Young FJ1200 Owner Needing Guidance

[spyy.vs.spii]

hey all! I'm 22 years old i've had the FJ for about 2 years... its a long story but this bike is basically in pieces now in the back yard. I've grown up on bikes love em and will always be passionate about them, my first streetbike was an 82 nighthawk 650 loved it but needed more power, so natrually I jumped on craiglist and bought the cheapest biggest displacement cycle i could find, (I WAS 19! GIVE A SQUID A CHANCE!!) I paid $400 cash money and rode the sketchy 1990 fj1200 about 45 miles (highway) home and got to enjoying it. Right from the get go i knew it was a heap the cowlings were trashed, I eneded up ripping them off and going naked (ugly as it was) and just rode the hell out of the thing no matter how stupid and squidish I looked. From the first time I rode it on the night I bought it, the bike would die unless given a slight amount of constant throttle, it would not idle! Anyways I said "screw it, i'm gonna ride this bike til the wheels fall off and not put a bunch of money into an old heap, (my thoughts at the time were not exactly "Responsible/reasonable" I was a stupid kid looking for thrills) anyways its been a year since my younger more impulsive and thinking i knew it all self decided I would strip the beast down to nothing and build it myself to what I dreamed it could one day be.... needless to say I eneded up with a box of parts scattered in a garage and a frame and engine of a once pooly running poorly abused legend of a motorcycle. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FJ GODS FOR MY TRANSGRESSIONS!!!! I KNEW NOT WHAT I HAD IN MY POSSESSION!!! lol anyway yeah now after a year of the bike sitting at a house i thought i would never see again (family issues caused me to move across the country and have to move back a year later) and I'm home again and had forgotten i owned the bike lol and I am dead set on restoring the majestic motorcycle to its glory and providing the beauty of the ownership it deserves! (My dad laughed at the idea of restoring the bike when i told him, LETS SHOW HIM WITH A LONG TASK OF REBUILDING AND OWNING THIS BUILD!!!!) please help me through this process! THANKS IN ADVANCE

-SPYY.VS.SPII

[ryanschoebel]

Hey there, we have similar backgrounds.  I' also 22, and have been riding and FJ1100 for about 2 years now. You've come to the right place for the answers and help you're going to need to restore the bike, but honestly, its going to take a lot of time and money. Depending on the state of disrepair before, and after the teardown, you might even be better off just parting that bike out, and buying another. The 1200's are a little easier to find (although not much), and although parts are more readily available, fairings are about as easy to find as unicorns. There are some very nice bikes out there, depending on your funds. Do you know any of what the bike needed before the tear down, repair wise?

Ryan

[Pat Conlon]

....you might even be better off just parting that bike out, and buying another.

I agree with Ryan^^
If you really like FJ's, buy another one (that has not been trashed) and keep your collection of parts as spares.

Your dad laughed, because he knows....

[ZOA NOM]

Don't know if its still available, but here's one in Denver

84 FJ1100

And a more recent '93 that has been on the lift at RPM. Looks like a nice example. You could buy it, I'm sure Randy would hold onto it at RPM until the weather lifts and you could hop a flight to Sacramento and ride it back.

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/d/rocklin-93-yamaha-fj1200-abs/6817879878.html

[Firehawk068]

Spyy,
Where abouts in Colorado are you?
I'm in Denver area (Aurora).
Working on these bikes is fairly easy, and most parts you might need can be found used or on Ebay.
The exception to this (as the others have said) is the Upper Fairing, The Lower "Chin" Fairing, and Front Fender Halves.
These items are near impossible to find in any kind of usable condition. Every once in awhile one will pop up for sale, but they usually fetch big dollars $$, so be prepared to wait awhile if you are dead-set on finding replacements.............

We're not trying to discourage you from restoring the one you have, but being realistic both time and money-wise, it may be a better option to find another one............

The FJ1100 for sale in Brush looks to be a 1985-model, unless it was a Canadian version originally.

Anyway, welcome to the FJ Brotherhood............You've come to the right place for knowledge.

[Tuned forks]

Welcome to the forum spyy.  I've disassembled the front and rear suspensions/wheels/brakes on these machines and they are fairly intuitive.  Never removed the engine, wiring, etc.
As others have stated, if funds allow, buying another bike could prove more motivational.  Speaking from experience, it's very tough to maintain motivation for a long term project if you can't ride/drive/fly/whatever the project.  So maaaaaybe, you could be riding another machine which could possibly motivate you to finish the disassembled FJ as you would ultimately like it.  Many members here have multiple FJ's, (not naming any names or anything).  You may want to expound on what specifically made you think the FJ was running poorly.  The collective information contained in this forum is massive.  Having a clue as to the causes of your poor motorcycle performance could help or hinder the reassembly process.  For instance, if the fellas think your issue(s) were with the carburetors, then you would need to budget time and money to rebuild them.  I'm sure others more experienced than I will chime in too.

Joe

[T Legg]

There is a very nice example on Reno's craigslist of an 86 FJ1200 in great condition with new and almost new tires super trapp exhaust system Givi bag top case and one side case  corbin seat heated grips flipped back touring windsheild dynajet kit after market rotors front and back and the fairing looks great in the pictures regularly maintained for $2,500.00. It kind makes me feel like a fool for how much ive put into the 84 fj1100 i just bought only to get it up to stock condition.