$6500 second hand on C.L. Only 300 miles on her. All stock.
This is my first road bike after riding/racing motocross for 15 years. Went to a local dealership and they took me out on an fz6 (underpowered), gladius(feminine), gsxr750 (uncomfortable) , r1(rocket), v strom (boring), and fz8.
I wasnt so interested in the fz1 because it will be my work commuter and judging from the r1, was crazy powerfull for the road (would love to try on track). Im 6 foot 2, 190lbs and the smaller 600cc bikes felt a little underpowered.
fz8 seemed to have just the right amount of ease of use/comfort/ mpg/ power/ insurance rate/ fun factor per $ for me.
Maybe its because I have allways done my aggressive competitive riding on a closed course but the idea of being on the roads with a finely tuned super sport bike seems like using a formula 1 car or monster truck - sure it can be done but why? I want to push the bike on some twistys in hill country so maybe then I'll see the limits of the fz8 but right now im very happy with the bike.