My mistress is featured in Motorcycle Classics

[andyoutandabout]

Was it autocorrect or was he pushed?

[simi_ed]

How cool Pat!  Very nice article on our beloved dinosaurs!  As long as we avoid giant meteors the FJ may outlast the original Dino's.
Congratulations!

[fjbiker84]

That is so neat! 84s Rule!. I subscribe to that mag - looking forward to the next issue. 

[fjbiker84]

If your bike is 000303, our bikes probably rolled off the assembly line on the same day!

[Mattman]

Well I'll be damned, Dain Gingerelli photographed my bike 2 years ago and she finally made the grade.

http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-japanese-motorcycles/classic-yamaha-motorcycles/1984-yamaha-fj1400-zmgz17mazhur

A special shout out to the "patron saint of FJ owners worldwide"

I'm going to have to go down to Barnes & Nobel and get some hard copies.

Cheers!  Pat

Great article Pat, I always loved these bikes and as a Yamaha Mechanic in 1983- 87 I built these bikes from the crates and even tore apart the brand new 84 11's from the showroom floor  to fix the second gear issues even before they were sold. Even a few 1985's,  then the factory fixed the issue. I remember the owners son getting the very first FJ 1100 and as a demo bike we all got to give it a 'test ride' and was amazed at how fast and smooth it was.

[nchattaway]

Nice one Pat! My library subscribes to Motorcycle Classics via Zinio, and I was just reading that article now. Recognised your Corbin-clad FJ1400 in red and silver, loved it! My friend's son was waxing lyrical about his recent trip to the drags with his KTM SuperDuke 990, where he got a best ET of 11.19. I let him finish his exclamation laden tale, then quietly said "Yep, my 33 year old FJ Eleven was capable of less than 11 seconds back in the day. I paid $1600 for it." He was gobsmacked. I think these young guys think missiles were only invented for them. We weren't exactly deprived back in the day, and I'd argue that we probably had a lot more fun before all the speed cameras and nanny state politics.

But 10.681 seconds, now that is moving! Again, great article Pat, and your bike is a real credit to your efforts and passion. May it roll evermore.

[FJmonkey]

Thanks for sharing that Pat, I enjoyed the article. You do the FJ world a lot of good, like an FJ ambassador. Or maybe you prefer FJ Poster child.

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks guys!

****Everyone realizes that there is nothing original about the mods on my bike. Right?****

Everything, I mean everything, was done before by members of this forum. I just copied what I liked.
The true originators, like Jon Cain, Kit Kat, Dan McCoy and his GSX-R USD front ends, Tim's YZF R-1 front and back swaps, Marc Rittner with his YZF front and back swaps, and all UK guys on Barry Edwards's site http://www.fjmods.co.uk/ .....these guys are the true innovators, who happen to unselfishly share their hard earned knowledge with the rest of us. They make it easy.

I have said this many times before and I'll say it again, Yes, I really like my FJ *but* she is not the only girl at the dance. I probably would have sold her years ago if I did not happen to find this community along with the previous Yahoo and Netpath FJ groups. You guys keep me coming back. What a great group of people.

I was disappointed that Dain did not mention anything about our FJ community. I told him all about FJ Owners.com.
I showed him our site. The rally pictures. All the FJ's with different mods.
I told him the story about when one of our members while on a cross state tour, got stranded out in the middle of Wyoming with a cooked generator. The closest Yamaha dealer was 3 hours away and said that they could get him the part in "about" a week.
The guy (I forgot his name) posted an SOS on the forum and Jon Cain promptly went out to his garage and took the generator off his FJ and overnight mailed it to our stranded traveler. Jon said "No worries, send it back to me when you get finished with your tour."
I said to Dain "This is just an example, one of many stories ...."

I am happy that our RPM (Saint) Randy got his props....and Jim Lindemann's best friend Ed Sorbo.

My meeting with Dain Gingerelli was by chance. Back in 2013 coming back from Palomar Mtn. on a late Sunday afternoon, I stopped at Vista Point overlook on Hwy 74 and met Dain, (he loved the bike) and the rest is history. Dain is a very talented writer and a photo wiz. He has authored many articles in various motorcycle magazines. Dain has an extensive racing pedigree and (as the article shows) he does do his homework.

A very, very cool guy. I was honored to meet him.

Thanks again guys.    Pat

[Zwartie]

Great article about a great bike!

[TexasDave]

Great article Pat. Thanks for all the background info.

Dave

[giantkiller]

Wow Pat. 150k an it's still the prettiest FJ out there. Looks like showroom... Only lots better. Best representation of the FJ legend out there.
Great article. I can't wait to get a copy.

[racerrad8]

Pat,

Glad to see the effort has come to fruition.

Thank you for the support and recognition.

Randy - RPM

[FJ Flyer]

What, no mention of Polishing?? 

Great article, beautiful bike, Pat.

[Tapartacus]

Great article Pat! Needs moe pics though. Some close ups of the mods, such a beautiful bike.

Cheers
Andrew

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

To think I'll be rubbing shoulders with PAT! I'm not worthy.
Very cool brother!
Mike