FZ1 Fazer 2009 Owner's Review

Play this music video.
Then proceed to read the rest of my blog.

I want more wind. I want more noise. I don't want to play good cop anymore. I want to be the bad guy.

I don't want to always have to be in control. I want to let go out when I get mad.


From my previous uber-luxurious James-Bond Honda STX1300A Pan European, I went out and gotten myself a 2009 Yamaha FZ1 Fazer.






















Hey, ladies and gentlemen, my ah lians and ah bengs, meet HellBoy, the name of my new Fazer.


















My Yamaha FZ1 Fazer, 2009.
The 2009 edition means red with a black-tiped tail; black usd forks; copper coloured rims and crank cover.


What's it like to ride a Fazer FZ1?



Ride experience and ride position.

Flying a broomstick

Riding the FZ1, you feel like riding a wizard's broomstick flying through the air.
An adult and angry wizard version; not pussy Harry Porter version.

Ride position is forward-biased, like many current sports bikes. Gives you plenty of confidence when making your corners.

Surprisingly, the ride is pretty comfortable for daily commuting in traffic and fast riding. Yet to test out on a tour yet, but the tiny stock windshield is still good when clocks say over 130.


Always ready to pick a fight

I don't care who you are. The bike turns any stiff-upper-lip into a hooligan.
From the moment you fire up the engine, the noise, the angry growl. Before you even ride the bike out of the carpark, the bike makes you feel like it wants to go out and pick a fight.


Boom Boom Room

Honda really doesn't get this. Honda makes quiet bikes. I like Honda bikes. But a bike without noise sounds like what? A bicycle?

And Hellboy makes lot of noise. From two source.

The obvious one is the dust-bin short stubby black side exhaust.

The other is the large airbox that sits right on top of the fuel tank. Any fast rider knows that you can't hear your own exhaust when going fast. But the FZ1's airbox is strategically placed. So near the rider's ears. Even nearer when you prone down to go fast. And hidden in the quiet air behind the windshield. So you get to hear every change in tone and pitch as the bike growls and dance as the revs climbs and falls. Music to my ears.

FZ1 is such a vocal bike. It's a Japanese Ducati without the overpriced, doggey reliability and unexplainable mysterious rattling parts. If FZ1 was a car, it would sound something like a Ferrari F430 Modena and a Subaru WRX.


















Such a small bike, but such a big exhaust and a big airbox--the front half of the fuel tank with the Yamaha logo.



Engine

The FZ1's engine is a screamer. Exciting but needs to be constantly worked.


The FZ1's 1,000cc engine is the same as that of the sportsbike Yamaha R1. Tune differently for more practical riding.

The FZ1 engine is a rev climber. Like a mad rabbit, always eager to climb up and down the rev tacho.

If I were to give a one sentence description of the FZ1, it would be:
"It feels like a 800cc sportsbike."

An equivalent 1,000 cc Honda will feel more powerful, with lumps of more torque.
So one can go faster on the Honda with less effort. On the FZ1, you got to work the engine, you got to constantly be in the right gear to stay with the Honda.

Don't get me wrong. The FZ1 is still torquey. Less torquey than a Honda 1K but more torquey than a Honda 600. So you can get around town perfectly on revs as low as 2K.

But the high reving nature of the FZ1 invites you to just want to rev the tits off the engine, thrash the bike like a punching bag and tear down the road like a mad man, everytime.
















Hellboy says, I want to blast the hell out of you.


The always never-ending linear rev tempts you, "Go rev me hard, boy. I bet you will give up before I do." And the bastard is right. There's not enough road.

The FZ1 is not a bike for those who is looking for a bike to doodle around.


Gear Transmission System

The gear and clutch are light. But they are not buttery smooth like Honda. On such a high reving bike, you can't just slam the clutch plates together and hope for a smooth gear change. In the split second that you open and close the clutch, the revs would have fallen by thousands of rev.

It takes time to learn to able to change rev smoothly on this bike, even when riding sanely. So it is also not the most pillion friendly bike.

My trick to you for having a smooth gear transition, is think of the phrase "Quicky Action!". Quick left hand (clutch), quick right hand (throttle), quick left foot (gear).
All combined and done in an instance. Don't think.
Once you start to think, the bike is not going to be smooth.

Lazy hands need not apply for this bike.


















When I collected Hellboy, odometer is all zero.
Tacho let you climb all the way to 12k. I have never reached there yet.




A Horizontable Bike

Like other bikes with high quality and powerful brake system, you can stop the FZ1 with a mere two fingers. More importantly, the bike gives you great feel when comes to braking. This feel come from the workings of a variet of factors: from the way the brake bites, the firm front fork setup without any weak legs, to the front-biased ride position.

FZ1's suspension is firm but not hard. Comfortable enough for normal street riding but not bouncy when you go fast. A tad firmer than a Hornet900's, but definitely more comfortable than a sportsbike's.

This bike is a highly "Horizontable" bike. I mean this bike makes you want to corner the bike so hard that you feel like you want to lie the bike down on it's side. A horizontal position. Maybe this feel is a result of the higher foot pegs that subconsciously, makes you feel safe to lean the bike low.

Let me explain the naughtier origin of the term "horizontable".
I have a guy friend called Philip. He looks every bit like a gentleman, and apparently, is considered very charming by the opposite sex.
We all have our interest and passion. Bikes catches my attention when they pass me by and triggers my imagination, comments and opinions.
For Philip, when he meets a new girl, instintively, he classifies them whether this girl is "horzontable" or not.
What is horzontable, I asked him? Oh, he answers cheekily, what position do you adopt when you have sex?
So he will say, you know Elaine Liam? I say yeah. And he would add, "By the way, she is very horizontable."


Friends with Petrol Kiosk

When I was riding my STX, the fuel cashier girls always remember me. Why?
Because these girls have never encountered a bike that pays as much as a car at the fuel pump (sometimes SGD $50).

Their usual line is, "Wah, so much ah!" Or "Are you sure you got the right pump number?" In comparison, the honda cubs need only $5.

I thought I could do away with this kind of attention with the FZ1, with it's normal 18-litre tank.
But I can't.


Their usual line becomes, "Wah, see you again ah. Yesterday you just come."

In theory, the FZ1 has a 18-litre tank. It's fuel economy is decent for a litre bike (16++km/litre, singpore riding). But it can barely hit 200km and the fuel reserve light turns on.


Windshield


The stock windshield is a tiny piece of plastic. But don't be fooled. It's aerodynamics has been perfectly worked out. It is surprisingly effective in both upright and prone down riding position.

Of course, no semi-windshield can give you no wind blast. For that, you need a GoldWing or a Pan. On the stock FZ1 windshield, the lowest edge of the jetstream is nose level at upright riding. So no direct wind blast to body. There is secondary wind coming down from dispersed jetstream from the helmet level to cool your body.

Basically, it is very effective. So don't be a hurry to change to aftermarket windshield. Give the stock windshield a chance first.


Yamaha Panniers


















As you can see, I equipped my bike with Yamaha hard side panniers. Want to know more about them?

They cost SGD $1,700 for both box and brackets and install, from Yamaha Hong Leong. Most other FZ1s go with H&B panniers. I went with the Yamaha panniers because I think they look better with the FZ1. They are the same as those found on Yamaha FJRs.

I think it looks great on the FZ1. It also comes with a very cool LED brake taillight, and a diamond white light shining on the rear number plate.

It is 100% waterproof. But the space inside is smaller than the STX1300. In the STX1300, in each of it's panniers, I can keep one full-sized helmet and a complete rain suit/riding jacket. In the Yamaha panniers, I can keep only one full-sized helmet and not enough room for the rain suit/riding jacket. Not a problem when riding alone. But more a hassle if you ride two-up.


Vice

I sold my previous bike, the STX1300A Pan European, called Vice, to Loois Motor. I am glad that within a week, Vice already has found a new owner.


































May Vice be happy and well taken care of by his new owner.

Parting Words

Be thankful for everything.
The journey is the reward.