FZ1 with passenger ?

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rigger4343

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Hey everyone!

New here and I thought this looked like a great place for info. I am in the hunt for a replacement bike and the FZ1 is a strong contender for me. I rode a first Gen FZ1 a long time ago only for a few minutes and thought the bike was great. I am actually going today to look at a 2001 FZ1 that I am considering.

One question that I have not found a good answer to is how well does the bike handle with two people on it? My girlfriend loves to ride with me when she can. Both of us together are not that big, I am about 5'7" (165 pounds) and she is about 5'2" (115 pounds) .

I don't push it hard but I will ride a spirited pace at times and she loves the turns too.

Also, anything to keep an eye out for on an old FZ1 ? I was originally looking for maybe a 2nd Gen FZ1 or a 6th Gen VFR800 but if the price gets down on this one and it is in as good a condition as it is suppose to be in, then it may come home with me.

And just in case you are wondering, it is all stock, almost new tires, chain and sprockets are new, fresh service not long ago and 34K on the clock.
 
I have taken passengers on my Gen1 and I'm super impressed. The shock
Isn't up to the task for me, at 225, but I have a Penske in the mail. My girl is about 115 too, and she says this is the most comfortable passenger seat yet. Prior to this I had a TL1000s and a VFR800. The VFR is comfortable, but weight is comparable and the FZ has like half again the horsepower, and that means a lot when you're banked over in the twisties with your girl on the back. I say go for it. Great bike.
 
I'm 6'4" 245 and my girlfriend is 5'5" 115. I have a 2009 Fz1 and the bike did fine although the springs struggle with just my weight so her weight only magnified the already apparent issues I had. Saving up for an Ohlin's or Penske rear shock and Racetech fork springs.

Edit: And I've heard the Gen 1's had a better rear spring than the Gen 2's
 
Well I went and checked this one out, it is okay but I am not too impressed with this particular bike for the price.

The owner wanted 3400 for it, I told him I might be willing to do 3000 but even that I was having a hard time with.

Overall the bike looks really good for its age and mileage. Things I noticed that I would do to it right off the bat are flush the front brakes, new front pads, replace the intake boots because of dry rot, new foot pegs, new front fork seals (they are not leaking but the dust seals are dry rotted so I know seals are not far behind) and give it a really good clean up. I am sure I would find a few other things once I really started going through it.

How often are you guys checking valves on these motors? This bike has 34K on it and the valves have never even been checked.

Any other thoughts on it would be appreciated. Also is there any real advantage to the 2nd Gen FZ1 ?
 
rigger4343 said:
Well I went and checked this one out, it is okay but I am not too impressed with this particular bike for the price.

The owner wanted 3400 for it, I told him I might be willing to do 3000 but even that I was having a hard time with.

Overall the bike looks really good for its age and mileage. Things I noticed that I would do to it right off the bat are flush the front brakes, new front pads, replace the intake boots because of dry rot, new foot pegs, new front fork seals (they are not leaking but the dust seals are dry rotted so I know seals are not far behind) and give it a really good clean up. I am sure I would find a few other things once I really started going through it.

How often are you guys checking valves on these motors? This bike has 34K on it and the valves have never even been checked.

Any other thoughts on it would be appreciated. Also is there any real advantage to the 2nd Gen FZ1 ?
Click to expand...

I would have offered only $2500 with that many issues to take care of. I got my 2009 in 2013 for $6k, You can find a better deal for sure. Someone just posted a 2012 on here with 700 miles for $7500
 
I've done few thousands miles with my girl on the back. I'm 170 and she's 120. I've got 07 (all Gen2s have the same spring, except for 06 which was firmer).
With preload cranked all the way up, the spring feels ok (never bottoms). Oh.. I also use hard luggage .. so add another 30-40 pounds.

Biggest issue in terms of passenger comfort: foot peg to seat distance is short.
 
$2500 is more of what I was thinking was a fair price for the bike. I think I was just being nice by saying three. But when I was on my way home, the more I thought about it, the more I am not willing to give him that much for it.

As far as passenger comfort, I don't think my girlfriend would do to bad on the back of an FZ1. She spent a good bit of time on the back of my Buell XB9R without much complaint at all.

I think I am going to pass on this one unless the guy wants to come way down on his price. I think he is just a little to proud of this particular bike. I think I would rather have a 2nd Gen bike anyway. I have a couple of local dealers that are decent so I may talk to a couple of them and just see if there are any good deals on left over bikes. It does not hurt to ask.
 
I have thought a lot about an FJR1300. I have a local dealer that has a really clean 2012 FJ that is perfect. Not one scratch on the bike and only 4000 miles on it. He will give me a decent deal on the bike if I want it but it is still a lot of money and I am not sure I want to ride something that big. My Dad has an older BMW K1200GT and that is a hell of a nice bike to ride but it is a big bike too. I think I still would like to have something a little smaller than that and spend less money too.

Most of the time the bike will not be ridden on long hauls. Mostly a daily rider on the weeks I don't have my daughter and a weekend back roads bike that I can have fun on but not hurt after a days ride. We will probably load the bike up and take it to the mountains once or twice a year for a long weekend but on those trips, the bike will probably be trailered. On our last trip, we trailered the bike to the mountains and spent three days, sun up till sun down on my old Buell. During the year, most of the time my girlfriend will only get to ride with me for a couple of hours at a time, not long hauls.

I was thinking if I ended up with a 2nd Gen FZ1 that about the only things I would probably do to it is rig it with a GPS and maybe some soft luggage for the occasional trip. For the way I would ride the bike, I think a stock one would probably do me just fine unless I really feel the need for some suspension upgrades.
 
2008 Works Fine

My wife does not ride that often, but at 5'6" 145 (I am 6'1" 220), Dave Moss adjusted my suspension at a Sacramento CG Bike Night and told me to, "crank up the back shock four clics when I have a passenger." The wife said, "it was just right, no more soft bouncing up and down."

She said the 08 FZ1 is fine for our one hour rides out for lunch or dinner.

Four anything beyond that(out of State) I would want the FJ1300.
 
I ride often with my wife on my Gen 2. 4 things that helped tremendously: 1. top box with back rest. 2. extended passenger footpegs. 3. Corbin pasenger seat. 4. Aftermarket shock
 
My new gf rode with me about 3 hrs (first time with a passenger) on my Gen1, and she was very experienced as pillion. I didn't even notice she was there (in terms of the bike's performance) through the twisties, or high-speed straights. I was very impressed with my '01 Fazer. My assessment is that the passenger would make the difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
rigger4343 said:
Also is there any real advantage to the 2nd Gen FZ1 ?
Click to expand...

The only advantage you get with the gen 2 is the ability to re-map the ECU for tuning purposes. Gen 1 is carburated so you have to adjust jetting and such to "tune" the bike for different levels of performance.

I am on my second Gen 1 Bike, my first one was salvaged by insurance when a lady ran me off the road last year.
With the Gen one you have a slightly larger seat for the pillion (with stock seat), of course you can always get a custom seat for either gen 1 or 2.

The biggest advantage to the Gen 1 to me is the lower price, and the better gas mileage. I use mine primarily for commuting about 80-100 miles per day.

At 200lbs the bike feels fine underneath me, and when I first got my first bike I was about 240lbs and it felt fine as well.

I have ridden twice with my wife on the back and while it was fine for around town and on the freeway, low speed maneuvering is a pain and the front felt light. She is 6 foot tall and slightly overweight (she will not disclose to me where she is at and for her sake I will not guess). But it sounds like the two of you will be light enough to be comfortable together on a Gen 1.
 
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