Possibly going to buy but have ?'s

[winmag4582001]

Hello all. New here but not to bikes. I own many old GS's.

Got a question about a old 86 FJ1200:
Guy is in desperate need of money and he has a very good looking old FJ1200. 24,000 miles on it and a small oil leak but the seat and plastics are a 9/10, no signs of it ever being on its side and it has a title.
What's the realistic value of a bike like this? He started at $3,000 and now he's at half but that's still steep IMO for anything in the 80's.

My old early 80's Suzuki GS1000/1100's go for less than a grand in good condition up to a couple grand for the absolute mint examples.

Thanks for your input and if its a good deal, I'll be on here.

[Pat Conlon]

$1,500 is a fair price for a '86 with 9/10 good plastics and 24k on the odometer.

Just a hunch, but I suspect many on this forum would agree, that a price comparison between Suzuki GS and Yamaha FJ is not apples to apples....the Yamaha FJ1200 is a far superior motorcycle compared to a Suzuki GS1100.

[winmag4582001]

$1,500 is a fair price for a '86 with 9/10 good plastics and 24k on the odometer.

Just a hunch, but I suspect many on this forum would agree, that a price comparison between Suzuki GS and Yamaha FJ is not apples to apples....the Yamaha FJ1200 is a far superior motorcycle compared to a Suzuki GS1100.

100% agree. Old Suz and Honda's are plentiful with only the Wes Cooley and CBX1000 being worth anything.
That's why I was asking here. I think $1500 is fine for the shape it's in, but being unfamiliar, I just wanted to double check.
Thank you

[winmag4582001]

Just for comparison: If somebody told me they were looking at a 84 GS for $1500, I'd tell them it's only worth that much if it has all the electrical upgraded and in very good shape.

[Millietant]

It's a funny old world that we live in - a good GS 1100 (and a half-decent GS1000) over here would be worth upwards of £3k ($4,000) whereas a good 85 FJ would barely fetch £1.2k ($1,600) !!! A good GS1000S (they were never really known as "Wes Cooley" bikes over here, they were known as "ice cream trucks") would likely be worth north of £5k ($6,500)

It's all about what's in vogue - and right now in the U.K., a FJ is a bit "too modern" to have that "classic aura" that seems to hang around inferior tech from about the same time period.

I'm hanging on to my FJ until I die - and I'm leaving it my will to our youngest, by then it might be worth something  

[Bill_Rockoff]

Welcome! Man, I've always had a soft spot for the GS1100 and GS1150, particularly the ES ones. (Also the old Hans Muth Katanas.)

As others have said, $1,500 ain't bad for a clean intact FJ1100/FJ1200. Around where I am, pretty much anything that runs and moves under its own power and has all its lights and mirrors intact is worth $1,500. For an FJ, that's about the going rate for something that works fine and looks pretty good, but will need a few things. If it's really just "new tires and gas" away from being a ready to ride, $1,500 is a good price.

Your potential FJ is a pretty close match for a GS1150ES, with maybe a little more wind protection. At 24,000 miles, an FJ probably has a lot of low-maintenance life left in it. They run a long time, and mine is not the only 100,000 mile FJ on this list.

These bikes got some improvements over the years, along with a little weight gain for each change. 2nd gear is less of an issue after 1987 IIRC, and the front end gets upgraded to a 17" front wheel with larger brakes after 1987 as well. The improvements are easily retro-fit to older bikes, and there's a huge range of other bikes' parts for rear wheels and for suspension, and there's a healthy aftermarket as well. It is pretty common to upgrade some parts and endow an FJ with the kind of handling and braking found in far newer bikes.

Oil leaks tend to happen from the valve cover gasket http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=5WM-11193-00-00 and from the eight grommets http://rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=2GH-1111G-00-00 around the valve cover bolts. We are fortunate to have RPM Racing as a vendor / forum sponsor who sells all the fiddly parts needed to maintain and upgrade these bikes, and assuming the oil leak is from the top-end rubber parts, this will fix you up.

[giantkiller]

Funny story about gs1100es. And an fj1200. My first motorcycle was an 86 fj1200. (2nd one sold in Wisconsin) my buddy told the  guy with the GS about my FJ. And he wanted to see it. So we went for a ride. The 3 of us. On some back roads. Pulling away from stop sign I pulled up  wheelie, and was  riding it out. The GS dropps 2 gears and passed me while I was on one wheel. I dropped it down and passed him. Surprisingly pretty easily. We rode around for a while. And again I pulled up a wheelie. Again I hear the GS drop 2 gears and pass me. This time I rode the wheelie out to give him a good lead. Dropped it, and took after him. I'm gaining pretty good. Last time I looked down I was coming up on 135mph... There was a long sweeper to the right coming up. If he brakes hard. I figured I would pass him coming out the other side. I see him untuck. Looking at the corner. He tucks back down. Smoke pouring off his back tire. Shit! I'm braking as hard as I can his front tire is all the way to the inside of the corner, his back swinging out. He's got his foot down. Flattracking on asphalt. I remember thinking it was pretty cool. As I pass him his ass passed him up I knew he was going down. I Had to swing way wide. To get around him. Maybe I'll make it. Riding the edge of the pavement....Dropped off the edge. Nope going in. I was doing summersaults in the air. Everytime I come around hit my helmet on the ground and go for another.. My bike!! Fuck my bike.. is it going to hit me. I see it go flying past me. So I start looking for trees or fence as I'm flying around. Finally I'm wondering, "when am I going to stop". Then I stop.  I'm All wet and smell gas.  Oh shit I'm covered in gas. I jumped up and start to run thinking it might ignite. Then I realized it was water. I had been laying in the ditch. Farmer called the cops. Guy on the GS told them... A dog ran out in front of him. They measured his skid marks 178/ft. They wrote no tickets. He rode the GS home he had roadrash on his side where his coat had pulled up. My FJ was totaled. I had a slight concussion, and a sprained ankle.