G'day from Western Australia

[richardphillips6208]

G'day all,

I have owned a 1988 fj1200 since last January (2010) and love it. I bought the bike from the husband of a good friend and he rarely rod the thing. It had been garaged for over 18 months when I picked it up and had several weeks of replacing rotten brake seals, seized calipers and leaking float seals. Since the early 80's I've had Suzuki's (which I hated) Kawaskaki z1000 an 1300 (which I adored) and now the best of the lot, my beloved fj.
Being an old bike it does have a few age related issues; gaskets and such leaking, but next year I get married (at 45) and have been promised both a HUGE shed and all the tools and equipment I need to give it a complete overhaul.
Love riding it. After a break of 15 years it was an excellent bike to get back on the road with. Given that I'm a country boy and find working on engines and other mechanical things relaxing, I appreciate the design.
I'll upload a few photos later.
And will probably have loads of questions later!

[racerman_27410]

G'day Mate and welcome to the group!


Lot's of us "country boys " around here getting our fingernails dirty so you'll fit right in!



Getting married at 45? how in the world did you get landed?

most blokes get smarter as they age 

KOokaloo!

Frank

[Mark Olson]

welcome to the campfire

so an 88 fj , do you have the 16" front wheel or the 17" ?

what color is it?

we didn't get 88's in the U.S. so it is always cool to see one and if resembles a 87 or 89.

post a pic up.

[roverfj1200]

Welcome to the forum.. The 88 is ...well... the sexiest FJ.. and a great ride..

Enjoy the Kookaloo..

[CMD]

Hi and welcome 

[Travis398]

Welcome Richard, you better make that a big shed, them FJ's seem to multiply. 

[billwest]

G'day Richard,

Where abouts are you located?

I'm in Morley.

Bill.

[richardphillips6208]

Hi Billwest, I live in Pinjarra. Still got awesome, long, quiet(ish) country roads down here so I can avoid the traffic and enjoy riding. I use the bike for just about everything I can now, including transport to work in Lakelands. We should catch up sometime.

Racerman, took me 45 years to find someone perfect. You missed the bit about the HUGE shed and tools. She insists! Perfect!
Hey, you are in Greensboro! Great airport. Nice town. I spent a lot of time on a camp outside Hillsborough in 1998 and 2000. Used to go pick people up from Greensboro airport quite regularly. Lovely state NC.

I'll get some photos done this afternoon. Just finished sorting out a fuel problem...I hope. I hate having to work on my front porch.

[racerman_27410]

Brother i can totally relate... hats off to you....      

i'm 46 and even though i've bought a couple rings in the past, i never got to the "I do" part.
  I do know what i'm looking for in a good woman so you give me hope there are still some good ones out there 


was that a mining camp outside Hillsborough ?  My Grandmother owned some property just south of there where some prospecting / feasability surveying was happening.

anyway congrats and good to have ya on board here!


Kookaloo! 

Frank

Racerman, took me 45 years to find someone perfect. You missed the bit about the HUGE shed and tools. She insists! Perfect!
Hey, you are in Greensboro! Great airport. Nice town. I spent a lot of time on a camp outside Hillsborough in 1998 and 2000. Used to go pick people up from Greensboro airport quite regularly. Lovely state NC.

[richardphillips6208]

Not a mining camp, a summer camp. I helped run one in Efland over a couple of years. Used to help train the counselors, pick them up etc. I'm a school teacher. Really loved NC though. Especially Boone and Topsail Island. Sort of bookended the state so to speak. Very pretty. Greensboro is really nice though.  The final run up the coast to Topsail always reminded me of some of the country around here. Although it's not as humid and doesn't get as cold in the winter. Envy you really, loads of really great roads in North Cackalaky. I was very impressed with American roads after living there, until I went across the state line of course! Guess you guys spend more on your tarmac than other states. The roads here are...agricultural.

[richardphillips6208]

Just as a reference:
1982 - Suzuki gs250es new, hated and traded after a few months
1983 - Yamaha RD250LC new, loved but grew out of
1984 - Suzuki GSX550E new, nothing but trouble
1986 - Kawasaki Z1000j used, Painted like Eddie Lawson Replica - Had oversized pistons, cam etc. Geared down. Fast off the mark, scary and I love it. Wouldn't go around corners though.
1988 - Kawasaki Z1300 - used, One of the best bikes I ever owned. Normally aspirated, candy apple red with loads of chrome. Awesome bike.
1992 - Kawasaki GPZ1100 b model. A dog.
1993- Nothing until 2009 and the wonderful FJ1200. I love that bike. So easy to work on. Rides easy, Great looking and never out of style.

[Benno #03]

G'day Mate,
Great to see another West Aussie here.
Got my 1100 only recently and haven't ridden any of my other bikes since.
Really loving the comfort, the torque and having a gearsack is brilliant.
I haven't driven the ute since getting it either.
Cheer's Benno...

[richardphillips6208]

Hey Benno

I know what you mean. I've spent 12 years without a bike and then another 6 months getting the FJ to run reasonably. I love the ride. Suits me just fine now that I'm older. I've had more powerful, faster and larger bikes before, but none that did everything as well as the FJ1200. None were as easy or as pleasant to work on either. When I'm married and we've moved into the new place I will have a decent shed and will do a complete rebuild from the frame up. Doesn't need much really, but I'll bring everything back to spec or better and hopefully have a bike that will run reliably for another 22 years!
There are a lot of FJ owners around and many hard core bikers I've run into over the last year or so describe it as being "bullet proof".  All indications so far seem to point that way. It's certainly the most forgiving bike I've owned both mechanically and in the way it handles.

Enjoy!

Warm regards.

Richard

[Dan Filetti]

I've spent 12 years without a bike and then another 6 months getting the FJ to run reasonably. I love the ride. Suits me just fine now that I'm older. I've had more powerful, faster and larger bikes before, but none that did everything as well as the FJ1200.

Richard

Richard-

I'm curious.  12.5 years ago (or more) there were not too terribly many stock bikes out there that were "more powerful, faster and larger" [than the FJ].  Which bikes have you had that meet that description.

Just curious.

Dan

[richardphillips6208]

Hi Dan,

No, you are quite correct. Most of my previous bikes were around the 82 vintage and (stock) they were all slower and less powerful than the 88 FJ.
However, The z1300 was certainly bigger, in physical size definitely. The z1000 had an full race kit (cam etc) and was set up for racing. It wouldn't idle well or run at 60kph for extended periods of time (our normal street speed limit) but hell it had some acceleration! Not as fast in top speed as the FJ, but a lot faster off the mark as it was geared down. I was told it had been used to race around a very short circuit, or to drag so it had bags of power to spare. Damn scary really as it tended to either lose grip in first gear even on good tarmac roads, or wheel stand if one was less than judicial with the throttle. It couldn't be ridden on a dirt road in first gear at all, I had to start in second. Mind you I was young and pretty heavy on the throttle.
I loved that bike! Wouldn't go round corners though, well, not without a fight which is probably why it was sold. I learned a lot about motorcycle engines on it, given that I had to repair it on a fairly regular basis. Not the best looked after. When I bought it the baffle consisted of a genuine SPC baked bean tin with holes in it and lots of chicken wire.
When I said faster I meant off the line, not top speed. Sorry, should have been a little more precise.
I am absolutely sold on the FJ1200 though.
At 22 years old it has a few rattles and the seals and gaskets are starting to go, but it was owned by two people before me and neither of them thrashed it so everything is in pretty good condition.