because size does matter
Austin Hills
Crash dummies
History:
I purchased the 90' Yamaha FJ1200 pictured with 3100 miles on the odometer. The previous owner had pampered the bike and it could have easily been mistaken for a new bike down at Lyle Lovett's Motorsports. I had stumbled upon the bike completely by accident, as I had been looking for a used Monster 750 or a new SV650. My first impression was that the FJ had a very long wheelbase and that it felt very low and heavy (my girlish body had difficulty getting it back on the centerstand). However, the sales associate offered a brisk ride through the backroads, and after about 10 minutes the ungodly torque and ease of speed caused uncontrollable drooling. I was hooked! Plush on my cheeks and roomy too! It is a bit of a porker though at 570lbs, but with 85 ft/lbs of torque and 118hp at the rear wheel it will launch you through the quarter mile in 11 seconds flat! The fact that it can do this with the greatest of comfort, combined with a large 5.8 gallon fuel tank, makes it the supreme sport tourer. Its top gear roll-ons and butt-friendliness that makes a sport-tourer.
Nice ass*
Gorgeous!**
FJ Wallpaper (1024x768), **FJ wallpaper 2(1024x768)

To be old and wise,                                                 
one must first be
                                               Young and Stupid

Duh:
"Project FJ" has been initiated as the FJ and I decided to fly off the road at an exorbitantly high velocity together. My friends had far too easily persuaded me to make a racing clip on the twisty roads up in the nearby hills surrounding our lake. "Sweeter than licorice panties" I thought to myself, and we promptly slapped a (borrowed no less) video camera to my tank bag. Off I was, flying through the curves much faster than usual for the sake of the camera. Then came a wide but decreasing radius corner sprinkled with that crap sand you see in the pics. Yeah, I know..."Duhh".

Luckily only my ego suffered serious (yet seemingly permanent) injury. I'm trying to lean away from such squidly behavior now. I never repeat the same mistake twice...but there are just so many stupid things I haven't attempted yet. Ironically, the guy in the SVT Contour pictured next to my bike (who was following me at the time of my Knieval impression) crashed exactly a week after I did. Briskly touring up in the hill country here in Texas, the Captain successfully completed a 360o spin out into a flood-meter. Always trying to show me up, that guy! And of course, the (still scratched up) camera was in his car...This camera is possessed! Let this be a lesson to all future squid directors out there. Cameras and juvenile male egos do not mix.

cute lil' leech

To the left you can see my little sis Christine. She's up and riding too, although somewhat more responsibly than I. That picture was taken in front of my parents house in Sugar Land.
The name sounds like some fairy tale creation, doesn't it?
Update: I have reevaluated my little sisters cuteness. The first time I allow her to take my bike for a spin she drops it trying to do a stupid trick. :(


Custom FJ:
I have scoured the Internet and moto-mags in my quest for an aftermarket fairing. Unfortunately, only the chin and side panels were spared and I will require a new front fairing, blinker, mirror, and tailpiece (the bike's...mine's just fine thanks). Stock pieces are ridiculously expensive. I've recently been entertaining the idea of a more modern fairing for the bike. Finding something that will remotely fit around that huge perimeter frame is currently limiting my options though. Not that the current fairing isn't very classy. I am simply trying to use my unfortunate "experience" as an excuse to try something new and exercise some creativity. It will take some clever thinking and research to make a good looking custom FJ, as the bike is butt-ugly without all the shiny black plastic.

FJ recourses:
Here is a zipped file of my FJ1200 links. This is a folder of favorites and contains a lot of useful information regarding the FJ. If its not in my links, you probably don't need it. To use it, follow these steps:
Download the FJ1200 file to your desktop. Use winzip to extract the file to a folder. Then place the FJ1200 folder into your favorites folder located at C:\WINDOWS\Favorites.
I did it this way as there were too many links to list individually.

Update:
The bike is looking and running like a champ again! Pics with mods including my dyno results will be posted shortly. Expect a short-term review of the Vance&Hines SS2R exhaust, Avon Azaro rubbers, and Chase Harper bags within the next week or two. Luckily, everything was ready for prime riding season, and I plan on getting some serious touring done very soon. If you spot a black FJ with saddle bags and an Italian colored AGV around central Texas, chances are good its me.

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Copyright © March 1999 Chris Creighton. All rights reserved.