Rode the FZ-09

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Rode the FZ-09

by spatten on 02 Jan, 2014 21:57
I got to ride an FZ-09 triple and HOLY CRAP, it's an awesome bike. Super light weight and the engine is amazing. Goes like stink and wants to wheelie all the time in first. The engine thumps under load like an old TL, but feels stronger. I can't say enough about how hard it would be to keep your license.

The suspension feels sub par, but that's easy enough to address.

Best bang for the buck I can imagine.

Reply #1

by pasini510 on 03 Jan, 2014 05:10
I have read alot about this bike and at eight Gs ,its a deal. If I wanted a smaller lighter bike than the C14 ,This would be it !

Reply #2

by ManofManyGTs on 03 Jan, 2014 07:36
The bike def got my attention when they released it. With bike prices these days, it is a bargain. I remember not too long ago, sticker on the state-of-the-art 600s supersports were 8k. And the rumors that Yamaha's next R6 class bike will be a triple is very interesting.

Reply #3

by shreveportSS on 03 Jan, 2014 07:56
I rode one a few weeks back and I liked it a lot. Power wise it felt comparable to my N1K. I wish they had a version with some fairing comparable to the N1K.

Reply #6

by eng943 on 05 Jan, 2014 16:29
Love this bike, and I am close to buying one as a second bike. I am thrilled to see a triple instead of another I4. Everything I have read indicates this bike has the character I want in a bike like this.

Reply #7

by shreveportSS on 15 Jan, 2014 08:37
I took another ride on an FZ-09 yesterday at my local dealer. He told me to take it for as long as I wanted. I brought it back with 87 more miles on it. Needs a better suspension. I like the weight, but it is small at 6'2" and 240, I could almost make it wheelie just by moving back on the seat or sitting full upright in the wind blast. She wallerd around and bottomed out pretty bad in the curves. Like the reviews say, all the development went in the engine, but with my size, the N1k works better although both could use better suspensions. If you weigh a buck fifty, the FZ-09 would be a nice start.

Reply #8

by stevewfl on 15 Jan, 2014 14:45
Most bikes need suspension upgrades right out of the gate if you want then to perform, especially budgets bikes. I like it!

Reply #9

by Pokey on 15 Jan, 2014 18:10
Quote from: stevewfl on January 15, 2014, 02:45:41 PM
Most bikes need suspension upgrades right out of the gate if you want then to perform, especially budgets bikes. I like it!

Heck I even hear some guys bitch and moan about their Ohlins.

Reply #13

by rcannon409 on 17 Jan, 2014 16:58
Did you notice the price? Under 8000.00 Still expensive, but odds are you'd walk out of the shop with one of these for less than Yamaha charges for their 450 mx bike. That almost does not compute.

Reply #14

by TJ on 02 Feb, 2014 15:51
There are a ton of FZ1's on the used market, many with extremely low miles. I would purchase a used FZ1 (GEN 1 OR GEN 2) over a new 9 any day of the week if I was in the market.
I owned a FZ1 prior to my current Connie and it was a rocket, loved to wheelie, seat sucked and it always felt top heavy and got pretty bad gas mileage.

Reply #15

by twowheeladdict on 02 Feb, 2014 18:11
Quote from: rcannon409 on January 17, 2014, 04:58:58 PM
Did you notice the price? Under 8000.00 Still expensive, but odds are you'd walk out of the shop with one of these for less than Yamaha charges for their 450 mx bike. That almost does not compute.

That makes sense to me. Do you see what they put the MX bikes through? Also how much high quality suspension cost? Soon after I got my KLX250S, I was wishing I would have bought the KX250F and figured out how to register it for the road. Would have cost less than upgrading the suspension on the KLX, even when you consider the purchase price difference.

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