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Yamaha FJ1100

In 1984, Yamaha reentered the super-bike fray after years of neutrality. The long-awaited FJ1100 was big, fast and refined the first open class street bike from Yamaha to be taken seriously, an immediate force to be reckoned with by the other factories. There were faster, sharper bikes that year, but none of them had the FJ’s whole cloth compet-ence. The Yamaha embodies a classic balance of comfort

and performance that has lengthened its lifespan far beyond that of the other open-class soldiers it once fought, which have long since faded away.Since 1984 the deck has been shuffled more than once: positions and players have changed. In the natural progression of things, the FJ has gone from warrior to elder statesman. Pulled from the U.S. market last year due to a surfeit of unsold 87 models, and now returned from exile, the FJ is no longer the flagship of Yamaha’s engineering acumen. Instead, Yamaha has sharpened the FJ's focus on the sport-touring market, where it now competes with such mach-ines as BMW's K100RS, Suzuki's 1100 Katana and Kawasaki's ZX-10. Other liter-class motorcycles make more peak horsepower and handle better than the FJ,but it has taken on a smooth, gray-at-the-temples character those adenoidal upstarts lack.The Yamaha's beauty becomes

apparent as its odometer racks up miles. Many motorcyclists will be hard-pressed to find a more comfortable bike for a rider and passenger, short of a fulldress tourer. It's still one of the hardest acceler-ating motorcycles around, and well considered suspension upgrades have seen to it that the FJ's legs have more than enough life to run with the rookies. In fact, the only things that stop this bike from still being the Superbike King are Yamaha's own

FZR1000 and Suzuki's GSXR-1100. But those are birds of a much different feather, with more emphasis on high performance and less on utility. The tightest of them (the FZR) weighs 66 pounds less than the FJ. Their more modern engines make greater peak power that results in higher top speeds, and they have more advanced

chassis. But strap your significant other to either of those brutes for more than 50 miles and it's only a matter of time before papers are served.The FJ can still bang fairings with the youngsters, up to a point beyond the limits of most riders, but experience has taught it certain things that come with middle age.It has learned to,

well, prolong the act of riding. Rather than going at a full-throttle, toe-curling sweat to completion of an outing in the shortest possible time, the FJ wants to satisfy its rider over a period of hours, over hundreds of miles. In fact, long-distance riders not of the bolt upright, full-dress school may find the FJ more comfortable than the land yachts. Set full soft, it rivals their cushy rides, easily absorbing a variety of bumps, holes and ripples. The fairing and windscreen - 50mm taller and 60mm wider this

year, with bulges to keep windblast off the rider's hands - encapsulate an average-height rider's torso in still air.The seat is thick, wide, and feels lower than its 30.1-inch height. Wide and high clip-ons cant the rider slightly forward, while rubber-mounted footpegs place his feet slightly to the rear. Overall, the FJ offers splendid accommodations. In keeping with the bike's enhanced emphasis on long-haul comfort, backseat riders have been granted rubber-mounted footpegs and a less pronounced slope to their portion of the saddle. One veteran passenger gave the

Yamaha high marks, faulting it only for a still-too-steep perch which slid her insist-ently forward. In the sport-touring venue, the FJ's weight and size hurt it not at all. Over a long haul the bike's mass makes it feel like a 7-series BMW automobile - totally relentless and unruffled, solid as a very supple rock, the smoothest of engines begging for more throttle. The Porsche-like dashboard further reinforces the FJ's

image as a Euro-cruiser. Three large instruments - a tachometer surrounded by a speedometer and a fuel gauge - light up a warm and readable orange at night. There's also an easily accessible fuel-reserve switch in the left-side fairing inner. A digital clock keeps track of the time; not such a small thing when you need to know but your watch is buried under your left sleeve and gauntlet. Remove the bodywork, and it reassembles with solid, logical precision. Everything about the FJ says function without frillery. Here we are. Let's you and me snort some road. Fuel capacity of 5.8 gallons gives the bike a range of about 250 miles, longer than that of most riders. Such compelling power, combined with almost armchair-like comfort, makes it hard to fault the FJ in its role as traffic-blaster and road-swallower par excellence. Recruit a passenger, strap on some soft luggage, and try to conceive of a more pleasant long-distance, high-performance conveyance.

Time has been good to the FJ. It has fought its battles, and gallantly, but it is not nearly ready for retirement. The younger lions claw and bite harder, and their lifespans will be short if history is any indication. Yamaha's FJ1200 is a survivor because it is an intelligent machine, one with wisdom tempered by fire. Rather than doing one thing excellently, it does everything very well.

Partially reprinted from Cycle Magazine, July 1989.