The Yamaha FJ1100 and FJ1200 are

sport touring motorcycle A sport touring motorcycle (sometime a "sports-tourer") is a type of motorcycle that combines the performance of a sport bike with the long-distance capabilities and comfort of a touring motorcycle. The first sport-tourer is said to be the fully ...

s that were produced by

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

between 1984 and 1996.

FJ1100

Yamaha released the FJ1100 for model years 1984 and 1985. The FJ1100 was designed by GK Dynamics. This class is characterised by retaining sportiness while integrating more street-friendly riding characteristics, including good manoeuvrability as well as long-distance comfort, such as a more upright seating configuration designed to reduce back strain and a large fairing to reduce fatigue from wind resistance. Emphasis is placed on a balance of utility and sport, rather than pure performance orientation. The machine was noticeably narrower than many contemporaries, Yamaha achieved this by placing the

alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...

behind the cylinders instead of the more normal position on the end of the

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

.Haynes 0.5 Yamaha FJ1100

FJ1200

In 1986 Yamaha decided to upgrade the FJ1100 by increasing the engine displacement slightly and adding upgraded suspension and other components. The result was the FJ1200. They also changed the colour choices with the next model, but they weren't significant. The peak power output was raised slightly to from the FJ1100s , the FJ1200 had more low- to mid-range torque. The FJ1200 was produced in three main successive versions (1TX, 3CV and 3XW) each updated version benefiting from improvements to bodywork, front and rear suspension components, and the addition of an optional ABS-equipped version (FJ1200A) from 1991 until 1996 when Yamaha discontinued the FJ1200 in the United Kingdom. The model was discontinued in the United States in 1993. Market competitors during its production years included the BMW K100RS, Suzuki's 1100

Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

, and Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-10.

Engine

The FJ1200 uses a four

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

in-line layout and is air-cooled. Sixteen valves are operated by a chain-driven

double overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

; valve clearances are adjusted using shims. The four constant-velocity

carburettors A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meterin ...

are mounted in a bank behind the cylinders and feed each cylinder through a short intake

manifolds In mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, an n-dimensional manifold, or ''n-manifold'' for short, is a topological space with the property that each point has a Ne ...

. Four exhaust downpipes join a box below the engine where the gases are split to exit through two silencers (mufflers). The crankshaft is geared directly to the

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

, no counter balancer shaft is used. Starting is by electric starter only. Lubrication is wet sump using a

trochoid In geometry, a trochoid () is a roulette curve formed by a circle rolling along a line. It is the curve traced out by a point fixed to a circle (where the point may be on, inside, or outside the circle) as it rolls along a straight line. If the ...

pump; an oil radiator assists with cooling. Both the FJ1100 and FJ1200 were fitted with an additional fuel vapour recovery system to comply with

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

emission regulations. FJ1200 3CV

Transmission

The FJ1200 uses a five-speed constant-mesh sequential manual

close-ratio A close-ratio transmission describes a motor vehicle transmission with a smaller than average difference between the gear ratios. They are most often used on sports cars in order to keep the engine in the power band. There is no industry standard a ...

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

. The clutch is of the wet, multiple-disc diaphragm spring type and is hydraulically operated. Final drive is by

O-ring chain {{Refimprove, date=September 2008 The o-ring chain is a specialized type of roller chain used in the transmission of mechanical power from one sprocket to another. Construction The o-ring chain is named for the rubber o-rings built into the sp ...

and

sprocket A sprocket, sprocket-wheel or chainwheel is a profiled wheel with teeth that mesh with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain passi ...

Chassis

The

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

of the FJ1200 is manufactured from

mild steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

box-section and uses a perimeter layout, the fairing and upper rear section use separate cylindrical tubing sub-frames. The rear

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

is placed vertically behind the engine and connects to a

swinging arm A swingarm, or "swinging arm" (UK), originally known as a swing fork or pivoted fork, is a single or double sided mechanical device which attaches the rear wheel of a motorcycle to its body, allowing it to pivot vertically. The main component of ...

made from

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

(note: later 3XW models have mild steel swinging arm) via several forged aluminium rocker arms. The 17-inch front wheel is held between 41 mm spring and oil damped

forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...

. The FJ1100 and early FJ1200 models featured adjustable anti-dive units and a smaller diameter 16-inch wheel. The FJ1100 and early FJ1200 used twin ventilated

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...

s for the front wheel with a single ventilated disc at the rear. FJ1200 models, 3CV & 3XW, used solid front discs but retained the rear ventilated disc, front brake calipers were upgraded to a four-piston design. An

anti-lock braking system An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaini ...

was used on the FJ1200A. A full fairing protects the rider, varying height fixed windscreens were available as options. Yamaha

Electrical system

The FJ1200 features a standard 12

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defi ...

electrical system. The alternator and starter motor is mounted behind the cylinders. Nippondenso Transistor Controlled Ignition (TCI) is used in conjunction with two coils. Yamaha's self-cancelling indicator unit is used and a variable resistance gauging system is used to monitor engine oil contents with associated warning lights. A large fuel gauge is provided as is a low fuel level warning light. A digital clock is also fitted. A safety feature of the FJ1200 is that the engine ignition is cut if the first gear is selected with the side-stand down, this is now commonplace on modern motorcycles.Haynes 2.5

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Ahlstrand, Alan and Haynes, John H. ''Yamaha FJ1100 & 1200 Fours '84 to '96''. Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing, 1996. . * ''Clymer, Yamaha FJ1100 & FJ1200 1984-1993''. Overland Park, Kansas. Intertec Publishing, second edition 1996. . * Brown, Roland ''The Ultimate History of Fast Bikes''. Bath, UK: Parragon Books, 2004. .

External links

''Motorcycle Classics'' article on the 1984 Yamaha FJ1100
{{Yamaha motorcycles timeline FJ1200 Sport touring motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 1984