![[]V[]addog](/data/avatars/m/2/2600.jpg?1575942540){kind=avatar}
[]V[]addog
Member
Hello all,
First of all I'd like to say this seems to be a great place for information and good people. People seems to be great at helping out and not just telling users to search. I'd like to try and contribute where I can. Where I am new to my fazer I am not new to biking or different types of bikes. So maybe new riders, or people thinking about a fz8 or fazer can benifit from my experience.
I'm 32 have had my license for every, I tried to do it right and started on low cc machines and learned my way up the ranks, every bike I got getting closer to my "dream machine" Dream machine being the jack of all trades for me. I will only ever be able to afford one bike for my stable. I've had and driven everything from cruisers to super sport bikes. this obviously being somewhere in between.
I picked up a 2011 Fazer in black last friday. I got such a good deal i took the bus for 4 hours to go pick it up. so i took a nice drive back from along the coast.
I went for the fazer 8 (half fairing) because i intend to do touring on this bike as well as city driving.
So I'll just give a couple categories I think are worth mentioning. and people can take it for what its worth. I drive the bike for 4 hours so keep that in mind. but it was one long trip with some highway, back roads, a lot of different road conditions, weather, and speeds,
Comfort:
I must say, this bike has to be one of the most comfortable bike it stock form I have every been on. The seating position is bang on, upright, very slightly leaned forward, great visability for traffic, shoulder checking, etc. The handle bars sit just right. my hands never went numb or tired. There is some slight vibs int he handle bars at certain RPM levels but nothing to write home about. The seat seemed more comfy then most. Normaly after a couple hours I'll start moving around alot, shifting my weight around, etc. This was my first long drive fo this season, so my butt isnt even used to the saddle yet, and I was fine until the last 20 mins i started to want to get off and stretch the butt a bit. The fazer has the half fairing. So it does provide some very good protection. The windscreen is low, but it does seem to throw the wind over my head more so than other I have had in the past. It looks narrow, but didnt feel like it was hitting me int he shoulders at all. Also, it rained a fair bit for a potion of my drive. I look down and I'm almost dry... my helmet caught the rain, but for the msot part, legs and upper body where dry. even the lower part fo my legs where the fairing does not cover.
Performance:
as far as I'm concerned this bike has more power than I will ever use. Its not the arm ripping tq that you think your gonna fly off your bike if you are not careful, its more linear torque curve allows you to be predictable with the throttle. the power is there, but in a manageable way. right from a stand still, the thing jsut takes off. This bike is still more than capable of doing things you shouldn't be doing. But within minutes i felt comfortable with it. I wasen;t pushing it to the limits, so I'm excited to see what else the bike has. It almost feels like it is ready to open up, right when i wanted to let off. i didnt want to winde the engine too hard on its first drive. And one thing i noticed more so on this bike more than som others. The power seems to be available in every gear. I don;t need to drop the shifter 3 times to be in a power band. That being said. I have noticed that lag in power around 5500 RPM's that people mention. And if you want to pass someone quick, you for sure notice this, as the bike was sitting around 5000 rpms often when i was ready to pass. This is obviously caused by emissions testing and restrictions. I assume and exhaust and possible retune would eliminate this completely as it appears no where else on the power band. Except for that... I wouldn't change anything.
The shifter ... was like butter, very precise and easy... I expect it to feel even cleaner after the bike is broken in and i put synthetic in there.
Handling:
My god, this bike handles like a dream! Seriously... you look in a certain direction and the bike takes you there. Its very confidence inspiring. The bikes is well balanced, turn is is great and effortless, i could not get over how quickly you become one with the bike. it does feel like you are working as one with your machine, instead of sitting on something. its like it understand what you are trying to do and follows your wants. To me this bike is like a sport touring with a focus of sport. you can wip this baby around how you want, when you want.
Suspension:
Everyone complains about the suspension on this bike. And I was a little worried honestly. to the point where I have already purchased an FZ1 shock. ha ha. However, for regular every day use, this stock shock seem to be capable yet still comfortable. I am 5'10 200 lbs. If i was to have my girlfriend, which I plan to on the back, I'm glad I got the upgrade, but i've been on many makes and models of bikes, and while this is not the best, it is adequate for most i would imagine. In either case. It is a quick fix for someone who wants to push it a little harder. I'm sure now too, you could get the 2013 shock and swap it out. the front i consider more of a liability than the back. under hard breaking, the front dips very bad. again, not to the point where i would say it is crap. But to the point where depending on use, you may want to look at other options if you are looking for a track bike.
Ride-ability
this bike is exactly what i wanted and what i was expecting. My intended use for this bike is any day, anything i want, drive to work... take the bike, need some milk, take the bike, off for some twisties after work for the afternoon, of course. throw some soft bags on there and take off the weekend. sure! this bike really is small enough for around town and large enough for some touring. I can really see myself putting ALOT of miles on her.
Looks
Looks are totally subjective, so I'm not going to go in to detail here. But I've always loved the yamaha FZ1, and... well, its pretty much the same. and the options for aftermarket fairings, belly pans, etc. you can personalize this as much as you wish! go nuts! Blinkers are old looking! from the 80's and need to be changed badly... but again, lots of aftermarket options. LED, built in to brake light... pick you poison. Tail section. Again, enormous back end on this thing, Tail tidy is a must! I do not my the exhaust, its black and doesn't stick out as bad as some of the other cans these days. Sounds half decent (for stock)
Overall Impression
I'm very happy with this bike. I will get years of enjoyment out of this bike.
it could be ridden as is by someone and they can be perfectly happy. It is a very capable bike. i feel they put the money where it needed to be and left things a little old or open ended where people who want to will change them anyways. I have been on everything from 50cc scooters to 1300 cruisers, 1000cc supersports. This bike honestly is the best meld of the bike types, power, handling, looks, comfort. I could not have asked for more.
I can't wait to be out there and just ride!
Please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments on something I might have said you agree or disagree with.
Cheers guys! shiny side up!
First of all I'd like to say this seems to be a great place for information and good people. People seems to be great at helping out and not just telling users to search. I'd like to try and contribute where I can. Where I am new to my fazer I am not new to biking or different types of bikes. So maybe new riders, or people thinking about a fz8 or fazer can benifit from my experience.
I'm 32 have had my license for every, I tried to do it right and started on low cc machines and learned my way up the ranks, every bike I got getting closer to my "dream machine" Dream machine being the jack of all trades for me. I will only ever be able to afford one bike for my stable. I've had and driven everything from cruisers to super sport bikes. this obviously being somewhere in between.
I picked up a 2011 Fazer in black last friday. I got such a good deal i took the bus for 4 hours to go pick it up. so i took a nice drive back from along the coast.
I went for the fazer 8 (half fairing) because i intend to do touring on this bike as well as city driving.
So I'll just give a couple categories I think are worth mentioning. and people can take it for what its worth. I drive the bike for 4 hours so keep that in mind. but it was one long trip with some highway, back roads, a lot of different road conditions, weather, and speeds,
Comfort:
I must say, this bike has to be one of the most comfortable bike it stock form I have every been on. The seating position is bang on, upright, very slightly leaned forward, great visability for traffic, shoulder checking, etc. The handle bars sit just right. my hands never went numb or tired. There is some slight vibs int he handle bars at certain RPM levels but nothing to write home about. The seat seemed more comfy then most. Normaly after a couple hours I'll start moving around alot, shifting my weight around, etc. This was my first long drive fo this season, so my butt isnt even used to the saddle yet, and I was fine until the last 20 mins i started to want to get off and stretch the butt a bit. The fazer has the half fairing. So it does provide some very good protection. The windscreen is low, but it does seem to throw the wind over my head more so than other I have had in the past. It looks narrow, but didnt feel like it was hitting me int he shoulders at all. Also, it rained a fair bit for a potion of my drive. I look down and I'm almost dry... my helmet caught the rain, but for the msot part, legs and upper body where dry. even the lower part fo my legs where the fairing does not cover.
Performance:
as far as I'm concerned this bike has more power than I will ever use. Its not the arm ripping tq that you think your gonna fly off your bike if you are not careful, its more linear torque curve allows you to be predictable with the throttle. the power is there, but in a manageable way. right from a stand still, the thing jsut takes off. This bike is still more than capable of doing things you shouldn't be doing. But within minutes i felt comfortable with it. I wasen;t pushing it to the limits, so I'm excited to see what else the bike has. It almost feels like it is ready to open up, right when i wanted to let off. i didnt want to winde the engine too hard on its first drive. And one thing i noticed more so on this bike more than som others. The power seems to be available in every gear. I don;t need to drop the shifter 3 times to be in a power band. That being said. I have noticed that lag in power around 5500 RPM's that people mention. And if you want to pass someone quick, you for sure notice this, as the bike was sitting around 5000 rpms often when i was ready to pass. This is obviously caused by emissions testing and restrictions. I assume and exhaust and possible retune would eliminate this completely as it appears no where else on the power band. Except for that... I wouldn't change anything.
The shifter ... was like butter, very precise and easy... I expect it to feel even cleaner after the bike is broken in and i put synthetic in there.
Handling:
My god, this bike handles like a dream! Seriously... you look in a certain direction and the bike takes you there. Its very confidence inspiring. The bikes is well balanced, turn is is great and effortless, i could not get over how quickly you become one with the bike. it does feel like you are working as one with your machine, instead of sitting on something. its like it understand what you are trying to do and follows your wants. To me this bike is like a sport touring with a focus of sport. you can wip this baby around how you want, when you want.
Suspension:
Everyone complains about the suspension on this bike. And I was a little worried honestly. to the point where I have already purchased an FZ1 shock. ha ha. However, for regular every day use, this stock shock seem to be capable yet still comfortable. I am 5'10 200 lbs. If i was to have my girlfriend, which I plan to on the back, I'm glad I got the upgrade, but i've been on many makes and models of bikes, and while this is not the best, it is adequate for most i would imagine. In either case. It is a quick fix for someone who wants to push it a little harder. I'm sure now too, you could get the 2013 shock and swap it out. the front i consider more of a liability than the back. under hard breaking, the front dips very bad. again, not to the point where i would say it is crap. But to the point where depending on use, you may want to look at other options if you are looking for a track bike.
Ride-ability
this bike is exactly what i wanted and what i was expecting. My intended use for this bike is any day, anything i want, drive to work... take the bike, need some milk, take the bike, off for some twisties after work for the afternoon, of course. throw some soft bags on there and take off the weekend. sure! this bike really is small enough for around town and large enough for some touring. I can really see myself putting ALOT of miles on her.
Looks
Looks are totally subjective, so I'm not going to go in to detail here. But I've always loved the yamaha FZ1, and... well, its pretty much the same. and the options for aftermarket fairings, belly pans, etc. you can personalize this as much as you wish! go nuts! Blinkers are old looking! from the 80's and need to be changed badly... but again, lots of aftermarket options. LED, built in to brake light... pick you poison. Tail section. Again, enormous back end on this thing, Tail tidy is a must! I do not my the exhaust, its black and doesn't stick out as bad as some of the other cans these days. Sounds half decent (for stock)
Overall Impression
I'm very happy with this bike. I will get years of enjoyment out of this bike.
it could be ridden as is by someone and they can be perfectly happy. It is a very capable bike. i feel they put the money where it needed to be and left things a little old or open ended where people who want to will change them anyways. I have been on everything from 50cc scooters to 1300 cruisers, 1000cc supersports. This bike honestly is the best meld of the bike types, power, handling, looks, comfort. I could not have asked for more.
I can't wait to be out there and just ride!
Please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments on something I might have said you agree or disagree with.
Cheers guys! shiny side up!
