people hating on the fz...

[Zortak]

to me it looks like a machine, and has a raw allure, you see the parts. Not as common a bike as say a gixxer or cbr, which also adds to the mystique of owning one.

I came back home after 20 years, decided since the wife and i separated, the one thing she made me give up i missed was riding. It was time to get back into the saddle

went to the bike store with the intent of looking, cause ive been out of the mix for a while, liked the fz and thought maybe next spring. 2 weeks later the salesman gives me a call, his riding buddy has an 08 he needs to sell *marriage* the irony of it all simply made me smile as i told him i would pop by to have a look at it.

running to the large barn in the rain from the shop he flailed with keys to open the doors enough to let us into the stable. Bikes lined up along the edges in berths like horses. There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. *the salesman smiles, knowing he has me...that bastard how dare he do this to me.*

its not about image or how sexy the bike looks, its about making a connection, where something created struck a chord within my very being. ego and self are important to aid in confidence and all of that junk, but when i ride it borders on spiritual, all the shit in life washes away and there is just me and machine, on the open road...i dont give a damn what others think of my ride. Its what i think that matters. and i think i made the right choice for me, i hope you had the same fortune and see you down the road sometime.

 

[FZ1riderNY]

to me it looks like a machine, and has a raw allure, you see the parts. Not as common a bike as say a gixxer or cbr, which also adds to the mystique of owning one.

I came back home after 20 years, decided since the wife and i separated, the one thing she made me give up i missed was riding. It was time to get back into the saddle

went to the bike store with the intent of looking, cause ive been out of the mix for a while, liked the fz and thought maybe next spring. 2 weeks later the salesman gives me a call, his riding buddy has an 08 he needs to sell *marriage* the irony of it all simply made me smile as i told him i would pop by to have a look at it.

running to the large barn in the rain from the shop he flailed with keys to open the doors enough to let us into the stable. Bikes lined up along the edges in berths like horses. There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. *the salesman smiles, knowing he has me...that bastard how dare he do this to me.*

its not about image or how sexy the bike looks, its about making a connection, where something created struck a chord within my very being. ego and self are important to aid in confidence and all of that junk, but when i ride it borders on spiritual, all the shit in life washes away and there is just me and machine, on the open road...i dont give a damn what others think of my ride. Its what i think that matters. and i think i made the right choice for me, i hope you had the same fortune and see you down the road sometime.

I'm just happy for you that you even had enough money to buy a bike after a separation! Thats a feat all in itself! Nice job!oke:

 

[cos_fz1]

to me it looks like a machine, and has a raw allure, you see the parts. Not as common a bike as say a gixxer or cbr, which also adds to the mystique of owning one.

I came back home after 20 years, decided since the wife and i separated, the one thing she made me give up i missed was riding. It was time to get back into the saddle

went to the bike store with the intent of looking, cause ive been out of the mix for a while, liked the fz and thought maybe next spring. 2 weeks later the salesman gives me a call, his riding buddy has an 08 he needs to sell *marriage* the irony of it all simply made me smile as i told him i would pop by to have a look at it.

running to the large barn in the rain from the shop he flailed with keys to open the doors enough to let us into the stable. Bikes lined up along the edges in berths like horses. There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. *the salesman smiles, knowing he has me...that bastard how dare he do this to me.*

its not about image or how sexy the bike looks, its about making a connection, where something created struck a chord within my very being. ego and self are important to aid in confidence and all of that junk, but when i ride it borders on spiritual, all the shit in life washes away and there is just me and machine, on the open road...i dont give a damn what others think of my ride. Its what i think that matters. and i think i made the right choice for me, i hope you had the same fortune and see you down the road sometime.

I think it makes a huge difference when your spouse is supportive of riding a bike. Even though my wife does not ride a bike, she appreciates how much I enjoy riding. I hope you enjoy your bike.

 

[palat_l]

....There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. ......

You need a girlfriend also... :justkidding:

 

[Polestar]

running to the large barn in the rain from the shop he flailed with keys to open the doors enough to let us into the stable. Bikes lined up along the edges in berths like horses. There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. *the salesman smiles, knowing he has me...that bastard how dare he do this to me.*

You had me at "the salesman gives me a call, his riding buddy has an 08 he needs to sell"..........:yes:

 

[Steve F]

I've never gotten any negative comments on the FZ. But then again I don't ride with the sportbike crowd. No reason except I don't know any. I'm usually out with a buddy who has a Honda Shadow cruiser. He loves riding the FZ1.

I did the MSF ERC in Sept 08. There were 12 of us in the class. There were at least 3 chromed out Harleys, an expensive BMW tourer, an R6 and I forget what else. We had the bikes lines up waiting for the class to start when the instructor came out. He immediately walked up to the FZ1 and said, "Oh man, this thing is sweet." Good taste on his part!

 

[theWolfTamer]

You guys catch hell with your bike selection. Most of the other women I know who ride, ride cruisers. As soon as I take my helmet off and the guys see my sport bike, I get all the attention. I'd say that's a good thing except too many guys are freakin' married and I don't date married men, period.

Then I spend the afternoon explaining to their wives that my bike isn't a sport bike per se...Nevermind, I think I'd rather have them hating on the bike.

 

[Buildercher]

Yeah I know what you mean I came off R1 to the FZ1 for a more ridable bike, All the guys I ride with are good riders with lots of exprience track and road, There first reaction was are you serious its nice and cute and its saving grace was it had the R1 powerplant. But now I have done some essential mods ie suspension, Good rubber and 153@ wheel they all struggle to hang with me in the twisties and on the track if the back straight wasnt 1km they would look silly funny thing is they all want to ride it !!!

 

[psittacid]

The sad thing about sportbikes

I saw some guy in his 40s with a little bit of a gut at the local shop. He was sayin' how he was not sure about the low bars and riding position on the bike that he was sitting on. The salesman was saying, "It won't be any problem, you'll get used to it in no time."

The poor guy will probably one of the people that rides the bike for a few weeks, lets it sit in the garage for a year or two, then sells it and loses thousands of $ on Craigslist.

There was a brand new FZ two bikes down from him in the store.

 

[dduck]

P.S. The I am currently debating between keeping my ninja 650, getting an FZ1, or getting a VFR (interceptor). Which one do you think people will hate on the most?

that is funny; I went from 650R to FZ1; you will love the FZ1. But if you are looking for acceptance get a harley.

 

[qviking]

to me it looks like a machine, and has a raw allure, you see the parts. Not as common a bike as say a gixxer or cbr, which also adds to the mystique of owning one.

Agreed. I really like the way the FZ's engine looks sitting in the black frame. It's almost as sexy as the Vmax; I've always loved the styling of the Vmax's engine.

...his riding buddy has an 08 he needs to sell *marriage* the irony of it all simply made me smile as i told him i would pop by to have a look at it.

LOL I bought my first bike years ago from a guy who had bought it six months earlier without telling his wife; he was keeping it at work to keep her from finding out about it.

There in the darkness i spotted her, without prompting i walked over gently putting my hand on the tank, forming a bond between man and machine i had been missing for so long. *the salesman smiles, knowing he has me...that bastard how dare he do this to me.*

its not about image or how sexy the bike looks, its about making a connection, where something created struck a chord within my very being. ego and self are important to aid in confidence and all of that junk, but when i ride it borders on spiritual, all the shit in life washes away and there is just me and machine, on the open road...i dont give a damn what others think of my ride. Its what i think that matters. and i think i made the right choice for me, i hope you had the same fortune and see you down the road sometime.

I know exactly how you feel. A few weeks after deciding I was going to buy a bike, and spending some time checking out the local used bike market, I happened to stop by a local dealer with a good friend. I walked straight to the back of the showroom, where I found an 04 Skunk.

Sitting on the bike, all I could do was look up at my friend and mumble, "Daaaaamn..." He practically had to drag me out of the dealership, insisting that I needed to go home and do my "due diligence". While I agreed that was a good idea, I was pretty sure that unless FZ's were found to blow up on start up 25% of the time, I was going to buy that bike.

So, I went home and spent about two hours trolling reviews and forums, and couldn't find any consistent negatives. Instead I read dozens of love stories from FZ1 owners. Later that afternoon, I became an FZ1 owner as well.

It's been six months now, and my Skunk still turns my head every time I see it.

 

[old rice]

Hmmmmm.....

I saw some guy in his 40s with a little bit of a gut at the local shop. He was sayin' how he was not sure about the low bars and riding position on the bike that he was sitting on. The salesman was saying, "It won't be any problem, you'll get used to it in no time."

The poor guy will probably one of the people that rides the bike for a few weeks, lets it sit in the garage for a year or two, then sells it and loses thousands of $ on Craigslist.

There was a brand new FZ two bikes down from him in the store.

What bike was it and did you get his name and phone #?:sport12:

 

[pierce5891]

I work at a steak house that is THE place for Harley riders to stop and they like nothing more than to poke fun at any person riding a "crotch rocket" Of course these are the guys that order three beers with their dinner and then drink in the bar some more before getting back on their bikes so I don't give them much respect, especially since they can't tip.

 

[psittacid]

I work at a steak house that is THE place for Harley riders to stop and they like nothing more than to poke fun at any person riding a "crotch rocket" Of course these are the guys that order three beers with their dinner and then drink in the bar some more before getting back on their bikes so I don't give them much respect, especially since they can't tip.

Funny, though, the group that shunned me at the ride I described earlier did so when I was riding a Buell. I had a Harley product, but was not wearing the "uniform" - black leather, wraparound sunglasses, obscene amounts of chrome. Everything brand new and squeaky clean.

To be fair, I spent many years touring on a BMW. I would run into REAL Harley riders (not the posers) on the road and they were ALWAYS cool to me. We'd compliment each others rides and talk about our journeys. Never a problem. I had a lot of respect for them.