News:

This forum is run by RPM and donations from members.

It is the donations of the members that help offset the operating cost of the forum. The secondary benefit of being a contributing member is the ability to save big during RPM Holiday sales. For more information please check out this link: Membership has its privileges 

Thank you for your support of the all mighty FJ.

Main Menu

Hello from North Country New York

Started by codell, December 29, 2021, 06:27:00 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

codell

Winter is here and it appears the sky gods have blessed us this year with ice. I usually do a lot of snowshoeing, but with ice I do spikes and hike a lot less, so I have more time on my hands. I have already mostly completed my 'barn find' Suzuki Intruder and just feel like writing.

Now a little about my life. I am pushing 70, I don't feel it or think it but it is the reality. I was a Volvo/Saab mechanic and operated a business in Boston. I have owned 40-50 bikes and currently have 6 in the stable, they come and they go. As a child, riding around on the tank of my uncle's panhead got me hooked. I have a few scars, burns, tats and broken bones which I have collected over the years in this fantastic hobby. I have been a fast guy (in the age of Kaw triples and Yam RD's) and a dude with an attitude (the HD years). I look back and just smile.

I picked up the FJ last spring. It was sitting in the corner a very old Yamaha dealer (est.1956). I love these dirty old bike shops, they are few and far between, everything now is too sterile. It had been sitting for quite a while, but the tank was clean, and it only had 19k on it, it was not perfect but in very good condition. It kind of spoke to me, if you know what I mean, and I had to have it and I am sure I paid too much.

The FJ is why I am here.

Am I enjoying it? Hell yeah.
Cam

ribbert

What a great story, and no, you didn't pay too much, whatever it was.

I also spent some time in the Saab world. If you do a google image search for Randy, who owns this site, you will find a number of photos of a gorgeous classic Saab on the first page.

With a history like yours, you will find many things to appreciate about the FJ.

Noel
"Tell a wise man something he doesn't know and he'll thank you, tell a fool something he doesn't know and he'll abuse you"

Motofun

Welcome to the FJ addiction.  Sounds like you've relapsed a few times.   :good2:  I'm also in the "to close to septuagenarian" category to worry about it.  You'll find many folks with similar tastes and attitudes here.  Lots of help with issues if you find yourself in need.  Several of us in the north PA region.  While we focus around the FJ there's lots of variety to be found here as well. 
'69 Honda Trail 90
'75 Honda CB400F
'85 Yamaha RZ350
'85 Yamaha FJ1100
'89 Yamaha FJ1200
'09 Yamaha 125 Zuma
'09 Kawasaki KZ110 (grand kids)
'13 Suzuki GSXR 750 (track)
'14 Yamaha FZ-09
'18 Suzuki GSXR 1000R (track)
'23 Yamaha Tenere 7
SOLD: CBX,RZ500,Ninja 650,CB400F,V45 Sabre,CB700SC,R1

Millietant

Hey Cam, nice intro, although I feel I already know quite a bit about you from your earlier posts  :sarcastic:

- Humility, for one thing. :good2:

I'm glad you're finding the help you need from here, there are a bunch of very knowledgable FJ fans on here.

It's also nice to see you choose a FJ in the best colour scheme. I am sure she will run strongly and reliably for many years/miles to come.

I find it quite astonishing how my 32 year old FJ (as is yours) is still as relevant a motorcycle in todays traffic, as it ever was. I ride around with guys on everything from a 400cc Enfield single, to a Ducati Desmosedici and my FJ copes as well as any of them in real life road riding (and is more comfortable than pretty much all of them). There aren't many bikes around where that could be said of them !

So, welcome in, I hope you have fun with the bike and also with everyone on here.

I used to regularly drive from Connecticut up to Canada to visit relatives just east of the Thousands Islands, and over the years we've taken many different routes through northern NY, maybe we've passed nearby to you at some point ?
Dean

'89 FJ 1200 3CV - owned from new.
'89 FJ 1200 3CV - no engine, tank, seat....parts bike for the future.
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - complete runner 2024 resto project
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - became a race bike, no longer with us.
'86 FJ 1200 1TX - sold to my boss to finance the '89 3CV I still own.

Old Rider

Welcome and great intro!  I thaugt i was a little old  and choosed the nick Old rider when i joined, but after a while i found out im young in here :there are people in here claiming that they have pair of socks that are older then me :crazy:

Old Rider


giantkiller

Quote from: Old Rider on December 29, 2021, 12:25:40 PM
And i forgot to say that im 54  :yes:
Yah, you are a pup.

Welcome.  Cam. I went away from fjs for many years. Many other bikes. But I found my way back. Here to stay.
86 fj1350r
86 fj1380t turbo drag toy (soon)
87 fj1200 865 miles crashed for parts
89 fj1200 touring 2up
87 fzr1000 crashed
87 fzr750r Human Race teams world endurance champion
93 fzr600 Vance n hines ltd for sale
Custom chopper I built
Mini chopper I built for my daughter just like the big 1

Millietant

Quote from: Old Rider on December 29, 2021, 12:25:40 PM
And i forgot to say that im 54  :yes:

Still in your 50's........just a youngster  :sarcastic:
Dean

'89 FJ 1200 3CV - owned from new.
'89 FJ 1200 3CV - no engine, tank, seat....parts bike for the future.
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - complete runner 2024 resto project
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - became a race bike, no longer with us.
'86 FJ 1200 1TX - sold to my boss to finance the '89 3CV I still own.

Ted Schefelbein

Welcome. Through the FJ, I met my brothers Dan and Pat last summer, brothers I didn't know I had. Everybody here is my brother, some I just haven't met face to face yet.
This site will keep you in the FJ game, and it is a great game to be in. RPM is a huge resource, not sure how we would do it without them.
Relax and enjoy. You are among friends.

That Colombian chick that married me, and yours truly, just back from checking on the deer and turkeys down the end of the dead end road. About 3/4 of a mile, which, is all she will ride. Oh well.




Ted
I am an analog man, trapped in a digital parallel reality.


1989 FJ 1200

Pat Conlon

Welcome Cam, this will be fun. The guys here are a great group, very knowledgeable and helpful.
In addition, Robert and Randy at RPM are a phone call away.

Cheers laddie.

Pat
1) Free Owners Manual download: https://tinyurl.com/fmsz7hk9
2) Don't store your FJ with E10 fuel https://tinyurl.com/3cjrfct5
3) Replace your old stock rubber brake lines.
4) Important items for the '84-87 FJ's:
Safety wire: https://tinyurl.com/99zp8ufh
Fuel line: https://tinyurl.com/bdff9bf3

codell

I want to thank everyone of you for your hearty welcome. I would have responded sooner, but honestly, I feel a bit intimidated. So, please be patient with me on this socializing thing. Usually, I just remain a lurker on these forums, unless I feel I can add something that may be helpful to someone, like a 20-year-old kid with a 30-year-old bike which has more problems than he has money.

For those of you who are interested, I live about 20 clicks from the Canadian border, the closest Canadian town is Cornwall. I used to do some riding up there I especially liked Quebec, but then they started restricting border access, The last time I was over there I had to wait over an hour to get out and now with the Covid thing, no way.

There is absolutely nothing happening in this area which would interest most outsiders, unless you are an outdoor type and enjoy hunting, canoeing, fishing, hiking, etc. Unfortunately, the biggest pastime for most is eating. The closest thing to entertainment would be at the Indian reservation. They have a casino, at least 6 marijuana stores, a small racetrack and plenty of cheap tobacco for sale. The locals (living around me) are more family oriented and most attend and socialize at church. This is not a high-income area. The Amish are slowly taking over here, there is plenty of farmland available and a lot of manual labor jobs available for them too. They can be a road hazard also, along with the deer, cows, dogs, coyotes, groundhogs, moose and the ones' who like to yap on their cells.

The Adirondacks are the jewel of this area. They begin about 10 miles south of me and there are about 6 million acres. I like curves and this is where to find them. There are also many conservation roads and fire roads, if you like dual purpose bikes (which I do).

52 is young. Last summer I was doing what is called the Malone/Canton run on the FJ in the scenic Adirondacks, which is 150-miles, when I came up behind two bikes. They were doing about 10 over the legal limit, usually I would just blast by, but I was in no hurry so I just fell in behind. A short while later we all pulled into a rest area. I needed a walk around.

The rest areas and gas stops in the mountains is where I meet a lot of interesting bikers. I am not keen on group rides or big biker gigs and usually do the lone wolf thing, but it's still good to connect.

The two other bikes I had been following was a father and son ride on the same run as me. The son was on a HD bagger and dad was riding a Honda CBR250. We introduced ourselves and made some small talk. The son was curious about the FJ (it does attract attention) and wanted to know how fast it was. I told him 'Fast enough'. Then the son began complaining to the dad he had had a hard time keeping up in the curves with him and chastised him saying he should be more careful. I learned dad was 86.

That is my vision to be 86 and still be riding.


fj1289

A belated welcome!    :drinks:

I think this is a fairly unique place that goes well beyond "just" the FJ - and we mostly manage to keep it civil!   A digital campfire is how it is usually introduced  :good2:

Millietant

Quote from: codell on January 01, 2022, 02:20:50 PM
For those of you who are interested, I live about 20 clicks from the Canadian border, the closest Canadian town is Cornwall. I used to do some riding up there I especially liked Quebec, but then they started restricting border access, The last time I was over there I had to wait over an hour to get out and now with the Covid thing, no way.

What a small world !!

The family I have in Canada lived in Brockville (my aunt and uncle) and Cornwall (my cousin, also a bike rider). We mostly travelled up via Utica and Watertown to cross the border over the Thousand Island Bridges, but occasionally travelled up further east, crossing closer to Cornwall.

We got used to seeing the Amish travelling in their carts/buggies at the side of the road and thought they were a very interesting part of the countryside and communities we drove through/past. Must admit we never saw them as a danger on the roads as we were always watching for them and knew on which parts of our route we'd encounter them.

As a sad "foreigner", I love the Adirondack's, the hiking, Mountain Biking, winter sports, kayaking etc, I think mainly because the opportunity to do that here in the UK is so limited (weather and the size of our island!) - but I can really understand that if you didn''t have the modern world amenities all around, it could definitely get boring  :sarcastic:

Anyway, hopefully you get to enjoy plenty of miles and years of riding your FJ up there and that you also manage to get to some East Coast/North East FJ meets some time. :good2:
Dean

'89 FJ 1200 3CV - owned from new.
'89 FJ 1200 3CV - no engine, tank, seat....parts bike for the future.
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - complete runner 2024 resto project
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - became a race bike, no longer with us.
'86 FJ 1200 1TX - sold to my boss to finance the '89 3CV I still own.

codell



We got used to seeing the Amish travelling in their carts/buggies at the side of the road and thought they were a very interesting part of the countryside and communities we drove through/past. Must admit we never saw them as a danger on the roads as we were always watching for them and knew on which parts of our route we'd encounter them.

As a sad "foreigner", I love the Adirondack's, the hiking, Mountain Biking, winter sports, kayaking etc, I think mainly because the opportunity to do that here in the UK is so limited (weather and the size of our island!) - but I can really understand that if you didn''t have the modern world amenities all around, it could definitely get boring  :sarcastic:

On the main roads the Amish are not a problem. It is on the secondary roads around corners or if some impatient car wants to pass them. Also, some of them do not use reflectors of any kind. I admire the Amish and have had them do quite a bit of work for me. What I have learned the Amish around here consider themselves the 'poor' Amish (they are mostly from Ohio) as opposed to the 'rich' one's from Pennsylvania. There are many subtle differences between them. As many kids as they are having, in another generation they will compose perhaps 1/2 of the population around here.

The only TV I watch is Britbox and Acorn and I study it. So, I don't really consider anyone from the UK a 'foreigner'. Yeah, we spell color and tire differently and pronounce aluminum differently, but our cultures are very, very similar. I also did the DNA thing and found out most of my ancestors were from you neck of the woods. So, I look at the UK as kind of a long-lost mother.