FJ hunting.

[andyb]

A fuel pump FJ can have routing troubles as well, though I gather it's a little less sensitive.

One solution may be the early (carb'd) YZF-R6 pump's right-angle outlets, which would let you run the fuel lines well away from potential trouble.  Other than the pump and wiring/relay for it, the float needle seats are a different size on the pump-equipped models.  Not a big deal, but be aware of it.

To limp home with your dysfunctional pump out of the loop doesn't even require spare tubing, if you carry a knife to modify the hose lengths and have the tools to move things around.  A leatherman would probably suffice if you were desperate.

The fairings will interchange if you do some work with the mountings, I understand.  At worst, a matching stay will be needed.

If you're swapping forks around, the later forks will bolt right up, but the calipers and brakes won't fit unless you swap the entire assembly, wheel and all.  That nets you a 17x3.0 wheel as well as the ability to go to monoblock brakes (upgrading your upgrade, yes).  If you're really into it, nearly anything will fit if you're willing to make clamps, but pay attention to retaining the speedometer drive if you'd like to keep it.

Of course, once you're looking at swapping forks, you may as well start looking more carefully still and try to figure a 17x3.5 wheel into the mix as well.  There's a couple options that aren't too horrific.  Search a bit, there's a big listing of available options.

[fintip]

Ok. That's all good info. And while that makes the fuel pump sound lovely, at least for this model, I have never heard of problems with gravity-fed XJ's. And as far as being stuck because of a fuel pump, a friend had a truck that had to be towed home instead of being driven home from halfway across Texas to work on it--only problem was the fuel pump.

But if a gravity-fed solution is available, then it's no concern and only a boon. 

ribbert, the CBX1000 is one bike I would love to see in person one day. I have done a lot of reading on that bike. A real piece of history. When you say the FJ is 'as smooth', are you referring to power/transmission, or handling, or... ?

Or maybe vibration, and thus the placement of your rubber mount comment? You mention the rubber mounts on the 'later models'; are they only on the 91 and later models? I know discarding the later bikes because of the fairing appearance sounds shallow... But like with women: if she doesn't turn you on, is it even really worth it? From what I understand, the vibration certainly isn't *bad* on the earlier models, just not as severe... And aren't rubber mounts available/being made available for the earlier years from RPM?

As far as attaching fairings, I'm not averse to almost any amount of modification or learning, but I don't know what you mean by 'clamps' in this context, though I am making something up in my mind. Not too hard, I'd imagine? I've never had a faired bike--only naked. Anyways, fairing swap sounds definitely doable... Anyone have an idea of how difficult retro-mounting an earlier fairing onto a 91 bike would be? Are we talking 2 to 4 hours of work, or 10?

Do the 91 series have any negatives? Were they ever down-tuned to suit their 'sport touring' angle?

Thanks guys, this is incredibly helpful.

Andyb, I imagine that's the route I'd go, just finding a whole front end set-up. How hard is that?

[ribbert]

ribbert, the CBX1000 is one bike I would love to see in person one day. I have done a lot of reading on that bike. A real piece of history. When you say the FJ is 'as smooth', are you referring to power/transmission, or handling, or... ?

quote][/color][/color]

I was referring to engine vibration at cruising speeds.  

Of the 30 or so bikes I've owned, that is the only bike I desperately wish I still had, it was the Prolink model.
Other than being very smooth there was nothing outstanding about it to ride but I could sit down with a drink and just stare at that motor.

I found some redeeming feature, something to like in every bike I've owned, and there were some nice ones, ( except one, a Yamaha XS 650, what a dog of a machine )but happy to have enjoyed them and move on to something else, but I'd love to still have the CBX sitting in the garage.

Noel

[Flying Scotsman]

I like the smaller fairing because it creates less drag than the bigger ones it also seems to put the wind on my helmet at a  better position that makes less wind noise.my 90 should have better brakes than my 85 but the front brake on my 90 needs a little work,the disks are worn in a strange patern and when I brake they grab in spots.Easy to lock up and limits how much I can use it.My 90 also has a slow leak in the rear tyre so if I take it out i need to air it up.Handling gets crap as the air presure drops.Both my bikes have undercut transmision's but the 85 shifts easy and smooth.The 90 has a shift shaft that sticks a little.All these little things make the 90 less fun to ride.
The bottom line is ALL years are good I just like the older bike because it looks great and still does evrything good.I dont have suspensio upgrades but will in time.Both the 85 and the 90 will go like stink and when the 85 is getting worked on I have no problem wheeling the 90 out and giving her a thrashing.
My analasis of your situation is unless your stuck on a particular year then look at all available FJ's and pick the best one.
I like the smaller fairing 84-85 bikes and I like the Red White and Red Silver colours they come in.
Hope this helps you understand where im coming from.
Scott.......

[fintip]

Out of curiousity, how tall are you, Scotsman? Do you wear a fullface?

Thanks for that answer, that helps a lot.

[Flying Scotsman]

Im short 180 lb 5'6".Full face and a Go pro on it on occasion.

[fintip]

Found this page: http://fjclub.co.uk/#/buying-a-fj/4546920434

I really wish I could test drive the different models so I could get a feel myself for which is better. I'm totally baffled by some people saying the FJ11 feels better than the 12's as far as performance. The fairing thing is also a bit difficult to decide without trying out for myself. 

I'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out what is best. Right now I think I'd go for any of the first three generations. I *think* the ideal right now sounds like:

-One of the first two generations for fairing--the original FJ11 sounds like it had the most attractive 'sporty' fairing, but 2nd gen fairing had a lot of functional upgrades: the mirrors, the clock, the movement of the choke location, the fuel reserve switch... The third generation might also be fine, I just need to see in person. Vastly prefer the white/white+red color schemes in whatever generation. How hard would repainting the fairing of a different color to a factory scheme be? Looks a lot trickier than doing one color.

-Undecided on which engine of the first 3 generations for performance, as I find contradictory opinions and am just baffled. Anyone have some good dyno graphs they can point me to?

-Fuel pump from the 3rd generation (can this be installed onto the first two generations? Does it make a difference when you do so?)

-Front end (shocks, no anti-dive, calipers, 17in narrow wheel) from the 3rd generation

-Gas tank from the first generation (largest, size decreased from second generation on apparently; does this just fit without any mod onto the later generations? Does it look at all out of place?); however, the 2nd generation introduced a flat gas cap, for fitting on tankbags. Will the gascap from later generations fit into the gastank for the FJ11?

-Aftermarket rubber mounts for the earlier generations (do these exist? in the first three generations the engine was a 'stressed member', not so in the last gen; does that matter?)



How does this sound?

[tmkaos]

I'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out what is best. Right now I think I'd go for any of the first three generations.

Mate, welcome to the club, but seriously, just buy an FJ any year any model that looks good, and runs ok. Personalise it from there. You won't regret it. I have a '92 and I think it's the best bike in the world. FJ Monkey has a ambulence, and he thinks it's the best bike in the world.  Once you have ridden yours, what ever model you love will it too and be convinced it is the best bike in the world and contract incurable moditis immediately.

Good luck in your hunt!

James

[fintip]

Haha, an ambulance? Is that a nickname for the Red/White models?

[VMS]

Really, just buy any of them, and it will be the best bike you've had.
I have an 86 with an 89 suspension to eliminate the anti-dive (previous owner did the swap), and it's the nicest bike I've ridden. Originally bought it to pull the motor and parts the bike out, but after riding it, just couldn't do it.
My $.02

[fintip]

How hard was that suspension swap? Are swaps from FZ's of the era bolt on, or is even that one? That's pretty crucial to me, I have 0 desire to have an anti-dive fork system.

I think at this point I'll just consider all of the first 3 generations equally and go from there. None of them are perfect, all of them look pretty great.

[FJmonkey]

Haha, an ambulance? Is that a nickname for the Red/White models?

Yes...

[FJmonkey]

How hard was that suspension swap? Are swaps from FZ's of the era bolt on, or is even that one? That's pretty crucial to me, I have 0 desire to have an anti-dive fork system.

89' and up are best as they accept the Blue Dot calipers as bolt on.... I have 89' forks and the much sought after 3.5" x 17" front wheel. 

[SlowOldGuy]

The '84 to '87 model will need an upgrade to a 17 inch front wheel.  Could be a later model 3 inch or other model 3.5 inch wheel.  After that it's personal preference.

I have an '85 and by far the most amazing mod was the front wheel upgrade.  I also love my '93. Wouldn't ever sell either one.

DavidR.

[fintip]

Sorry, just to clarify... I am thinking you mean: '89 and up FZ forks are best, as they will accept Blue Dot calipers bolt on. (What are blue dot calipers?)

Or are you saying '89 FJ's accept the FZ caliper as bolt-on? (And are the forks bolt on to the 89 and later, or even to the earlier ones?)

How hard is it to find the 17" wheel with forks (or both separately)? Are there any other options other than 89 and later bikes being parted out? How much do they run for?

What are you referring to by 3", OldGuy? Is that width of the tire? I wasn't aware that the tire had more than one change, I thought they just switched in '89 to narrower, taller tires, and left it at that. Or are you talking about something else?

Any chance you can comment on the difference in feel between those two bikes? Both in regards to performance as well as fairing effect.