Do a restoration or find/buy a restored FJ

[TMadlem84]

I ONLY want an 87, which makes this harder.  I have a low miles (13k) 87.  I had a local but very respected shop give me a quote for around 8k for a FULL (ground up) restoration.  That's a lot for this bike - shop tells me I should just sell & find one in great condition.  I don't know if it's even possible to find this bike in excellent condition.

What do you think?  I kind of think that ANY used bike I find - will need work to get it to 'practically new' condition.  I kind of think that the only way for me to get a 'almost perfect' version of this bike is to have mine restored.  Any bikes that are in "like new" condition are likely in private collections & will be very unlikely to hit the market anytime soon.

Thoughts?

[FJ_Hooligan]

Why/how does a bike with 13K on it need a ground up restoration?

If it's in decent shape then it's a known quantity.  You could potentially be buying some else's well polished turd.

Does it have any upgrades?  If not, try some of those and maybe not do a total resto.

[TMadlem84]

Fair question.  I just dont think it was ever ridden much but clearly spent some lonely nights outdoors.

Want/need too.  I want this bike looking/running factory new.  What it needs is just a little tlc maintenance.

Also, it was stolen/recovered while I owned it so the tank took a hit.

I kind of think like you... buying anyone else's FJ has a large chance of buying a polished turd.  So if I'm going to spend money... at least do it on my bike that I know is done right.

[giantkiller]

You could do it yourself. Take it down have the frame ect. Powder coated have the body work refinished. You can get remanufactured stickers. And put it back together. All the information is here to walk you through anything.

[red]

TMadlem84,

Unless you want perfect factory paint, I'd say apply paint and polish as needed to your low-miles bike.  Contact local riders for your best re-paint options (repair the tank, new brake lines, et c.).

Otherwise, I would aim a bit higher on a newer FJ, one with 17" wheels, with various upgrades done already, and go from there.  

16" wheels will give you very little choice in tires, and newer FJs will have more factory upgrades.  There are a lot of FJs out there for much less than US$8k.  If you consider the theft aspect, I would rather lose a US$2k FJ than an antique with tons of money and time invested.  I own a US$1k 1985 FJ1100, running on Pirellis, and it does the job nicely.

[Tuned forks]

T, so much good advice so far.  I would add that your decision also depends upon how much you are willing and able to do yourself.  It seems that most of the regular posters here on the forum are DIY kinda people.  If you are willing but not able, there is a huge amount of collective knowledge here and members are readily willing to offer advice, sometimes even help.

On a 13k FJ, my choice would be to restore what you have unless a real beauty would fall into your lap like what happened to Ryan.

Joe

[ryanschoebel]

In my experience, you can find anything if you wait long enough, and look hard enough. Like Joe said, I had a absolute BEAUTY of an 84' come around, and I sold my 85' for $1200, and bought the other one a week later. While looking for the bike you want, start collecting bids, and parts lists, and compile what you would need to spend for the resto. If you come across the bike you want, and it looks like less, or the same as what you want, then go for the newer bike.

Thats what I would do anyways

[CutterBill]

Warning: philosophical musings ahead...

Understand that none of us gets out of here alive. So what do you want to leave behind? Do you want to leave a pristine, hardly-ridden museum piece that is all shiny without a single scratch? Or do you want to leave behind a worn and thoroughly used veteran of countless cross-country rides and untold numbers of Sunday morning rides thru twisty mountain roads? Do you want to sit in your rocking chair, polishing your perfect bike, or do you want to sit back and think about all the marvelous adventures you had on that bike?

My opinion... take that bike and make it mechanically perfect, make it so it's reliable and won't let you down. Then ride the damn thing. Don't worry about cosmetics. It's a bike, they fall over and get beat on. Just accept those scars as badges of adventure; every scratch and dent tells a story. Ride across town, ride across the state... hell, ride across the country. Go places you've never seen before, meet new friends, take photos, drink beer, go camping, get laid, explore dirt roads, hit the slab for an Iron Butt, piss off a cop when you go thru his speed trap in 5th gear and the engine screaming at redline (BTDT.)

Just ride the damn thing. Use it up, wear it out. Make it so that when you go, others will look at that bike and think... "Damn, he sure had fun on that thing..."
Just my opinion...
Bill

[ZOA NOM]

Buy a '93 and do all the best mods yourself. You'll be well under 8k and have the best FJ there is.

[aviationfred]

Here is what looks to be an un-molested 87 in Southern California in Ventura County. Looks to be in decent shape and for a reasonable price. I don't know where you are located.


https://ventura.craigslist.org/mcy/d/camarillo-1987-yamaha-fj1200/6956100933.html


Fred

[FJmonkey]

This listing is near me, I can have a look at it and report back if you are interested.

[ribbert]

Warning: philosophical musings ahead...

Bill, you get it!

I have a foot in both camps, I like my FJ looking good but have also done 220,000 non commuting km's since buying it in '08.

That bike has so many memories, I imagine when I am too old to ride I will just leave it in the garage and occasionally sit and look at it and relive some of the wonderful places it has taken me, the memories it has given me and the great folks it has introduced me to.

No amount of time spent cleaning and polishing ever took priority over riding it. Many's the time I've spent a full day cleaning it just to ride it the next day in pouring rain.

Noel

[ZOA NOM]

I imagine when I am too old to ride I will just leave it in the garage

Noel

Huh? WTF?

[JMR]

 You can become to old to ride.....an unfortunate fact of life. Same goes for sex too.

[Millietant]

I ONLY want an 87, which makes this harder.  I have a low miles (13k) 87.  I had a local but very respected shop give me a quote for around 8k for a FULL (ground up) restoration.  That's a lot for this bike - shop tells me I should just sell & find one in great condition.  I don't know if it's even possible to find this bike in excellent condition.

What do you think?  I kind of think that ANY used bike I find - will need work to get it to 'practically new' condition.  I kind of think that the only way for me to get a 'almost perfect' version of this bike is to have mine restored.  Any bikes that are in "like new" condition are likely in private collections & will be very unlikely to hit the market anytime soon.

Thoughts?

Unless the $8k involves a full engine rebuild with all new parts (likely very unnecessary), a full warranty, brand new bodywork, exhaust and other "modern" upgrades, I'd be asking what makes up the $8k

That seems mighty excessive when the full bike is already there. If its engine hasn't leaked oil previously, turns over OK and has good compression, with 13k miles on it, the only real issues will be a full carb clean and refurbish, a check over of the electrical parts and a standard "engine service" (oils, filters, plugs, valve checks etc). All stuff easily do-able by yourself, or by RPM for relatively very little money. The rest of a "restoration" on a complete FJ is just a case of cleaning, polishing, painting and replacing items/fluids that re past their best eg fork oil, maybe seals, brake system overhaul with new hoses, rear shock, tyres and if its rusted then maybe a chain and sprockets (but at only 13k miles they wont be worn out).

My 30 year old FJ had around 70k miles on it when I stopped using it for 9 years and when I came to re-commission it, all it needed engine-wise (mechanically) was a carb clean & refurb and its run perfectly ever since it was re-commissioned. I refurbished my bike for less than £2k and that included getting an upgraded rear shock, complete USD front end, new discs, better calipers, m/cyl/brake lines etc, 17" rear wheel, a set of tyres and stripping the bike down to a bare frame and engine and repainting them myself - so far, no-one who has seen my bike has even thought that the engine and frame were repainted, let alone asked me about it. The bike wouldn't win any medals at a Concours event, but (apart from a few nicks/cracks on the original bodywork) it looks practically brand new otherwise.

I'd say, do it yourself, use the guys here for advice and help, save yourself a load of money and get something that looks stock but works way better than it ever did when new.

And don't forget to put lots of pictures up on here so that we can all be jealous