1984 Yamaha FJ1100
(Page 3 of 4)
September/October 2008
Story and photos by Robert Smith
The FJ’s other period feature is its 16-inch wheels. Smaller wheels worked well on Grand Prix racers of the era, so why wouldn’t they work on the street? No reason at all, said bike makers — and though the industry switched to 17-inch skins within a few years, the latest racing trend is back to smaller diameters, with Jorge Lorenzo using a 16-incher on the front of his MotoGP ride, a Yamaha YZR-M1.
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Performance
There’s no question the FJ was at least as good as its contemporary competition, especially as an all-rounder. It managed to be ferociously fast, yet docile in traffic, adept at track sessions yet equally at home on tour. In fact, over time it turned into one of the most popular sport touring bikes when the category was just becoming a distinct market niche.
In a six-way Cycle magazine comparison of the best of the 1984 big bikes, the FJ lost bragging rights in top speed (by less than 1mph at almost 146mph) to Honda’s new VF1000F Interceptor, but smoked the field on the dragstrip with a 10.68-second run at a terminal speed of 125.34mph. It achieved all this in spite of weighing more than 570lbs with a full tank of gas, and a power output measured at around 102hp at the back wheel instead of the claimed 125. Its slippery bodywork seems to have been the FJ’s trump card.
In another shootout, Rider magazine concluded that “while the FJ’s performance-oriented ergonomics won’t win any long-distance comfort contests … the result may be 1984’s premier Grand Prix sport-tourer.”
Gil Yarrow’s FJ110
Gil Yarrow bought his Yamaha FJ1100 brand new in April 1984 right off the showroom floor and has owned it ever since. “It was one of the first,” says Gil. While visiting Richmond, BC’s Pacific Yamaha, the salesman advised Gil, “Don’t sit on that bike. You’ll buy it!”
He was right, too. Gil fell to the old puppy-dog sales close. The salesman popped a demo license plate on the Yamaha and Gil rode it home to show his wife. He was smitten, and within a few days it had moved in to his garage. “I rode all the 1100s from that era,” says Gil, “and found this one to be the best.”
Gil won’t mind my saying that he’s a little vertically challenged, and the FJ’s compact dimensions suited him perfectly. In fact, the first time I saw Gil’s bike, I assumed the suspension had been lowered, but no. Contemporary testers noted the FJ’s unintimidating stance as one of its strong selling points.
Another curiosity on Gil’s bike is the “Lateral Frame Concept” decal on the fairing. I’ve never seen this on any other FJ, and contemporary photographs of new U.S. models show no such script. However, Gil says he’s seen the same wording on other Canadian FJs.