Considering a Yamaha FZ-6

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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I am considering a Yamaha FZ-6 as a tourbike in Thailand, anyone who owns one who can share some experiences on it. I will mainly use it for tours, probably some track riding (Bira).

Is it comfy on long hauls? And importantly for my wife is it comfy on the back seat for longer periods?

Is it a 95 octane bike, does it survive 95 gasohol (now with the disappearing 95?)

Cheers Bard
 
Sep 4, 2007
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Hi There,
I cant help you with the comfort of the FZ6, but from what I have seen and read it is more comfortable, and has a better touring range than the FZ1.
What I can assure you of is that it will run happily on gasohol of both the 91 and 95 variety, as will all the big bikes which Yamaha are now selling over here.
 
Nov 11, 2006
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The only advantage the FZ6 has over the Triumph Street Triple 675 is in price.
Otherwise the Triumph eats the FZ6 for breakfast!
 

KenYam

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Nov 2, 2007
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Bart I think the FZ6 is a good all purpose bike in Thailand, its certainly big enough and comfortable for rider, can't comment on pillion. Hey just take one for a test ride with the little lady Yamaha dealers seem easy going regarding test rides. Unlike the the Triumphs the FZ6 has the good support in Thailand and the purchase price and spare parts are a lot cheaper. CHEERS
 
Dec 12, 2008
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hi all///i am currently riding a FZ1 2nd gen...and i enjoyed touring wif it very much...all the way from singapore to laos...the response the torque...everything!!!!

regards.
richard
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Thanks guys this was really good help.

I am off to the Yamaha dealer on Thursday for a test ride with a mate and I will probably go for it. It looks nimble like a 600 should be with fairing for touring and enough power to have some good fun with on a track.

I was concerned over the gasohol issue which was cleared up from this thread.

Again, Thanks for the posts looks like I'm going for the FZ-6

Cheers Bard
 

gobs

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Feb 8, 2007
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Hi Bard,

Sorry to be late... But I think you've already noticed my "enthousiastic" posts on TV bike forum about the FZ6F... I've owned mine, brand new one, since only 7 weeks now, and I'm very, very happy with it.
I know everyone "is in love" with its own bike, but I think the FZ6F is THE middle range touring bike here in LOS, as well as a daily commuter due to its easy handling and ability to be a "peaceful" bike at low rev (as low as 2000 rpm!) with a good "electric-motor" response at the acceleration (but it can give a blast in high rev if you want!..).
For me, sufficient power and torque (98 HP & 6.3 mkg) for commuting and touring, even with passenger, but I'm not at all a "speed freak"!

As said John, no problem with Gasohol 91 or 95, even Benzine 91 or 95...

My wife enjoy the rides as passenger. At the moment of the purchase, it was one of the "condition" to order the bike: she had to have a "seat test"! And fine, she found the place comfy... :p

About having some fun on track (that I never did cos' I'm a very quiet rider), maybe the suspensions, shock and fork, are a little "soft" (good for the comfort)... You can't adjust anything on the fork, and only the spring "compression" on the rear shock. Further, the FZ6F is a "long and tall" bike, with a gravity center a little high. The seat too is a little high... Not so at ease for fast and "on knee" cornering I guess...
But one more time I never ride a bike on track as a racer, so just my opinion and feeling.
It has the engine derived from a sport/racing bike, but I think it's not a sport/racing bike...

It's not the place here for a debate, but there is one from time to time on TV between the Kawy ER6 (just coming in LOS) and the Yam FZ6... The ER6 is a good bike, as the FZ6 is a good bike. But IMHO there is no debate: they are not the same bikes!
And I know with the price of a FZ6F you can get, let's say, 2 ER6... But I "guess" than many riders would go for the FZ6F in place of the ER6 if prices were not so different. That said, I understand everyone has its own piggy bank!

And beware Bard: if you try it, you'll want it! :D (joking, here!)

Good luck,
Gobs
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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I just bought one, the main thing about it which I liked a lot was how good it is to sit on, was like putting on a glove it just fitted me perfectly. Then the fantastic service Yamaha has given me just confirms that this is a dealer who care.

I will pick it up when I get back home from offshore and I can hardly wait for it. Will be doing a lot of touring in the future with it so I hope to see all of you around.

Cheers Bard
 

gobs

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Feb 8, 2007
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Congrats Bard!

IMHO, you made a very good choice. And through the years and kilometers, you won't suffer any regrets!..

And true: the Yamaha customer service is absolutely exceptionnal. For LOS... but even better than some brand dealers in the West!

Here in CNX, at Yamaha Square, pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase customer services are very good and efficient. Smiles, time, explainations, workshop... All the staff is great. The staff listens to you (your wishes, doubts or whatever...) and you can trust it: if it feels something is not so good for what you expect of your bike, then it doesn't worry to tell it to you. Then, at the end, up to you to decide... Rare to find this quality...

Be patient, Bard, and then enjoy your new toy!
Hope to meet you later, here or there...

Cheers,
Gobs
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Thanks Gobs, I can hardly wait man I am so pumped on the new bike I can hardly control myself.

When I get it on the road I will do a 2 week trip around Thailand enjoying it, so that is something I'm looking forward to, I will come by Chiang Mai and hope to crash into you there.

Cheers Bard
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Just to sum up the incredible service Yamaha is giving us;

Trent (khun dingdong) got the FZ6 for the entire weekend to test it out on the roads to make up his mind with a new bike, then when he returned Khun Man called up one of the Yamaha show girls and gave him for an excellent end of a nice weekend. Obviously he did load of km testing it out for free, and got rewarded with a photomodel on top of it.

He fell in love with the FZ6, it did 150 km/h in 2nd without redlining and he did a cruise in way over 200 km/h. And surprisingly found the 600 to blast his old 1300 Yamaha who his mate ran with him. The FZ6 is an amazing bike and the service is better than any service I ever had anywhere in the world. I mean for my birthday they arranged a trip to a resort at a lake, let me play with all there bikes and waverunners on the lake, all paid by Yamaha. Lt of models to enjoy, dude I never had this service before at all. Love it, true bikers who runs it for sure.

Cheers Bard
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Here is a clip of two FZ6 who is racing on a race track in US, please note they ride in Miles Per Hour, also in Auz there is a FZ6 cup where they race with them. So obviously these bikes can really rock if you let them
Cheers Bard
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Well, she is ready even thou I'm stuck at work still. fully tour kitted with Givi and tourscreen, can't wait to have a go at her.

Cheers Bard
3287396383_f31b11a695_o.png
 

DavidFL

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Jan 16, 2003
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bard wrote: Just to sum up the incredible service Yamaha is giving us;

Trent (khun dingdong) got the FZ6 for the entire weekend to test it out on the roads to make up his mind with a new bike, then when he returned Khun Man called up one of the Yamaha show girls and gave him for an excellent end of a nice weekend. Obviously he did load of km testing it out for free, and got rewarded with a photomodel on top of it.

He fell in love with the FZ6, it did 150 km/h in 2nd without redlining and he did a cruise in way over 200 km/h. And surprisingly found the 600 to blast his old 1300 Yamaha who his mate ran with him. The FZ6 is an amazing bike and the service is better than any service I ever had anywhere in the world. I mean for my birthday they arranged a trip to a resort at a lake, let me play with all there bikes and waverunners on the lake, all paid by Yamaha. Lt of models to enjoy, dude I never had this service before at all. Love it, true bikers who runs it for sure.

Cheers Bard
Yamaha are the kings of first class service from what I've seen & experienced in Chiang Mai. They know how to look after their customers. 3 more cheers for them.
 

mja34

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Apr 24, 2003
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last summer i racked up over 8500 miles on my honda duville before getting a companey fz6 for the next 2000 miles!, this one had been caned,lobbed down the rd,thrashed stupid,popped on track,loaded with bags,top boxs etc and stood up well to my fellow couriers abuse we all gave it. ohh and bridgstone 020s work well on this model.
enjoy.
marcus
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Here is my impressions of the FZ6 after I did 6500 km in 3 weeks with it;

When you first ride it, you get a bit shocked over the power surge at 7000 rpm which you get used to pretty quick though.

The seat, and riding position is very comfortable for touring bear in mind I use the Givi tour screen though. It eats up kilometer fast and is not heavy on fuel consumption, it gives 20 km per liter on normal riding and with the 20 liter tank you easily ride 350 km per filling with fuel to spare. I did a 1004 km ride in one day (Chiang Rai to Rayong, 9 hour ride in comfort) then did a 800 km ride with a pillion and luggage without any complaints from the pillion, so it is a really comfy sport tourer.

In curvy Northern roads it's a dream bike, nimble and easy to ride with plenty of power to spare.

Tried it on a dirtroad and it's not really a match in heaven it performs ok on dirtroads as well.

Highway as boring as highway is to ride on luckily it allows you to cruise in high speed in total comfort, so you can move on to better territory.

Rode around in heavy traffic in Bangkok where it can go wherever the scooters go, so it really is a great bike there.

Tested it on Bira circuit and yes it works well, not like a dedicated track bike but you get knee down and a blistering speed out of the bike, the engine is great on the track actually.

All in all the bike is great, I cannot find anything to complain about for my purpose. Great for my daily commuting around, excellent for touring and good fun on the track. I love it, awesome choice and awesome bike :)

Cheers Bard
 

Marco

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Oct 15, 2006
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bard wrote: Here is my impressions of the FZ6 after I did 6500 km in 3 weeks with it;

When you first ride it, you get a bit shocked over the power surge at 7000 rpm which you get used to pretty quick though.

The seat, and riding position is very comfortable for touring bear in mind I use the Givi tour screen though. It eats up kilometer fast and is not heavy on fuel consumption, it gives 20 km per liter on normal riding and with the 20 liter tank you easily ride 350 km per filling with fuel to spare. I did a 1004 km ride in one day (Chiang Rai to Rayong, 9 hour ride in comfort) then did a 800 km ride with a pillion and luggage without any complaints from the pillion, so it is a really comfy sport tourer.

In curvy Northern roads it's a dream bike, nimble and easy to ride with plenty of power to spare.

Tried it on a dirtroad and it's not really a match in heaven it performs ok on dirtroads as well.

Highway as boring as highway is to ride on luckily it allows you to cruise in high speed in total comfort, so you can move on to better territory.

Rode around in heavy traffic in Bangkok where it can go wherever the scooters go, so it really is a great bike there.

Tested it on Bira circuit and yes it works well, not like a dedicated track bike but you get knee down and a blistering speed out of the bike, the engine is great on the track actually.

All in all the bike is great, I cannot find anything to complain about for my purpose. Great for my daily commuting around, excellent for touring and good fun on the track. I love it, awesome choice and awesome bike :)

Cheers Bard
and how much you got comissing from Yamaha on this advert? :wink:

happy o hear that your money is well invested and one lucky customer again.

regarding your 1004 in 9hrs,, you must cruise darn fast and hardly eat.

i did 1064km from Chiang Khong to home, near by ubon in 13.5hrs, with fuel and food stops.

looks good your bike as well,lot's of space for luggage, with pillion, those are in need :wink:
 

gobs

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Feb 8, 2007
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Glad for you, Bard.

And as you say, and IMHO, the FZ6 is a very good multipurpose tarmac bike. Highways, open roads and city, it can do everthing with a nice behaviour...

1000 km in 9 hours? That's an average of 110 km/h without stops! :shock:
I understand why you like so much the Bira track!
For my part I'm incapable of doing this... :roll:

Cheers,
Gobs
 
Jul 18, 2007
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gobs wrote:

And I know with the price of a FZ6F you can get, let's say, 2 ER6... But I "guess" than many riders would go for the FZ6F in place of the ER6 if prices were not so different.
What exactly is the price of the FZ6?
 

gobs

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Feb 8, 2007
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Hi NSD,

I bought mine 430 KBahts, end of November 2008...

For now, I don't know... Some "rumors" from the inside are telling prices are increasing up to 500 KB this year :shock:
Let's see...

Did somebody hear something about that?

Cheers,
Gobs
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
At a Yamaha function a few months back in Chiang Mai, one of the Yamaha Managers did say that prices would be increased for the coming year and that they would be stocking fewer bikes.
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Last time I popped by I think the price was 470k so I was lucky to buy end of 2008 for a discounted price.

Talked to Mr. Man and they have sold 15 FJR 1300 to the higway police and got an order for 35 FZ6 to the highway police now, so watch out for fast coppers.

Marco no I never got any dosh for the post, hmm Have to claim it...

Yepp 9 hours average 110 km/h including fuel pop and go, food hotdog when they fueled, and nil rest. Top speed was 235 km/h on the highway (no traffic there) and I never felt I was pushing it in speed only pushed the butt and food stops. My goal was 1000 km in 10 hours so I could tick that off in my book, I did it, but won't do it again tho, sore after.

I rode with Tony who has an ER6n and it is absolutely a steal compared to the Yamaha, but then again the Yamaha is superior something the proud ER6n owner said himself, but I guess a lot will go for that instead due to the price. I would still buy the Yamaha, I love it for being such a easy to ride bike with a heck of a spunk over 7k rpm it really is all I want and need. An ER6 could not do it all for me so I am glad I burnt the extra cash and stay happy with what I got, it's a long time relationship I get with this beauty.

Cheers Bard
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Yamaha has jacked the price of the FZ6 to an eye popping 490,000 Baht for 2009 :shock:
And yes- as I've said before- on paper the FZ6 is definitely superior to the ER6n. But is it worth 265,000 Baht more? No disrespect to the FZ6 owners- but I'd say not...
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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In economical sense the FZ6 does not look good compared to the ER6n for sure I agree 100%

If it was 100,000,- Baht more expensive it would be different.

Anyway the emotional value is there for me, I feel I got the one I want and I truly enjoy it which is most important to me. Sure I would be satisfied with the ER6 but I like the FZ6 more enough to feel I got what I wanted although for a ridiculous price, and are happy with it and the money spent.

Here is another WOW from Yamaha the 2008 model of R1 is 770,000,- but the 2009 model is 850,000,- why? well they told me due to the new engine technology it is a certain winner, which it is, won 3 times in a row now already. So people are believe it or not lined up to buy it for 850k... If we wait until say year end when the fuzz is over I bet it's down to 770k mark again.

I am waiting to see Kawasaki release of the ZX10R, then Yamaha might pull down the price to 700k something baht, I doubt it though as we see with the FZ6, when Kawa released the way cheaper Er6n they increased the price from 430k to 490k ok they added ABS but still, and they sell more than last year of them when the Er6n was not out, go figure... People must like them enough to bite the bullet I guess.

Cheers Bard
 

bard

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Oct 2, 2008
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Captain, you have a very good point there mate.

Beemer is worst when it comes to overpricing, better deal from Triumph or Yamaha. Lada ohh sorry I mean Kawasaki is alone in it's price range, with the local made bikes. The ZX10R will be import though so it will be interesting to see the price on that one.

Cheers Bard