proved bike is a 87'

[crzyjarmans]

What did I do today?, Proved my FJ is an 87' not an 89',  I posted a question on changing my rear tire to a 17" rather than a 16"... And was told my bike was not a 87', But indeed was a 89', After post a pic of the sticker under the head light, they said the tag had been tampered with and to check the stamped vin on the frame, So?, this morning went out to the garage and took of the necessary parts, took a pic, and verified that they matched,  and woo hoo, they match, my bike is most certainly is a 87'

[rktmanfj]

What did I do today?, Proved my FJ is an 87' not an 89',  I posted a question on changing my rear tire to a 17" rather than a 16"... And was told my bike was not a 87', But indeed was a 89', After post a pic of the sticker under the head light, they said the tag had been tampered with and to check the stamped vin on the frame, So?, this morning went out to the garage and took of the necessary parts, took a pic, and verified that they matched,  and woo hoo, they match, my bike is most certainly is a 87'

I'm gonna try to be nice.

What you were told was actually this:

That tag appears to have been tampered with.

Try removing the inner fairing panel and see what the number is there.

What you have now proved is that you apparently have an '87 frame with a whole shitload of '89 parts hung on it.

The tag still looks tampered, FWIW.     

[markmartin]

What you have now proved is that you apparently have an '87 frame with a whole shitload of '89 parts hung on it.

It would seem that the PO suffered from a case of '89 envy.  :-)

[crzyjarmans]

Actually this is what I was originally told

Shawn,

I just noticed that you refer to your bike as an 87'. I remember the photo of your bike in you introduction thread. The bike in the photo is a 89', possibly a Canadian or European 88'. You definitely do not have a 87'.

Fred

He said "you definitely do not have a 87'", But, I wasn't trying to be nasty, just having fun, If I have offended anyone?, my apologies  
The tag may have been falling off, and the P/O tried to stick it back on?, this is just a guess, as I have had this happen to me on an old bike use to have

[aviationfred]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to start a sh**storm.   All I was trying to say was that by all appearances the bike looked like an 89'. Wheels, forks, brakes and all the plastic and fairings. The PO spent big dollars to make an 87' look like an 89'.

Fred

[andyoutandabout]

Yep that's so 89 looking in my book. The only 87 I've ever seen is Mr Beans with the red and white paint scheme the reverse of my 86. The front fairing is structurally the same looking, i.e. smaller scoops and more angular around the front blinkers.
Your fairing is of the bigger, wider type that the 89 onwards had.
Whether its built of 89 parts hung on an 87 frame, I can't see that matters at all.
Remember; if it goes right, it is right.

[fj11.5]

Fwiw mine in the pic is actually an 84 ,easily enough changed to look like an 89 ,out of neccessity at the time

[rktmanfj]

The PO spent big dollars to make an 87' look like an 89'.

Fred

I can think of at least one more likely scenario, but I'm all out of give-a-shit.     

[1tinindian]

The PO spent big dollars to make an 87' look like an 89'.

Fred

I can think of at least one more likely scenario, but I'm all out of give-a-shit.     

Seems hinky to me too, Randy!
Glad it's not mine!

Leon

[crzyjarmans]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to start a sh**storm.   All I was trying to say was that by all appearances the bike looked like an 89'. Wheels, forks, brakes and all the plastic and fairings. The PO spent big dollars to make an 87' look like an 89'.

Fred

No apology needed Fred, I wasn't upset with you, As I am new to these style of bike's, and when you made me aware of the difference between the years, I got a little nervous that I was scammed, and possibly had a stolen bike or something, I was relieved when the VIN Stamped on the frame matched the VIN on the sticker, Now I can keep the bike, If the VIN hadn't matched, I would have to contact law enforcement to check if they had a stolen motorcycle report with that VIN number

[yamaha fj rider]

Shawn good to hear that the numbers match. Also good news that you know some of the parts are off of a newer model, this could save the problems later. Have fun and enjoy.

Kurt

[yamaha fj rider]

Shawn good to hear that the numbers match. Also good news that you know some of the parts are off of a newer model, this could save the problems later. Have fun and enjoy.

Kurt

Saw this after posting (above).
http://fjowners.com/gallery/4/3242_04_05_13_9_50_37.jpeg
This IMO, was not done at the factory. This was hand stamped, IMO. I am not saying there is anything wrong or illegal, but after working in motorcycle shops for over ten years. Seeing more VIN# than I care to count. In my opinion this an 89 not an 87.

Kurt

[Mark Olson]

if it has a fuel pump and dog bones its a 89, well now at least.

[movenon]

Shawn good to hear that the numbers match. Also good news that you know some of the parts are off of a newer model, this could save the problems later. Have fun and enjoy.

Kurt

Saw this after posting (above).
http://fjowners.com/gallery/4/3242_04_05_13_9_50_37.jpeg
This IMO, was not done at the factory. This was hand stamped, IMO. I am not saying there is anything wrong or illegal, but after working in motorcycle shops for over ten years. Seeing more VIN# than I care to count. In my opinion this an 89 not an 87.

Kurt

Not that it maters but I agree. I use to do a lot of "rebuilds" back in the day and got very acquainted with tags, VIN's, VIN locations, titles, build plates etc..

Optimistically it wouldn't be all that uncommon to pick up a frame with no title and make it jive with a title. I am not saying its legal but it happens.  I thought the same thing when I seen how it was stamped.

Been down this road also with street rods. If you have an old frame with no title, you can call for an inspection, they will check it for stolen etc. and if it passes inspection then they stamp an Idaho VIN on it and issue a title. It is a little more complicated than that, but that's the rough procedure. The last one I did took about 6 months and 3 inspections. When done my frame and body had a State of Idaho issued (and stamped) VIN number and a reconstructed title.
George

[Dan Filetti]

The tag may have been falling off, and the P/O tried to stick it back on?, this is just a guess, as I have had this happen to me on an old bike used to have.

More logs for the fire....  I pressure washed my son's CRF50 a few years back.  The graphics floated right off.  I stuck them back on as best I could, and once dry were ~impossible to remove again, but they did look a bit like your sticker.

I am curious, to Mark's point, whether it has a fuel pump and dog bones.  That, in conjunction with the other things previously mentioned would mean that either; something is really hinky, or someone took an '87 frame and grafted on everything else from an '89.  I am not sure why someone would do this.

Regarding the VIN stamped on the frame, they are definitely not lined up as you might expect from the factory; concerning.  Can anyone else look at their (preferably '87 or '89) VIN and see if they are perfectly straight and lined up, or do the numbers float around a bit, as is in the picture below?  




Dan