| Product: |
Yamaha FJ1200 |
| Date: |
15/12/00 (11466 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Very Comfy, Smooth, Powerful at low revs, Good handling
Disadvantages: Fuel consumtion, low ground clearance, Heavy
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) but wait a minute and I will tell you why. First, I used to live in Manchester. For personal reasons, I moved away from Manchester. As I said earlier on I travel a fair distance on a daily basis. So I needed a FJ1200 relatively quickly. The problem is that this kind of bike are sold very quickly and there are not that many around. So when you see one and you want it, you buy it at the price.
Secondly, I can't afford to be stranded on the side of the road because the engine passed away. So I wanted a guarantee in case something serious happened. In fact I spent all my savings and took a loan to pay for the bike. Therefore, I bought mine from a dealer, "Carnell". I will not comment the services provided by Carnell because this is not the point. However, I had some serious problem with the bike. Therefore, my extra-investment of £500 was well spent. After 5 days I bought it, the ABS was playing tricks (the ABS unit costs £1,000) and the alternator passed away . They fixed the bike and lent me a courtesy bike. After 11 days, My clutch was not working any more. Same Game again, I gave them the bike and they lent me a courtesy bike. It came bike with a new clutch cylinder seal. At the same time they changed the Fork seals because they were leaking. But now the bike is running smoothly (f
or now). I have a guarantee of 12 months, so I have nothing to worry about. I have no regrets whatsoever to have paid that price.
Now, let's speak about the bike itself. It is a sport-tourer that is very powerful at low revs and offer a reasonable top speed (145 mph). It is a heavy bike, so if you are not very strong, do not bother. you drop it very easily when doing a U turn. and I tell you that when it is falling, do not even try to stop it, YOU WON'T! A piece of advice, buy some decent crash bars. that will prevent from wrecking the fairing when the bike falls.
It has a low ground clearance so be aware when you go on the pavement. The handling is excellent a low and high speed. The Fairing offers a good protection against the wind. You can buy a flip up screen but I don't think they are a big improvement. On the latest models you have a ribbed screen and they are excellent. However, if you want to buy one of them, you will have to spend an mere £90+VAT. I know, scary!!!
I ride every day with my girlfriend as a pillion and she finds it most comfortable. When we come back home at night she even sleeps on it. she leans on the top box and here she goes, snoring like a pig!! You can buy more comfortable seats but then again, you are speaking of figures over £150+VAT. No thanks my seat is comfortable enough and if I have a numb bum I just think of the money I did not spend on a new seat and I feel better already.
It is a very smooth bike. The gear change is a pleasure with the hydraulic clutch. But there is a price to pay for this gentleness of the gear-box. if you have a leak in you hydraulic clutch system, you will ride without clutch and this is most annoying. Moreover, when you stall, you have to restart the bike in neutral. It is very difficult on this bike to find the neutral without a clutch. Just check your hydraulics regularly and you will be fine.
As for the fuel consumption, well apparently the best
you can do with a FJ1200 is 45 mpg. however, when you commute like I do, with the traffic and all that, you will only get 35 mpg. I know that it is not much but for a bike of this standard, it is not too bad. I must say that my average motorway speed is quite high. I will not say how much exactly not to incriminate myself.
Apart from the consumption problem, I am very happy with the bike so far and I will give a new comment on it hopefully after the new year, just to let you know what the bike is really like.
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 06/10/07 I agree with some points but not all, mine is a 1986 1tx model, it has 16inch wheels front and rear, no abs, no fuel pump, and it also has the useless anti dive units on the forks. they are a heavy bike weighing in at just over a quarter tonne dry weight, add to that all the fluids, a tank full of fuel and a rider and then you can understand why they seem to go through fork seals. rear tyre's last quite well considering the weight and the way i ride, and even though being 16's nobody carries them in stock, but can normally be at the tyre fitters the next day after order, and there price is a lot better than a lot of sports bikes rubber. i have past supercar's many times on the motorway and you can see there frustration as they try to catch you up, to no avail. I have fitted a remus 4 into 1 exhaust and got rid of the restrictive airbox and fitted k & n filters and rejeted the carbs, this increases performance right accross the rev range, makes power delivery more linier and it actually make fuel consuption better. i get about 170 miles to a tank but you do need to keep the carbs ballanced, an easy job with a decent set of vacume guages. the weight of the bike means that even at stupid speeds it feels planted and sure. the only problems i have had was 1, water corrosion on the wires from the alternator ment the battery went flat. and 2, a break in the wire from the starter button to the starter solonoid which shows itself when you try to start all you get is the oil and fuel lights on the dash light up, an emergency repair is to patch into the wire close to the button and the other end patched into the thin wire on the solonoid, the down side is that the starter will turn the engine over even with the key in your pocket but it will not start. but there again i cannot praise the bike enough. i ride it hard and fast, i bank it over, yes she protests but she holds her own, and on country lanes due to how early the power is available and in capable hands all but the most brave or stupid sports riders will be in your mirrors and unable to get past. an absolutly awsome bike that does everything well but doesn't excell at any one thing.
my next bike will be a honda cbr1100xx superblackbird but i wont get rid of my fudge, i'll probably get a hardtail chop frame made for it. |
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- 28/06/05 I agree with the previous poster; you've been a touch unlucky. Although I must say that the fork seals on this bike seem to be a little weaker than on every other bike I've had so far, and the ABS is such a pain that I had it disconnected and have never regretted it.
My only other comment would be in relation to your praise of the gearbox. Whilst it's not bad, it's nowhere near as good as a lot of other bikes of this era, needing a very positive foot.
All said and done, I'm very happy with mine, and it performed impeccably on a 2000 mile tour around spain last august.
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- 16/06/01 As an FJ1200 owner at this time, I obviously felt compelled to read your op.
Unfortunately I also felt compelled to stand up for the bike.
You sound as if you have had a little bit of bad luck, but knowing friends with this bike, knowing friends who have had this bike, I know of nobody who has had faults except with the ABS. Although it is true to say that if you read the various bike mags, and past histories, they all tell you that the extra price for the ABS is not worth it because of the unreliability. The picture that you paint of this bike is somewhat blacker than my personal experiences hence only a somewhat useful rating. It will be interesting to read your next up-date. |
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