Speedo007
New member
Ok so I just got my FZ8 today. Thought I'd give my fist impressions compared to the FZ6 (I have the 2005 model, keeping it for my brother now). I rode them back to back.
FZ6 2005:
Pros: Better seat, better posture (more touring oriented), brakes have more grip (at least for now), nice high pitch racing sound. Suspension is a nice balance between sportiness and comfort. Good handling bike. Practical bike (grab handles on passenger seat standard) with many touring options available.
Cons: Engine likes to rev high, but it does pull past 7k rpm. Mirrors suck unless you like seeing your elbows all day long. Clutch, transmission and injection not top notch (still something you can get used too, but feels a bit rough by todays standards).
FZ8 2011
Pros: Looks great, sounds great even with stock pipe, the more it revs the better it sounds. Nice engine that's easy to use in the city and will get you to highway speeds in a flash. Once it revs, there's a nice little punch up there too. Bike handles like a bicycle and even at slow speed it turns on a dime. I had a 2009 Speed Triple and the Fz8 feels like 50lbs lighter (even though its not). Injection, transmission and clutch is just amazingly smooth and precise. Suspension (after only 40km) seems decent (confort/handling)
Cons: Seat makes you slip more towards the tank (angle of seat and texture - Snakeskin tank grips are on the way, should help a bit), posture still is pretty good and I'm tall (6'1" 34" inseam)but might get the bar raisers, most likely cause brakes are new and its -5C outside but they seem to be lacking grip. The engine does require you to downshift when you want to overtake safely, but Im not lazy to the point of this bothering me too much. Putting it in first gear from neutral makes an embarrassing CLUNK. When arriving at a stop for example on compression when engine slows down to just above 2k rpm, engine starts to shake a bit like it was going to stall, need to grab the clutch. I'll have it checked by Yamaha but it's weird cause from reviews, bike is supposed to be able to pull away in 6th gear from 2k rpm...First bike I've had this issue with.
That's about it for now. Overall very satisfied. If only temperature can rise somewhere above freezing point, I'll put a few hundred km on the bike this week...
FZ6 2005:
Pros: Better seat, better posture (more touring oriented), brakes have more grip (at least for now), nice high pitch racing sound. Suspension is a nice balance between sportiness and comfort. Good handling bike. Practical bike (grab handles on passenger seat standard) with many touring options available.
Cons: Engine likes to rev high, but it does pull past 7k rpm. Mirrors suck unless you like seeing your elbows all day long. Clutch, transmission and injection not top notch (still something you can get used too, but feels a bit rough by todays standards).
FZ8 2011
Pros: Looks great, sounds great even with stock pipe, the more it revs the better it sounds. Nice engine that's easy to use in the city and will get you to highway speeds in a flash. Once it revs, there's a nice little punch up there too. Bike handles like a bicycle and even at slow speed it turns on a dime. I had a 2009 Speed Triple and the Fz8 feels like 50lbs lighter (even though its not). Injection, transmission and clutch is just amazingly smooth and precise. Suspension (after only 40km) seems decent (confort/handling)
Cons: Seat makes you slip more towards the tank (angle of seat and texture - Snakeskin tank grips are on the way, should help a bit), posture still is pretty good and I'm tall (6'1" 34" inseam)but might get the bar raisers, most likely cause brakes are new and its -5C outside but they seem to be lacking grip. The engine does require you to downshift when you want to overtake safely, but Im not lazy to the point of this bothering me too much. Putting it in first gear from neutral makes an embarrassing CLUNK. When arriving at a stop for example on compression when engine slows down to just above 2k rpm, engine starts to shake a bit like it was going to stall, need to grab the clutch. I'll have it checked by Yamaha but it's weird cause from reviews, bike is supposed to be able to pull away in 6th gear from 2k rpm...First bike I've had this issue with.
That's about it for now. Overall very satisfied. If only temperature can rise somewhere above freezing point, I'll put a few hundred km on the bike this week...
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