doorag
Member
Some of you probably know me from the FZ6 forum and know that I have an FZ6 S2 and that I'm lloking to upgrade to a bigger bike. Well, I finally got a chance to test ride a 2006 FZ1 today and I have a few questions.
1. The suspension seemed very hard and was quite squirlley on the bumpy English country roads. (When I got back to the shop the guy checked the tyre pressures and they were both low, but I wouldn't expect that to make the sussy feel really tight.) I know the forsks are adjustable on the FZ1 so I assume I'll be able to play around with it and get them set to my liking, but the rear isn't adjustable on the later models is it? Also, is this normal? The salesman was trying to tell me that the FZ6 has a pretty soft suspension to begin with so I should expect to notice something.
2. On the first test ride, it was really hard to get it to turn in on some of the turns. I'm chalking this up partly to the low tyre pressures because it was a bit better once the pressures were sorted out and partly to the tyres since they were different than the Conti RoadAttacks I ride normally. Could it also be the different geometry of the bike that I just need to get used to?
3. I learned to put it in third and ride it like a scooter.
4. The blue one I rode already has an aftermarket exhaust, tail tidy, crash bobbins, rim tape and the lift things for a paddock stand (can't remember what they are called)
Verdict:
It was interesting. Not what I expected for sure. I expected a much more powerful bike that rode just like my current bike. It certainly wasn't that. I'm going back this weekend (hopefully) to try a Kawa Z1000 and a 2003 FZ1.
Thoughts??
1. The suspension seemed very hard and was quite squirlley on the bumpy English country roads. (When I got back to the shop the guy checked the tyre pressures and they were both low, but I wouldn't expect that to make the sussy feel really tight.) I know the forsks are adjustable on the FZ1 so I assume I'll be able to play around with it and get them set to my liking, but the rear isn't adjustable on the later models is it? Also, is this normal? The salesman was trying to tell me that the FZ6 has a pretty soft suspension to begin with so I should expect to notice something.
2. On the first test ride, it was really hard to get it to turn in on some of the turns. I'm chalking this up partly to the low tyre pressures because it was a bit better once the pressures were sorted out and partly to the tyres since they were different than the Conti RoadAttacks I ride normally. Could it also be the different geometry of the bike that I just need to get used to?
3. I learned to put it in third and ride it like a scooter.
4. The blue one I rode already has an aftermarket exhaust, tail tidy, crash bobbins, rim tape and the lift things for a paddock stand (can't remember what they are called)
Verdict:
It was interesting. Not what I expected for sure. I expected a much more powerful bike that rode just like my current bike. It certainly wasn't that. I'm going back this weekend (hopefully) to try a Kawa Z1000 and a 2003 FZ1.
Thoughts??