Well, apparently it seems I haven't posted here in awhile, and people are wonderin if I'm still around, haha. Figured I'd at least write somethin up and see what was going on with everybody else. I just picked up a new bike last weekend (new to me anyways). 1984 Yamaha FJ 600. As far as I know right now, it needs a battery and front brakes, but should be on the road by the time the weather warms up again. Well, just wanted to say hi, and if anybody in Pittsburgh ever wants to meet up, let me know.

Joe

 

I'm jealous, I still can't ride yet and every time someone passes by I drool. I just noticed your name, years ago there was a guy I knew in Philly we used to call Joe from the Weeds. We used to belong to a club called Young Mens, not that any of us are that anymore. I was talking to a friend Dave the other day about guys from there. Who was still around, still alive and instead of girlfriends and what we are going to do in the future, we where talking about our and our wives retirement packages. Also got into the old man stuff we have to go through at the doctors too, prostrate exams, heart tests, achy bones, blue pill prescription costs (we're older, not dead) and what kind of steps we have on our trucks so we can get in them. Pretty soon I'll be sitting on the boardwalk with a newspaper, a coffee and a hat waiting for the early bird special at the restaurant complaining about the young girls getting in the way of the ocean view.

 

here you go joe....drool away

 

Sorry man, not really into the Harleys. But the quad, ooohhh yeah

 

Aye Weeds...I been wonderin' whar ye've been! Good to hear ya picked up the new Yamaha! Now forgive me as I'm a bit confused on the FJ 600..that particular model seems to escape me. Generally I know Yamahas' fairly well. Spent a good bit of time on the RD350 embarrassing the heck out of KZ900s and Honda 750s' in my errant youth. HAW!HAW!HAW! Laid a few rooster-tails o'er some of them expensive moto-cross/enduro bikes with the DT 250s and such as well! (giggle!) Hmmm..twaddled about on a friends R-1 last summer. That was a short ride! Found out a fat old man could lose his license in .32 seconds when he launches it out of the driveway and does a wheelie right past the Pa. State Police at over "the ton'!! (100+m.p.h.) Drat! Rats! Good thing they had a sense of humor and believed the "Old-man-didn't-know-what-I-was-doing-excuse!" Ummm..Weeds..let me explain to ya how this little ruse works. As soon as ya see the flashing lights in yer mirrow pull off to the side of the road and think of yer mother-in-law...nekkid. Now, once yer standin' there sweating and pale and trembling...drop the bike and walk away from it like it's a demon! Run up to The Officer and hug him/her (preferrably her, but in a pinch..eh?) profusely and thank him/her for saving your life. Peer o'er your bi-focals and swear the bike just got away from ya and ya don't want to ride it EVER again! Ask the friendly officer to let you use their cell-phone to call for a friend to come pick up that nasty-fast bike and take you to the emergency room on account of yer having chest pains. Now..ahem..if they catch ya doing the very same thing later in the day on the same bike...you'd better hope they have a sense of humor. Trust me. Audie..the oldfart!

 

Mine doesn't say XJ, that's the international model. FJ was only produced 1-2 years, so I really can't find too much info on them either, other than word of mouth. If you look for the FJ 1100-1200 you'll find alot more, but those are the big cruiser bikes. And as for the "Old-man-didn't-know-what-I-was-doing-excuse" I think I might hafta wait awhile to use that one. I don't think the high-and-mighty cops that always seem to find me would go for me using that one. And before I put my foot any further into my mouth, let me say that not ALL cops are high-and-mighty, it just seems like those ones are gunnin for me.

 

Pssstt...Soondg don't ye be picking on them V-Rod owners! Mind ye they're in a heckuva spot! They ain't loved by The Faithful on account of "it don't look like a Harley." And they ain't too well recieved by the Harley mechanics on account of everythings metric, so's they got to go buy a whole new set of tools! And Eric Buell hates them on account of they're faster and more comfortable than his creations! Personnaly I think they're neat! Not particularly fast, and lacking in horsepower as compared to anything else in their displacement and overweight..but neat. Different! I've always admired Buells stance of light weight and 80h.p. as well. (half-again what a normal v-twin produces) And reasonable reliability. The fact that no mere mortal man/woman can tolerate the seats or seating position for more than a few minutes is a glaring fault. The V-Rod actually fits a human quite well though I think it won't last long in Harleys line-up of bikes. Too Honda-esgue..too forward thinking. Too quiet. Lacks vibration, loud popping noises when downshifting and won't stall at red-lights. Won't leak oil. Can't shake loose nuts/bolts and fittings. Brakes actually work. No aftermarket chrome doo-dads. Has enough ground clearance to go around normal turns! Generally speaking, their owners like to ride further than the nearest bar or anti-helmet meeting. Nope, the V-Rod will never catch on and will likely die a short death. But I'd still rather ride with them than listen to loud pipes that sound like a herd of flatulent elephants coming! Audie..the oldfart!

 

Ohhh yes! I could get into trouble with THAT bike! Big giggle here! Audie....!

 

yikes, you should get your facts strait....


not to disagree but i'm going to have to....the harley davidson v-rod is actually the fastest growing segment of Harley Davidson and is picking up speed every year....the local shops to me can't keep them in stock they are selling very fast...

as for not being quick....the stock v-rod will run 11.4 in the quater mile.....thats damn fast for a cruiser and faster than any other on the street (cruisers) other than the Dos Rocket III whitch only beats by a tenth or 2...

as for the harley mechanics....they are no different to work on than any other EFI harley out there and they actually like working on the and playing on the dyno....something new....they are tight to work on..i'll give you that...

the theory of Harley bikes in general rattling and losing parts as they go down the street died when AMC got out of it.....they are a very good maching all around...all of them

as for being quiet.....the v-rod is quiet stock....but who lets their bikes stock anyway....i'm running samson pipes and they are just as loud as any other HOG out there.....we like the noise....all of us

as far as no aftermarket....i'd suggest looking at www.v-mod.com and you'll change that opinion not to mention the entire book harley have just devoted to the v-rod...

as far as dying a short death.....thats not going to happen....they are already developing larger REVO motors to fit into the softails as we speak....

the v-rod is the future of Harley Davidson....

mine is a 2002 First year and one of the first 100 off the line....

their are still some airheads out there that snub their nose at us and all that jazz but for the most part people are comming over and looking at it and asking tons of questions all the time for the last i'd say year and a half to 2 years now....they are getting curious.....

last summer i left a softail rider take it down the street....he came back with a big smile and said one word WOW

thats ok oldfart....lots of people feel the way you do...i just felt obligated to state some facts....

ride safe

 

to each their own....i have a group of buddies that ride sport bikes....the are always asking to ride the v-rod....i've already converted 2 of them

 

Well, there's two problems I have with HD, they're American (who wants to support THAT country?) and they're plagued with so many problems that you gotta spend a small fortune just to keep one.


NOT!! Haha, honestly the two reasons I don't really like HD is everybody and their mother has one, and I'm 5'4". Me riding a Harley would just look rediculous. And the papers here always have a ton of em for sale. I don't really like to be in the middle of the crowd, I like to stand out a little bit. So, I didn't go for the Harley, and I didn't go for the latest, greatest thing out there that all the kids my age wanna get. I dunno, call me weird.

BTW, yours does stand out, it's a really nice bike...I just don't have 25k to get one looking like that

 

haha, man i read that first part about supporting our country and i almost blew a fuse or 2.....

yeah, their are a lot of harleys on the road.....and it's also very easy to personalize your own....the aftermarket is so vast it's unreal....but to each their own...

yeah, 5'4" is pretty short for a harley....prolly better off with a small sport bike or something like that...


well, i can tell you on a v-rod you will stand out in the croud....thats for sure....i get more and more old school air heads comming up to me every year wanting to ride it and see whats the big deal with the new stuff and all that jazz.....it's pretty cool cause once you actually tell them about the bike then they are like...."well, thats pretty cool"...

i have a couple buddies that have 95,000 miles on their v-rods and still run very strong.....very well engineered bike and well built....i don't do much racing unless im at the track....i ran off a couple 11.3 times with it....windshield and bag and everything on it......people laughed at first...."literaly laughed"....then i took off and came back around and they were comming over asking what the hell i did to the motor then i just said it's bone stock and they didn't believe me.....

from first to 2nd gear if you hit it hard the front tire will come off the ground and you can hold it for like a good 70 yards like that....

i just had it dynoed at 120 rwhp and 97 ft lbs on a 670 lb bike....she rips...for a HOG

but your right...they arn't cheap thats for sure....my rear shocks alone were 1,200 a peice..."penske racing".....but it's worth it...something to do....


later man

 

Whoaaaa!! Easy there fellers! Don't take me that awful serious. I just love to pick on the Harley guys..just can't help myself. Now gui88ford, I may have some facts a bit off, but no more than Harley proclaiming "Made in the U.S.A."..ehh? How 'bout "assembled from parts from Mexico (fuel injection) Japan (suspension-front and rear) Japan (carbs.. both Mikuni and Keihn) engines (all the Twin-Cam engines are built in Brazil) and, I believe the turnsignals & lighting components have that little Japan word molded into them. Those nice Marcessini rims come from France. Personnaly I don't have a problem with any of that. It just makes me giggle when folks still think it's made right here in the good ole U.S.A. I like the idea of world market supply. I get better goods at a more reasonable price. Most American consumers are woefully uneducated where their goods actually come from. And perhaps better so..eh? Now, another little item is, no one would ever mistake the V-Rod for a "cruiser." Everything about that machine screams "sportbike." And I love sportbikes..although I ride an "Ole Geezers Bike". (Honda Goldwing..also made in the U.S.A.) Now lets suppose we compare the V-Rod to other sportbikes. How many c.c.'s displacement is the V-Rod engine? Most of the 600cc. class sportbikes will drop into the 10sec. 1/4 mile bracket. The 750's/1000/1200's into the 9sec. 1/4 mile bracket. Chances are they'd go better if not for the demands of the E.U.. motorcycles available in the European countries must had a device to limit the horsepower and top speeds below 186m.p.h. if I recall correctly. Rest assured none of this is anti-Harley or anti-American. Information is knowledge..knowledge is power. Audie..the oldfart..

 

very true....the v-rod motor was designed by porshe....assembled in U.S.A.....the rest of that particular bike is made her...parts from everywhere but thats ok....makes it cheaper.....more competition....always a good thing...keeps the price down...

as far as a v-rod being a sport bike...not at all.....it's a power cruiser....samea as the zuki M109R, Yamaha V-Maxx, Victory jackpot / Hammer, Triumph Dos Rocket III.....

completly different platform when compared to a sport bike.....v-rod has a long stretched out front end and not the stubby front end like a sport bike whitch makes it handle better in the turns and stuff...Some models look sporty and have mid-pegs and stuff.....it's a nice line of bikes....something for everyone...

The VrscA models are more the cruiser models like mine....then thaty have the DX and another one thats more sports.....

after all ....why would they make the v-rod a sport bike when they have the buell like...

 

Well, finally got in trouble on this bike. Last night me & 3 buddies were planning on going out for a quick ride & made it about a mile before we got pulled over. Picture this: 4 kids on crotchrockets doing 40mph in a 30 zone on a windy road. Our bikes lean til your ear's on the ground, and one of them has a performance exhaust so that just made it seem that much worse.

Got off with a warning though, so it's all good.