bearcat
Member
The first 1200 miles report. For you researching lurkers!
I thought I would type a few words about my new to me stone stock 06 FZ1. This is primarily for the lurkers who are researching a possible GenII purchase. I’m always reluctant to talk about a new bike until the honeymoon period is over. You usually get the “this is the best bike ever blah blah blah” response.
Background: I’m 48 and have been riding bikes for the most part since about age 10. Most of those bikes were dirt machines, the last being a KTM450 exc. I’ve had a M/C endorsement since age 16 and had a number of dual sports like the first being a Yamaha DT125. Naturally a DRZ400, XR650L, and KLR650 all spread out over a bunch of years. About 9 years ago I got back into street bikes. It started with a “free” Honda CB900C that cost about $1000 in parts to get her going, lol! Then it was a Kawasaki 650R Ninja, a Versys, and a HD 1200 Sportster set up with mid controls and the taller Roadster suspension (translates into no dragging parts in the corners!).
I was looking for a fuel injected ~liter machine that has been out for a few years, in other words available on the used market. The bike had to have friendlier ergonomics for my aging body, no clip-ons for this guy. The GenII FZ1 kept popping up on the radar. The only drawback seemed to be the poor mpg/range I kept reading about. Having been spoiled with 45 to mid 50s mpg (U.S. gallons) on my previous bikes, naturally I was reluctant to get a gas hog for a 40 mile round trip commute and 200 mile weekend fun loops. Well I was wrong.
The stock Gen II FZ1 will get 35 mpg or worse if you ride it like the engineers designed it for. However, in commute mode at speeds around 65 – 70 mph and a light smooth throttle hand the bike gets a consistent 45 mpg. If you get into the afterburners a few times on the merge or stuck idling in traffic it will drop into the 39 - 41 mpg range. I weigh around 170 lbs so that most likely factors into the better fuel economy observation. Most riders don’t buy these for the fuel economy, they purchase them for the performance. I was pleasantly surprised with the added bonus of the commuting mpg with some self control! If you live in an area where the commute speeds are fast then forget about this 45 mpg claim…
The ergonomics starts to get uncomfortable for me (32” inseam) at about the 75 mile mark. This is mostly in my legs and not the lower back with the slight forward lean to the bars. There are fixes for that with 1” lowering pegs and highway pegs to stretch out the legs while droning along. I installed an old Alaska Leathers 1” gel pad and that made the stock seat more comfortable plus gave relief in the hip to knee to peg aspect by raising me up 1” higher on the seat.
If you made it this far and still reading this, the FZ1 GenII is truly a nice all around bike. I think this one is going to stick around in the garage for awhile. The I-4 is so smooth and it pulls around town in lower rpms just fine (I was worried about low end torque after coming off of a Sportster). If you want to break the sound barrier then shift down 2 gears and hang on. The liter engine at 26,000 mile valve checks is very durable and not working hard. So far I am very happy with this bike, more so then my previous bikes.
Good luck lurker, I was one for 3 years until I made the plunge, no regrets.
Ok here’s the token picture of my stock 06.
I thought I would type a few words about my new to me stone stock 06 FZ1. This is primarily for the lurkers who are researching a possible GenII purchase. I’m always reluctant to talk about a new bike until the honeymoon period is over. You usually get the “this is the best bike ever blah blah blah” response.
Background: I’m 48 and have been riding bikes for the most part since about age 10. Most of those bikes were dirt machines, the last being a KTM450 exc. I’ve had a M/C endorsement since age 16 and had a number of dual sports like the first being a Yamaha DT125. Naturally a DRZ400, XR650L, and KLR650 all spread out over a bunch of years. About 9 years ago I got back into street bikes. It started with a “free” Honda CB900C that cost about $1000 in parts to get her going, lol! Then it was a Kawasaki 650R Ninja, a Versys, and a HD 1200 Sportster set up with mid controls and the taller Roadster suspension (translates into no dragging parts in the corners!).
I was looking for a fuel injected ~liter machine that has been out for a few years, in other words available on the used market. The bike had to have friendlier ergonomics for my aging body, no clip-ons for this guy. The GenII FZ1 kept popping up on the radar. The only drawback seemed to be the poor mpg/range I kept reading about. Having been spoiled with 45 to mid 50s mpg (U.S. gallons) on my previous bikes, naturally I was reluctant to get a gas hog for a 40 mile round trip commute and 200 mile weekend fun loops. Well I was wrong.
The stock Gen II FZ1 will get 35 mpg or worse if you ride it like the engineers designed it for. However, in commute mode at speeds around 65 – 70 mph and a light smooth throttle hand the bike gets a consistent 45 mpg. If you get into the afterburners a few times on the merge or stuck idling in traffic it will drop into the 39 - 41 mpg range. I weigh around 170 lbs so that most likely factors into the better fuel economy observation. Most riders don’t buy these for the fuel economy, they purchase them for the performance. I was pleasantly surprised with the added bonus of the commuting mpg with some self control! If you live in an area where the commute speeds are fast then forget about this 45 mpg claim…
The ergonomics starts to get uncomfortable for me (32” inseam) at about the 75 mile mark. This is mostly in my legs and not the lower back with the slight forward lean to the bars. There are fixes for that with 1” lowering pegs and highway pegs to stretch out the legs while droning along. I installed an old Alaska Leathers 1” gel pad and that made the stock seat more comfortable plus gave relief in the hip to knee to peg aspect by raising me up 1” higher on the seat.
If you made it this far and still reading this, the FZ1 GenII is truly a nice all around bike. I think this one is going to stick around in the garage for awhile. The I-4 is so smooth and it pulls around town in lower rpms just fine (I was worried about low end torque after coming off of a Sportster). If you want to break the sound barrier then shift down 2 gears and hang on. The liter engine at 26,000 mile valve checks is very durable and not working hard. So far I am very happy with this bike, more so then my previous bikes.
Good luck lurker, I was one for 3 years until I made the plunge, no regrets.
Ok here’s the token picture of my stock 06.
(I just painted the stock, silver, heat-shield and rear trim piece on the stock can black too...)