INDESTRUCTIBLE

I’ll never forget the first time I saw an FJ. It was 1984 and William Street, Sydney – the big hill up to the famous Coca Cola sign at Kings Cross. This squat, red and white thing just surged past, zoomed up the rise and disappeared. “What the…?” Investigation was required, especially as I was beginning to get itchy feet with my current road bike, the second of two Honda CB900F models that I owned. The Honda was fast – very fast – handled well, and was comfortable, but…it was time for a change.

A test ride, a trade-in deal struck, and into the garage went Big Red. The thing that impressed me instantly on the test was the plush, luxurious seat – a far cry from the usual offerings. At just 780mm the seat height was low enough to accommodate virtually any rider, and was another ace in Yamaha’s aim to lower the overall centre of gravity as much as possible. The footrests were positioned quite rearward, and not mounted in the usual spot on the lower frame tubes, but near the swinging arm pivot. With the seat also mounted towards the rear, the relationship between footrests, seat and the clip-up style forged aluminium handlebars was perfect for me.

“Yamaha called it their Lateral Frame Concept…”

In fact, I