The longing to own a FJ1200 started when in '85 I was riding my GPZ900 up an Austrian mountain, two up with the wife's kitchen sink on board. The 900 was telling me its dislike of the altitude by popping and farting, when from out of nowhere came two red and white FJs, again like me loaded up, purring past us as if I was stood still. I turned around to the missus and said, ”That's the bike I want.”
In '87 my chance came to buy new from a discount dealer for £3750. The first 500 mile service was done by the dealer, which was to be its first and last - the engine seemed a bit noisy so at 1000 miles checked the valves myself. I ended up changing three shims. After this the bike ran like clockwork until 13000 miles when I noticed a juddering from the front forks when I applied the brakes, it was still on warranty so I took it to a local dealer, who after changing the pads decided it must be the fork bushes, so they changed them. It still wasn't perfect but the juddering eventually disappeared as more mileage built up.
When 15000 miles came, a common fault with FJs appeared. The rear wheel bearing on the sprocket side let me down whilst I was in Wales. After limping back to Bristol, I replaced it with an RS type since the original is assembled with the open side facing outward, so once the seal in the sprocket casing wears, it allows water to get in.
On the subject of common faults, a lot of riders think that the FJs haven’t got much ground clearance. This is due to a soft rear shock. To overcome this I wound the shock up to maximum. disconnected the control unit and set it back to 1, then reassembled. Mine's now set on about 3 and it seems just about right for my 10.5 stone. Either that, or buy an Ohlins, you won't believe the ride it gives.
Slick 50 was added at 23000 miles and the front pads had passed their sell-by date so they were replaced with EBC pads. I tend to use the old front pads on the rear brake as they usually have about 2mm left. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I bought any for the rear.
That Easter, as most Easters, with a group of friends we all go to Oban for a long weekend. Usually about eight bikes ranging from FZR EXUPs (Expensive Useless Plaything) to CBRs, our main object is to survive, bike intact along with our pride. This is harder than it first might seem, as what starts off as a gentle ride to the Isle of Skye turns into something that doesn't look too different from what you might see on the IOM.
You would expect the FJ to be outclassed by such good machinery, but you’d be wrong. The FJ is a big and heavy bike, but the weight is very low along with its seat height, this in turn with its 16" wheels, makes for a very flickable bike, and with such wide handlebars it's no surprise that's where most of the rider's input goes, which allows you to even change line whilst cranked over in a bend.
The biggest surprise is the sheer rideability, whether fully loaded or solo. With a 125hp and over 80lbft of torque available you're never wanting in power. What catches most bikers out is the deceptive acceleration as it hasn't got any power band as such but just wrenches your arms off on the slightest of throttle openings. On a GPZ900, for instance, because it comes on cam you think it's faster until you see the FJ clearing off into the distance.
I'm talking here of every day riding and not drag starts. On one occasion in Scotland whilst travelling back to Oban, a friend in front on his FJ seemed to suddenly to pick up the pace. I followed and in doing so left the others trailing behind. The strange thing was that on every entry into a bend his brake light would come on causing me to panic brake as this wasn't his usual style of riding, but the pace just got quicker and quicker and the braking got heavier and heavier.
At this point I was doubting whether it was such a wise move to follow him after all, as his usual philosophy is, if you don't fall off you’re just not going fast enough. Eventually he pulled off the road, as we stopped I noticed his tacho needle was in the red. He quickly turned the kill switch off and said, "Thank fuck for that, my throttle has been stuck open for the last two miles!"
By the end of the year I had 31000 miles on the clock and unusual clunking noises started coming from the rear of the bike. It only appeared when I was travelling slowly, finally tracked down to the front sprocket which was changed. At that time, my friend had just written off his FJ by throwing it in a ditch. His story was that a weasel had run out in front of him and he had no choice. This incident, of course, had nothing to do with the five pints he’d drunk just before the accident.
He was due to go to Spain for his holidays so I loaned him my bike! He insisted that he would buy a new chain just in case it failed on him, but as luck would have it, the rear wheel bearing went in deep Spain. Ha, ha! A few months later a vibration started, noticeable through the handlebars at speed. I balanced the carbs to no avail. After many nights of investigation I found the problem - two of the carb diaphragms had pin holes in them. No problem, I thought, until the dealer told me they were nearly £40 each! Thank god for breakers, where I bought a bank of FJ1100 carbs.
When I first bought the FJ I was a little disappointed with the performance, as the FJ1100 I had tested felt a bit quicker. I put this down to coming from a GSXR1100, but I now realise that it was a simple matter, that the engine was tight, the air cooled models do take a bit longer to loosen up compared with any of the water-cooled bikes.
At 45000 miles the rear wheel bearing was replaced again, along with a RK O-ring chain (sprockets were still good). Until 53000 miles all it was given was normal servicing, but by then the front brake had decided that three years of abuse was enough, as it became a fight to haul 520lb of bike to a stop. Which wasn’t a good thing as I was in Germany at the time and those autobahns make too much of a temptation to cruise at 120mph, so I stripped them down and replaced the seals. Seeing as I had gone this far, I put on a set of Aeroquip hoses. What a difference, back to two finger braking and even the anti-dive started working!
As for tyres, I’ve gone through nine rear and eight front. I only use Michelin radials on the rear now as they usually last about 8000 miles and are dead sticky. I managed to get 13000 miles out of the last one but this was mainly due to me travelling on the autobahn/motorway to and from Germany. The front ME33 comp K did 12000 miles. I think it's not the speed as much as the acceleration that causes wear.
The front average about 8 to 10,000 miles. The worst was a Michelin A48 which only did 3700 miles and it didn't even grip well. I tend to buy used tyres from a breaker as they are as good as new and only cost £20-25. The fuel consumption varies a lot but I tend to average about 45mpg, though the worst was 32mpg (130 miles to reserve) while touring around Denmark.
I have had bad dealings in the past with dealer servicing, so I always do it myself. I once had a dealer who refused to look at my bike on a warranty matter because I had not bought it there, even though I explained that I wasn't living in the area when I purchased it and I had a letter from Yamaha telling me to take it to the nearest dealer. He continued to shout at me in the middle of the shop saying, 'What do you expect if you buy from a discount dealer.” To which I pointed out that if this is how he treats a customer it's a wonder he has any.
I change the oil regularly every 2000 miles and the filter every other time along with the valve clearances. I've changed a total of 14 shims but the clearances don't change much now. The fork oil is changed every 6000 miles, perhaps why the fork seals are still original, and the air filter at twice this. In winter I try to take the bike off the road long enough, so I can strip it down to grease the steering head bearings and the rear suspension linkages.
It's now done over 60,000 miles and is as strong as it’s ever been, though it's starting to look a bit tatty. The paint on the engine has peeled off, the oil pipe connections are rusting, but if the engine doesn't last for 100,000 miles I'll be very disappointed
Phil Hacker