1984年Yamaha FJ 1100

The FJ1100 was the first litre-plus motorcycle to address the problem of all litre-plus motorcycles - how to make something fundamentally big and heavy handle responsively. The FJ is a genuine 150mph superbike, combining a huge and immensely strong engine with a low and fairly lightweight chassis. Until the FJ1200, it was Yamaha's flagship, their biggest and most powerful four-stroke motorcycle.

The motor is a compact, slightly inclined, DOHC, 16 valve transverse four, remarkable only for the amount of sheer, outright power it gives - 125bhp at 9,000rpm -which makes the FJ a king of wheelspin along its rapid path to a blistering top speed. What is unusual about the bike is the way the engine is mounted. Yamaha realized that serious weight-saving on a bike this big was a futile exercise, so they concentrated their efforts on keeping the weight, and indeed the bike, low and compact. Their 'lateral frame concept' consists of a high-tensile, box-section steel frame built along endurance racer lines. There are no top tubes running above the engine. Instead, two huge frame tubes laterally hug the motor's sides. Instead of meeting at the steering head, these two side tubes join in front of it; the steering pivot itself is supported by small-diameter tubing, fully triangulated off these main rails. The aim is to achieve the greatest possible steering head rigidity. Certainly it was a first for a Japanese production bike.