An English mans view of a fj12..........

[dixiethedog]

In England,bikes such as the Kawasaki z1/900.1000/1100, lawson replica's,Suzuki gs1150's and more seem to be held in very high regard,where as the Yamaha is often forgotten,or tends to be pigeonholed as an oldmans touring bike,which too be honest isnt a bad thing! I bought my fj12 off a friend who had gone looking for a Kawasaki,got there,realised it was an overpriced wreck,and bought the yamaha for £330. It need new forks seals,clutch seals and a tyre (umm...tire...),it then sailed thru the MOT test,which is a once a year vehicle safety test,to make sure everything works ok. My riend Gary was going to make a one off chopper with the kawasaki if he bought it ,but realised the fj was too good to chop up,so i bought it off him for £500 (i think,bad memory..).
Riding it for the first time was a bit strange,the truck style tyre (oh..tire)on the rear felt strange,and made the bike very slow steering,but after some miles i got used to it. Power,mmmm...fantastic grunt from the engine amazed me,usually on a lot of bikes you hit 6000rpm and all hell breaks loose,but the fj has a linear power spread,which leaves you travelling at highly illegal speeds without you realising it!
So,my opinion of an fj is a cheap dependable no nonsense bike that does everything you ask of it,it doesnt handle like a fireblade or r1,but that doesnt bother me too much.

[dixiethedog]

However,sometimes when a bike is past repairing,but still has usable engine and electrics,you can come up with things like this.

[dixiethedog]

The above bike was built by a good friend of mine a few years ago,and i thought it was great.

[andyb]

usually on a lot of bikes you hit 6000rpm and all hell breaks loose,

Depends on how it's set up... the FJ can do that too ;P

[dixiethedog]

Interesting comment Andy,I do enjoy the smooth power delivery,but,if i wanted a more crazy ride,what would you suggest to get things powering ahead???

[Arnie]

What were you saying about a "truck tire" ?
Interesting looking, but I wouldn't want to ride it more than around the block. 
Still, if that's what he wants it don't hurt me none.

Cheers,
Arnie

[andyb]

dix, it's just a question of your budget.

From the usual bolt-on stuff to start (pod filters, free flowing exhausts) to internal work to make each CC work better (headwork, bigger valves, cams) to more CC's (1188 to 1220 to 1250 to 1314 to 1400+ to ungodly huge 90mm pistons and a stroker crank...) to unnatural aspiration (nitrous, turbo, blower)...

There's boatloads that you can do to the FJ mill, just a question of what you want to end up with and what you can afford!

[racerman_27410]

Interesting comment Andy,I do enjoy the smooth power delivery,but,if i wanted a more crazy ride,what would you suggest to get things powering ahead???

a set of flatslide carbs will wake things up a bit 

lightening the crank will turn loose some extra kookaloo too.


KOokaloo!

Frank

[Klavdy]

G'Day Matey, good to see another poster trying to teach the damn Seppos how to spell.

TYRE.
That is how it is spelt.
Our common language is called ENGLISH, not AMERICAN, for a reason.

[racerman_27410]

G'Day Matey, good to see another poster trying to teach the damn Seppos how to spell.

TYRE.
That is how it is spelt.
Our common language is called ENGLISH, not AMERICAN, for a reason.

thats OLDE english........this is 2010 and as fine a time as any to bring your old spellings up to this modern date.

TIRE......they are round and black and sold at TIRE stores !


just trying to help the OLDE generation out !


KOokaloo!

[dixiethedog]

TYRE,TIRE,TYRE,I dont really care! lol. In respect to making the fj go quick/fast,you must have a lot more options in the states,to whats available in England? My Suzuki gsx1100efe (gs1150 to you!),has had a lot of work carried out to the engine,so i do understand big bores/carbs/cams exhausts etc,but,ive never seen any performance parts advertised anywhere here for the fj? Not to worry too much,as im gonna start by modding the wheels/tyre and brakes first,and take things from there.

[dixiethedog]

Oh,i forgot to mention Racerman,that your fj looks pretty much like my ultimate fj in my eyes! Do you have any more pics of it,and whats the specification?? It looks really inspiring,or should that be,inspirational?? Bloody english language,so many choices of word and spelling.......

[Klavdy]

That bike is viciously powerful.

[captaudi]

Spelt  .

Main Entry: spelt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin spelta, of Germanic origin; perhaps akin to Middle High German spelte split piece of wood, Old High German spaltan to split.

Cheers,

Dan

[racerman_27410]

Oh,i forgot to mention Racerman,that your fj looks pretty much like my ultimate fj in my eyes! Do you have any more pics of it,and whats the specification?? It looks really inspiring,or should that be,inspirational?? Bloody english language,so many choices of word and spelling.......

Thanks Dixie,

1349cc Ross pistons , lightened crank, cams, Keihin FCR 39 flatslide carbs..... 164 hp   115 lb/ft torque. 

here are a few more pictures .....click for slide show


Kookaloo!

Frank