I appreciate the continuing good wishes re the new FZ8, especially high praise from NOAY, maybe I should change my login name to: BACKONAYAMAHA!
Just back from 3 days on the bike, odometer now reading 1021 and booked in for its first service on Sunday, just before it is a week old.
Chiang Mai, Nan, Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai and home, using some of the best riding roads in the North. Some wet roads and very light brief showers, but the sun shone and never got really wet, so proving this is a great time of year to ride and enjoy the best of the scenery. This is not a trip report however but comments on the new FZ8. Well to sum up, I am very very happy with my choice. 3 days in the saddle, 300km or so days of lovely roads. The bike performed faultlessly and I would suggest it is an excellent next step up from those who are looking for something a bit more challenging and fun than a Versys. The bike feels much lighter and less stiff than the FZ1, seating position and handlebar layout and controls are similar to FZ1, footpegs are a few cm lower, I cannot say I noticed this. For me a comfortable bike and my knees fit well into the tank. Very easy in the turns, flicks side to side and great torque pulling out of the bends. First and second gear are a little longer than the FZ1, making slow town traffic easy to deal with, once in top, I was looking for another gear as in 6th at 4,000rpm one is reaching about 94kph and on the FZ1 it used to be just over 100kph. The throttle response is very smooth, it will pull in 5th and 6th gear from as little as 2500rpm. Rev limit is 11,500.
It seems very smooth and good torque up to 6 or 7K and then goes a bit ballistic, not as much as the FZ1, but enough for me to probably not be in the 8 to 11.5k range too much. At the moment of course kept it at 6k or below with the infrequent quick burst up to 10k or so just to loosen the engine up a bit, and bed in some of those delicate bits. The tank holds 17L and a quick calculation suggest consumption about 20km per litre for our ride. That gives a range of over 300km ridden quite gently. Definately better than the FZ1. The suspension is only adjustable for preload at the back and not adjustable at the front. For me it definately felt firmer and I could feel the road more than than I did on the BMW, but there is more feedback as well and I felt happy pushing it a bit more on the bends than the BMW. The FZ1, has a lot of suspension adjustability, but I left it middling and never touched it. I am of average weight for a European and ride solo all the time, do not get near a track, so I am feeling the FZ8 will be fine just as it is.
Brakes are smooth and powerful, no ABS, that is only offered in Europe, must be because it is always wet or icy there. The exhaust actually has a good sound, a nice intake roar at the higher revs and the usual 4 cylinder whine. I like it and probably will not change it, it sounds powerful. Personal opinion I am sure and others would want something more aggressive.
Enough technical stuff. I like the way the bike looks, sounds and feels on the road, for me it is better bike for the sort of trips I am enjoying than the FZ1 was. The BMW F800GS was a go anywhere, sedately type of bike, well for me it was, but some do not ride them so sedately. The FZ8 is a little more hooligan capable and likes to go quicker than the BMW, it feels good doing that sometime, not straight line high speed, which would probably be somewhere around 250kph, but acceleration and corner speed.. It is more fun than the BMW and less serious than an FZ1.
Anything I miss from the FZ1, not really, time and wetter weather will tell wether I will miss the screen and half fairing. For these 3 days, I definately did not miss them.
So I am very happy with the bike, it is great value at this time, compared to what else is on offer from OEM's in Thailand, I believe it should outsell the FZ1, and the owners like me will not miss the extra mostly unused or unusable performance of the bigger bike.
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