Brief history, I bought a Fazer FZS600 on advice of my bike instructor. Old Silver one with the horrible square “lights”. Kind lady in her Astra gave me good reason to get another one when she took me off it. Got another one, silver again. Did IAM on it and then saw a good deal for my current FZ1 Fazer.5 grand later its mine.
In truth I am a big fan and I guess I can give a biased view at best.
From the moment I test rode it I knew it would be the one. low down in higher gears. Ten minutes later and how I stopped myself from offering him an arm as a deposit I don’t know.
Having ridden an 03 FZS1000 Fazer in my opinion the FZ1 is a big improvement over the Gen1 in several ways, better suspension, better engine, better brakes, its lighter and handles much better. The down are the seat and fuel consumption but read on to get a balanced view.
On the face of it the Gen2 is a handsome bike, aggressive styling and catching colours. From the minute you sit on the bike there is a feeling of something special and that quality feeling that a bike that costs £8k should have. The bars are perfectly placed, biased towards a ‘sit up and beg’ but still placing sufficient weight on the front wheel with the option of increasing that if needed. The switchgear and the display are good. Displaying speed in big numbers (which is a handy reminder with the character of this beast). The rev counter is easy to read and a simple push of a button changes mph to kph.
The screen could be bigger but it would change the looks and where would old Yammy make their profit if it was 100%. The lights are good but benefit from higher voltage bulbs. I run two 100/? Ones with no problems. The seat is ok for 60 mins at a time but you might want to consider an Airhawk or something similar. I have and it makes all the difference when touring.
All those niggles pale into insignificance when the engine fires up. It’s a bit lazy low down (emissions etc I reckon) but once it climbs past 4000 you start having to hang on as the revs build without hesitation. But that lack of power low down is a bonus when you are on wet, slippery roads. The ’06 model has a “snatchy” throttle response but this is cured by a Ivan box, plenty of info on the net and forums on that. It is really easy to slow ride with lock to lock turns in traffic coming naturally. It hits 85 in first and 160 is 5 gears away (allegedly). The gearbox is good and holding the clutch in for a few seconds before tapping it into first stops the jolt as it does with most bikes. Power figures vary between 140 to 150 but that depends on who you listen to but there is plenty of poke on tap.
Out on the road it handles like a dream. I have kept up with a lunatic on a ZX-6R on the D18 in France which is a bit of race track with no stands and two way traffic. It will happily grind pegs all day long and once it is planted there is never any vagueness. After the apex nail it and it fires out of the corner completely planted and composed. I have turned up the preload on the back but I haven’t done anything with the front at all. The shock is a bit of a weak spot and lots of people say its past its best by 20k but I haven’t noticed anything with mine and there are plenty of options out there if you need a replacement. None the less the standard setting are all the ‘average’ person should need.
Two up it still shines, barely noticing the additional weight. All I do is turn up the preload a bit more. A fidgety passenger will upset any bike but you will not notice a good pillion. I have a rack on mine for a 42ltr GIVI box which I don’t use too much as I don’t like weigh up that high.
In short the FZ1 Fazer is the perfect bike for me with a balance of power, comfort and practicality and is yet to be matched. There are others which might excel in one or two of those areas but none make the compromise without making it seem like a compromise.
Saying that it does have its shortcomings which become apparent quite soon but like I say they are niggles as opposed to anything which would make you reconsider.
Fuel – I have 146.1 miles out of a tank, I found this out the hard way. When the bottom fuel bar starts blinking you have about 30 miles tops. It is thirsty and spirited riding (which it loves and promotes/provokes) can see 18ltrs produce 110 exhilarating but expensive miles. I have tried using 98Octane but this doesn’t seem to make a difference as the electronics aren’t present to alter the maps. At best it cleans the engine so I chuck a tank in now and again.
Seat – like I said, it’s ok for 80 -100 miles but after that you might want a break. An air hawk or gel seat will help.
Tyres give 8k and 5/6k depending on the compound. I found PR2’s good and the Roadsmarts seem to be well up to the task as well. They do take a bit of a beating and if they aren’t at the right pressure will wear badly and you will be able to tell immediately. Ensure they have metal caps with a rubber seal or fast riding can see pressure lost over a couple of days.
A Scott-oiler is a great investment. I have the touring mod with the reservoir behind the number plate. It is more than worth it and my chain with 22K varied miles on it in most conditions is still good for more.
Other things to consider are hand guards, even with the fairing your hands are exposed. I have seen some for motocross bikes for about £20 but haven’t got round to fitting them, mostly because I have barely been able to use the bike in the winter months. I can’t bring myself to put a pair of heated grips on it. I have stomp grips on the tank as they give great grip and stop the inside thigh getting cold in the winter.
The brakes like all Yamahas need to be maintained , not strip/ grease every month but dash of cleaning spray. The pipes are going to discolour whatever you do. I try and get oil changed every 4k. This can easily be done yourself. Coolant needs to be topped up because it does heat up quite fast in the summer.
And lastly, the 2007 bikes seem to have frames with slight weaknesses. Case in point being I dropped my bike last year on its side after getting new tyres in the pi**ing rain. The back just spun up and I had no choice in what happened then. The bike went down onto the crash bung and I later discovered a crack in the welding on the right hand side. A little digging on forums revealed this seemed to be a design/manufacturing issue and Yamaha(bless their little hearts) replaced my entire frame even though it was out of warranty, Gratis. The new frame is a revised item and the welding is different.
There are 2 unofficial clubs for Fazers
The UK one is http://fazerowners.yuku.com/directory and has an area dedicated to the litre versions both Gen 1 & 2. There is plenty of helpful tips on all things biking and you can get a foc-u (Fazer Owners Club UK) t-shirt for a tenner.
The US one is dedicated to the Gen2 http://fazerowners.yuku.com/directory but you need to sign in to see pictures etc.
Raoul Sebastian