World first ride - Yamaha FZ8 and FZ8 Fazer: 'Plenty of mid-range grunt'

Just had a quick read of the article and I had to laugh at this:

"At the moment it’s a very good competitor to the Kawasaki Z750 and possibly the Triumph Street Triple.”

I can't see the FZ8 being any kind of competition for the Street Triple when it's £1,500GBP dearer than the Street Triple and £800GBP dearer than the Street Triple R! The Z750 is £1,800GBP cheaper than the Yamaha.
With prices like that, I cant see why anyone would even consider buying the FZ8 :confused:
 
Rusty said:
Just had a quick read of the article and I had to laugh at this:

"At the moment it’s a very good competitor to the Kawasaki Z750 and possibly the Triumph Street Triple.”

I can't see the FZ8 being any kind of competition for the Street Triple when it's £1,500GBP dearer than the Street Triple and £800GBP dearer than the Street Triple R! The Z750 is £1,800GBP cheaper than the Yamaha.
With prices like that, I cant see why anyone would even consider buying the FZ8 :confused:
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Yea, I can't see the FZ8 being very successful either. It's basically an underpowered FZ1...
 
Looks like Yamaha kept the tradition of craptacular shocks for the FZ line.

"not bad considering only the rear shock is adjustable for preload."

I'm looking forward to reading the coming review.
 
NJFZ1 said:
Yea, I can't see the FZ8 being very successful either. It's basically an underpowered FZ1...
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I really struggle to see where it will fit, not only in the Yamaha range, but looking at the bigger picture, I can't see where it fits in the overall biking market.

I think that if a naked was needed somewhere between the 600's and the 1000's, Suzuki would've already had a stranglehold on that market by building a naked GSX-R750. As it is, they only think they need a 600 (GSR) and a 1200 (Bandit). It seems crazy to develop an 800cc engine when it's not really needed.
Maybe I'm completely wrong, I'd imagine that Yamaha know far better than me!
 
Only thing I can think of, is maybe it's gonna replace the FZ6. I mean I don't know, but If I was gonna get a bike more powerful than the FZ6, then I would buy an FZ1 and mod the hell out of it......oh wait, nevermind...already did that! But seriously, why an 800 Yamaha?
 
Perhaps, Yamaha wants a more complete coverage of the CC range from 600 on up with the FZ line and they think they are missing sales between 600 and 1000 CCs. I wouldn't think they would just throw something out there without the market research to substantiate the expense of rolling out a new model. I am sure motorcycle companies have had failures before, and perhaps there are enough similarities with the FZ1 and the FZ8 to all Yamaha to test the water without having to release a completely new bike.
 
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My take on this:

Yamaha stopped FZ6 production. The bike is no longer. The 600cc class was replaced with the new FZ6R, a further de-tuned bike that is their new "supersport" entry level ride.

The FZ1 is still its own class competition in the liter world and fills the need of the standard bikes that need to liter moniker.

The FZ8 was introduced to compete in a market where Yamaha had nothing and was losing sales to their competition. Yes, it is a direct cousin of the FZ1 sharing a lot of the bulk parts and structure. It is, however, produced with lesser flexibility to reduce MSRP. While the pricing listed now seems to be off the charts, Yamaha is notorious for bloating the MSRP then releasing the bike in a more competitive price range. Don't let sticker shock set in yet. ;)

Yamaha needed to put out a bike to compete and pick up sales in a class they've not filled. They needed to do this without major cost to the company, already suffering from a poor economy. The market demanded a bike that wasn't a starter yet more affordable in both cost AND insurance ratings than the FZ1. The FZ1 isn't a huge seller for them because people cannot afford the insurance rates in many areas.

The FZ8 is promising a better mid-range performing I-4 bike. Sure, the suspension will leave a sour taste for many but look at it this way... built on the FZ1 platform, you can find plenty of parts to work with to give you back adjust-ability. The rear shock on the FZ1 is stock CRAP no matter how you adjust it anyway so even buying the FZ1, you're going to put out the same cash to replace it with the same part number from Ohlin's or Penske. The forks can likely be swapped out one for one with the FZ1 which has decent adjust-ability but still need better springs to stop the dive.

I'm not going to knock it until I hear from an experienced rider or a long-time FZ1 owner who actually gets to run this thing through the paces. If what they are saying about the 32 bit ECU, intake, CAM and valve changes are true, this just might be the mid-range I-4 that people would want to drop money on. I'll have to wait and see/read/listen before I can form a solid opinion.

For now, it's Yamaha... I bleed blue.... I know it will be a bike with potential. :tup:
 
scottyd said:
Is the 800 a creation because of the MotoGP?
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I thought the same and after speaking to my local dealer, ge thought the same as well. The dealer also thinks that this model may be paving the way for an R8 in future years due to the whole 800cc MotoGP thing.
The only problem now is that MotoGP is going back to 1000cc!
 
Rusty said:
I thought the same and after speaking to my local dealer, ge thought the same as well. The dealer also thinks that this model may be paving the way for an R8 in future years due to the whole 800cc MotoGP thing.
The only problem now is that MotoGP is going back to 1000cc!
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Well then if thats true Yamaha haven't done their homework very well! Maybe a hedged bet...
 
It wasn't that many years ago that most manufacturers were putting out 500,750, and 1000 sized bikes to try to cover the displacement range. Then a few went up to 1100 and 1200 just to push envelope. As racing changes and insurance companies decide who needs to get blasted by the highest rates the manufacturers try to make appropriate adjustments to compensate. Like it or not, the high displacement, high H.P. sport bikes are expensive to insure and it's not likely to get better soon. If you guys knew how much my insurance went down when I traded my FZ1 for my new Speedmaster you'd think I was lying. With Progressive (who I've had for about 8 years) it went down by 2/3's. Just maybe Yamaha is thnking a displacment decrease might work in a tight economy. In any event, it won't take long for them to see if it pays off or not.
 
NJFZ1 said:
Yea, I can't see the FZ8 being very successful either. It's basically an underpowered FZ1...
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Is the FZ6 successful? Now that you've answered that, how many folks you think are out there that think a 1000CC bike is too much for them? Those are the folks that will choose the FZ8 over the FZ6. It's all strategy and none of us here are thinking the way Yamaha is when they decided to go ahead with the FZ8. Will it really be successful? Only time will tell, lets see.
 
I think it will do well, I hope it does anyway. With 750s being extinct I think it fills a good niche.

As someone pointed out, the jump from a 600 to a 1000 is a big one, cost, power, insurance, fuel, etc.

Yes the true FZ6 is a very popular bike all over the world. Our sister site is a testiment to that. The new FZ6R seems to be selling well too.

About a year ago my local four brand dealer said he wished he could get more FZ6s, SV650s, and Versas. At that time anything that was 600cc and less was flying out the door but the liter market was dead. They had new CBR1000s for about $8,000. Now I'm hearing stories of CBR1000s in the mid-west (Ohio) for about $6,500 OTD.

Time will tell.
 
I agree with Eric. I loved the FZ6 because I thought it was a lot of bike for the money with Yamaha reliability, fit, and finish. It was a good bike to start on and became a real monster with the revs up high. It was a bike you could safely grow into and then enjoy as an experienced rider. Whatever the reason, Yamaha chose to discontinue the FZ6 and at about the same time the FZ6R shows up. The FZ6R is really not the same bike at all as the FZ6. Taking Michele's (Eric's wife) bike for a ride I found it to be much more refined for everyday riding with some top end punch but much milder than the FZ6. The FZ6R is indeed a better beginner's bike and also a better everyday rider. The FZ6 was a bike that opened your eyes to the power and thrill of sport bikes. One is refined, the other a wolf in sheep's clothing. With no FZ6 in the picture you would only have 2 options for the upright sport bike: A pleasant mostly mild mannered 600cc and a kickass liter bike. So the 800cc and not the FZ6R, as I see it, is the true replacement of the FZ6. Just my 2 pennies worth.
 
One thing that people keep mentioning is the lower insurance since it's only an 800cc bike. However, I have seen that some (if not most) insurance companies lump anything over 751cc into their top rate tier.
 
NJFZ1 said:
One thing that people keep mentioning is the lower insurance since it's only an 800cc bike. However, I have seen that some (if not most) insurance companies lump anything over 751cc into their top rate tier.
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Over here they do that and the annual circulation tax also doubles above 750cc.
I used to have a BMW F800S and those extra 48cc were expensive!
 
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