I
have a number of favourite roads for testing new bikes. I chose to take the new
Yamaha FZ6 from Road
Test on the 2004 Yamaha FZ6N
I
have a number of favourite roads for testing new bikes. I chose to take the new
Yamaha FZ6 from
Yamaha refer to the FZ6N as
having “Street Fighter” styling? Well, I see it as more of an aggressive
middle weight muscle bike.
A retuned version of the fiery four cylinder fuel injected R6 engine, gives the FZ blistering performance. With a 14,000rpm Redline, the motor feels revvy (5,700rpm = 100kph), but when coupled to the very smooth 6 speed transmission, all is right and there is harmony in the world.
Exhaust gasses have twin exits
from under the seat which don’t seem to heat up the posteriors of rider or
passenger, but, it is noticeable when you rummage around in the under seat space
for tools. Speaking of which, there’s enough storage room for maybe a pair of
waterproof pants.
The brakes are great, with
plenty of feel and consist of twin piston callipers on floating disks for the
front, while the rear is a more standard single disk affair.
Instrumentation is easy to read
with digital readouts for speedo, fuel and engine temp plus, by manipulating a
button, you get 2 digital trip counters plus a tacho which is more accurate than
the electronic bar graph item that surrounds the dial. Speedo numbers are large,
so if you’re nabbed overindulging, don’t expect much sympathy from Mr Plod.
Considering there’s no
adjustment on the guarded conventional front forks, the bike felt well setup,
while the rear suspension has some 6 settings of preload.
I found the mirrors a little
narrow, (maybe I’m a bit wide?) making it less than perfect for seeing what
was tailing me ie the aforementioned Mr Plod. I’d like a louder horn, but it
and the mirrors are minor considerations when viewing the whole package.
Black plastic guards cover a
Bridgestone Battlax 180 section tyre at rear and a 120 section up front.
I didn’t get a chance to check the rather large teardrop shaped headlight but another rider said “it’d burn the fur from a roo at 300 metres!”
Seating is comfortable (795 seat height), footpegs well placed and the sitting position isn’t hard on the wrists or shoulders. Controls are easy to use although I found the trip counter button hard to use with gloves on. There are very good pillion grab rails and footpegs.
On the road, the FZ6 loves to
be thrown into corners, it’s very sharp, and if the corner tightens up, just
lean harder, it’ll take it. It feels very light (180kg), easy to throw around,
but solid like its larger FZ1 sibling. When mixing it with the city tintops, the
FZ seems happiest at over 4,000rpm.
The side stand gets a safety
cutout but there’s no centre stand. Everything the rider needs to attend to is
easily accessed, the lack of a fairing being a major advantage.
Currently, luggage carrying
will require throwover panniers and a tank-bag, no doubt an aftermarket
accessory will arrive in the future. A 19.4 litre fuel tank gives around 300
kilometres of range.
At $11,860 on road, you get a lot of kilowatts for your dollar, you could probably swing a good deal on this demonstrator, pity I had to hand it back so soon.
Colours
include Lava Red, Midnight Black and Silver Ice.
Test bike courtesy of Inskip
Motorcycles Toronto, 49504099.
May your lid never skid…. iparks@hunterlink.net.au