2002 FZ1 for my first bike

"Aside from the safety factor I've also found that big bikes early on can lead riders to become lazy."

That's a good point. Also, any bike that's initially intimidating to ride is not a good learning tool. I would almost recommend my Gen 2 as a 1st due to the commanding view/ergos and the situational awareness it allows. Also, the handling is precise and confidence building. Under 6k it's a pussycat, unlike most other naked sport bikes. You don't just hit the throttle too hard and pull wheelies all the time. However, it's still big and imposing for a new rider. I've always thought the old SV 650 is a good learner bike. I guess these days the Ninja 650 gets bought a lot by beginners. It's not about growing into something, it's about having sharp enough steering and good enough brakes to really learn to ride and build skills IMO. However, it's hard for me to imagine a totally new rider getting on a bike in the city! I'll always be grateful I grew up riding dirt bikes. By the time I was 17 I'd been riding for 8 years.
 
swing2hard said:
I learn everyday as well, agreed!!! :)
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Hello fellow FZ1er!!

Just checking in to let everyone know that I'm still riding to work everyday (except when it rain). Doing just fine and learning and making adjustment as I go. For those new rider and chose to go with a 1 liter bike....I now say, go for it!! :)

Ringo
San Jose, CA
 
Klurejr said:
Glad to hear it!
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Thanks Klurejr!! San Jose, California has one of the worse bumper to bumper traffic during commute hours and I have been getting a lot of experiences riding between the lanes. I can remember not so long a go when I was looking and searching for route to take home to avoid this scene...as I found out, it doesn't matter which route I took...its pretty much the same. I finally stuck with it (riding scare) for a few weeks. Now I feel some what comfortable, but still very alert and always on the lookout for unexpected driver cutting me off.
 
Glad you're still alive.:woot:

I would never recommend anything other than a cheap used 250 or at most a 300 as a beginner bike for ANYONE, regardless of their size and weight. I'm 6' 195 lbs and rode a Ninja 250 for 3 years before stepping up to a 650. I commuted daily on the bike, rain or shine, and put over 8,000 miles on it. The smaller bikes have plenty of power for around town, and some will make it ok on longer highway trips, albeit at lower speeds. For a person that has never ridden a motorcycle, and is trying to just get a grip on the mechanics of riding and bike control - the physics of riding on two wheels is definitely something that folks have to learn by trial and error - the power and braking capabilities of mid-weight and liter class sport bikes is just an accident waiting to happen. You've been very fortunate to still be alive and riding, many are not.

Keep riding, and stay safe! California is Beautiful! Enjoy all that great riding you've got out there!
 
Ringo said:
Thanks Klurejr!! San Jose, California has one of the worse bumper to bumper traffic during commute hours and I have been getting a lot of experiences riding between the lanes. I can remember not so long a go when I was looking and searching for route to take home to avoid this scene...as I found out, it doesn't matter which route I took...its pretty much the same. I finally stuck with it (riding scare) for a few weeks. Now I feel some what comfortable, but still very alert and always on the lookout for unexpected driver cutting me off.
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Traffic was the number one reason I Picked up my first FZ1. Funny my only crash and all the close calls have been on surface streets with Cross traffic, The Freeway is way safer, even when splitting lanes. As long as you watch your differential speed and kept an extra alert eye out for Gaps in traffic that might tempt a quick lane change from a car you will be fine. Also being more alert when traffic as a whole is slowing down from cruising speed, or it is speeding back up from a stop is a good idea, that is when I have observed more chances of car rapidly changing lanes.

3.5 years now Commuting 60-70 Miles a day with a good 40 of it in Bumper to Bumper traffic and no close calls on the freeway yet.

As for Engine size, if you know how to restrain yourself the engine size wont matter for commuting, especially when you are putting along at 25-40 in traffic. Bike bikes get new riders into trouble when they take them up to the mountains and start pushing themselves beyond what is safe or what their skill level is able to handle. Those guys need to stick to track riding for that kind of stuff.

Check out some of my Videos on Lane Sharing:
Beetle cuts me off, no blinker no problem - YouTube

Cut off by car Passed by fast CHP - YouTube

MiniVan Tablet Driver - YouTube
 
Klurejr said:
Traffic was the number one reason I Picked up my first FZ1. Funny my only crash and all the close calls have been on surface streets with Cross traffic, The Freeway is way safer, even when splitting lanes. As long as you watch your differential speed and kept an extra alert eye out for Gaps in traffic that might tempt a quick lane change from a car you will be fine. Also being more alert when traffic as a whole is slowing down from cruising speed, or it is speeding back up from a stop is a good idea, that is when I have observed more chances of car rapidly changing lanes.

3.5 years now Commuting 60-70 Miles a day with a good 40 of it in Bumper to Bumper traffic and no close calls on the freeway yet.

As for Engine size, if you know how to restrain yourself the engine size wont matter for commuting, especially when you are putting along at 25-40 in traffic. Bike bikes get new riders into trouble when they take them up to the mountains and start pushing themselves beyond what is safe or what their skill level is able to handle. Those guys need to stick to track riding for that kind of stuff.

Check out some of my Videos on Lane Sharing:
Beetle cuts me off, no blinker no problem - YouTube

Cut off by car Passed by fast CHP - YouTube

MiniVan Tablet Driver - YouTube
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Hello fellow FZ1 rider....just checking in and letting you know I'm still doing OK. June will be my 1st anniversary riding this beast as my first bike. You guy think I'm ready for 2015 R1? Is there much difference in power?
 
The new R1 is similar to the FZ1 in the same way a bell pepper is similar to a habanero. Only you can answer the question of 'ready'
 
Ringo said:
Hello fellow FZ1 rider....just checking in and letting you know I'm still doing OK. June will be my 1st anniversary riding this beast as my first bike. You guy think I'm ready for 2015 R1? Is there much difference in power?
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Hello FZ1 Rider,

Just checking in so you guy don't think something happen to me. I'm still splitting lanes to and from work everyday in the bay area brutal traffic. Not that I didn't encountered some very close call, but I was lucky enough to react in time. It's been a little over a year already.

Ringo
 
Klurejr said:
After 4 years of Splitting myself I am glad to see you are doing well. Just remember to slow down when needed and you will be fine.
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Thanks Dustin and Klurejr. I still get nervous each time I'm sharing the lanes. Almost everyday I hear on the news there is a motorcycle accident on HWY 101 where I commute each day.
 
Hi Ringo, I started with a 2003 FZ1 over a month ago myself. I mostly commute to work and find any pretext to go to the grocery store or run errands. My wife loves it ;) so far I have clocked about 1,500 miles in 5 weeks, all good. I make a point to practice emergency braking when I get to a red light or a stop sign with no other vehicle around. I am working on my chicken strips but in Florida it's hard. All the roads are pretty much flat and straight.

Traffic here (North West Florida) has nothing to do with California (no splitting lanes to begin with, somewhat less motorcycle traffic than in CA also, but sufficiently that cagers are not too surprised to see one.) Around here, most bikes are cruisers and touring with super sport being a distant third, not a lot of naked street bikes like the FZ1 or sport tourers/adventure bikes like the V strom for instance. Here a bad traffic jam will slow you for 5 minutes. I hate those...

I would not recommend starting on a liter bike to everyone, but it has been working for me as it has for many others. Errors may be more expensive but you learn to be more careful. I believe it forces you to learn good habits from the get go and not get sloppy. It is interesting that the people who most strongly discourage you from starting on a bigger bike as those who started on a 250. The people I talk to who started on a bigger bike have not discouraged me, but wisely advised caution. It's not like you do not need caution or you cannot kill yourself on a 250. The most serious consideration against the FZ1 as a beginners bike is the weight. My daughter started on an FZ-07 that is probably 100 lbs lighter and she can very easily handle it. I would not be so sure how she would handle my bike.

As Philip mentioned, below 5000 rpm, the FZ1 is just plain nice. Above that, a different personality shows up. I will have plenty of time to explore that aspect as I get more familiar with the bike and more experience as a rider.

One of the things I like is that while I am a fairly aggressive car driver, I am a pussycat on the bike. One reason is that I enjoy it so much that I am not in as much of a hurry to arrive, so I enjoy the ride a lot more. The car to me is just transportation. Any time spent in the car is basically waste that must be minimized.

Enjoy your bike!

Didier



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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