- This topic has 16 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by owlie.
The new FZ6R
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June 10, 2009 at 6:56 pm #2986WesParticipant
I know there was at least one person in here that has one. Anyways I’m about to buy a new bike and have been thinking about this for a while. I’m stuck between the FZ6R, the GSXR600, and the GS500. I don’t see many GS500s at dealers so I’m not really too interested in one of those. The GSXR600 is pretty pricy, even used. So I’m pretty sure I’ll go with the FZ6R. I’ve went and sat on it and all that good crap and it feels good, better than the gixxer. I was just wondering if any of the people that have had experience on this bike could tell me anything. I’m definitely going to be driving it everyday to work and back (except for in the rain, got the tahoe for that) and work is only like 10 minutes away which is pretty awesome.
June 10, 2009 at 7:59 pm #19529bigguybbrParticipantI’m probably the person you have heard talking about it on here, as I think i’m currently the only one of the forum that has one.
I have said a million good things about it’s comfort, the upright posture, how forgiving it is, and how easy it is to learn on, so why don’t I just touch on the the little annoyances that have come up durring the first 1500 miles of riding it.
1- No center stand. This is really annoying. You need to get a rear stand in order to lube the chain.
2- If you are tall, you REALLY need a double bubble. The wind hits me right dead center in the chest and is a real pain at 75+ mph
3- The rear fender is retarded big. Look up XJ6 Diversion Fender Eliminator Kit.
4- If you are broad chested, enjoy the view of of your shoulders and elbows in the rear view mirrors.
5- The lack of aftermarket support, the bike just hasn’t been out long enough to have upgrade parts yet.
6- Sound. This is both good and bad. Your neighbors will love you that this bike is so quiet. At the same time I still wish for a little bit more volume that lets me know that something other than an angry hampster is under me at sub 5000 rpm.
7- The rear fender is so big homeless people have taken residence under it.
8- The weight took a little bit of time to get used to. I didn’t trust leaning in enough on it for my first couple weeks, and it took some serious plp hours before i did. With patience this is nice as it makes it more stable at high speeds in the wind as it doesn;t get pushed around much.
Anyways, I really do love the bike. I didn’t buy it with the expectation of riding it to work all the time, but it’s been so much fun and so comfortable that if I check the weather in the morning and it doesn’t say rain, I’m throwing on my gear and heading into work on it. If you have any specifics you want to ask please do.
June 11, 2009 at 5:30 am #19548RabParticipantWith that shortlist, you should also check out the Suzuki GSX650F; an excellent all-rounder (I’m biased, I own one).
It has a very similar “mission statement” and similar specs. to the FZ6R and sits between the GS500F and the GSXR600 in Suzuki’s “sport bike” line-up, although it’s more of a sport tourer than a sport bike.
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/GSX650F/2009/GSX650F.aspx
June 11, 2009 at 10:38 am #19556WesParticipanthaha I totally feel you on the Suzuki, I am kind of biased towards Suzukis also but the insurance would be a little bit higher unfortunately. I’ve heard that about the FZ6R and the windshiled, I’m 6′ so I don’t know if thats tall or not. I did notice how ridiculous the size of the rear fender is but I’m sure I can do something about it. I don’t plan on riding any passengers. Which color FZ6R did you get? I notice alot of people get the blue one. I really like the white but don’t really like the pinkish purple decal. Oh did you pay cash for your’s or did you finance through Yamaha? and if you did finance through Yamaha, is that a good or bad idea?
June 11, 2009 at 7:32 pm #19568bigguybbrParticipant– got the black one, because as everyone knows, black goes faster (and it was $100 cheeper made it worth it since i never really care about color)
-I’m about 6’5″ or 6’6″ depending on the day, and it was pretty suprising how comfortable this bike is.
-Like I said there is a fender kit out there for the XJ6 diversion, I just haven’t gotten it yet.
-I financed my bike through an outside bank just because I got a better deal. The Yamaha deal is ok, just make sure not to make minimum payments or you will be soooooo upside down on your loan.
June 12, 2009 at 2:19 pm #19622WesParticipantHaha yea I was looking at all the terms and conditions and that crap gets really expensive in the long run. I’m only 6′, dunno if the windshield would be too small for me. haha Yea I was thinking about the black but girlfriend likes the white one better :p
June 12, 2009 at 2:31 pm #19626bigguybbrParticipantWell of course she likes the white one. If you watch the video, they explain that the white one was specifically designed for women, thus the pink decal.
June 13, 2009 at 9:35 pm #19698WesParticipanthaha yea, I was hoping to get the white one and get the decals removed. I’d really like to have white anyways. I didn’t really like the blue ones that much.
June 16, 2009 at 6:37 am #19766RedFireBirdParticipantas much as i like what the FZ6R is, a great beginner bike, it CERTAINLY isn’t the YZF600R replacement that yamaha said that it would be.
the R6S is about as close to filling the 600R’s void as yamaha will get.
that being said, if you feel you’re ready for a 600 class bike, check into the 600R. there’s a good reason it went relatively unchanged from ’95 to ’07
June 16, 2009 at 10:16 am #19781bigguybbrParticipantI’m not sure it was ever designed to be a replacement, as I think it was forums not yamaha that said that it would.
So sure it’s a little lighter than the 490lb wet weight at 467lbs, and it has 12 less horse power at 78hp, and doesn’t have monoblock calipers, yet it still retains the upright posture, a lower revving and higher torque motor, and a price point of around 7k USD. So i figure it fits the same general appeal as it’s role as a sport styled commuter bike, they just gear it towards beginners more.
The r6s maintains a delta box frame, but thats really where the similarity ends. It’s higher revving, way more power, 80lbs lighter, completely different posture… not really something we would recommend in this forum.
June 16, 2009 at 10:32 am #19782RedFireBirdParticipantthe 600R weighs in at 415 dry, 465 wet. 78 crank hp = around 68 rwhp compared to 85 whp on the 600R (two bro’s racing site shows 68.8 rwhp stock). both make similar torque figures.
not to mention not having fully adjustable suspension……that in itself is ridiculous. and a tube frame….why? the steel deltabox has been ideal for a LONG time.
i’ll say it before and i’ll say it again, the R6, R6S, 600R, FZ6, and FZ6R are none better or worse than the other for a ‘beginner’ bike, none of them are beginner bikes as they all make similar torque numbers. yet a bike that makes LESS LOW RPM TORQUE would be a better bike for a beginner. the last thing beginner riders need is more low rpm torque.
June 16, 2009 at 2:14 pm #19792bigguybbrParticipantTry again, the ’07 600r is 417 dry, 490lbs wet weight
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yzf600r“as much as i like what the FZ6R is, a great beginner bike, it CERTAINLY isn’t the YZF600R replacement that yamaha said that it would be.
the R6S is about as close to filling the 600R’s void as yamaha will get.
that being said, if you feel you’re ready for a 600 class bike, check into the 600R.”…
So you recommended a bike that has slightly more torque and with quite a bit of extra HP in leiu of a bike with slightly less? We are in the bestbeginnermotorcycles.com forum right?“yet a bike that makes LESS LOW RPM TORQUE would be a better bike for a beginner.”
Torque really isn’t good as a sole determinant of what is a good beginner bike as it doesn’t paint a complete picture, as we discussed in another thread, power to weight ratio is probably a better determinant.
“not to mention not having fully adjustable suspension……that in itself is ridiculous. and a tube frame….why?”
No adjustable preload on the front forks is not such a big deal if your primary goal isn’t a track day, which for most beginners it won’t be (like the ninja 250 thats gets recommended like crazy on this site has no adjustable preload). And beleive it or not the tubular steel frame using the engine as a stressed member is capable and comfortable as it helps keep the seat lower to make it available to a wider range of riders.“i’ll say it before”
Are you going back in time?
“and i’ll say it again”
So say it all you like, it won’t necessarily make it true…“the R6, R6S, 600R, FZ6, and FZ6R are none better or worse than the other for a ‘beginner’ bike, none of them are beginner bikes as they all make similar torque numbers.”
Didn’t you start out by saying “…i like what the FZ6R is, a great beginner bike…” ??
So the FZ6R is not a good replacement for the 600R, the R6S, the space shuttle discovery, etc. It’s not as sporty as your beloved 600r, it won’t approach a top speed of 150mph. They made changes to make a bike that is more appealing to a larger demographic, so they can *GASP* sell more bikes! It makes a great comfortable inexpensive commuter bike for a market that didn’t really offer much for that niche.
This discussion has gotten really off point. The question was if it was decent beginner bike for commuting. So lets try and be helpful in answereing the post originators questions rather than turning this into a pissing contest.
June 17, 2009 at 9:02 pm #19865WesParticipanthahahaha wow. . . hmmm
June 17, 2009 at 10:47 pm #19867RedFireBirdParticipantso we can generalize that beginner bikes should have inherent limitations because they shouldn’t be able to evolve as the rider progresses, eh?
417 dry, 490 wet. i find it hard to believe that 3.x quarts of oil, water in the radiator/resivoir, and 5 gallons of gas adds up to 73 lbs. gasoline is around 6.2 lb/s gallon, so that’s only ~32 lbs. where’s the other 40 coming from?
i said ASSUMING YOU’RE READY FOR A 600. nobody should bother paying 7,000 dollars for a bike that makes as much torque as a used 600R that only costs half as much.
don’t want the extra ~20 HP? DON’T GET INTO THE HIGH REVS. simple as that. how can you recommend a beginner a 70 HP 40+ lb/ft motorcycle, but not recommend a bike that makes the same amount of torque with extra revs? if you can’t control how far you go into the revs, GET A SLOWER MOTORCYCLE.
how can you say that power/weight ratio means a damn thing? power is simply a function of torque, and more low end torque is going to lead to more rear wheel spin with a new rider that doesn’t know what he’s doing. why is that hard to understand? horsepower is a theoretical unit of being able to get X amount of mass up to Y amount of speed. 70 hp can get a 400 lb bike up to 120+. where is the ‘beginner’ logic in that? oh, right, THESE ARE NOT ‘BEGINNER’ MOTORCYCLES.
adjustable suspension is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary for making a bike beginner friendly. a 300 lb rider won’t enjoy the same settings as a 140 lb rider, nor will the 200 lb 6 foot guy in between them. in this day an age, there is NO excuse for a sportbike not having fully adjustable suspension.
“say it before say it again’ blah blah blah, could you be any more ignorant than bringing up something like this? it’s descriptive writing, they teach that in most highschools……
one thing you may have called me out on: i DID say that be FZ6R makes a good beginner bike WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT I SAID ‘IF YOU ARE READY FOR A 600’ BIKE. how did you overlook that?
all yamaha did was make a cheap framed, downtuned out of the box R6 motor, handlebar’s version of a R6 and said it was ‘great for beginners and even girls!’ as if that doesn’t sound rude enough in it’s own right.
you want to defend this downgraded piece that sells for about the same price that a NEW ’07 600R sold for? great. the only upgrade i see is fuel injection.
sorry, but this bike never should have came into being. the 650 class had already been established, and that’s where yamaha should have went, instead of creating this ugly monstrosity.
June 18, 2009 at 2:54 am #19877briderdtParticipantOften they don’t include things like the battery when taking the dry weight.
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