fz1

[eddie]

anyone tour on a yamaha fz1? I need some thing fun other then my cruiser.

[TRaGiK]

I had one (1st gen), and hated it. I think it was one of the shortest ownership times I ever had with a bike...something like 1 or 2 months.

It's actually a great bike. Mine had upgraded suspension, and a host of other mods done to it.

It was very comfortable, lots of power, very smooth engine, handled great, etc etc etc. The problem was, it bored me to death! It was so smooth, and so comfortable, the damn thing would put me to sleep on long-ish rides.

Prior to owning it, I had a SV1KS. A little uncomfortable on long rides, and I could "feel" the engine. Nothing really smooth about it.  I now own another SV1kS.  

The FZ was just "too good" for my liking...if that makes any sense.

[chornbe]

TRaGIK's back! Where you been, man!?!

[TRaGiK]

TRaGIK's back! Where you been, man!?!

Took a break from riding for about 9 months while me and my partner opened up a auto repair shop. It's kept me pretty busy for a while, and haven't had time to ride til recently. I should be here for a while now though.

[blackdeek2006]

Another first gen tourer here.  Love it.  Took it from MA to SC to TN and back.  Ran like a champ, comfy, power, etc.  Here is the ride report for extra fun: FZ1 Tour

It was a ton of fun in the twisties of the Dragon and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I would do it again in a heart beat with this bike.

[carpe_diem]

I have a Gen 2 with Givi V35's. great bike for the money

[theWolfTamer]

I have a Gen 1 and love mine.  It's as much sport as tour.  I use mine with soft luggage.

[Castaway]

Ha! I was just in this boat, debating whether or not to buy an '03 FZ1 with extremely low mileage for a decent price, or go for a V-strom 1K for an extremely low price. I bought the latter, but seeing the positive comments here has got me wondering.    

I had a really hard time, psychologically, moving from a sport oriented bike to a ... whatya call a Strom? But I've gotten used to the feel/power of a v-twin, and going to the I-4 felt something like a step back to my bikes of the '80s. And fact is, higher pegs are hurting my knees and the stiffer suspension is getting to my back, at least on the crappy city roads.

But the FZ comes with full adjustable suspension, gobs of power, decent ergonomics, and good looks, IMO. I may go for one after the Strom experience.

[Rabidsnipe]

The FZ1 is a great "blank slate" bike.  Lots of aftermarket options to make them whatever you want.  Take a look at FZ1OA.com for a whole lot of information and opinion.

I have a Gen 1 that I use with Givi top and/or side cases.  I have upgraded the stock seat (marginal) and the stock suspension (pitiful).  Coming from a cruiser, you might not have a beef with the stock suspension but I quickly found the suspension to be much too soft.  I have also installed aftermarket handle bars which have made the bike significantly more comfortable on long distances.  The stock bars had too much sweep to them and forced my wrists into a strange angle.

This bike is a blast on a twisty mountain road.  I do find it somewhat mind-numbing on long straight sections but I'm starting to think that would be the case on any bike.

[Bocephous]

Good summation by Rabidsnipe.  You can either lighten it up and go streetfighterish or turn it into a pretty decent tourer.  I've had two first gens and went a different direction with each.  My current '02 is set up nicely for touring and I think it does it well.  Sargent seat, Givi luggage, upgraded suspension, and jetted.  It's one of those bikes that just does everything very well.  AND you can pick up a low mileage FZ1 for not a lot of coin.

[scottzilla]

I never warmed up to gen1 but love gen 2.  I've see many pics with hard bags mounted and they look pretty sharp.  I think you can really beat up the dealers for a new model and the used market is plentiful.  I was looking a few months ago and 08-09's were going in the mid 6's.

[KodiakRS]

Did they ever fix the fueling issues with the second gens?  

[ATC Buckeye]

I've owned two gen 1s, a silver and a black and yellow (aka bee).   Loved them both, quite honestly one of the best all-around bikes ever built.   Talk about stone cold reliable.   Absolutely no issues with either one.   The brakes are ridiculous.  The only thing I wished it had was a bit more low-end.   A Holeshot jet kit is one AWESOME mod for very little $$$.  Lots of touring accessories like seats, luggage, crash bars for highway pegs and so on.   Decent little fairing and decent sized gas tank and range.  

I miss both of mine, but truthfully I'm enjoying my current ZRX1200 more.  It's a very similar bike, but I find the fairing on the Rex to be a bit more functional, and the torque on the Rex, well, no contest there.   The FZ1 will pull away on the top end, and will also outhandle and outbrake the Rex, but for some reason, Kawi's just speak to me more.   But man, those FZ1's are awesome, you can buy an amazing example for about $3000-$3500.  All model years are the same (gen 1's that is).  

I loved the FZ1 but I'd probably give the slight nod to the ZRX at this point.

My Bee:



Can't seem to find a pic of my silver one right now, but here's one of my Rex:

[Bocephous]

The beetle bags on the Rex look really good, buckeye.  Here's a pic of my fizzy.

[Castaway]

From that pic there, Bocephous, it looks like the Givi cases make carrying a passenger a bit of a squeeze. It looks like peg repositioning is necessary. How is it fully loaded and two-up?

[Bocephous]

From that pic there, Bocephous, it looks like the Givi cases make carrying a passenger a bit of a squeeze. It looks like peg repositioning is necessary. How is it fully loaded and two-up?

If you look closely you can see that the passenger pegs are not stock.  With the E41's there wasn't room for a passengers feet, so I got those from TwistedThrottle and they are adjustable.  The way I have them positioned they are about 2 inches forward and almost an inch lower.  With smaller bags I don't think you'd have a problem with the stock pegs.

I haven't had my wife and loaded bags on the road yet.  I'll be taking a trip in about three weeks and will post up a ride report when I get back.  I'm about 220lbs non-geared, and my wife is probably 160ish.  The stock suspension is not equipped for two full sized adults, so I sent the shock to Traxxion and had it resprung/revalved for my weight.  The forks will be taken care of this winter, but the shock made a HUGE difference.  A lot more inexpensive than an Ohlins or a Penske, too.

[moto2wheelin]

Wow, kinda funny to read the posts on this one!  I still have a 1100 Rex, first with the beetle bags, then with Givi's, now own a 2005 FZ1 and love it!  It's way more fun and more functional to me to tour on than the Rex is.  I had to go back to something with a center stand!  That was the worst part of the Rex!  I did like the torque, but with this Yamaha, just grab a gear a little quicker and hold on for longer, above 6k I really like the FZ!  Check out some of my pictures, you can see the Rex with both types of luggage, the FZ with the Givi trunk that I just rode 1321 miles 2 weeks ago on without any gripes and will see after this weekend my first camping trip on the FZ.  I love my Rex, it's just cool  , but the FZ is better in just about all regards for putting on miles.



http://community.webshots.com/user/concoursbdh

The KY ride folder has more shots of the FZ, we'll see how well it handles the dry bag on the back seat this Friday!

[hazra]

I've got a Roadliner and a 1st gen FZ1.. great combination.  The FZ1 I want to hate... I was looking for a Bandit 1200, but found a deal I couldn't pass up on the FZ.  It's weaker than the Bandit down low, but just walks away from the Bandit on top.  Now, when I say the FZ1 is weak on the bottom, I mean it doesn't feel strong below about 5k rpm... but I regularly lug it as low as 2500 without a problem.  Honestly it lugs better than the Roadliner.  I habitually run around in 6th as slow as 20-25 mph without downshifting and it doesn't buck or sputter.  It gets excellent range from a tank of fuel... 200+ compared to the 160 or so I get from the Roadliner (when touring), and the 130-140 I got from the Bandit.

What else can I say?  Um.. ergos are a little tight between the seat and pegs, stock seat leaves a little to be desired, stock windscreen is a joke and stock location of the mirrors creates some buffeting.  No deal breakers.  It's designed for a much lighter rider than me.  A shock revalve and heavier springs will probably cure that, but even undersprung the suspension is still capable of more than I am.  Brakes are the same as the ones on the 'Liner, just with 200 lbs less bike to stop.

Upside?  I can't get off of that bike without a stupid grin on my face.  It's smooth, strong, comfortable (after a few personalization type tweaks) and reliable.  My first trip on it was multiple 400 mile days, and I could have gone longer.  I have a top case sitting ready to be mounted when I decide on a rack, and I want ST tires on it instead of the Pilot Powers for mileage.  It'll get jetted over the winter, a quiter pipe and miles.  The more I ride it the more I like it.

[Bocephous]

I installed my Traxxion fork springs this weekend to go with the revalved/resprung shock.  What a difference.  I was going to wait til this winter but my wife and I are taking a three day trip this coming weekend and didn't want to deal with the flaccid forks with a passenger.  And I installed a 15t front sprocket.  Going up through NY to North Conway, NH on day one.  Day two will take us through NH and VT, across Lake Champlain to Keene, NY.  Day three back down through the Adirondacks to home.   REALLY looking forward to this.  Will post a RR when I get back.

[Bocephous]

What else can I say?  Um.. ergos are a little tight between the seat and pegs,

If you want to fix it on the cheap take a pair of wire snips and trim the rubber off the top of the pegs.  Gives you a good 1/2 to 3/4 inch more leg room.

[hazra]

If you want to fix it on the cheap take a pair of wire snips and trim the rubber off the top of the pegs.  Gives you a good 1/2 to 3/4 inch more leg room.

Thanks for the input.  I considered that, but then I rode a friend's FZ1 with a Sargent seat.  I didn't think the stocker was that bad until I rode his... now I'm not changing anything else until I have a Sargent.  I convinced him to swap seats for a few miles, and the Sargent moves you up and back a little... I may be OK with just the seat.

[Scratch33]

What else can I say?  Um.. ergos are a little tight between the seat and pegs, stock seat leaves a little to be desired, stock windscreen is a joke and stock location of the mirrors creates some buffeting.  

Buell footpegs will give you 1" more legroom.   The mirrors can be 'flipped' to give you a better view than just your elbows (the FZ1OA board has instructions).  Windshield preferences are pretty subjective - after 3 tries I settled on an MRA Vario.  I modified my stock seat by adding a layer of 1" thick stiff T-foam and recovering with new vinyl; it's all-day comfy now.

[86250rrippin]

just wondering if this was the bike you was referring to ?   from new jersey ?

Ha! I was just in this boat, debating whether or not to buy an '03 FZ1 with extremely low mileage for a decent price, or go for a V-strom 1K for an extremely low price. I bought the latter, but seeing the positive comments here has got me wondering.    

I had a really hard time, psychologically, moving from a sport oriented bike to a ... whatya call a Strom? But I've gotten used to the feel/power of a v-twin, and going to the I-4 felt something like a step back to my bikes of the '80s. And fact is, higher pegs are hurting my knees and the stiffer suspension is getting to my back, at least on the crappy city roads.

But the FZ comes with full adjustable suspension, gobs of power, decent ergonomics, and good looks, IMO. I may go for one after the Strom experience.

[SSLT1KID]

first gen

[Bocephous]

I hit a deer last fall at about 60mph.  Stayed upright and didn't stop til I got home (about 18 miles).  I rebuilt it over the winter.  From this...

[Bocephous]

...to this.

[Kraz]

Outstanding bike!  Loved my FZ1 - Awesome brakes, power, handling, sound, comfort, just a great platform.  Unless you really want a sport-TOURER, it's a total package.  I was really interested in the second Gen's, but I hear less good things about them... mostly gripes about small gas tanks and being less touring oriented... and crappy FI the first couple years.  Can't say for sure though, no personal experience.

Crazy performance, but much more usable range than an R1.  Pretty light and marginal wx protection for really long rides compared to some bikes, but TONS of fun.  One of those bikes I probably should have kept, but I moved on just cuz... oh well.  I was glad to have owned one.