Motorcycles. Passion or Obsession?

[yamaha fj rider]

Mark O +1                                                                                                                                                                                                             Stock VMAX and FJ are very close in quarter mile specs. No way can a VMAX turn or have the top speed of the FJ. This is not meant to put down the VMAX but to show GREAT the FJ is.

Kurt
.

[squidley63]

Motorcycles for me cause all kinds of issues, but I just can't give them up.  I started out riding around on my friends dirt bikes after they wore all the new off of them and reading all about the new models that were coming out in the mid 80s.  My first bike was a 1985 xl100s that my brother rode into the ground.  I put about 100 dollars into the thing before I even got to ride it, but could care less once I let the clutch out for the first time.  That amazing feeling of complete and total freedom still gives me chills after all these years.  The XL would only go 45mph on a good day, but that didn't matter to me at all.  After a year of riding that bike I did some horse trading and came up with a xr250 that I then traded for a cr250, which I traded for a cr500 that I blew up

My first street bike was a Honda rebel 250 that was to be my college transportation on a budget.  I would load that bike up with all my laundry and head home for the weekend.  With a top speed of 70mph loaded like that with no power to get up and down the hills I learned a lot about keeping up my cornering speed at all costs.  By the time that I traded it on my next bike it had scrape marks all over the exhaust and the peg feelers were worn out.  I traded the rebel for my beloved Yamaha maxim x.

That was the first street bike that I owned that I could go over 100mph with relative ease.  I slowly got used to braking into turns and powering out of them with this bike.  I read twist of the wrist for the first time because this bike showed me that I needed to learn a little bit more about how to ride a motorcycle faster.  I went to a couple of track days with this bike and after the first one I was actually passing some people as I got used to turning in later and almost backing into the corner with it.  I beveled the exhaust on this bike and would actually "show off" to my friends by leaning the bike over getting it on the exhaust and sparking into the corner with my rear tire just barely in contact with the ground.

The Maxim X was taken away from me by some poor choices on my part(riding very very tired and lugging the bike at low speed in top gear).  I still kick myself for getting hit by that guy that flew across the bridge and did a left turn through my bike.  The bike was destroyed and my left leg was mangled enough that a piece of bone was no where to be found.  After a week in the hospital recovering I started working on the insurance issues and got paid for the bike and lost work and against my families advice I went out and bought another bike a kawasaki zx600 my first taste of what a sport bike was like to ride.

I've been struggling ever since my accident to regain movement in my left ankle so that I can get back to the smooth shifting rider that I once was.  The ninja allowed me to ride to my limits though for the first time without getting close to the limits of the bike.  Because I couldn't bang gears like before I worked a lot on sweeping corners and "stringing together" series of turns.  Because I couldn't shift well I learned to be a lot smoother rider overall and to enjoy riding at even higher speeds.

I got married, started the family stuff and was tempted by a good deal on a zx11 that would allow my wife to ride with me a little easier so I sold the zx600 and only then found out that the zx11 had some title issues and a bank was looking for it...llittle tip always check the title before you get serious about buying a bike

I was bikeless for the first time in almost 20 years and didn't like it at all.  I spent most of the money I got from the sale of my zx600 to pay bills, so I was pretty much broke.  I cruised ebay a lot looking for a fixer upper and found a 87 zx750F that was half apart and had sat for 10 plus years cheap enough for me to buy it.  I went down picked it up and started cleaning things, but old bikes are old bikes and it was one thing after another that kept getting in the way of me enjoying riding again.  It finally gave up the ghost with a cam/follower issue common to those and I was bikeless again for a couple of months while I saved up enough money to find another bike.

It is the FJ that I have now.  It isn't a perfect bike, but the motor is solid and I'm slowly working on bringing back the FJ to something of its former glory.  The first time I rode it I got that joy of riding back again.  The motor is fabulous even with the stumble I have with the carb right now.  The suspension needs some attention and the front tire is a little squared off and cupped, but all in good time.  I'm just glad that the joy is back in riding...the connection that I get with the bike while riding is almost exactly like it was with my first bike. 

So basically even though my mistakes on motorcycles have almost cost me a left leg, left shoulder, collar bone, countless piles of cash, and started my back issues I still love nothing more than throwing a leg over and going for a ride to nowhere in particular.  I guess that would count as an obsession for me then

[I make oil]

Great story squidley.   Sorry to hear about your accident.  I've a few low sides nothing serious and never have been injured knock on wood.  I've had plenty of close calls for sure. 

Really enjoying this thread.

[ribbert]

Thanks to whoever started this topic.  I spent an entire evening "lost" in my photo albums and memories.  I've had 30 or so bikes over 45 years ( I got my first one at 13 ) and found something to enjoy in every one of them, except one - an xs 650 - what a dog.  I can't think of a single redeeming feature.  I may well have upset someone now but I don't recall one ever being mentioned on the forum.
Noel

[yamaha fj rider]

squidley you are a true motorcyclist. Good you are back riding again and here with us. Thanks for the story. Sounds like to tinker if so FJ is the perfect bike. 

Kurt 

[Mark Olson]

Mark O +1                                                                                                                                                                                                             Stock VMAX and FJ are very close in quarter mile specs. No way can a VMAX turn or have the top speed of the FJ. This is not meant to put down the VMAX but to show GREAT the FJ is.

Kurt
.

Here is the full story,  My 85 v-max was stolen back in 85 after 6 months of riding it . I had paid cash so no full coverage I was screwed. 
After all the bikes in between I still longed for a v-max so I bought a new one in  2001 . You know the saying you can never go home again , well that was the deal with the new max . I remembered ungodly power and nimbleness that was not there with the new max and me being a hundred lbs. heavier did not help either . A good friend of mine seeing that I had gone retro with the max said he was gonna get a fj1200 which was his bike of youthful memories and better times. We searched the cycle trader and found a 86 fj1200 in his area of socal for a pittance of 2500.00 for a bike with 12k miles in beautiful condition. I must admit I had never ridden an fj before 2001 and was impressed with the torque this bike had . we traded riding each others bikes and I have to say in the hands of the average rider they are equal in a drag race but the fj smoked the max in the turns . Being that I was the better rider of the two of us I always won the race no matter which bike I was on . This caused my friend distress to the point of thrashing the fj to keep up that he bent the rods. So he had the top end redone on the fj ,added a pipe ,jetted the carbs ,oversized pistons ,shaved the head , degreed the cams, etc. After all that was done ,the fj was a monster to ride and the bad braking and handling of a stock 86 fj was apparent. Not to mention the v-max was still able to keep up with it off the line. So after my buddy had dumped 3500.00 into the fj he went a bought a new 2002 honda blackbird. This was ok as he would ride the honda and I would ride the fj when I came to visit him in palm springs due to the fact I lived in sacramento and was traveling on bizz.
Times got hard and I sold my v-max . He offered to sell me the fj for what he had into it 6000.00 , after laughing hysterically we settled on 2000.00 for the buddy deal.
That is when I made the fj mine and attended a west coast rally and met my kind of people with all kinds of great advice on how to make the fj handle and stop. so after buying it for 2k and doing mods for another 3k I am so happy with this fj I will never give it up. Many have said before" It is not the greatest in everything but it does everything very well " I agree with that.

My buddy still wishes he never sold me the fj.   

[yamaha fj rider]

Great story Mark. What an opportunity maybe you can help your friend find an other FJ, bring him into the group and help him with the mods? 

Kurt