I wont Gordy, the 600 is still tucked up in the Garage along side the FZ. The exhaust is growing on me…not literally, but you know what I mean!

quote:

---

Originally posted by imperialdata

Thanks for the new mental picture that ruins any bike I see with that style of exhaust, Scouser!

---

Initially I wasn’t keen on the can either, but i am getting used to it. I will post up an update soon…how you getting on with the 9R ID?

Well with nearly 5500 miles on the clock now it seems a good moment to update you all on how I am getting along with my Fazer…In my opening review I said how it was a bit of a sleeper…a sober-suited assasin: sensible on the outside but actually a bit of a wild child when the vaneer is scraped back a little. Well that remains as true as ever.
Over 5000 miles the bike has peformed as faultlessly as a bike now listed at an eye-watering £11200 should and to date the only thing I had to lay out for as a set of new tyres at 4200 miles. Oddly the front Dunlop was shot before the rear…I have never experienced that before in knocking on for 30 years of biking. Bikersworld at Coleshill near Birmingham were doing a good deal on Metzeler Rennsports at the time – £200 the pair ride in, ride out. Early days, but so far I like them.

To ride the bike has been excellent, very quick, great in the bends especially the more open sweeping type where its’ inherent stability really comes to the fore. In tighter bends the 220kg+ weight starts to have an influence, but it can still be hustled along with some aplomb. The brakes are superb, but I cannot get the fronts to stop squeaking which is getting a bit annoying now. The engine is a peach and has loads of power available right through the rev range. This is just as well as it means the need for gear changing is reduced, no bad thing on this bike as it has been ‘blessed’ with Yamahas’ standard clunky gearbox. This is without a doubt the worst thing in the dynamic profile of the bike.
Comfort is top-notch though, thanks in the main to a relatively upright and relaxed riding position. I have rotated the bars around slightly in the yokes, this serves both to lower them and bring them slightly closer. This is a more sporting stance and one that I prefer. On one of my regular 150 miles jaunts into Wales I never feel uncomfortable and the Fazer was a superb companion on the recent jaunt over to France with Ses310 and Thumper. It was on that run that it struck me just how wide the capabilities of the bike are: It could cover the ground with 95% of the ease of Thumper’s BMW GS and 95% of the verve of Ses’s Blade when the opportunity arose. However the design of the tail piece made fitting my throw-overs awkward and I had to cram 4 days kit into my tank bag. A bit of a design flaw there Mr.Yamaha!
The 700 mile trip into France to showed up another concern with the FZ, and this is a common one with many of the latest 1 litre injected bikes…fuel consumption. I was not expecting it to sip fuel like a C90, but the Blade was consistently 2-5mpg better. This slight heavy thirst combines with a small tank to limit range to about 120 miles before you start hunting for a place to get more fuel. Bikes in general need to be better on fuel in a day and age where even cars like a 5 series BMW or a Jaguar XF can hit 150mph or better 40mpg with the right engine selection.
Another niggle is the design of the fuel filler which makes it a bit too easy to spray fuel over the tank as it approaches full.
I managed to let the bike topple over once too, I am rather embarrassed to admit I thought the side-stand was down when it wasn’t…crunch. She is a tough old bird, as a snapped clutch lever was the only casualty. £6 for a replacement…can’t complain!
So overall the FZ has been a corking bike and am I looking forward to another couple of years with it until the thorny problem of what to get next will have to be tackled