So apparently I just bought the worse bike ever made?

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DurtyB

New member
Hi everyone, new member and new (to me) FZ8 owner here as of yesterday. A little background on my owner history...First bike was a 04 Kawi Zx6R, was young and dumb and bought this regardless what I read about it being a terrible first bike and bought too much bike for me. So naturally my second bike was a 09 gsxr 1000...again waaaay too much bike and never used 50% of either bikes potential. Sold that and decided I wanted a Harley. Bought a 09 Nightster and put 1000 miles in it before I realized I made a mistake. Don't get me wrong, it looked and sounded awesome, but couldn't go into any corner without something dragging.

Fast forward to yesterday and I traded the Harley straight up for a 2011 FZ8 with 6500 miles. I'll admit I did not do much research on the bike before hand (I'm an impulse buyer :)) . It looked and sounded awesome and I think anyone would probably agree a lot more performance than a harley sportster. So now I'm back tracking and reading reviews and others thoughts on the bike and can't say I've read much good. Apparently the suspension is garbage, it's dog slow and every other bike in its class is 1000x better. What gives?

My riding style is rural roads with occasional mountain twisties. I am no racer and more enjoy the ride itself than dragging knee, but do enjoy leaning the bike over a little.

Am I going to enjoy this thing or should I just go drive it off a cliff?
 
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07cobaltLScoupe

New member
welcome! i have almost 400 miles on my '12 and it's perfect for how i ride mainly taking back roads and cruising around but yet it can still cruise the highway if i want to. don't go by just others reviews, get out there and ride it so you can review it yourself!
 
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Mint

New member
DurtyB said:
Am I going to enjoy this thing or should I just go drive it off a cliff?
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Hey DurtyB .You can’t always believe everything that you read. The FZ8 is a great bike and I am sure you will have plenty of fun on it. I have been riding for nearly 30 yrs and owned a lot of bikes, and although the FZ isn’t the quickest, or the best handling, or the best looking bike I have ever owned, as a package I love it. I have owned my 2011 model since last August and done over 8000km, Granted I have spent a bit on power upgrades and cosmetic alterations, but that is my personal choice and has only made the bike, even more fun and even better looking. I read some of the reviews on the bikes in the same class, and the only one I remember as coming out as significantly better than the rest was the Triumph...but when It comes to looks...I liked the FZ better...so all down to personal taste. There is a lot of talk about the suspension, but I doubt I will be touching mine..because as I say , I have owned a lot of bikes , and apart from touring with a passenger I have never felt the need to start farting around with suspension settings...so the fact that the FZ is not adjustable does not bother me at all. I went out on a run with several other bikes a couple of weeks ago. It was mostly sports bikes, and although we were not going stupidly fast, I had no bother keeping up at all, and was probably having the most fun pulling wheelies at any opportunity......and I certainly had the comfiest riding position. The way I see it with reviews, is that if you ride hundreds of bikes a year, then you might get to a point where you can say that bike A is better than bike B....but to us mere mortals they are the same, and the fact that bike A is 1 sec quicker per lap round the laguna seca, or that it has 2 more bhp on the dyno is irrelevant and then it’s all down to personal preference. Good luck and I hope you Enjoy the FZ , they are a seriously fun bike. :)
 
SD70M2

SD70M2

Drag-Strip addict
Wow not a good way to go for a warm welcome but hey. I've got about 7k on my 11 and while that is very sub-par for me it was a very busy summer last year. On to your issues, suspension is not "Garbage" yes pre '13 it's not the greatest option ever put on a factory bike and it is a bit soft but I rounded right off the edges of my tires running the bike. As far as being dog-slow compared to it's class, a touch lost man, what class are you talking about? This is an 800cc sport-standard not a supersport, it's not going to run 180mph and turn a mid 10sec. 1/4 mile out of the box. I drag race almost religiously and i was turning 12.30 quarters on a regular with nothing done except putting a strap on the forks and you have got to keep in mind I was 280 with no gear so you have to figure between 290 and 300 lbs on a STOCK....800CC bike running the trap at 114
 
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DurtyB

New member
SD70M2 said:
Wow not a good way to go for a warm welcome but hey.
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These are not my thoughts on the bike, just what I have read thus far on the all telling (and always true)Internet. I know I will need to go out and put miles on it to get my own opinion, but until I can go get her registered and titled I needed something to pass the time.

On to some brighter notes though.

Bike came with a two brothers slip on, some nice frame sliders, fender eliminator and flush mounts. Already took off the mirrors and crg hindsights are on order.

Some pic quick pics



 
master paper clip

master paper clip

New member
That's your mistake, ur going off of what others have said, yes te suspension isn't as good as it should be but that can easily be fixed, and from day one I've been able to beat my friend zx6r up to 100, now after all my mods I destroy him up to 100, don't believe everything u read
 
Banky2112

Banky2112

Just plain crazy...
Maybe a better way to look at this bike is that if you mod it properly to suite you, you can use 80-100 percent of this bikes potential because its not as ready to end you as the zx6r and the gsxr1k was lol. I'm extremely exited about mine, and owned a faster bike, I got this bike cause of the comfort and the look, nuff said. 2wheels>cage IMHO
 
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rail

Member
I am a casual rider, I don't really "rail" lol. I have not found anything on this bike to be lacking yet. Ok, maybe the suspension was a little stiff for that bumpy gravel road I went down yesterday :D but on street it handles like a dream as far as I'm concerned. Don't worry about such things until you need it! If you drag knee everywhere you go, you might need it.
 
cambo

cambo

Avid Rider
lolol..g'damn!

I'd like to see these reviews you're reading that are dogging the fz8 to a point that you've come to a conclusion that you've just purchased THE WORSE BIKE EVER MADE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND

:welcome:
 
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cxa0897

New member
cambo said:
lolol..g'damn!

I'd like to see where these reviews you're reading are that are dogging the fz8to a point that you've come to a conclusion that you've just purchased THE WORSE BIKE EVER MADE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND

:welcome:
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agreed. I read a handful of reviews, and none of them were nearly that critical. a few small complaints, but those are easily remedied. Its a very comfy bike, and plenty powerful for anything but racing imo
 
BIGpanda

BIGpanda

New member
Firstly he didn't buy the bike he traded straight up for it, and secondly it is a sweet bike man I ran the shit out of it in the corners on occasion and it handled just fine. I'm an experienced rider and I never pushed it to it's max limit.

I would know, I just made that trade yesterday. That's my old bike.
 
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evan1

New member
OP, can you name these reviews you're talking about? No offense, but this all sounds like trolling to me. No bike is going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I've yet to come across a single review that would make me throw my dress over my head like that.

And you didn't read any reviews going into it? And yet now you find reviews so all-important that you want to drive off a cliff?

Sounds pretty bizarre to me.
 
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evan1

New member
DurtyB said:
My title and statements about the cliff are obviously over exaggerations. I'm sure this thing will suit my needs, but after reading stuff like this..

Group test-FZ8 gets shredded - Yamaha FZ6 Forums - International FZ6 Motorcycle Community Forum

It had me scratching my head.
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Well, firstly since you now own the bike, you should decide for yourself whether it fits your needs, and perhaps read a more representative (and recent) variety of opinions.

Second, it should be rather obvious why one shouldn't weigh the opinions of an FZ6 forum too heavily. The surrounding comments reflect a clear eagerness to rationalize their own purchase of the FZ8's little brother. Nowhere will "sour grapes" be more prominently displayed (e.g. "FZ8 way too expensive!" or "phew, so glad I didn't upgrade!" or...and this is an actual quote from the forum..."I feel vindicated!"). Cognitive dissonance will generally prevent this group from saying "I wish I had spent more money for more power and torque."

Third, the review (a reproduction of which I can't find on the site) is from FastBikes magazine. A brit mag written by 20-somethings with a strong hooligan focus. As is correctly stated in surrounding comments, take their opinions with an enormous grain of salt.

Lastly, put a few hundred miles on the bike, and see if you still want to ride it off a cliff. I'm willing to wager that you'll look back on your initial post here as misinformed hyperbole.
 
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mrarmy300

mrarmy300

Pillion
I sold my Sportster last year and bought an '8 too. I miss the V-twin rumble, but not turn signals rattling off, pegs dragging, and BARELY being able to hit triple digit speeds. Congratulations on the upgrade, you'll enjoy it :tup
 
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evan1

New member
DurtyB said:
Ha, like I said the op was an exaggeration. Sound advice though and definitely will do.
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It's not entirely uncommon, after the cooling off period that comes after an impulse buy, to examine an expenditure like this more critically. But one would have to dig pretty deep to find an objective and unbiased source that's generally critical of the FZ8. Fastbikes and the FZ6 forum from 2010 are neither.

The general journalistic consensus is that the FZ8 is excellent all-rounder with lots of power and comfortable ergonomics. If that's what you were looking for, you're probably gonna love it! :welcome:
 
cambo

cambo

Avid Rider
evan1 said:
Second, it should be rather obvious why one shouldn't weigh the opinions of an FZ6 forum too heavily. The surrounding comments reflect a clear eagerness to rationalize their own purchase of the FZ8's little brother. Nowhere will "sour grapes" be more prominently displayed (e.g. "FZ8 way too expensive!" or "phew, so glad I didn't upgrade!"). Cognitive dissonance will generally prevent this group from saying "I wish I had spent more money for more power and torque."

Third, the review (a reproduction of which I can't find on the site) is from FastBikes magazine. A brit mag written by 20-somethings with a strong hooligan focus. As is correctly stated in surrounding comments, take their opinions with an enormous grain of salt.

Lastly, put a few hundred miles on the bike, and see if you still want to drive it off a cliff. I'm willing to wager that you'll look back on your initial post here as misinformed hyperbole.
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:agree:well said brochacho! I got the same sense as I perused that thread. haha, a general theme of "yeah, fz8s are stupid...fz6s are better..my fz6 can beat up your fz8 yeahhh KICK HIS ASS SEA BASS"

durty- you'll love the bike dude. no question about it!! Good thing for you is it's already broken in. I still have a couple hundred more miles before I can crack it open past 5k. I hear that's when the bike gets REALLY fun ;)
 
master paper clip

master paper clip

New member
This bike is a blast, specially with all the free mods and a PCV this bike is the shit, I regularly ride my friends 11 Zx6R and while it is fun I enjoy the 8 alot more the power band is what makes the 8 great... Of course this is modded but they were all free, bought a PCV and took full advantage of them, plus the suspension can be swapped for r1 suspension very simply and cheap. get out there and tear up some roads you'll see what we all know
 
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