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What do you reckon this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-FJ-120...oryZ9809QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

is worth, and what should I look for, problem-wise?

 

The word "Yamaha" on the side of the tank.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SE-V/CBR1100XX-X/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..78875.../...19634.../..30836.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 YTC#4
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 two#11
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 PM#5 WG*
'^' RBR 2005: Abandoned.

 

In

So its worth at least 14 points unless you can get a Double/Triple
letter/word

 

platypus says...

You'll end up with some **** egging your house and your daughter will
turn into a slapper.

 

Hammerite satin black...

 

It's not worth much more than a grand, really.

Faults, apart from general wear and tear - starter motor (rare, though).
Electric reserve tap failure (not detectable until you run out of fuel).

To be honest, I'd hang around and spend maybe another couple of hundred
quid on a tidier lower mileage one. If you can get this one at the
starting price it might be worth a punt.

 

I've been (sort of) offered it at £900.

I've been looking at what else is currently on ebay, and that was the
conclusion I'd come to - the difference between a heap and a
minter-plus-luggage seems to be not very much.

 

The usuals plus rear wheel bearing (goes at @ 20K), seized rear suspension
linkages, clutch hydraulics, jumping out of second gear under load

 

It's a kinda early one, not that the mileage is high but things decay
naturally. I would rather have a later low miler for an offer of maybe
£1.2kish like this one http://tinyurl.com/8dwje
Otherwise I have to say they are damn good bikes. Needs a Scottoiler
and the tyre choices are limited but IIRC you can get 020's to fit.
Pull like the proverbial train, unburstable engines, decent fairing
and I don't think there are really any more reliable jap bikes of the
vintage.

TBH you would be much better off on a B12 ;o)

'Hog

 

Well, I had a little ride on it, and it seemed nice enough - a bit gutless
after the Drifter, obviously, but not too bad. Cosmetically, the pictures
flatter it. You would park it at the bottom of the garden and keep tins of
paint and the lawnmower in it.

I've been thinking about B12s. And R1100Rs...

 

None quite so evangelistic as a recent convert ;-)

Take the Bandit, man. YKIMS.

 

Errm. Never ridden one. What are they like for pillions?

 

That 5,2k rpm vibe through the bars? That goes right through the
pillion seat too - so I'm informed.
Should stop her moaning ... or perhaps not ...

Seriously - not bad at all. Big, comfy seat although the pegs may be
a tad high for longer-legged burds. Elly didn't like the side-mounted
Jesus handles, although a Renntec rack replaces them with a
rear-positioned handle.

The seat isn't significantly higher, which means that the rider will
shelter the pillion from the windblast - but of course this will not
help Laura to see over your shoulder. The short (~100 miles) tank
range can be a blessing for a pillion, meaning regular breaks when
doing distance. Piece of piss to ride smoothly for the pillion's
benefit with all that torque.

Just stay around 5,2 and they won't care much. Leave 'em sitting
there, stick it on the centrestand and go for a beer.

 

I think his later wives had specially sticky thighs.

 

To add to that, in order of "pillion comfort on long trips", best first,
I think Clare would rate my bikes as follow:

1. GT750 (but, ultimately too comfortable, and therefore boring);
2. Falco (especially good for the interesting vibrations);
3. ZX-9R (vibrations through pegs are a problem, but I think this may be
due to her being out of practice and too tense);
4. VFR800;
5. Bandit 12.

.... so, there you go. Not at all in the order you'd expect, and probably
completely useless to anyone else because height and weight make a huge
difference.

 

For a fairly small amount of money Banditmania will redo the seat as
per mine. The pillion seat no longer slopes and it's grippier
material. That given I reckon it would be an excellent 2 up bike.

'Hog

 

So, slidey, slopey seat, cramped pillion pegs, vibey, poor tank range? This
is not the devastatingly comfortable two-up touring weapon I'm looking for,
I guess.

I'm trying to come up with something other than BMW here, really I am.

 

Aprilia Falco - comfortable seat, reasonable pillion pegs, vibes in a
good way, decent tank range.

 

What did I just tell you about the seat!! it is changeable.
Only vibes at one point in the rev range.
I'm getting 150 miles to fill, over 45mpg at eeek speeds
I don't find it cramped.

With a decent fairing on the like of Pip's bike I reckon it's better
than any crap old Beemer ;o)

'Hog

 

platypus emerged from their own little world to say

Alistair of MCi Tours does 30k a year, mostly 2 up in his job.

He has used Blackbirds since 1999 as the best compromise between 2 up
comfort, performance, reliability & running costs.

IIRC he liked ZZR1100 before that.