My other bikes

[Gary B]

To keep non-FJR photos out of another post I am posting a few here. Yamaha FJ1200 and RD500 and a Triumph T140E Bonneville. All roadworthy but not currently taxed.

 

[Niehart]

Nice.

 

[BkerChuck]

Very Cool!

I wanted the FJ1200 in the worst way but my insurance company at that time would only insure up to 1100cc. I found a leftover FJ1100 and rode the crap out of it for almost 25 years. I can still kick myself for selling that bike.

I don't think the RD500 ever came stateside.

 

[Cav47]

First one is the best of the 3. I had one and really enjoyed the massive power. Great picture and still in good running form. Compliments to you sir.

 

[rushes]

Very nice!

I'd love to hear the RD...

 

[Gary B]

Cheers all.

I am tempted to strip and rebuild the FJ, it is original and showing its age in places.

It has an annoying running problem, a sort of 'burble misfire' around 2,500 to 3,000 rpm, I've tried many things to try and cure it. More patience and cunning required!

The 500 looked like this not so long ago, I do like to tinker!

 

[Canadian FJR]

Very nice collection. I had a 1990 FJ. It was a true do everything bike.

Road race, drag race, tour and just plan back road playing.

That RD is pretty sweet also.

Canadian FJR

 

[Big Sky]

A two-stroke 500 V-4... wow. I'm not at all familiar with this bike. Must have been GP derived? I wonder how this ran compared to the Kaw 500 two-stroke triple or, maybe more meaningfully, the 750 Mach IVs?

 

[lonerider]

A two-stroke 500 V-4... wow. I'm not at all familiar with this bike. Must have been GP derived? I wonder how this ran compared to the Kaw 500 two-stroke triple or, maybe more meaningfully, the 750 Mach IVs?

Saw something similar at the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle show and swap meet at White Rose M/C in August 2010.

 

[Gary B]

The RD500LC was sold in the UK around 1984/85.

In standard tune it is quite sedate but fun. Quite a heavy bike, no power band because of the YPVS (Yamaha Power Valve System) which is a rotating spool valve to vary the height of the exhaust port. The carbs are very small bore compared with what it could take, I learnt about two-stroke tuning the hard way so it is stock.

The two-stroke oil pump is linked to the YPVS instead of the throttle which is a clever feature as the oil pump stays open when the throttle is closed at high rpm. The gearbox has it's own pump which is unusual for a two-stroke.

16" front wheel with anti-dive valves operated by front brake pressure, blocked off on mine because it just made the brakes spongy and did nothing anyway! Front forks are very squidgy.

I had two KH250 triples in the past, great engine, shocking chassis!

 

[YummYam]

Great looking trio Gary, thanks for posting. So, no tales re the Bonnie?

I notice it's the only one of the three with the front wheel in the air!

 

[escapefjrtist]

Nice collection!

Always wanted a big FJ...life got in the way and never pulled the trigger.

--G

 

[Gary B]

Great looking trio Gary, thanks for posting. So, no tales re the Bonnie? I notice it's the only one of the three with the front wheel in the air!

That's a strange feature of the T140, I think it can sit on either wheel which is good for cleaning them (not so easy on the FJR front!).

Could fill a page with Bonneville tales, this is my my third Meriden twin. The first was a T140V which I had a very nasty accident on in 1981 and it was never the same again! It snapped a pushrod once and I rode home on one cylinder with the plug out of the bad side.

The second was a 500 cc T100TT Daytona which I didn't really get on with (right hand gear change and 'revvy' compared to the 750), sold.

I bought this Bonnie around 1998, intending to commute to work on which I did until the crankcase cracked around the left main bearing. Crankcase was welded and machined to take a larger bearing, at the same time I had it rebored and hardened valve seats fitted as we lost leaded fuel around this time. Also replaced six out of 10 gear wheels, worn out.

It has Boyer Bransden electronic ignition which replaced the Lucas Rita and is quite reliable for a Triumph! It's most likely a 'Bonneville America', a batch of bikes made around 1979/80 with surplus US spec parts but sold in the UK, it should have fork gaiters on it. The factory closed three years later, it is a housing estate now as I did the Triumph centenary run starting from there.

Riding it on British roads is painful, potholes everywhere and hard as nails suspension!

 

[YummYam]

Interesting tales Gary. Lovely looking bike, the engine looks almost sculpted I think. How come the header pipes aren't blue? You certainly have persisted in keeping it running, it's a credit to you. Why was (is) it they seem destined for self destruction?

My '72 TR6R wore out the clutch basket by 11000 miles so I replaced it, then the main bearings wore out and the clutch was going again before 12000 miles so I sold it to a dealer and bought the Jap version. A '74 Yamaha XS 650.

Looked and sounded lovely, handling .........terrible, but such a torquey engine. Great!!!

 

[Gary B]

I think the key to a long life is not to thrash it, I rarely take it above 4,000 rpm which is about 70 mph in top gear.

One of the pipes is going a bit blue now, this version (the T140E for 'E'missions) has Amal Mk II carbs and runs quite lean compared to the T140V (Amal Mk I). Holed pistons were not uncommon, the fuel consumption is quite different, (60 mpg for the E and 48 mpg for the V) though some of that may be the way I ride nowadays.

The whole bike has been stripped and rebuilt with new parts which are easy to find and not too expensive. One thing I have not touched is the tank paintwork because it is original, you can see where the painter's pinstriping brush has run out and been dipped in the tin to carry on, I think his name was 'Les'!

It has a paper oil filter element conversion, a big improvement on the original 'dead rat' wire gauze job. The only other 'mod' is the drilled brake discs, I think this was a Norman Hyde product, the bike came with them.

I would like to restore a T160V Trident but was told to avoid them by the people who did my engine work!

 

[YummYam]

I would like to restore a T160V Trident but was told to avoid them by the people who did my engine work!

Probably very good advice Gary. A buddy of mine had what was probably an earlier model Trident back in the seventies. Looked and sounded fantastic at full chat. He had the engine completely rebuilt by Boyer of Bromley but it still leaked and had clutch operating issues afterwards.

 

[wfooshee]

I've got a friend here (customer, actually) who occasionally hauls out his RZ500 he brought over when he came in from England. It's painted in Kenny Roberts yellow and black. It was pretty rough a couple of years ago when he first showed it to me, but he's been through the carbs and cleaned everything up, and rides it at least once a week now. His "daily" bike is an FZ-1. He rides to work every day, and we actually pass by each other a lot of mornings.

I swear I have pics of it somewhere, but I can't find them......

 

[Hudson]

Loved my 86 FJ1100 - the bike I wanted in college but had to settle for a Nighthawk 650. The 1100 was so light and powerful for a liter bike, it warped me for looking at anything with much smaller displacement. Every bike I own now, except for the Bonneville 854cc, is at least a liter bike thanks to that FJ.

It would be fun to ride one now and see if nostalgia is still what it used to be. I am guessing I would marvel at the engine still, not be as impressed with the transmission, and maybe fret about the brakes, but it would be of the few 80's bikes I'd want in my collection.

 

[wfooshee]

Found one! It was on my phone, which doesn't necessarily get uploaded to the computer. Computer pics are tagged, indexes, and searchable. Phone pics, not so much..... Anyway, the aforementioned RZ-500, here in daily-riding running condition.

I don't recall who the exhaust is from, but it ain't Yamaha!