aviationfred]

Welcome to the forum  

I don't know if this FJ is still on the market. IMO this bike is very well worth the asking price. This was a forum members bike from a few years ago and it was sold. It has recently been listed on eBay. You did not mention what part of the country you hail from.

This bike is in South Carolina. The bike had a complete frame up restore and many upgrades were done. Click here to see photos of the rebuild http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;cat=75;u=1013


http://motorcycles.smartcarguide.com/listing/49437296/

Fred

[mr blackstock]

G'day,
Before I bought my FJ1100 I rode an XJ650 Seca for years.  Fantastic bike, reliable, admitedly low tech compared to the FJ, but the benefits lie in the ease of maintenance.  The FJ1100 I bought had high mileage, and is currently in the throes of a head replacement, hone, new rings and timing chain.  Over the years of FJ ownership, I reckon I have rectified a lot of the 1100 foibles, to get a really awesome bike.  Apparently the 1200's are better in a few ways.
I will be getting my XJ back on the road soon as a back up bike for the time the FJ is undergoing her usual maintenance and repairs.
FJ's are great bikes, but buy a low mileage 1200 for years of hassle free riding.  Or, buy a high mileage 1100 and loose what little hair you may have left.  IMHO.

cheers, Gareth

[JPaganel]

admitedly low tech compared to the FJ

How so? The carbs are the same CV carbs, the ignition is the same electronic ignition, the engine is a transverse straight four with shim over bucket valvetrain. It's more or less the same bike but smaller (except shaft drive). 

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

I consider my 1982 Xj650 Seca, low tech compared to the FJ in regards to suspension, the XJ is the classic twin shock usually with little adjustment from the stock shocks, the FJ's head stem design is far ahead of the Xj's head stem design, the handling of both bikes is markedly different.

I imagine there are quite a few other differences between the two models that mark one "low tech" over the other, maybe you are thinking of the later XJ's, whereas the '82 models do differ alot from the later XJ's.

Gareth

[JPaganel]

G'day,

I consider my 1982 Xj650 Seca, low tech compared to the FJ in regards to suspension, the XJ is the classic twin shock usually with little adjustment from the stock shocks, the FJ's head stem design is far ahead of the Xj's head stem design, the handling of both bikes is markedly different.

Fair enough, frame and suspension are definitely more advanced. In terms of engine, though, the differences are minor. Maintenance is much the same - change the oil, keep the valves adjusted, keep the carbs clean. Carbs are exactly the same except size, and valves even use the same shims.

Also, the 750 Seca had the same anti-dive system on it's forks as the early FJ.

I imagine there are quite a few other differences between the two models that mark one "low tech" over the other, maybe you are thinking of the later XJ's, whereas the '82 models do differ alot from the later XJ's.

Gareth

No, the XJ line didn't change very much over the years. You have shaft and chain, but these differences have been there all along. The watercooled Maxim X is an outlier, but it didn't replace the Maxim.

FJ600 (XJ600 outside US) was a monoshock, but with the exact same engine.  The Seca II/diversion in 1993 was the first significantly different XJ, and I'm pretty sure it was the last XJ.