Who bought the FJ new?

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

Curious how many may have bought their FJ new. If so you're an old fart like me, it was a while back and that was great day. I was brought up on bikes, like most Dad had us dirt riding as kids. We didn't have much dough. First bike I rode was my dads 1951 Matchless. Stripped down for the dirt. He bought it one year old from his brother who had put 50K miles on it in one year as delivery dude. Plus he toured Mexico with my uncle who rode his new triumph. I have the pictures from that trip, very cool. All these guys are gone now. By the way read "The Original Wild Ones (Tales of The Booze Fighters Motorcycle Club)" by Bill Hayes. About guys that came back from ww2 and were ready to have some fun. My dad is mentioned and my uncles are in the group pictures of bikes lined up on a street in Hollister California. A fun read for bikers. The stories are true, some I heard before reading the book.
We started riding about the same time the Japanese two strokes came out, Bull Tacos etc...You remember. Good times. High school I was riding a Yamaha 250 enduro. Too many funny stories and close calls. Then bought my uncles 650 Yamaha. A few years later a buddies Kawasaki 1000 (faaaaaast bike).  I was married to high school sweetheart (still am) but no kids making a little money, and bought what I thought was the best bike in the world... a 1986 FJ. I almost could not believe I had that bike. I remember so clearly the day I rode it home and when I almost droped it when I came to a stop in my driveway and lost my balance, saved it though. Rode it everyday, week ends me and my buddy rode religiously.  50K miles later I had what turned out o be minor issue with the bike and let it sit for 12 fucking years. Kids, work, bills got the better of me. But never let that bike get away (even though I had some pressure at to do so. When I moved it came with me. Anyway I've really been getting my Kookaloo (first time I have said that) again. This group has helped a lot.

Sorry for the long story, had couple of screwdrivers on an empty stomach and feeling pretty good right now.
Ride your bike this week end!

Mike

[carsick]

 Mike,
Thanks for sharing a great story. Really makes me appreciate the strength of devotion in this group. My car is sorta like that, bought it when I was 15 and kept it. It needs a little love now but the FJ is taking all my time, money, and energy!

[SlowOldGuy]

There are a few of us.  I'm pretty sure Pat is the original owner of his '84.  

I can still remember that cold day in March of 1985 that I rode my '85 FJ home from the dealer.  Still looks showroom fresh, in fact there's a coat of wax waiting to be buffed off right now.

Added a '93 in 2000.  I guess I have an appreciation for older vehicles.  Still driving my '96 Avenger to work every day.

The two comments I here most:
"Hey, an FJ! My dad used to have one of those!"
and
"I used to have an FJ.  I should have never sold it."

DavidR.

[racerman_27410]

nothing wrong with getting your kookaloo on again..... and for sure nothing wrong with saying "kookaloo!"

12 YEARS off the bike?

you deserve to say it as much as you want!


Here... i'll say it with you....and very LOUDLY!


. KOOKALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 

[Kopfjaeger]

if it was new to me does that count?

[F15rocket2]

I didn't buy mine new but I definately got the better end of the deal. I even traded my '82 Honda Silverwing GL500 w/ 23,000 miles on it, leaking gas tank, needing back brakes and a kill switch for my '90 FJ w/ 13,000 miles on it. My FJ is not the prettiest bike in town but she runs like a champ!! It took all I had not to bust out laughing when the guy agreed to the trade.

[Kopfjaeger]

yes i get the comments like " honest reliable bike that one" or i know someone who used to have one of those.... work with a bloke who drag races a ( ahem) Honda 750/4 so we get chattin bout older bikes....i can appreciate the new shinys but they have no appeal... they may go fast but is it me or since the ducati 916 came out do all bikes now have that angular pointy twin headlight look? had to chuckle the other day was in frasers (BASTARDS!!) motorcycles the other day and the salesman was talking to my mate so i wandered over and sales guy says" you loooking for a new bike yada yada yada" to which i replies no. they all look the same all pointy and r1 clones . o he says what do you like... i says a kawasaki 750 H4. o yes he says great bike cant beat em for a classic.... i made it up. they dont exist. idiot. never trust a bike salesman i guess. im not old enough to really know that much about older bikes i only started riding when i was 27, always had the passion even if it was a 1980 DT 175 that wouldnt pull 6th, but im learning and i like a bike that lets you know... no... we WONT  be doing that thank you. i love eccentricities. to the point that i will not even let my best mates ride it for fear they will drop it.

[Bill_Rockoff]

I bought one new.  It isn't the one I'm riding now, but it's close enough.....

My friend John (a.k.a. The Beer Scientist) rode an XS400 in college, and his dad had a brand-new '84 FJ600 and matching '84 FJ1100 in his garage.  I sat on both.  My feeling about the FJ1100 would later be summed up by Will Smith in the movie "Independence Day," when he tries the alien fighter ship - "Man, I GOT to get me one of THESE!"

A couple of summers later, I was out to dinner with a girlfriend and we walked by a parked early-gen FJ1200.  I remember telling her, "THAT's the bike I'm eventually going to get."

There were other contenders by the time I got a "real" job in 1990.  Suzuki had just improved the Katana 1100 with better suspension, leaving the 1989 bikes as leftovers, and the ZX-11 did the same thing to the ZX-10.  I could have gotten a faster more-modern '89 Katana or ZX-10 ("the fastest motorcycle you could buy" the previous year) for the same leftover-1989 price.  However, the dealer also had a Midnight Blue Metallic leftover '89 FJ1200 parked between the ZX-10's.  I asked, "Would you sell the FJ for the same price?" and he said "Sure."   I wrote a deposit check for a hundred bucks and said, "I'll take the FJ.  I'll be back with half the money next month, and the rest the month after that."

I took the bike home on a Friday in June 1990, and by the next Wednesday it was back at the dealer for the 600 mile service.  (Which they didn't do properly, because they didn't have the valve tool to swap shims - which was the same reason I didn't do it myself.)  After watching the service tech ding my fuel tank against my triple-clamp, I decided "I'm ordering a shop manual and doing all this stuff myself - these guys are incompetent."

I put 5,000 miles on it that summer, then went out of town for six months and parked it in my apartment living room.

I put about 4,000 miles on it the following summer before it was stolen from in front of my apartment, on my birthday.  To this day, when I see an '89 FJ1200 that's either Midnight Blue Metallic or repainted, I want to check the VIN to see if it's #1241.

Meanwhile, John's father had found his way to a new white and silver '89 himself, but had decided to sell off some motorcycles to fund a sailboat.  I took a brief spin on his bike (1,500 miles, still the OEM tires) and wrote him a check on the spot.  That's the bike I have now.

It'll probably turn 95,000 miles on Monday; I'm taking the day off work and going riding with my teenage son who will be aboard the Ninja 250.  The Ninja will probably get sold to fund something else, but I'll always have the FJ1200.

I feel the same way about the car I bought the following winter, a '91 Miata that has 305,000 miles on it.

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

Cool stories. To reply..."12 years off the bike". Can't really explain it. Rode everyday from 16 to 42 years old (plus off-road with family before I could ride the street). When I thought I had a major engine problem I just did not give it priority. $ and raising family is my excuse, and time passes too quickly.

Comments I get are "what kind of bike is that?" For instance the young bartender at the joint Mark and I hung out at in Bouquet Canyon a couple of weeks ago. When I told her she replied "hey the year I was born". Give me another beer. I went to Yamaha dealer last year and the salesman did not know what an FJ was. (No not an FJR)

A few weeks ago a FJR rider I came across on Glendora Mountain Road was really excited about seeing my bike. Took pictures and asked if he could sit on it. Atop the bike he says "this is the shits man". (Good thing I think.)

"If it was new to me does that count?" It all good bro. You made a good choice.

Yeah getting the Kookaloo back. My skills are not what they use to be. But that's OK
Mike 

[simi_ed]

I'm in this small group too.  August 20, 1989 I sold my old shit (GS1100E Hotrod) & bought some good hardware, my Silver '89.    The GS had more ponies (maybe because of the bore kit, cam timing, Kerker pipe, 8 hours of dyno time ...).  But the Suzook had more horsepower than crank could stand.  I bought it with a twisted crank, rode it for 6-8K, ruined the cases.  It sat for a year until I found a donor motor to fix it & sell it. 
Unfortunately I also had to move my KR BumbleBee RZ350 to finance the FJ, but I've never looked back.  The RZ, but it was fun to ~ 110, then done.  And forget about 2 up.

I wish the FJ could do 3rd gear wheelstands like the GS or RZ could, but I think that could still happen.  Time for more Kookaloo! 

[Travis398]

no new ones, but i do have 2, does that count?

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Mike, Here's my story:
I bought my FJ1100 (47M-000303) in May of '84. I was debating over the Honda VFR500/750 or this new fangled Yamaha FJ1100 I've been reading about....I'm glad I decided to wait for the FJ. The Honda's were nice but in no way did they have the grunt of the FJ.
So after anxiously following the development of this new Yamaha, at that time the flagship of the Yamaha line, I located a new FJ in Costa Mesa at Champion Motorcycles. I called them, drove down in my Ranchero, rode the bike and instantly fell in love.
Without my wife knowing, I financed it (at $4900) and came back to Palm Desert.
The big problem was that I could not bring the bike home, no way, no how, SWMBO would have made me sleep in the garage. My solution: Phil, my friend at work, lived just down the street, so I kept my new FJ at his house.
I would make up all kinds of excuses to go over to Phil's house so I could don my Simpson full face helmet with tinted visor and ride my new beauty. This lasted about 4 months, I was running out of excuses.

Pat: "Honey, I've got to go over to Phil's and help him with his sprinklers..."
Jann: " You just did that last week"
Pat: "Oh yea, but it's something new...."
Jann: "Whatever..."
One time Jann drove by Phil's house, saw my car parked out front, went up to Phil's front door and asked if her husband was there. Phil's wife (bless her heart) said, "No, sorry you just missed him, he went down to the store to get the paint." Jann replied," I thought he was working on your sprinklers...??"
Things were getting frosty at home. I would leave for 3 or 4 hours, come back with bloodshot eyes and matted sweaty hair. My wife was convinced that I was having an affair.

Looking back, in a way I was, just not the way she thought.

One night it all came to a head.
Laying in bed together Jann turned to me and asked "Pat, are you seeing anyone?"
I thought, oh shit, here it comes, how can I play this?
I said, "Yes"
Jann: whimper..."Whats she like..?"
Pat: "She's Japanese"
Jann: sob,whimper..."Do you love her...?"
Pat: "Kind of, in a way, she's a lot of fun to be on..."
Jann: (tears are flowing now) "Fun to be on? What's her name?"
Pat: (big swallow) "Yamaha"
Jann: stony silence, no more tears leaking (how can they do that so fast?) "But, but, that's a name of a motorcycle..."
Pat: "Yea honey, I've been meaning to tell you for some time now, I bought a new motorcycle. I know that we don't have the money so I was afraid to tell you. I've kept the bike over a Phil's house and that's were I go when I want to ride".
Jann: "Yea, right." Rolls over and goes to sleep, no doubt in disbelief, yet relieved

The next morning, bright and early, Jann said, "Take me over to Phil's house and show me this motorcycle, right now."

So I do. I show her the bike, the registration card and my helmet. She checks out my story with Phil's wife.

Jann smiles, "Ok honey, you can bring her home..."

Jann and I have been together for 36 years now, she's a keeper.

Since that day, Jann has referred to my bike as "Pat's Mistress"  I don't mind, kinda in a way, it's true.

Cheers!

[Mark Olson]

Great story Pat,

My wife calls my fj "the mistress" as well.

[Shaun]

I didn't by mine new, in fact I didn't buy her, my wife did. So not only does she know my mistress in the garage she paid for her hmmm...Seems to be a common thing to have a mistress in the garage.

[racerman_27410]

Pat,

that was well played....and she is definitely a keeper.

i broke up with a girlfriend because she said i would rather ride my motorcycle than be with her..... and i agreed! SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYA!