FJ in MI here

[swiftnick]

Hello, I picked up a 91 FJ a couple of years ago and it resided in the corner of my garage since waiting for some love and attention. Back in the 90's I used to ride with a very good friend who had the same bike. I always liked them and it was on my list to add to the stable so when this one appeared at a fire sale price I really couldn't say no. Well I finally got around to giving her the axle to axle going over that I like to do on any used bike I acquire this past winter. And now she is fully road worthy and I'm discovering what a wonderful bike these are. Great power, comfy, the fairing works better for me that my ST1300 and just an all around great bike. wasn't horrid to work on either, I rebuilt the carbs, clutch, forks, valve clearance, new plugs and general tune up, clean adjust and tighten all over. She has Avon Rider tires that are 6 years old and although they both still have good tread the rear is starting to show cracks with being ridden. So that's my next job. I'm in MI, north west of Detroit so if any others are local drop me a line, I'm always on the look out for new guys to ride with. I retired early and bikes fill a lot of my time now.   

[fj1289]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

[Millietant]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Don't start him off........... before you know it there'll be a turbo and a R1 front end going on it 

Moditis beckons........

[fj1289]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Don't start him off........... before you know it there'll be a turbo and a R1 front end going on it 

Moditis beckons........

I'm not sure the issue with that?!      LOL!

[swiftnick]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Funny you mention that. I have been shopping tires for a while and finding a matched pair that fit the starkly different front and rear specs that the FJ has is challenging to say the least. So yes I have been pondering a 17" rear wheel. Are there by any chance easily available bolt in options out there?

[red]

Welcome!
Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?

Funny you mention that. I have been shopping tires for a while and finding a matched pair that fit the starkly different front and rear specs that the FJ has is challenging to say the least. So yes I have been pondering a 17" rear wheel. Are there by any chance easily available bolt in options out there?

Nick,

You can often find a complete R1 front fork/rim/brakes assembly, maybe on eBay, for cheap.  That move upgrades your brakes, forks, and gets you a 17" front wheel, all in one swell foop.  With a 17" front wheel, there are lots of tire choices available, because there are enough 16" rear tire brands available to choose from.  Not many 16" front tires are available, out there.

[gdfj12]

Nick,

Hello and welcome. I'm in Garden City, not far from you. There are a few FJ owners in the area, two that I know personally, although one is selling his '93. I'm getting ready to mount a new set of Michelin Road 6 tires to the YZF600R wheels on my '89. I'm itching to get out for a ride as soon as the weather cooperates, the old bird needs to stretch her legs. It'd be cool to get together for a ride.

George D
'89 FJ1250, _slightly Modified

[giantkiller]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Don't start him off........... before you know it there'll be a turbo and a R1 front end going on it 

Moditis beckons........

I'm not sure the issue with that?!      LOL!

Me either!

[Millietant]

Welcome!
Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?

Funny you mention that. I have been shopping tires for a while and finding a matched pair that fit the starkly different front and rear specs that the FJ has is challenging to say the least. So yes I have been pondering a 17" rear wheel. Are there by any chance easily available bolt in options out there?

Nick,

You can often find a complete R1 front fork/rim/brakes assembly, maybe on eBay, for cheap.  That move upgrades your brakes, forks, and gets you a 17" front wheel, all in one swell foop.  With a 17" front wheel, there are lots of tire choices available, because there are enough 16" rear tire brands available to choose from.  Not many 16" front tires are available, out there.

Hi Nick,

Yes, there are 2 very straightforward and simple options for a 17" rear wheel.

1) the YZF 600R Thundercat rear wheels swap

And

2) the Suzuki GSXR rear wheel swap

Both have their pro's and cons.

My favourite is the Thundercat option, which uses the Cat wheel, brake disc, sprocket carrier and caliper carrier but retains the FJ brake caliper, brake hose, torque arm and sprocket. The the Thundercat brake caliper carrier needs a bit of adjustment (can be done by hand, carefully, in about 20-30 minutes, or in 10 mins at a local machine shop) - and you use the FJ brake side spacer on the chain side with the Cat wheel and sprocket carrier.

Others prefer the GSXR wheel, disc and sprocket carrier option, which also needs the GSXR brake caliper, torque arm, brake hose, custom sprocket and you need to sort out fixing the torque arm to an anchor point, but only needs a couple of 4mm thick washers to act as spacers to align the wheel (no manual adjustment or machining of any parts). There is also an option to use a GSXF caliper carrier.

The choice is yours, both have their merits and both are totally worthwhile and let you use premium sports touring radial tyre's.

I went for the Thundercat option because it was easier and quicker to find the right wheel (they're all the same, whereas the GSXR needs to be a specific year for matching sets) and because you don't need the extra caliper, sprocket and brake hose, it's cheaper.

I'm not sure if the Cat was as popular in the USA as it was over here in the U.K. and parts may be more difficult to find (at the right price and close to you) than for the GSX, but that's also something for you to consider - might be best to look for both and see what turns up in your search.

Best of luck which ever way you go.

[Millietant]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Don't start him off........... before you know it there'll be a turbo and a R1 front end going on it 

Moditis beckons........

I'm not sure the issue with that?!      LOL!

Me either!

The gold forks on the midnight blue/gold 3CV look just stunning Dan..........

[fj1289]

Welcome!
Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?

Funny you mention that. I have been shopping tires for a while and finding a matched pair that fit the starkly different front and rear specs that the FJ has is challenging to say the least. So yes I have been pondering a 17" rear wheel. Are there by any chance easily available bolt in options out there?

Nick,

You can often find a complete R1 front fork/rim/brakes assembly, maybe on eBay, for cheap.  That move upgrades your brakes, forks, and gets you a 17" front wheel, all in one swell foop.  With a 17" front wheel, there are lots of tire choices available, because there are enough 16" rear tire brands available to choose from.  Not many 16" front tires are available, out there.

Hi Nick,

Yes, there are 2 very straightforward and simple options for a 17" rear wheel.

1) the YZF 600R Thundercat rear wheels swap

And

2) the Suzuki GSXR rear wheel swap

Both have their pro's and cons.

My favourite is the Thundercat option, which uses the Cat wheel, brake disc, sprocket carrier and caliper carrier but retains the FJ brake caliper, brake hose, torque arm and sprocket. The the Thundercat brake caliper carrier needs a bit of adjustment (can be done by hand, carefully, in about 20-30 minutes, or in 10 mins at a local machine shop) - and you use the FJ brake side spacer on the chain side with the Cat wheel and sprocket carrier.

Others prefer the GSXR wheel, disc and sprocket carrier option, which also needs the GSXR brake caliper, torque arm, brake hose, custom sprocket and you need to sort out fixing the torque arm to an anchor point, but only needs a couple of 4mm thick washers to act as spacers to align the wheel (no manual adjustment or machining of any parts). There is also an option to use a GSXF caliper carrier.

The choice is yours, both have their merits and both are totally worthwhile and let you use premium sports touring radial tyre's.

I went for the Thundercat option because it was easier and quicker to find the right wheel (they're all the same, whereas the GSXR needs to be a specific year for matching sets) and because you don't need the extra caliper, sprocket and brake hose, it's cheaper.

I'm not sure if the Cat was as popular in the USA as it was over here in the U.K. and parts may be more difficult to find (at the right price and close to you) than for the GSX, but that's also something for you to consider - might be best to look for both and see what turns up in your search.

Best of luck which ever way you go.

Dean's suggestion on the YZF600R - a point of clarification especially in the US - this is NOT a YZF600 R6!  It is the model between the FZR600 and the YZF60 R6 - and was sold along side the R6 for several years.  There have been some people in the past that have accidentally bought an R6 (or even an FZR600) rim by accident.   

Looking at partsfish.com looks like the YZF600R was available in the US from 1995-2007.  Hopefully parts will be easy enough to find!

Go Modifiers Anonymous Go!   



If you haven't figured it out yet, Modifiers Anonymous works opposite to most of the other "............ Anonymous" groups!!!

[giantkiller]

Welcome!

Sounds like you are nearly set!  Keeping with the stock rims?  Or upgrading to a 17" rear before getting tires?!

Don't start him off........... before you know it there'll be a turbo and a R1 front end going on it  

Moditis beckons........

I'm not sure the issue with that?!     LOL!

Me either!

The gold forks on the midnight blue/gold 3CV look just stunning Dan..........

Thanks 2008 gixxer 1000 forks. Welded extensions onto caps and had them machined down. 2008 gixxer 1000 was oversprung. So no need to change springs or revalve. Put them on all my fjs. So far. Have a set for the turbo bike.

[Millietant]

Dean's suggestion on the YZF600R - a point of clarification especially in the US - this is NOT a YZF600 R6!  It is the model between the FZR600 and the YZF60 R6 - and was sold along side the R6 for several years.  There have been some people in the past that have accidentally bought an R6 (or even an FZR600) rim by accident.   

Looking at partsfish.com looks like the YZF600R was available in the US from 1995-2007.  Hopefully parts will be easy enough to find!

Go Modifiers Anonymous Go!   



If you haven't figured it out yet, Modifiers Anonymous works opposite to most of the other "............ Anonymous" groups!!!

That's an interesting point of reference and an issue we don't have here - Yamaha we're very clear in their marketing in the U.K. that their 2 bikes were the YZF 600 R............and the YZF R6............in fact for most promotional/marketing info Yamaha dropped the YZF from the R6 model and simply called it the "R6", with never any reference to "600" in its designation.

They made matters even easier in the family tree by also calling the YZF 600 R the "Thundercat" - and calling the YZF 1000 R the "Thunderace" (so there was no confusion either for us with the YZF R1).

Over here the FZ 1 has always been known as the Fazer and the FJ 09 is the "Tracer".

With Kawasaki it always seems the opposite, where the US bikes got names and the UK bikes got  designations - jeez, our first "Ninja" didn't come out until 1994 (ironically on the ZX9R), 10 years after you guys in the USA got the bike with the cool sounding name 

[swiftnick]

Thanks for all the info on rear wheel replacement. I have windows open for E bay as I type this. Thundercat looks to be the best option. While crawling around the rear end yesterday and trying to fix a creak (cleaned and lubed all the shock pivots, didn't fix it, think it might be the shock itself) I discovered a further reason I'm going to need another back wheel. It appears that at some time in the past the bike was strapped down with a chain past through the wheel. There is damage on the rim consistent with that, but most worrying is that some of it has been repaired with a gob of JB weld. Until I pull the tire off I wont know for sure if the rim was punctured but that is my suspicion as the repair does not seem to have been done with aesthetics in mind.

Good to see UK representation on this site. I'm actually an expat myself and came to the US in the late 80's. I grew up in Surrey and last lived in Wimbledon before crossing the pond. I bought a new Honda 900FC in 1982 from Ryes of Fulham and brought it with me when I came over here. I have ridden that bike all over the US and still have it today.

George in Garden City, you are not that far away at all. I ride all over the local area so we must catch up with each other.

[Millietant]

Ah, you're not the only ex-pat here as well - keep your eyes peeled for "Andyoutandabout" 

One thing to mention, make sure you get the wheel spacers with your purchase.

There are a few Brits on here too, but we're nowhere near as well represented as the Aussies. It's a great brunch with plenty of info and stories and everyone is always willing to help out. Any questions, just ask.