Siekman’s 1985 Yamaha FJ1100

Several years back, well-known vintage racer Allen Siekman had a job with one really nice perk — his commute was along nine miles of scenic road. At the time, his commuter of choice was a 1984 Honda Interceptor, making for a great start and end to the day. A fellow employee lived nearby, and the two would often ride to work together. One day they traded bikes, and Siekman fell in love with his friend’s Yamaha FJ1100.

“I felt that it was made for me. Someone had gone to great lengths to make sure the handlebars, footpegs, and the seat were right for me. The Interceptor was a great bike, but I felt the FJ1100 was custom made for me. The seat was somewhat lower, and there was more performance. The FJ was easy to ride and well mannered. My friend had a hard time getting it back.”

FJ history

The FJ1100 was announced at a difficult time for the American motorcycle industry in general and Yamaha in particular. The early 1980s saw the American economy in the dumpster. Unemployment was up to 9% in December 1982. At the same time, Yamaha had been engaged in a sales war with Honda. Each company was trying to one-up the other, but as a result of the bad economy, unsold motorcycles were piling up in warehouses. Harley-Davidson, newly independent from AMF and perilously close to bankruptcy, petitioned the U.S. government to impose a tariff on large-displacement (over 700cc) Japanese imports, which was signed into law in April 1983. Slowly decreasing each year, the five-year tariff was initially 45%.

Yamaha decided to push on regardless. When its 1984 lineup was revealed, the American motorcycle press was surprised and delighted to see two new models: a 49-state-emissions-compliant 350 two-stroke, the RZ350, and the FJ1100. The rest of the lineup was severely pared from prior years. The plan was to sell all those bikes in warehouses at come-hither discounts before increasing the new model range. It worked — Yamaha, although somewhat battered, stayed on its feet, and the FJ1100 debuted to rave reviews.

The factory had been known for years for its racebikes, but up to this point had not displayed a road legal sportbike that could compete with the canyon carvers built by the other three of the Japanese Big Four. Yamaha conceived the FJ1100 as a kinder and gentler sportbike — one that didn’t demand you twist yourself into knots to ride it or wear you out in two hours. One writer referred to it as a “Gentleman’s Express.” Kinder and gentler did not mean slower or less responsive. The FJ was built with a track-inspired perimeter frame that wrapped around the engine and a wind tunnel designed fairing. The engine pumped out 102 horsepower to drive a machine with a dry weight of 501 pounds (570 pounds with fuel according to a period Cycle World test). One contemporary reviewer saw 147mph on the speedo while coming down the front straight of the Willow Springs racetrack. This tester was also impressed by how the big Yamaha took corners. “All in all, the 1100 looked, felt, and acted just like a for-real racebike.”

The motor was air cooled, but sported four cylinders, 16 valves, and double overhead camshafts. Bore and stroke were an oversquare 74mm x 63.8mm. The cams were chain driven, and the engine was kept slim by putting the alternator behind the cylinders. Fuel was supplied by four 36mm constant velocity carburetors. Despite the ample ground clearance, the seat was a low 30.9 inches, adding to the ease of riding.

Sportbikes were hot during the 1980s, and the FJ was a well-engineered sportbike. Both the fork and Monocross rear suspension were adjustable, and the bike ran 16-inch wheels front and rear. Testers found there was plenty of torque at lower rpm, but that the powerband came on around 6500rpm and the engine would pull up to the 9500rpm redline. They liked the stable, neutral steering on all sorts of corners. They also cautioned that the bike should be short-shifted on tight mountain roads and the powerful powerplant must be treated “with respect.” The magazines were justifiably concerned that many people attracted to the FJ1100 simply did not have the ability or the skills to ride it safely.

Comparison tests were a staple of motorcycle magazines in the 1970s and 1980s, and Cycle magazine organized one in late 1984. The contenders were the Honda VF1000F Interceptor, Kawasaki GPz900 Ninja, Suzuki GS1150ES, and the FJ1100, holding the banner for Yamaha. Testers liked the Suzuki powerplant, but not the wheelbase or the riding position. The Ninja’s crouched riding position was not comfortable for long days on the road. The big V4 Honda had been discontinued, and the new model hadn’t been tested yet. All of which left the field to the FJ — a comfortable bike with loads of low-end and mid-range torque, that was “never fussy,” “easy to start,” and reliable.

The late, lamented Motorcycle Consumer News (originally Road Rider, the thinking person’s motorcycle magazine in the 1970s and 1980s) was mostly attuned to touring bikes, so it was a surprise when the magazine did a reader’s evaluation of the Yamaha in 1997, four years after the model had been discontinued in the United States. The magazine found that owners liked their bikes and intended to keep them. One said, “My message to Yamaha is don’t bring the FJ back! I want to be the only kid on the block with the best in long-haul comfort, unlimited power, top-notch sportiness and rock solid reliability.”

Many owners dressed their FJs up with luggage and a taller windshield and took them on long distance trips. Others used the bike as a reliable commuter. Common upgrades included new fork springs, which improved the handling, and a Corbin seat. Items to watch were the rear wheel bearings, the chain, a second gear cog (an expensive fix), and a burned-out clutch (a cheaper fix). Tires wore fast for obvious reasons. The magazine recommended the bike as a reliable sport tourer, available for relatively little money when buying used.

The 1985 FJ1100 had a new shift drum that took some (but not all) of the clunk out of shifts, some minor carburetor changes to ease warmup, and less engine noise. It also used a different seat material that was less slick, “important when you are trying to stay on top of 100 horses,” noted one magazine test.

For 1986, Yamaha increased the displacement from 1097cc to 1188cc, but changed very little else about the bike. As the manufacturers increasingly moved to water cooling, the relatively simple but durable FJ soldiered on. After a long nine-model-year run, (FJ1200s were not sold in 1988), the factory finally discontinued the model in 1993.

Allen Siekman gets a present

“I always wanted one, but somehow never got around to it.” In the years following his ride on the FJ1100, Allen Siekman started vintage road racing, rebuilt a variety of new and old motorcycles, and did some traveling. The FJ stayed in the back of his mind — but something always came up, and he never started a serious search for one.

In the meantime, a friend with a large motorcycle collection and a kind heart traded a motorcycle he owned for this 1985 Yamaha. It was not in the best condition, due to the prior owner (the one before the collector) thinking he could tune better than the factory could. He made the bike run badly in the process. For example, lacking real tuning skills, the owner decided to remove the factory air filter and re-jet the carburetors. When that made matters worse, he made other changes — all of which made the bike complain and cough. However, this person, however misguided, did not change the exhaust system. Stock FJ1100 exhaust systems in good condition are nearly unobtainable, and the mufflers on this bike were in beautiful condition with no dents or scrapes.

The former owner also saved all the pieces he had removed and included a big bag with these parts with the trade. It is often said that when considering the purchase of a vintage bike, the first thing to check is how easy it will be to replace broken and missing parts. This is particularly important if you want to restore to stock. Many FJ1100 parts, especially bodywork, are very thin on the ground, so the bag of parts might have been worth more than the bike!

This collector friend then decided to move out of state and needed to downsize his collection in a hurry. He asked Siekman if he would like the FJ — free, if he picked it up from the collector’s shop. Such friends are nice to have!

Looking a gift motorcycle in the headlight

Siekman decided to restore his gift motorcycle. “I wanted to put it back to the bike I fell in love with.” He was only able to do so since the big bag of parts was part of the acquisition. Many items in the bag would have been very difficult to find.

The restoration shopping list started with new tires — a bike with the FJ’s horsepower is not kind to tires. Siekman rebuilt the brakes. He rebuilt the carburetors, putting the jetting and needles back to stock. He says the carburetors work just fine with the factory settings for anything but serious track work. New rubber boots (the originals were cracked) connected the carburetors to the engine intake.

The next job was to check over the wiring. A lot can go wrong in 39 years, but the wiring harness was sound and the connections weren’t corroded. With the motivational parts restored to good working order, the next job was to repair the bodywork. The lower “chin fairing” had some cracks and dings. This molded ABS plastic piece was a two-model-year item, and good used ones are even less locatable than the mufflers. Siekman, never one to shrink from a challenge, was able to reconstruct the part that had been on the bike and locate the correct decals. It was a lot of work, but eventually a factory-correct chin fairing was complete and off to the painter.

House work is dangerous

Up until this point, the restoration effort had gone very smoothly. Siekman decided that with the FJ project on hold for a while, he should tackle a few house projects — like repairing a six-foot-high retaining wall on his property. Now remember, Siekman has been racing for years with no major mishaps. Also, since Siekman is a pretty darn decent racer, he has great balance.

Despite the sheer unlikeliness of anything bad happening as Siekman was working on the wall, he fell off and cracked his hip.

This accident put a hold not only on house projects, but also on finishing the Yamaha, riding, and racing. Friends pitched in, picking up parts, getting the FJ on the lift, and helping with reassembly. After two months, Allen was able to get back to work on the bike. He was happily reassembling the bodywork when he somehow put a small ding in the tank and chipped the new paint. He pulled himself together (by this time he was able to drive), removed the tank, and ran it back to the painter.

The painter commiserated with Siekman’s plight and had the tank back — invisibly repaired — in a week. Allen picked up the tank, very gingerly and carefully loaded it into his car, very gingerly and carefully got it out of the car, into the garage, on the bike, fastened it down — and everything was in place with no further bad luck. A friend came by to help ease the shiny new restoration off the lift. Sometimes it takes a village (or a vintage club) to get a restoration across the finish line.

The checkered flag waves

Siekman is not quite 100% from his tumble as of this writing, but is really looking forward to riding his newly restored FJ1100. He has a variety of motorcycles, and his plan is to start riding a small and light single, then graduating to more weight and horsepower. If all goes well, he should be riding the Yamaha within three weeks. “As I remember from my ride on my friend’s bike, you twist the throttle and it accelerates quickly but not angrily — it’s very smooth. The bike feels determined and powerful, but also controlled. I don’t like to ride 140mph on the street! It handles very well — wants to dive into turns.

“It’s been my dream to have one for a very long time. Sometimes things fall into your lap.” MC