FJ versus FZR

[Arnie]

Jesse,

Nothing wrong with an R6 - for a young kid like you who's still flexible enough to ride in the position they demand :-).  They do have a sky high rev range to get any power from them, and then you'd better hold on.
And, while your knowledge of basic mechanical devices, and motorcycles in particular has improved markedly since you bought the FJ and joined this group....... It may not yet be improved enough to be able to sniff out a dog that's been tarted up for sale.
That R6, a 2004, selling for ~US$3500 is very cheap.  Why?  What's it really like?  The claim that it hasn't been raced is suspect (at least).  Maybe they just liked the race look, but it has quite a lot of race stickers that may indicate it has been raced- OR that its been crashed and had the OEM plastics replaced with (used?) raceglass bits (which are much cheaper).  Does it have safety wire on sump and radiator drain plugs?  Does the seller offer any documented service history?
If you're serious about purchase of this or ANY other "bargain", take someone with you who is an expert mechanic to check it out properly (even if you have to pay them).
You certainly wouldn't want to be stung twice by shifty shitty bike sellers. 

Arnie

[Dan Filetti]

They claim that it hasn't been raced is suspect (at least).  Maybe they just liked the race look, but it has quite a lot of race stickers that may indicate it has been raced- OR that its been crashed and had the OEM plastics replaced with (used?) raceglass bits (which are much cheaper). 

Jesse

FWIW, I had the same thought as Arnie.  Be careful. At this point, given your recent experience, (if I may offer some unsolicited advice) I'd be looking for a bike that was at least as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing.  Seems to me, this involves sizing up the bike as well as the current owner.  Is he a squid?  Does he come across as honest? Does he have the paperwork to back up the maintenance he says he's done/ has had done? If he says he done the work himself, quiz him a bit on his abilities.  Did he just do the minimum?  What sort of modifications have been done to the bike.  Are they similar mods that you would have done -indicating perhaps a similar approach/ respect for the machine/ motorcycling...

Seriously, I would be careful with your hard-earned this time around.  The point is, despite the impression you may get reading everything here, it's mostly about riding the bike, whatever bike you buy.  The maintenance, in my mind, is a means to that end.  Oh, some folks here will talk about the catharsis of working on your bike, bonding with it -hell, I think I've even said that.  But ultimately riding the thing is the payoff, the raison d'etre, if you will.  So buy a bike that will let you ride at will and maintain when you want to.

This is my input, take it or leave it, but I'd like to see you get a good one this time around, FJ or not.

Dan     

[Alf]

I owned a FZR 1000. And the only place were really was faster than FJs was in a track. In open roads and in a real world the FJ comfy upright position with the weight at the back gives you more ride control and let you more errors
The problem with the FJ is that the excellent ride control diminish your speed sensations and you think you go slower than in fact you are. I have had this feelings a lot of times riding with in theory faster stuff like GSXRs, ZXRs, FZRs, ZZRs... When I´ve ridden that bikes the speed sensation was higher, but the stopwatch was saying the opposite

[Pat Conlon]

Jesse,  racing fairings can be quite thin by design (light weight) and as such, are not as durable as you think.

I would pass on this bike. You don't need a worn out track bike...

[ApriliaBill]

I owned a FZR 1000. And the only place were really was faster than FJs was in a track. In open roads and in a real world the FJ comfy upright position with the weight at the back gives you more ride control and let you more errors
The problem with the FJ is that the excellent ride control diminish your speed sensations and you think you go slower than in fact you are. I have had this feelings a lot of times riding with in theory faster stuff like GSXRs, ZXRs, FZRs, ZZRs... When I´ve ridden that bikes the speed sensation was higher, but the stopwatch was saying the opposite

This is a good point. On some of my bikes, it's work to get speed, where on my Aprila, I'll just be cruising along and look down at the speedo to see I'm in the triple digits. I remember the second day I owned it, got on the freeway and rolled her on, was toodling along, looked down to see the speedo say 117 m.p.h. That was an eye opener, anything else I've ridden, you KNEW you were going fast....But a big lunk like the FJ or the Tuono, it just seems to glide up there...

[FJTillDeath]

Thanks for all the advice, Dan, Arnie, Pat. The one thing I learnt from the FJ is to check at what I actually purchase, I asked a friend to check the bike out for me and while everything was fine cosmetically, the engine was off a beat. Besides trying to decode what my friend told me, he basically just said to stay away. The bike was in good running order, but something was soon to go wrong somewhere down the line. One thing for sure is that I dont wanna go from my FJ to a bike that will be just like it - in terms of repairs

I know that with my next purchase I need to purchase based on the condition of the engine first and then on the looks of the bike. I had seen another R6 for the same price but an earlier year model, with original fairings and some nice upgrades like the exhuast, otherwise failry standard. Nice low kms too. Unfortunately the bike was already sold, but the guy who sold it said there was nothing wrong with the bike. So my options are still quite open to say the least..I have been presented with a few extra options anyway..

I can only really make a decision when I actually have the money in my hands, so until then its just window shopping

[aviationfred]

I will start with a little background of myself. I rode motorcycles as my main vehicle from the time I was 19 until I was 30. I have been without a bike for the last 15 years. I have just recently purchased a 1989 FJ1200 and getting back into the full motorcycle lifestyle. For the FJ versus FZR question. 20+ years ago when I had my FJ1100, I could ride non-stop from tank fill-up to reserve. My previous bike was a 1986 Honda Interceptor 500, it had nowhere the fuel range. I would find at times that I would have to stop to get the kinks out of the knees on long rides. The FZR would fit into the same situatuation as my 500. Now that I am in my mid 40's, the comfort of the FJ is much more appealing.

[WestOzXJR]

Now that I am in my mid 40's, the comfort of the FJ is much more appealing.

Yeh I think people who have never ridden an FJ have no idea how relatively comfortable they are on a long-ish journey...

Besides an FJ I now also have XJR's which for the uninitiated are a retro style naked bike and to see one you'd assume they'd be more comfortable than even an FJ but frankly I can go further on my FJ without stopping and I find myself beginning to think about emulating the FJ's rear-set relative positioning onto my XJR so as to rotate the pelvis/hips which would get the curvature of the spine straighter and more similar to how I find the FJ.

As for FZR's, In '88 I traded my then "ageing" '86 FJ12 I'd bought near new on an '87 Genisis and then traded that on a brand new '89 EXUP when they came out. Being then in my early twenties and motorcycling was my only mode of transport, it was nothing to cover 50,000 kilometres per year and sometimes 1000 kilometres in a day to a bachelor and spinsters ball out on the Nullarbor Plain or some other such crazy reason to go for a "spin"...

The FZR used more fuel, had a shorter fuel range and I found (even with the more supple limbs of youth) the FJ was much more leisurely and comfortable on the long haul, much less susceptible to cross-winds and a LOT less sensitive to the additional mass of enough "necessities" for an overnight camping trip (ie: a swag and a bottle of Wild Turkey).

And I can say categorically that the FJ's ability as a true all-round "sports tourer" was what attracted me back to owning one again some 25 years later.