New rider/FJ Owner

[Smash]

Hi everyone, good to be here!

My name is Phil aka Smash (LOL) from Merseyside, UK and I passed my Mod2 on 02/12, picked up an FJ1200 last Saturday and absolutely fallen in love with her already.  She belonged to a friend of my dad's and is already my pride and joy. 

I'm a total noob in all things bike, if I'm honest and am just going on small rides for the moment to get used to the bike and learn how to do things like slow control again and braking (very different to the ER-6 I learned on!) but I know I will get there and am just learning to respect and trust the bike and my own riding skills - I know understand (now that I don't have the voice of a friendly instructor in my ear) about how you learn new things as a rider every day and am keen to do just that. 

Despite being 38 I have never held a car or bike license until now and am in no hurry to learn to drive.  I passed my CBT in May 2014 and had a couple of lessons but due to suffering with sciatica on a sadly very regular basis I wasn't able to pick up the baton again until this year.

Being a big fella (6'7") I find the FJ is very comfortable and despite being a total greenhorn at being a biker I find the bike very responsive and feel my confidence growing with each ride.  I just need to learn the confidence in braking and taking off that I learned on the ER-6 during my lessons and I am sure I will get there. 

One thing I find is hampering me slightly is that - possibly due to my height?) the mirrors aren't suited to me at all, no matter which way I position them I struggle to see much of what is behind me, so I intend to look at sorting that out.  I did a search on the forum here and see that I am not alone in this regard and that CBR mirrors seem to be the way forward. 

I'm also looking to see if I can do a bike maintenance course somewhere to pick up the basic skills as I don't want to rely on friends who ride all the time to help me with the little things I should be able to do myself. 

I'm really looking forward to experiencing some steep learning curves as I go on but will hopefully have a great deal of fun too.

Shall stop waffling now - pleased to meet you all 

[FJmonkey]

Welcome Phil (Smash) just breath in and feel the love. Many happy members here willing to help.

[Smash]

Thanks FJMonkey, I can feel the love already...

Looking forward to many happy times ahead on the bike and the forum hehe.

[fjbiker84]

Welcome to the forum.  I, too, had big problems seeing what's behind me although my bike is an earlier model with the mirrors mounted on the bars and practacially the only thing I could see in the mirrors were my shoulders. My solution was to buy the Rizoma aftermarket mirrors but I'll admit that's an expensive mod.  Anyway, take you time getting oriented to the characteristics of the FJ and give it plenty of respect - it's a big, powerful motorcycle. 

[yaman]

if you like it now, your gonna like it more soon
its a fantastic bike
very straightforward to maintain and has huge potential for upgrading
this forum is a great resource for information and support
welcome

[Alf]

Welcome Phill!

Welcome to the community!

There are great & nice people here, helpful and with a lot of knowledge. I feel myself at home here, although I'm Spanish and I live in Tenerife

Regards

Alf

[Flynt]

Welcome Smash!

The stock FJ is a great example of a racing parable...

"Not enough power won't kill you, not enough brakes will"

The FJ is not going to fall short on power, but everything else is questionable at best...  terrible brakes, shitty suspension, forceful turn-in, etc.  Be REALLY careful and make some necessary safety upgrades (brakes #1).  Great bike, but respect it or suffer the consequences.

Frank

[red]

Hey Phil,

Welcome to our little madhouse.       The FJ has plenty of power, and needs honest respect by the rider.  Learn "how" first, and "how fast" will come in its' own time.  There is a tonne of good information here for you, for almost anything that you may see as a shortcoming. 

Many here have complained about the FJ mirrors.  There are several aftermarket options available, as well as Yamaha stock mirrors from other Yamaha models.  Taken from a breaker's yard, these new/used mirrors can be an effective, easy, and affordable modification.  Sites like eBay can also be helpful in finding your new mirrors.

In my experience, tyres can make or break the handling of the FJ.  Depending on your wheel size, you may be somewhat limited in tyre selections, but I'd advise you to get the best available rubber in your area.  Local riders can help to find the best options for your wheels, roads and weather.  Your FJ will love you for it.  In the USA, tyres are date-coded.  I believe that tyres are DONE after about five to seven years, regardless of any remaining tread.  The rubber hardens, and may even crack in places.  Handling and braking can be seriously compromised, by old rubber.  You may have the same (or similar) date codes on tyres there.  Our USA date codes look like this (click and scroll down):
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

The brake lines on an FJ are usually fairly old.  If and when you decide on a need for more braking power, you can buy stainless steel wrapped lines made for the FJ, or have a local hydraulics shop make them to fit.  They can sheath the new lines with clear tubing, or maybe a variety of hues.

Cheers,
Red

[FJools]

Hi Phil & welcome

one bit of advice I would give is watch the weight when manouvering the bike around as once its over the tipping point you will struggle to stop it hitting the deck and maybe hurt yourself trying to stop it!
Best you can do is ease it down to limit the scuffing and not get under it 

Better still try not to get in that position in the first place 

Happy riding

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

At 6'7' maybe getting bike up wont be so tough. I don't have any problems with the mirrors...I'm 5'6". WELCOME Phil! you found the right place. As mentioned. If it running good now, first make sure you got good rubber and if you have original brake lines, replace them. You sound like me. OK with working on the bike just have not done much of it. Basic maintenance and minor bolt mods are not complicated. Follow the directions. OH and before I forget GET A REPAIR MANUAL.  For instance replacing the brake lines is not complex but, read post about bleeding the brakes before you start. If not you sure will afterwards. I don't think you mentioned which model year you have. Enjoy.
Mike

[Smash]

Hello again all, apologies for not replying sooner, been laid low with a (fortunately not too severe) sinus infection, probably all the riding since I got the new bike even though I was wrapped up as snug as a bug in a Persian rug LOL

Firstly, thank you so much for the advice and warm welcome given.  Really does mean a lot and as a new biker I felt somewhat nervous about joining a forum but I can see I didn't need to worry 

The mirrors are definitely going to be my first piece of work and thank you all - again - for providing some starting points.  I am going to have a look into that this weekend and see what I can afford and how to go about it. 

To those of you who said about respecting the bike, please do not worry, I most certainly am doing that.  I've been going to quiet places and just practising my slow control, getting a feel for how much braking is needed and being very sensible with regard to speed.  As I said in a previous post, the FJ is much different to the bike I learned on and I am happy to take the time to get to know the bike and how it works rather than risk becoming over-confident and getting into trouble.  I tend to have an analytical mind as opposed to a mechanical one (unfortunately!) probably due to the nature of my job so it takes me longer to learn things like operating machines/riding a bike etc., but fortunately once I have learned that knowledge sticks with me very well, so I suppose that is a positive!

Mike, a repair manual is on its way to me as we speak, thank you    One thing that is handy being 6'7" is that I can easily plant both feet on the ground whilst sat on the FJ - it means when I am riding slowly and getting used to it that I'm able to keep the bike upright whilst I practise my slow riding on a car park or quiet road. 

My dad's friend (who I bought the bike from) has cared for the bike extremely well, the tyres are only a few months old and have been worn in but have tons of tread on them and feel great.  As for the brake lines, I'm not sure but the guy I mentioned buying the bike from is going to give me a tutorial in basic maintenance of the FJ, so I will be riding up to see him next week.  Fortunately he only lives 5 miles away and he has assured me he will help any time I need it, which will be useful while I learn the ropes. 

After being holed up for a few days being ill, I am looking forward to getting back out on the bike tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you for being so welcoming and helpful, I can promise you I will be popping back regularly.  Unfortunately I cannot give much in the way of advice, but once I have started learning hopefully I will be able to help new and inexperienced members the way you guys are helping me.

Ride safe 

[Pat Conlon]

Happy you feel welcome Phil.....

I just gotta ask.....So you are a 6'7" bloke with the nickname of 'Smash' Tell us the story behind that....

If you do that, I will tell you a secret about how to make your FJ more comfortable to a big fella like you.

Cheers laddie

Pat

[Smash]

Haha, hello Pat!

Sounds an intriguing offer, but the nickname really isn't all that interesting I'm afraid so you could be getting a raw deal!

It stems from my bartending days when, probably due to my heightand the fact I often forget to duck under low things I was forever smacking my head on shelves and things and smashed dozens of glasses, bowls and all manner of stuff.  It came about when my poor noggin took another bashing and I knocked half a dozen replacement fluorescent light bulbs off a shelf in the store room where they dropped to the floor in smithereens and my boss yelled "For fks sake!  The Smash strikes again!"

Ever since then, the name has stuck LOL 

[aviationfred]

Welcome to the forum 

As Pat said, there are few tricks/mods that can be done to make the FJ fit a tall person as yourself better. I am a full 12 inches shorter than you and have incorporated a few mods on my own FJ that would benefit taller riders.


Fred

[Pat Conlon]

Well now, thanks Smash for clearing that up....

Here is a post of mine from last August: http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=14922.msg160263#msg160263

This will get you started....

Cheers