1990 Yamaha FJ1200 from United Kingdom

Summary:

Budget power

Faults:

Electric fuel switch went on the blink, leading to intermittent fuel starvation until it was disconnected.

General Comments:

Massive torque, great power and good comfort.

It is heavy, but apart from that, there's really nothing to criticize.

The turbulence is more than you'd expect from its reputation, but this can be cured with a custom screen. That done, it's superb.

Keeping up the the latest, greatest 600s is a blast; without the associated back/wrist/wallet pain.

Just ditch the bellypan before you wear through it.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd April, 2006

4th Nov 2006, 17:06

The FJ1200 was and is a phat bike.

The 1TX was the first and best. This engine was king on the drag strip after the GSX1100 and only beaten by the newer oil cooled GSXR engines after that. We now have the Hayabusa engine as king, but the good old FJ will still pop your arms out of their sockets. Mine was stock and after replacing all the frame bearings, rubber, valve shim settings and carb balancing it was like new, even if it still looked rough

A heavy bike to roll in and out of the garage, R1 calipers make better stopping power. Once in feet up mode it is effortless and hyperspace fast. Will eat ANY sports race bike half its size for lunch up to and over the legal speed limit.

The early ones have a 2nd gear problem, it jumps out under hard acceleration, bad ones were factory re calls, but rare.

Get one if it is cheap, but look for warped brake disks up front, they are fabricated and wear unevenly and warp with heat, you will know about it when you feel it through the lever.

Fork seals need a special tool to undo the damper rod from inside (shop job for most) If it runs well and has a ticket, then change the oil and nail it hard, in that order.