By Frederick Greenlee | KS
My first fully street legal motorcycle was a 1986 Honda Interceptor 500. In the spring of 1986 I was a young 19 year old Marine attending Naval Aviation Maintenance School in Orange County California. Every day I would head to Newport Beach and hang out with a few other sport bike riders. The other riders rode a Yamaha RZ500, an all-white Honda VFR700, a Yamaha FJ1100 and a modified for the street Honda XR600. I fell in love with the FJ1100, but thought that I would never need/want a bike that big or powerful. On the weekends we had a blast on HWY 74 between San Juan Capistrano and Lake Elsinore. When I finished with my schooling I put a set of Hondaline saddlebags on the little Interceptor and headed east to North Carolina with a stop in Ohio. Fast forward 18 months, a used motorcycle and aftermarket parts store that I frequented, with a friendly manager, got a 1985 Yamaha FJ1100 in. I saw the FJ in the store, I told the manager that the bike was mine. I sold my Honda and purchased the FJ1100. The 2 years that I owned the FJ I rode up and down the East Coast in comfort and it had about 100 mile better range than the Honda. When I returned to Southern California I started to find the popular canyon and mountain roads to ride. Sadly I crashed and totaled the FJ in 1989. Two decades later a co-worker said I should look for a motorcycle on Craigslist. The first motorcycle that was listed was a 1989 Yamaha FJ1200 at a reasonable price. It looked abit rough, but I figured if it ran well and had no major issues that I would buy it. The FJ ran well, pulled like a train and other than a blown fork seal I saw no major issues, so I purchased the FJ for $1500.00.
Why I decided to purchase a 23 year old motorcycle. I had considered a Yamaha FJR1300 which I liked the looks and performance of. Everyone that owned them gave them high marks, but for me it is too large, and I don’t need all the gee whiz-bang goodies. I decided to purchase the FJ because of all the motorcycles that I had owned over the years, the Honda Interceptor 500, Yamaha Radian 600, Yamaha FJ1100 and Honda Interceptor 1000, nothing had the same comfort, ease of maintenance and over all pleasure to ride. The 1989 FJ1200 was the 3rd generation of the FJ. Some of the refinements over the previous models were a 17” front wheel, removal of the Anti-Dive forks, a larger fairing and a fuel pump. The overall design is very user friendly. Pull the gas tank off and you have complete access to the 16 valve, carbureted air cooled engine. eBay is a great source for parts. Yamaha still makes the same basic engine for use in the Legends class race cars, and the European model XJR1300.
What are the highs and lows of owning a 24 year old Sport-Tourer? I will start with the lows. As with any purchase of a used motorcycle a person has to use their best judgment. I saw that this particular FJ had some issues as someone put first generation wheels on it. There were a few plastic pieces that were the wrong color and some other minor discrepancies. The biggest low was that it appeared to have been crashed. Since it was easy to get parts, I replaced the instrument panel. My mileage reading was uncertain. About 6 months into owning the FJ it began to smoke badly on cold starts, and use a quart of oil every 450 miles. I had a compression check performed and it checked good. The head was removed and sent to California for a teardown, inspected and rebuild. The company owner owns 2 FJ1200’s and races Legends cars. I was informed that the buildup on the top side of the valves was bad. The valve springs showed signs of being over heated. I received the rebuilt head back and had it installed. No more smokey startups and a greatly reduced oil consumption.
Now we can get to the highs. The FJ1100/1200’s are a dream of a bike to live with. I am 5’7” in height and find the seating position perfect. A bonus to having a motorcycle that had a 12 year production run and a huge following, is that through the Internet an owner can find most any part needed and a few online forums for knowledge. I joined the FJowners.com forum shortly after my purchase of the FJ. With information gained from some very knowledgeable members, I have applied very good and vetted modifications. I have been able to bring my 24 year old air-cooled, carbureted, poor brakes, skinny biased ply tires and bad suspension FJ into the 21st century. In the year that I have owned my FJ. I have addressed all but the front suspension short comings. A front fork upgrade and oil cooler upgrade will be coming soon. Modifications that already have been done are: a 17”x5.5” Suzuki GSXR rear wheel, a 17”x3.5” Yamaha FZR750R front wheel, front brake calipers from a Yamaha R1, braided stainless steel brake and clutch lines, a rear shock from a BMW K1200RS, a spin-on oil filter adaptor, and 3/4” handlebar risers. As these modifications were done, bearings were replaced, parts powder coated, and I now have an FJ1200 that wears modern radial tires, brakes that are up to any task, and a rear shock that can soak up bumps with ease.
My daily life with my FJ: I commute daily on the FJ to work except from mid-December to mid-February. I enjoy the strange looks from the young sport bike riders. At first glance the FJ looks like a pure sports bike. A second glance tells them, something just doesn’t look right. When I put the hard panniers and top box on, that really gets them. The plastic bits are nowhere near perfect, yet from the under 30 crowd I occasionally get asked if the FJ is a new model. When I stop at places I have people come and tell me how they had one years ago, or their dad or uncle had one when they were a kid. Here in the lower Midwest, cruisers are the main staple for motorcyclists. I always hear, crotch rockets are so comfortable and I could never ride like that. I politely correct them. The FJ was initially targeted as a pure sport bike, but evolved into the original sport-tourer. I go on local rides, typically in the 200 mile range. Most of the cruisers that I ride with have to stop to refuel or to take a break from their riding positions. 200 miles on the FJ can be done without stopping and just minimal seat discomfort. This FJ is a forever motorcycle for me. My FJ is 24 years old and I plan on riding it for another 24 years or more.
