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Loved my '89 FJ1200. They are only 5 speeds as well. Still fun bikes.

Love my Blackbird . I'm 70 next week and it still brings a grin to my face every time I wind her up . Till death do us part .

Does a high windshield stop airflow near helmet ? Does it worst it or not ? NIce sound btw

Oh god adjust and lubricate the chains, enough is enough

Thanks Jon. The FJ1200 is so much fun. I've got about 3500 kms on my 1990 since rebuilding it to stock form. Do you have any experience with bar risers on FJ1200? I'm about 6' and find a long ride a bit wearing on my shoulders and back but then I am almost 60.

Bs zx14 has the fastest 1/4 mile time quarter mile king

I had one in 1987 it was great !

Great video. I've been looking to purchase one. I first noticed it as driven by the character Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead. It was later in the series when he lost the chopper and pieced together the Nighthawk from random parts from someone at Alexandria - it fit the story. I read an article about it. They made 3 identical bikes. The gas tank is from a Yamaha, I believe. Thanks for the video.

Given a choice of these bikes new I'd take the Yamaha mainly for upright comfort. If I were still 20-30 years old it would be the Blackbird, comfort aside and it looks the best.

It is in beautiful shape!

Nice video. i miss the eighties bikes

had a 1980 honda cb900c in the day, but it was blue, i loved the way it leans into turns, i wish i had it again cost me 3000 dollars new

vtr250 , best 250 ever

I dont understand why anyone does a 40-80 top gear roll on test. In 50 years of riding I have never accelerated from 40mph in top gear. Why would anyone do that? At that speed I am in 1st gear. That is what a gearbox is for. You might as well test to see which bike will pull away in 4th gear as it is just as irrelevant.

i want a touring bike to upgrade from my tinny and awesome sv650 that unfortunately became uncomfortable to ride for long distances. My picks would be either Vstrom 650/1000 because they got good seating position and CBF1000/Bandit 1250 because of big torque numbers and smoothness of inline 4. Honestly idk what to choose, i already barred out the heavy touring bikes like FJR1300/ST1300/RT1200/GTR1400 because they're way too heavy for me and metric cruisers because they're very expensive and lack a lot of equipment and they're underpowered for how heavy they are.

I'll bet many, who are not familiar with the model, are surprised that a bike from 1986 would be so competitive in this comparison. It all comes down to the fact that these bikes are road bikes, not race bikes. The opportunities to go 150 to 180 mph are pretty much non-existent except on an autobahn. Top speed is basically irrelevant, so it all comes down to how much fun it is to ride a motorcycle, and for how long. In that light, an FJ1200 is an all day, everyday, absolute hoot to ride. Still completely relevant 30+ years down the line. So very simple, yet excellent.

What a great video! Our friends touring group currently has: Concours 1400 x 2, FJR 1300, K1200Gt (newer model), I feel the ST1300 is the only legendary 4 cylinder sport tourer we are missing! So this video was excellent to inform me about the bike. We often swap bikes for a hundred kilometers ir so to appreciate the different styles in these bikes. My 2 cents are as follows: FJR - the best all rounder when reliability and maintenance intervals is considered Concours 1400- the sportiest of the bunch, but lacking in creature comfort, and geared fairly long. K1200GT - the king in my opinion (as its my bike LOL) but not when maintenance intervals are conaidered. K1200GT has best seat, creature comforts and seemingly power, though it buzzes slightly in the handlebars when compared to the concours. Could compare these bikes for days as its good fun. Happy riding all.

Bought a new 1982 LTD 1000 off the showroom floor in Canton, Ohio for $4300. 3 speeding tickets in three months and lost my license for 6 months. Had to buy a Harley to slow me down. Sold the LTD to my brother. Loved that bike...

It's not a comparison we're talkin 3 years evolution. Suzuki was great just an amazing machine I enjoyed the heck out of mine. 8 years later people would ask me if it was a new bike I kept it mint

I record my acceleration on VBOX data logger my 2016 ZX14R (1441) with remap covers 40 to 80 in 6th takes 5.73 secs My tuned 1441 High compression with gas flowed head and higher duration camshafts on Gen2 Hayabusa takes 5.4 secs 214hp and 128 lbft I love big capacity bikes the above two I own are almost last of the old school Interesting video thanks

😢The Special was not as good in the twisties as the normal 1.1 The extended "chopper" raked forks ensured it was a cruiser or straight line speed If i remember, the Special had same gearing but with a 16" rear whereas the 1.1 had a 17" rear, this would contribute to the taller gearing. The 17" wheel was a direct swap.

Had 4 Yammie 1100 shafties, 1st one out the crate. Also the blue FJ1200 and the maroon FJR1300. Miss all of them

Man, where can I pick up a Blackbird for cheap? (get it?... cheep?...sorry) What a hotrod. I've ridden/ piloted a friend's bike years ago and was sold. He's gone now and I haven't seen another one since.The Suzuki is very cool but the Honda felt better to me. They're both exellent, wày fast and worthy of comparison. Thanks for sharing, J. Michigan

Good thing that Suzuki limited the Hayabusa to 186mph,anything above that in a crash and you're in trouble!!😂😂😂

It’s so good to see an old school FJ1200 here, and doing so well! The quickest bike in my collection of bikes would be my 2001 ZX12R.. I don’t know if it’d be quicker than the Busa 40-80, but it’s quick enough for me 😊 Good video 👍🏼

Incredible the busa can overcome the gearing. The old 1100 plus in a pristine condition could be nasty cause to the gearing. But offcause in a very limited speed range.

Thanks for the post, had an '86 FJ1200 back in the day, lovely bike. Then two Hayabusa's . An '06 second hand followed by a new Gen 2 'Busa in 2015. Done over 75000kms on the Hayabusa. Never owned a Blackbird , never ridden one to be honest. Always liked them. Best bike in my shed now is an '18 ZX14R. I won't buy another 'Busa.

Happy to have any of those in my garage.

Wish I had my '97 'bird back, commuted on it for 7 years, just an effortless world beater!

My brother had a '78 GS1000, thought it was ugly. But whoa, did it ride. Handled like butter, could spin back tire, no helmet law, ate some bugs. Filed the nightstand down on the corners, I was bit too young to know better. Some wild memories on than bike.

UK bike magazine Performance Bikes did a top gear roll-on test of about 15 bog stock bikes, around 2005-06, and the bike which beat all the others in the 50-100 mph roll on's was the 1050cc Triumph Speed Triple.

I agree completely with your review. The summer of 2024, I returned from from S. Korea to Michigan for my brothers funeral. He had this 2006 ST1300 and it was his 'baby.' I rode it daily for the 2 weeks while back in Michigan. This ST is a GREAT bike!! I'm 5'7" and had zero problems riding this bike. Although it is a "big" bike and I had to plan my moves in the driveway/ garage, it was easily doable as it's something I've always had to deal with being short. The ST doesn't ride like a big bike, it feels much smaller while moving. Honda did a great job! I know my brother installed different heavier fork springs and played with the oil wt./ levels a little, but it was great when I was on it. Sorry, I don't know what springs he installed, but I remember him complaining about the soft front prior to the upgrades. In my 55 years, I've owned a couple dozen road bikes (Harley, all the Japanese brands, Aprilia, ...) and even raced a couple of them for a while. This is the most tour leaning bike I spent a lot of time on and I was IMPRESSED. I know when I finish my time here in Korea, I'll have that ST1300 waiting for me to tour America and I am excited about doing it on his ST. (ps. I also owned a 84' V65 Sabre when in high school in 87')

Great comparison Jon. Thanks for the video!

why no kwakasaki ZX9

I like the Blackbird. Sounds great to me and I don’t have to be at the head of the pack.

Interesting video, I knew the blackbird is not gonna do well here due to the relatively peaky motor and very long 6th gear. 40 is way under its poweband, it starts pulling at 6k rpm. I am sure the busa would outperform it in any test though.

The exhaust difference does make a difference! A fair comparison they should both be bone stock or share the same upgrades

I have a 2009 1250S daily driver and a 2011 1250 S that is beoming a chopper. Both are great bikes.

That was a nice mixture of bikes and it was interesting to see which was quicker in a 40-80 top gear situation. That is what I like about big bore bikes, if I'm just cruising I can easily dip into a freeway entrance ramp at 40 and accelerate to 80 without needing to downshift or pass someone driving 40 in a 50 zone without downshifting. I'm a little lazy sometimes 😅. I ownd a 92 FJ, and I have ridden both 2nd and 3rd gen Busa's. All great bikes. My buddie with the 3rd gen Busa used to own a Blackbird and he says loved it. I have a 21 Gixxer 1KR now. Playing in 3rd and 4th gear on the highway gives me good punch without unintentional wheelies!😅. I subscribed. Great video, it brought back good memories 😀

Black bird all the way, no doubt my choice

Owned em all and found the FJ1200 to be the best balanced with a great long distance capability. Thank you!

Nice review, Personally speaking the last decent Blackbird was the '98 before the switched from Carbs to the Fuel Injection system, have ridden both but when i got back into riding after around a 20 year break (now 60 years old and still have the '98 in the garage) I hunted for a 98 Model rather than the 99. FJ1200 an awesome bike loved mine, like the 1100xx was aimed at sports touring market. Due to a shoulder / vertebrae issue am doing the "VFR mod" to the Birds handlebars to bring them up from the bunny rabbit race sitting positon rather than the leaning forward one, but thats bcs of age nothing else, Took a mates Busa out. Nice bike but no where near as comfortable as a Blackbord or the FJ on long distance trip or where there are a lot of twisties. Fun fact: Hayabusa (隼?) is Japanese for "peregrine falcon", a bird that often serves as a metaphor for speed due to its vertical hunting dive, or stoop, speed of 180 to 202 miles per hour (290 to 325 km/h), the fastest of any bird. In particular, the choice of name was made because the peregrine falcon preys on blackbirds, which reflected the intent of the original Hayabusa to unseat the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird as the world's fastest production motorcycle. Eventually, the Hayabusa managed to surpass the Super Blackbird by around 10 MPH only despite the larger engine displacement and gearing.

Great, fun, but informative video Jon 👍🏻 Top gear roll ons are very telling for real world feel of the engine.

Excellent test, enjoyed that level on Sega hang on. That's why I went from an '86 FJ1200 to a '99 1450 Harley low rider. The complaints department would say it's unfair because it's geared for around 130. See Hildo's Harley and get triggered about how you would have won on a busa. It's just not how the real world works. Vfr750fj from 1988 is still stupid quick on a ¼ mile from a standing start. Keep up the good work.

'99 Blackbird owner, and former FJ owner as well. I'm not sure that a pull from 40mph in top gear is going to be of too much utility, as I'm certain I've never had my Blackbird in top gear at that low a road speed despite it's wonderfully useable midrange power. Pulling 40-80 is good, just, I know it'd never happen on a bike like this. I'd also wonder that the loud mufflers could be afflicting the Bird's result. Conventional wisdom suggests this type of muffler typically will reduce midrange power. Not that a Bird's ever going to out-pull a Busa, there's too much difference in displacement and power for that to happen. No surprise about the FJ, though, and the low gearing was the first thing I thought of when I saw the video pop up. I liked mine very well back in the early '90s and put nearly 50,000 miles on it, right up until I got a Kawasaki ZX1100E (GPZ) which was way faster and vastly smoother; much better for the touring side. But the FJ was indeed pretty sensational back in the day and if it was that one of these was the only bike I could get to ride, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Still a fine machine.

Jon, what would be of great value, if you could find or borrow an Fj that has had a 17 inch wheel swapp front and rear, and tell your viewers if the changes are worth doing?

I had both an fj and a busa. This is not accurate to put a bike that’s geared for 150 mph and one that is geared for 186 mph in a top gear roll on. Even though the busa won I can confirm that the busa feels twice the bike of the fj. It’s a world apart.

oops: Lt.Col. George.........USMC. VMFT-401

Our Skipper, Lt.Col.Geoger has one of those Hayabusa's...I think it's an '03........pretty bike, I've got my old '81 XS1100H...... but it's very well enough for me at 61 years old.

Not too fair,,,,,,, the Yami , is so OLD.