What is it?

[CanDman]

2013 ANTHEM

What is it This bike is almost 30 years old.. !!!!!  

What is it about the FJ that has survived the greatest measure of them all... time.  What is it about this machine that has captured the hearts of so many people around the world and united us !! I have never seen this kind of passion for a particular machine ever!!! Yes Hog riders are proud about owning a HARLEY ....but that is a brand name not a specific model ! This forum is a testament to ...not only a great bike....but the great people who own one and play with it....... I would love to hear why this machine is surviving and thriving and why you still own and love this bike more than a quarter of a century later.

FJ........The Mark of a Player !!    

[ribbert]

Unlike many here, I didn't have an unfulfilled yearning to own one. I simply had an amount of money to spend, spent weeks on the net and decided it was the best bang for buck. I rode plenty of them when they came out but don't recall thinking "I've gotta have one of those one day". I was riding a CB1100R around that time.

I fell in love with it a short time after I bought it. Nothing would get it away from me now though. It's a very clean, 100% original down to the last nut and bolt example ('93) I've done the rear wheel, brakes etc and look forward to suspension upgrades at both ends. I ride modern bikes from time to time and don't yearn for any of them.
If I had the money for a new bike now, I would keep the FJ and spend the money on something else.
I've put 70,000kms on it in 4.5 years.

If I made a list of the things I wanted from a bike, the FJ ticks all the boxes, except for modern ABS.

I like that it's a classic but what makes it unlike a lot of bikes from that era is it's rideable, even by modern bike standards. I regularly ride 600-700km days, it's a breeze. I enjoy riding it so much I am ALWAYS disappointed when I get home, even after a big ride, even if the weather's foul.

Noel

[gumby302ho]

 I had three friends that had them in high school and first years of college, one died on his. Plain and simple they scared the shit out of me. Watching them launch or tire roasting up the street. The FJ made history through the stories of the people and it was balls balls and more balls in her day and terrific sleek style and low seat height. I just had to own one. My fave is Red and White but they all look horny to me. B I L F,,,,,,,,,,, Bikes I Like to Flog.   

[CanDman]

I had three friends that had them in high school and first years of college, one died on his. Plain and simple they scared the shit out of me. Watching them launch or tire roasting up the street. The FJ made history through the stories of the people and it was balls balls and more balls in her day and terrific sleek style and low seat height. I just had to own one. My fave is Red and White but they all look horny to me. B I L F,,,,,,,,,,, Bikes I Like to Flog.  

It was 1985...I was sharing a house with a few band mates on Shepard Ave near Yonge street. At the time I owned the 82 Seca 650 turbo and everything that I read and knew said that I was riding the younger brother of the mighty FJ. A few doors down I would pass by this house  every day on my way to work........ and parked beside the house was a brand new 84 Red and White FJ.........I was a new rider and knew that it was too much bike for me at the time. But everyday I would look at that bike and wished that it was mine. There was something about it that captured my imagination....maybe it was the colour....maybe it was the fact that I knew that I was only capable of handling its little brother....but at the time I knew that the mighty FJ was the big boy of the block and I loved the respect it commanded. Anyway, I ended up having a really bad accident on the Seca and gave up riding. Fast forward 20 years.....two of my brothers were prodding me to get another bike and begin riding again...so I decided to do just that.......I had been out of the game for so long that I wanted to integrate myself back from the time where I left off and vied for the big brother of what I used to ride......the mighty FJ.......I looked around and found a used one in Pickering for $2,200.00. I took the cash and gave it to the guy and have never looked back...After several modifications to both the handling and the engine....I can see myself owning and riding CanD for a long long time.......




CanDman

[aviationfred]

I grew up riding mopeds, a Honda CT70 and my first street legal bike was an XL100. I rode that to and from high school for 2 years. During my teen years I never considered getting a car, it was always a motorcycle. In 1985 I went into the Marine Corps. February 1986, I was in military school and purchased a brand new 1986 Honda VF500F Interceptor. I rode that bike everywhere. I was 19 years old and thought my little Honda was the best thing in the world. I hung out at Newport Beach when I wasn't in school. I met a bunch of other young sport bike riders. One of which had an 85' FJ 1100. I remember thinking. "I will never need a bike like that". I figured my little Honda had plenty of power. I ended up being stationed in Jacksonville, NC. after school was over. A year later, I had become friends with the manager of a local used bike/parts and accessories store. He got a 85' FJ1100 in for sale. The first day I saw the bike, I told the manager, "My Honda will be paid off in 2 weeks, I will sell it and buy your FJ".
The girl that ran the sales counter at the motorcycle store said she would buy my Honda. I sold her my Honda and bought the FJ. This was 1988, I was 20 years old and had an FJ. I thought I was king of the block. Fast forward 2 more years. The girl that ran the sales counter and I ended up getting married. I got the Honda back by default. Jump a few decades. I was 45 and had not ridden in 15 years. Various reasons as to why I had not purchased another bike. I was at work one evening and a co-worker mentioned he had been on Craigslist looking at motorcycles. After work I got on craigslist and the first motorcycle listed was an 89' FJ. It looked a bit rough, the price was decent. I figured, if it ran and had no flat spots due to the aftermarket exhaust that I would buy it. The FJ ran and pulled like a train. The last year has been a blast riding and modifying. Nothing can compare to riding an FJ. It is one of those "FOREVER" bikes.

[Capn Ron]

What is it about the FJ?...that's a great question.  My story begins with what I now refer to as the "evil seed"...that moment that someone plants an idea in your head that begins to take over your life.  In my case it was a friend that had an '84 Kawasaki GPZ750 and said..."Hey...take it for a spin!"  My god I was HOOKED from that moment on...I didn't want a motorcycle...I NEEDED a motorcycle.   I went looking around and Yamaha seemed to click with me for some reason.  A salesman talked me UP to an inline 4...and I bought a new leftover Seca 550.  I rode that everywhere...even trucked it to California when I moved here.  I was living in San Diego and riding up to Los Angeles to see my girlfriend every week and logged a lot of freeway miles.  One day in 1989, when she was at work, I stopped by the Yamaha dealer in Redondo Beach and laid my eyes on the black and gold FJ1200!  It was the same basic bulletproof engine design as my Seca and just seemed like the ultimate sport tourer!  I told my girlfriend that night what I saw at the dealer and she said, "You are NOT buying a new motorcycle!!!"  I didn't get a new motorcycle, but went out and got me a new girlfriend.  I mean relax already...  I ended up with 54,000 miles on the Seca and finally sold it.  I went a couple of years and wanted a bike again...remembering the '89 FJ in the dealer's window I searched. I found a near perfect '92 ABS model and was in heaven.  I've owned it for 15 years now...have completely rebuilt it from ground up and toured the US and Canada for months on the road.  It never let's me down, always puts a smile on my face and will be with me for as long as I can still ride!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[Stainesy]

It started for me in 1984 when I bought a red and white 1100.  It was replaced years later by an ITX and now I have a 3XW.  I've ridden a succession of modern motorbikes for a living since 1991 - XJ900, XS1100, FJ1200, K100, ST1100, RT1200, FJR1300, ST1300 and one or two I've forgotten.  I turn them over anywhere between 40,000 and 70,000 kilometres so I have no urge to own one but I love my FJ; it just fits me perfectly and does what I ask of it.

[The General]

Yeah yeah yeah, ya jumped the sales counter (and the girl), but what happened to the fj that started this romance....You, you didn`t  dump her ... did ya? You basted.

[Bones]

I love my fj because we are so much alike.

Example: It's getting long in the tooth!! - Yep me too.

              It's a bit heavy!! - Yeah, so I keep getting told.

              A bit thirsty!! - Burp!!! Oh yeah.

              Plenty of grunt!! - Yep, I do a lot of grunting.

              Comfortable!! - Yep, I'm built for comfort.

              Good looking!! - From a distance.

              Fast!! - 30yrs ago Yeah.

So there you have it, A perfect match.

[movenon]

I love my fj because we are so much alike.

Example: It's getting long in the tooth!! - Yep me too.

              It's a bit heavy!! - Yeah, so I keep getting told.

              A bit thirsty!! - Burp!!! Oh yeah.

              Plenty of grunt!! - Yep, I do a lot of grunting.

              Comfortable!! - Yep, I'm built for comfort.

              Good looking!! - From a distance.

              Fast!! - 30yrs ago Yeah.

So there you have it, A perfect match.

+ 1.   

[CanDman]

 


........man....these are great stories....... ........keep em coming 


CanDman

[craigo]

I love my fj because we are so much alike.

Example: It's getting long in the tooth!! - Yep me too.

              It's a bit heavy!! - Yeah, so I keep getting told.

              A bit thirsty!! - Burp!!! Oh yeah.

              Plenty of grunt!! - Yep, I do a lot of grunting.

              Comfortable!! - Yep, I'm built for comfort.

              Good looking!! - From a distance.

              Fast!! - 30yrs ago Yeah.

So there you have it, A perfect match.

+1 on all points. That pretty much explains it.

As mine is silky white and grey, it matches my hair color as well.
The FJ fits me like a well broken in pair of gloves. At 6-2" tall, I have room to move. I have tried others, but none fit me like the FJ. When they are no longer available, I wonder what I can find to replace her? Thank God for this site, with all it's resources, looks like the FJ may outlive me. 

CraigO