FJ prices

[TexasDave]

"Do I still love the FJ? Absolutely! Would I take it on another multi-day ride? If/when I do some of the much-needed maintenance, I may consider it but only if I'm riding solo. I'm still waffling with the idea of selling the FJ and just "moving on" but when I see how many are up for sale and how little they are going for I'm thinking I'll likely just hang onto it, at least for now..."
                                                                                                                                                                 Zwartie

I see the average price of a FJ in fair shape to be about $2000. Some in great shape can command around $3000 even with a lot of mods. The price of FJ's has been the same for a number of years. I am very happy with this as this makes the FJ a great bike for the money. You can buy one and put a lot of upgrades in it and it will still be cheaper than a lot of used bikes both older and newer.

Any ideas as to why the FJ is so reasonably priced?

Dave

[ZOA NOM]

Look up 1980's Porsche 911's... 

[Zwartie]

I just did a quick search on Kijiji and it looks like there are 6 or 7 FJ's currently for sale in Ontario. The asking prices range between $1,500 CDN and $4,000 CDN and the average price is around $2,500 CDN (approx. $1,800 USD). My "highly modified" '92 FJ has over 160,000 km (100,000 miles) on the odometer. It has about 60,000 km on it since the top end was redone and the bike has been well maintained. That being said, would anyone pay top dollar for it? Not likely. I'm thinking I could maybe get $1,500 CDN for it at this time and for that price I might as well hang onto it and enjoy it myself. My insurance company said they have no problem switching insurance from one bike to the other so I might just ride the FJ for half the season and switch to the FJR for the other half.
By comparison, there's a 2005 FJR1300 for sale in Niagara Falls area with 185,000 km and the owner is asking $2,000 CDN for it. Sure it has lots of kms as well but as bullet-proof as the FJ1200 motor may be, I'm told that the FJR1300 motor is even that much more bullet-proof. That's a pretty good deal for a "modern" motorcycle. Maybe even a better comparison is the Suzuki Bandit 1250 - a guy in Hamilton, ON has a 2007 with 25,000 km on it and is asking $3,500 CDN. We're talking liquid cooling and fuel injection for not much more than what's being asked for an FJ.

I see the average price of a FJ in fair shape to be about $2000. Some in great shape can command around $3000 even with a lot of mods. The price of FJ's has been the same for a number of years. I am very happy with this as this makes the FJ a great bike for the money. You can buy one and put a lot of upgrades in it and it will still be cheaper than a lot of used bikes both older and newer.

Any ideas as to why the FJ is so reasonably priced?

Dave

[Millietant]

I think a lot of it is down to "fashion" and a fair bit to the lack of general knowledge amongst bikers as to how good a FJ really can be and they were not known as the "height of fashion" bikes even in their heyday (Maverick wouldn't have looked as cool in Top Gun riding a FJ !).

As I don't ever intend to sell mine, it's not an issue for me -  but something that really shocked me a couple of years ago was that a dealer was prepared to offer me £1,250 as trade in for the FJ against a new Tuono V4 (unseen, but on the basis of a mileage of over 55,000 and in "good" condition (before I restored it)).

The same dealer would only offer me the same £1,250 as trade in for my totally mint, 20,000 mile, 2003 RSV Mille against a Tuono V4 - which I just couldn't understand, as anything similar was going for upwards of £3,250.

On top of this, Yamaha XS250 (1970's turd of a low powered leaner bike that was a total sales flop) based amateur built (if that's the right word) "Brat" bikes are being touted at upwards of £1,500-£2,000 - because the "Brat" style is fashionable  

The only things I took from this were that there is no logic to second hand bike prices except that fashion is more important than any kind of function, in today's market, and....bike dealers are just profit-hungry charlatans who don't give a hoot about customers and just want to make short term money and get out.

Call me a cynic if you will (I am), but you can probably guess that I never bought a Tuono V4 - and with dealers like this, I'll likely never buy a new bike again even though I could comfortably afford to (I just don't like being taken to the cleaners by low morality people).

[Pat Conlon]

...Call me a cynic if you will (I am), but you can probably guess that I never bought a Tuono V4 - and with dealers like this, I'll likely never buy a new bike again even though I could comfortably afford to (I just don't like being taken to the cleaners by low morality people).

I'm with you Dean.

Remember, it's not the non-recurring cost to worry about, it's the recurring costs that will kill you.
The Tuono V4's are wonderful bikes, that make wonderful sounds and haul ass, however with their shim under bucket design necessitating cam removal for valve adjustments, ask your dealer how much that service would cost. (hint: be sitting down)
My buddy, who is a Ducati fanboy, just spent $1,600 on a valve adjustment (just labor, parts were extra)

For sure, the initial buy in to FJ ownership is low, that's good, but it's the low recurring costs that make our FJ's a bargain.
There is something to be said about old school simplicity.

[Tuned forks]

Any ideas as to why the FJ is so reasonably priced?

Dave

Here's my two cents, based upon someone that was alive when they were new and just recently purchased a
FJ.

1) They're old.  Love 'em or not, let's face it.  Our machines are old.  Many are over 30 years old.  Compare that to being in 1988 and looking to buy a 1958 motorcycle at that time.  Not a single rider I know would consider buying such a vintage motorcycle now.  Many questioned my decision to buy a FJ last year.

2) The FJ riders are getting older.  Similar to classic/collectible cars, the market seems to be driven by the people that were alive when said vehicle was new or slightly used.  That age set of buyer has the fondest memories of seeing/riding/driving/ knowing an owner way back when and that buyer wants to relive that past.  I for one wanted a FJ since they were new but could never afford the $5k price.  Now they're relatively cheap and bought in while still physically able to ride.

3) They're carbureted.  Let's face it, carbs are relics of the past.  Yes, they're simple, reliable and can perform admirably.  But, when was the last new motorcycle made with carbs?  How about the last passenger vehicle?  New buyers would be very wary of a carbed motorcycle because they don't understand them.  All of us over 40 lived with carbureted vehicles on a daily basis so we're not put off by them.

4) Yamaha made a LOT of them.  That means the supply is still relatively high.  If you want a FJ, there are plenty to choose from and that keeps prices down.

Those are my four major issues that keep FJ prices reasonable.  We are soooooo fortunate to have RPM servicing our vintage model.  My other Yamaha, a FZR, has no such vendor.

Joe

[Millietant]

Thankfully Pat, I have some very good friends who are able to look after the Aprilia V4 for me, at "mates-rates".

My neighbour just paid out nearly $2k for a valve service and a couple of other bits, before he even to,d me that he'd bought the bike (a second hand RSV4). This guy has an ex Shinya Nakano ZXRR MotoGP bike in his living room as well as an ex Jeremy McWilliams Ilmor MotoGP bike in his garage, one of Aaron Slight's RC 35's, a Desmosedici, Yamaha R7, MV Augusta F4 and many more....... and with all this, he still went to a dealer to get his RSV4 done...WTF.

For the FJ, I try to do everything myself, but when I get stuck I have a great mechanic and ex FJ racer as my best buddy, close to home. It does make living with the FJ even easier  

[Millietant]

Any ideas as to why the FJ is so reasonably priced?

Dave

Here's my two cents, based upon someone that was alive when they were new and just recently purchased a
FJ.

1) They're old.  Love 'em or not, let's face it.  Our machines are old.  Many are over 30 years old.  Compare that to being in 1988 and looking to buy a 1958 motorcycle at that time.  Not a single rider I know would consider buying such a vintage motorcycle now.  Many questioned my decision to buy a FJ last year.

2) The FJ riders are getting older.  Similar to classic/collectible cars, the market seems to be driven by the people that were alive when said vehicle was new or slightly used.  That age set of buyer has the fondest memories of seeing/riding/driving/ knowing an owner way back when and that buyer wants to relive that past.  I for one wanted a FJ since they were new but could never afford the $5k price.  Now they're relatively cheap and bought in while still physically able to ride.

3) They're carbureted.  Let's face it, carbs are relics of the past.  Yes, they're simple, reliable and can perform admirably.  But, when was the last new motorcycle made with carbs?  How about the last passenger vehicle?  New buyers would be very wary of a carbed motorcycle because they don't understand them.  All of us over 40 lived with carbureted vehicles on a daily basis so we're not put off by them.

4) Yamaha made a LOT of them.  That means the supply is still relatively high.  If you want a FJ, there are plenty to choose from and that keeps prices down.

Those are my four major issues that keep FJ prices reasonable.  We are soooooo fortunate to have RPM servicing our vintage model.  My other Yamaha, a FZR, has no such vendor.

Joe

I think you're right on the money there Joe - but I really don't get why piles of crap from the 1970's that have had their performance "reduced", by daft modifications to the inlet and exhaust, such as the old Kawasaki Z400/440 twins, Honda CX 500's and other small bore "buckets" with exhaust wrap and knobbly tyres, cost more than a decent FJ to buy - and it seems the buyers were too young to be around in the 70's who are buying them at such ridiculous prices !

I'm just too old to understand young minds !

[Pat Conlon]

Thankfully Pat, I have some very good friends who are able to look after the Aprilia V4 for me, at "mates-rates....

Well now,  ^^^ that's a game changer. 
I would be all over a Tuono in a heart beat. They are bitchen bikes. I don't mind paying $10k-15k for the bike, it's the crazy high dealer service costs that frost my ass.

Besides, the closest Aprilla dealer to me is over 100 miles away.....although I do like that bike....

[Motofun]

What's the problem with shim under bucket?  If you want the high rev'ing bikes, that's what you're gonna get.  True, a valve adjustment job is a 6 beer job vs the FJ's 2 beer....so what, I like beer!   
Truth be told, I have done 4 valve adjustments on SUB engines and hated them all....The FJ and my CBX were a piece of cake compared the the race bikes.

The other thread is talking about about the FJR...guess what...shim under bucket there too.

[Motofun]

This thread got me thinking...(dangerous, I know).  What the world needs is a vernier type device that you place between the cam lobe and the top of the tappet that you can dial in and get the precise gap.  No fussing with multiple shims and trying to get the right "feel".  Take your numbers and calculate the exact change in shim size that you need.  I hate to tell you how many times I had to pull the cam shafts multiple times to fix an improper shim selection.....

[Motofun]

OK, I can't stop thinking about this...I wonder if plasti-gauge might work?  Anyone ever try something like this?  You'd have to figure out how to depress the valve to insert the PG and then release it to squash the strip....hmmmmm

[Millietant]

Thankfully Pat, I have some very good friends who are able to look after the Aprilia V4 for me, at "mates-rates....

Well now,  ^^^ that's a game changer.  
I would be all over a Tuono in a heart beat. They are bitchen bikes. I don't mind paying $10k-15k for the bike, it's the crazy high dealer service costs that frost my ass.

Besides, the closest Aprilla dealer to me is over 100 miles away.....although I do like that bike....

I just don't like dealers refusing to budge on the +$20k price they're asking for the TV4 and then refusing to give me a fair deal for the RSV (trade in at 30% of dealer retail prices for the same bike). Feels like I'm being had-over, twice in the one deal.

But, the real issue is that we're down to 5 bikes now (from 11 a couple of years ago) and another one would just sit there not being ridden, like all of those I've just gotten rid of - and even though my wife is a rider too, I don't think she'd be happy if I bought a bike just to sit in the garage for the odd occasion when I'd want to ride something different to what we've already got - and I've got a RSV4 Factory at my disposal from my neighbour if I really want a bit of madness 

[Pat Conlon]

$20k+ for a Factory TV4? That's stupid crazy, here's what they are going for over here: https://tinyurl.com/ya728s4x

Do we really need 15k rpm street bikes? Do we really need SUB valve gear on street bikes?

I think Motus had the right answer with their 1600cc V4 with hydraulic lifters.

The issue is moot. We will be on electrics within 10 years. Enjoy it while we can.

[JPaganel]

3) They're carbureted.  Let's face it, carbs are relics of the past.  Yes, they're simple, reliable and can perform admirably.  But, when was the last new motorcycle made with carbs?  How about the last passenger vehicle?  New buyers would be very wary of a carbed motorcycle because they don't understand them.  All of us over 40 lived with carbureted vehicles on a daily basis so we're not put off by them.

I am put off by carburetors. They are annoying and can be finicky.  They are not simpler than fuel injection - they have more parts, more passages to clog, more places to leak.  I just put a BMW K100 back on the road. It's ancient fuel injection, 1986, FJ's contemporary. I decided to save me some trouble and just replaced all injectors. $50 and 10 minutes, nothing to adjust. And I can take a trip not worrying about elevation.

The problem is, there really isn't an FJ equivalent in fuel injected bikes. FJR is the closest, but they are a lot more expensive.