Is there an oil change or valve adjustment at the 1000 mile mark? I looked last night in the manual but I don't remember seeing anything about it there unless I looked in the wrong place.
The FZ8 service manual says to get your first service between 600 and 1000 miles (dealer did mine at about 800), and the next scheduled service is at 4000 miles.
I've seen folks on here say to change the oil every 500 miles until 2000, but on a modern bike I'm not sure what the justification is for that. Frankly it seems excessive to me, seems like if you follow the manufacturers instructions and stick to rev limits during break in, get serviced before 1000 miles and stick to the maintenance schedule after that you should be just fine. Manufacturing processes and tolerances (especially on Japanese tech) have improved so much in recent years that babying your engine really isn't needed unless, well, it makes you feel better.
As far as synthetics go, I'll probably switch to full synthetic at the 4000 mile service, but unless the Yamaha techs suggest it I'll probably stick with their own oil and filter. That said, anything that can smooth out the transmission would be welcome. Could be I'll change my mind by then and go with some aftermarket stuff.