I just bought a Yamaha FJ1200 at the beginning of November 2000. I had a suzuki GS500 before. One might say that this is a bit of a big jump! Well I travel to Manchester every day and to do a daily journey of 120 miles, you need a comfortable and powerful bike. I think that this is a good enough reason to purchase such a wonderful machine. Moreover, a friend of mine bought one about a year ago. he was very happy with it. it was fast, powerful relatively reliable and very comfortable. So I set my mind on a FJ1200. I paid £3,000 for my for a 1992 ABS FJ1200 model with 20,000 miles on the clock. I admit that the price is a bit steep (you would pay around £2,500) ...  Read the complete review

I have owned two Yamaha FJ1200 and both times I decided the bigger the bike the better it would be for me. The price of the first was £2600 that was in 1986. The next one a 1991 model cost me £650 on eBay in 2008 but needed a £100 new tyre as soon as I got it. The tyre was so badly worn driving it down the motorway from Northampton to London was frightening as at the time they were resurfacing the M1 and the top of the surface had been scraped off. There was also a contra flow in operation. The front tyre was following all the grooves in the road it was all I could do to keep it in a straight line. Next day I went straight to the tyre ...  Read the complete review

It was very interesting to read your review. I purchased an FJ1200 3CV a couple of months ago and am very pleased with the comfort, styling and capacity with the large Krausers and tank bag but have the following concerns. I agree with you about the slow speed maneuvring and overbalancing, which is disconcerting to say the least. I have dropped the bike three times to date while attempting 'paddle' turn. The bike dips inwards when only a fraction from vertical,as if the rake is too 'steep'? as if the front wheel is slipping from under me. The bike also fall inwards too easily when pushing around. There is nothing to do in either case but let it ...  Read the complete review

Having loved this model since they came out,even at the ripe old age of 43 I still didn't feel I was ready for this type of big old sport tourer but then whilst cruzzing through ebay one day my wife just happend to look at the screen as I was reading the right-up for a 1990 FJ1200 3CV."That looks nice,are you getting it" she said and as I nearly broke my wrist tring to hit the B.I.N. button........well she's mine and what a bike.Even with her,(then)83k miles on her the moment I sat on her,she just felt right,like we'd been friends for years.After a week of sorting her because she had been stood for over a year,the MOT was passed with flying colours.The motor is  Read the complete review