Ride magazine fz1 used guide - respect at last

IWATA

New Member
I have owned my 2009 FZ1Na from new and have always been frustrated that whenever the FZ1 is featured or group tested in bike magazines with other so called "SUPER NAKEDS such as triumph speedtriples , aprilia tuonos honda CB1000R" etc, it always seems to be considered the poor relation and never seems gain more than average results in these tests. I have owned both 955 and 1050 speedtriples and prefer my FZ1n to both of them as an overall package . Well done RIDE magazine for recognizing the merits of this superb bike ! FZ1 gets the respect it deserves at last !
 
I have owned my 2009 FZ1Na from new and have always been frustrated that whenever the FZ1 is featured or group tested in bike magazines with other so called "SUPER NAKEDS such as triumph speedtriples , aprilia tuonos honda CB1000R" etc, it always seems to be considered the poor relation and never seems gain more than average results in these tests. I have owned both 955 and 1050 speedtriples and prefer my FZ1n to both of them as an overall package . Well done RIDE magazine for recognizing the merits of this superb bike ! FZ1 gets the respect it deserves at last !

while personal preference plays a big part in what bike works for ya, some find a r1 more comfortable than a fz1, and to them, it's true and you can't argue with that because you're not them.

from a performance standpoint, it generally is the bottom of the barrel as yamaha cheaps out on the performance parts for the fz series, same story on the fz6, fz8, fz1 and even the brand new fz09. stock, the fz1 is barely faster than a r6, the suspension is weak and the brakes weaker. stock to stock, it generally falls behind in all categories. you can deny it all you want but numbers is numbers. i love mine, don't get me wrong, but it took a full r1 suspension swap, with r1 calipers, ebc race pads, brembo 19x18 master cylinder, braided lines, slip on with ecu flash and tune, custom seat and now, now it's a proper bike, i dont bottom out the stock forks, it doesnt wallow in a corner, my brakes dont fade and i can actually walk a 600 down the straight as it should. have you ridden a new tuono? it'll blow your fz1 away, however to me, it's not nearly as comfortable as a tourer, i took my fz1 around the country this summer and honestly there's not another bike i can think of doing that on that did everything i needed it to do. i aint hatin on the fz1, dont think that, i just aint blind to what it is
 
Most bikes are built down to a budget in some areas so i don t think yamaha are the only manufacturer guilty as charged. I would just like to some idea what my comparison judgement is base upon. I bought a triumph 955 speedtriple new in 2003. By 2006 i felt ready for a change. I fancied either a 1050 speedtriple or a yamaha FZ1n. I researched all the magazine road tests and the 1050 speedtriple always seemed to win so that was the bike i bought. In 2009 a friend bought a used FZ1n on ebay and asked me to ride it home for him. During the 2 hour ride home i was so impressed with the power delivery and comfort that a few months later i swapped my speedtriple for a new 2009 FZ1na. With a tail tidy and a MIVV carbon GP silencer fitted i still think it looks and goes great and is a far better bike than the press criticism would suggest.
 
The FZ1 received praise in the publications when it made its respective debuts in 2001 and 2006. The trouble is that it no longer stacks up to the competition when directly compared. You have to remember that the gen 2 FZ1 will be 9 years old in a couple months and all the other manufacturers have long since updated or released comparable models.

It's not that it's a bad bike in any way, it's just long in the tooth, you know?
 
The FZ1 was one of the bikes that SET the bar for the Naked category.....especially in 2001, not so much in 2006. That said it is still a VERY capable bike that is over the head 99% of people. Personally I don't care about having the most HP, most bling, etc. I like the platform to build it the way you want it and lower price compared to most others now in the category. Yamaha could easily make it top of the category, but its all about sales numbers and demand. They would not sell a large number of $15K FZ1's. Look how much new old stock is out there in the market already. While its our passion, Yamaha is still a business that wants to make money.
 
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I agree with jared. I miss my FZ1 and I think it was an excellent bike, but only after a long list of mods. Stock is nothing to be particularly impressed about, especially without Ivan's flash. Aside from Ohlins suspension, my Tuono is stock, and my old fully modded FZ1 was still just a notch below. I really think Ivan's flash was the biggest game changer for the FZ1 though. If they could throw in an Ivanized FZ1 in the comparisons, I think it'd be right up near the top. Problem is you can't compare a heavily modded bike to other stock bikes.
 
The FZ1 received praise

The guys in bike magazine si Hargreaves and Simon weir of ride magazine love the fz1 which after all the bikes they ride they still come back to the fz1.
Ride magazine tester has just bought a second hand fz1 and is going to give feedback as his other bike got nicked.
 
Closest right up you'll see to a modded FZ1:

403 Forbidden

These sentences are interesting:

"Interestingly, a good deal of the bike’s precise throttle response comes from dialing-in the adjustable throttle-position sensor with a step-by-step process right from the dash. That won’t cost you anything but time."

and this:

"Dial-in the throttle position sensor—an official Yamaha shop manual will show you how it’s done"

EDIT: I had a quick look through my workshop manual and on pages 7-8 and 7-9 it details how to adjust the position of the TPS by adjusting it's angle until you get a voltage between 0.63 - 0.73 volts.

This is done with a volt meter or you can use your PCV as well, when we set up our TPS for Ivan's ECU flash we used a setting of 0.645 volts.

This would be worth checking on any bike to make sure you are in the sweet spot.
 
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These sentences are interesting:

"Interestingly, a good deal of the bike’s precise throttle response comes from dialing-in the adjustable throttle-position sensor with a step-by-step process right from the dash. That won’t cost you anything but time."

and this:

"Dial-in the throttle position sensor—an official Yamaha shop manual will show you how it’s done"

EDIT: I had a quick look through my workshop manual and on pages 7-8 and 7-9 it details how to adjust the position of the TPS by adjusting it's angle until you get a voltage between 0.63 - 0.73 volts.

This is done with a volt meter or you can use your PCV as well, when we set up our TPS for Ivan's ECU flash we used a setting of 0.645 volts.

This would be worth checking on any bike to make sure you are in the sweet spot.

This is part of Ivan's instructions when installing a flashed ECU.
 
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