Immediate Mods on new 2009

2wheelMax

2wheelMax

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I know what the bike is and am an experienced rider, but I need to make two mods immediately.

1. Are the $29.99 handlebar risers on ebay any good? I need about an extra 1"-2". They are just blocks you insert in the bottom of the yoke. Are there any better styles available?

2. Stock seat is like plywood. Plenty of threads about seats, but I sat on a used FZ-1 at a dealer that had an aftermarket which was sporty. It was a two piece that looked like shiny carbon fiber. Anybody know what it is? I might be able to post a picture next week. What I really want is a Laz-y-boy seat, so I can ride all day without lower back pain or monkey butt. What is the softest available?
 
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2wheelMax said:
I know what the bike is and am an experienced rider, but I need to make two mods immediately.

1. Are the $29.99 handlebar risers on ebay any good? I need about an extra 1"-2". They are just blocks you insert in the bottom of the yoke. Are there any better styles available?

2. Stock seat is like plywood. Plenty of threads about seats, but I sat on a used FZ-1 at a dealer that had an aftermarket which was sporty. It was a two piece that looked like shiny carbon fiber. Anybody know what it is? I might be able to post a picture next week. What I really want is a Laz-y-boy seat, so I can ride all day without lower back pain or monkey butt. What is the softest available?
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Those eBay ones should work just fine. There's also the ones that raise the handlebars and bring them closer to you such as these:

1" up 1.25" bk Handlebar Risers Yamaha FZ1 FZ6 | eBay

My only concern would be the slack of the throttle cables and brake lines. I think the 1" raise should be fine.

As for the seat just about anything is going to be better than the stock seat. I have the Sargent seat, and while better than the stock one, it's still not great for long rides. I need a break after 2 hours or so. Top Saddlery is probably the seat for you...
 
1. Should I order chrome risers and not black? I belive the stock equipment is all chrome or aluminum?

2. Is there a whole procedure when ordering a custom Top Saddlery seat? I have been reading, but not certain of the process. The ones on ebay have the "FZ" graphics with a silver trim which do not necessarily match my blue bike. Any possible way to get a plain black seat?

3. I gave the dude that bought my Ninja my matching helmet. What kind of helmets are you using and is there a way to get a matching DUAL-VISOR blue or is it easier to get a silver and black one?
 
2wheelMax said:
1. Should I order chrome risers and not black? I belive the stock equipment is all chrome or aluminum?

2. Is there a whole procedure when ordering a custom Top Saddlery seat? I have been reading, but not certain of the process. The ones on ebay have the "FZ" graphics with a silver trim which do not necessarily match my blue bike. Any possible way to get a plain black seat?

3. I gave the dude that bought my Ninja my matching helmet. What kind of helmets are you using and is there a way to get a matching DUAL-VISOR blue or is it easier to get a silver and black one?
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1. Handle bars and risers are painted silver. Personally I would go with the black over the chrome. There's enough black in that area to compliment it well.

2. Yes there is some procedure for ordering it. Maybe FZ1inNH (Eric) will chime in since he ordered one for his bike. There's a post about it on here somewhere...

3. As for helmet I guess it depends on your budget. If you want a nice helmet that wont break the bank then look at the Scorpion line. Moving a little bit further up I would check out the Shoei RF-1100 or Qwest. I'm making these helmet recommendations based solely on my experience with them. There are plenty of other out there to choose from.
 
Just take your bike in to a good motorcycle seat upholsterer.
It is very easy to improve upon the stock seat as the main problem is that the foam is too soft.
It will be a much cheaper option than buying fancy seats or seats from big named seat companies.
 
I ordered the 1" blocks that slip under the bar. Those should be enough for my neck and back.

I did a ton of car restoration and some bike mods back in the day, but now I just like to ride or drive at leisure without excess modification relatively speaking. The FZ-1 looks like you can throw a set of soft bags and a wife on the back and take off or just ride around naked with plenty of hp or without tedious maintenance.

I also read up on the TPS problem and my last bike which was a Ninja 500, had some slight surging at constant highway speeds even though it was a carburated twin. That bike was setup perfectly, but was no means flawless.

The real test will come with a ride since nobody allows a test drive around here. Hopefully the unit will live up to 96% of expectations.
 
2wheelMax said:
I ordered the 1" blocks that slip under the bar. Those should be enough for my neck and back.

I did a ton of car restoration and some bike mods back in the day, but now I just like to ride or drive at leisure without excess modification relatively speaking. The FZ-1 looks like you can throw a set of soft bags and a wife on the back and take off or just ride around naked with plenty of hp or without tedious maintenance.

I also read up on the TPS problem and my last bike which was a Ninja 500, had some slight surging at constant highway speeds even though it was a carburated twin. That bike was setup perfectly, but was no means flawless.

The real test will come with a ride since nobody allows a test drive around here. Hopefully the unit will live up to 96% of expectations.
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Yea, these bikes are trouble free as long as you follow recommend maintenance. Valve adjustment wont come until 26k miles so you have plenty of time before you'll have to worry about anything major.

As far as soft bags you'll need some sort of brackets to keep them from tucking under because of the shape of the tail piece. These seem to work well and are relatively cheap:

GIVI SOFT LUGGAGE SIDE HOLDER YAMAHA FZ1 T271 - eBay (item 190569775224 end time Sep-24-11 09:11:19 PDT)
 
I have the ones that move the handlebars up one inch and back one inch.
The cables had to be re-routed and some of the cable restraints ( metal wire) had to be bent over somewhat to allow a miniscule bit of slack.
I think my arrangement is pretty much the limit for the connections. I also turned the handlebars up a bit giving them an upward angle. So far, I like it.
Good luck.
 
Save your money on seat, check out spencer . greatdaytoride.com. Have him do the works to your seat, it will be the best $100 you ever spent.

That and set your suspension up correctly for your weight. I went from the verge of selling the bike to loving it with those two fixes that cost next to nothing.
 
do not get the spencer seat mod until you check out a guy on the other fz1 forum.I rode a Spencer seat for 18k milesand it was better than anything else I had tried until "dirtroad" AKA Eddie had posted up about trying his seats for free.I was at Deals gap and he lives close by so I went to his house popped his seat on for 2 days called him back loved it paid for it.his seat mod with top stitched seams is 120 american . just go to Yamaha FZ1 Owners Association (FZ1OA) and search user dirtroad that should get u tons of pics
 
Bar Wise: I went w/the Renthal bar (gold!), instead of the bar risers. The bars have a 1.5" rise and are slightly wider. Problem is, the stock brake lines are too short, so I ordered 'gold' Galfer's . . . which look really good.

Seat Wise: I rode over to Russell's (just north of Redding, CA) and had them make me a custom seat. They use the stock base, make the seat, and then I sat on it prior to them covering it. I had them make several changes to it, before they covered it. There is no comparision between this seat and the stock one. I did 420+ miles/day for 7 days w/NO 'a**' issues last month . . . besides the Ohlin, the best money I've spent on the bike!
 
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