Fz-07 & fz-09 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Fz-07 & fz-09

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Stevo

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Does anyone here ride either of these two bikes and able to offer their thoughts? I know the FZ-07 has only just been launched and I am keen to get some owner reviews as oppose to those in the press/media.

Interested in the 07, but would like to hear the good and the bad on both before making any decisions as the 09 looks a lot of fun too.

Cheers.
 
I tried the FZ09. Great engine in a mediocre chassis. I figured the bike could be great with major suspension upgrades, which negates its lower price.
I think next year's model will address those issues.
Ari Henning at Motorcyclist has been doing a long term test on the bike, and if you read between the lines, he thinks the bike has major handling issues, which is why he's spending time on the shock and forks. Given that Motorcyclist cheerleads everything, he's saying a lot.
I only read better things about the FZ07 from the Euro press.

To me, if you are going 900 naked, might was well go all in on a Z1000 and get a better bike. $2000 more, but you get much more everything.

Fz07 is much less insurance, closest competition is the Kawa ER6-N, which just cleaned up at the Isle of Man.
 
I'm not sure where you are getting the $2000 more for a Z1000 over FZ-09.

I was recently shopping for a new bike and the Z1000 was almost $5,000 OTD more....


Anyways, as somebody who bought an FZ-09 let me give my completely biased opinions.

I really feel that the suspension issues are exaggerated. I went from a 2010 GSXR600 to a 2014 FZ-09. The FZ-09 is obviously worse in terms of suspension. I maxed the Preload/Dampening and it feels adequate for daily use (not track). I'm 205 without gear on. On my test ride, and the bike I purchased was setup for approximately 140 pound rider. The FZ-09 feels like a rocket around the streets, whereas the GSXR you had to wind out like a sewing machine.


CONS

* The suspension leaves a bit to be desired. You can easily upgrade this by swapping to a ZX10R shock, or buying one of the aftermarket options.
* The throttle response is snatchy and annoying. $200 ECU upgrade fixes this.
* Seat is not great. Another upgrade required.

PRO

* Fantastic Engine
* Great low end torque and incredible acceleration. Even in high gear, low RPM you can take off very fast (courtesy of the amazing torque band)
* Good fuel mileage even driving fairly hard. I get between 5.2L/100KM and 5.4L/100KM 50/50 city/highway
* Flickable. The bike feels light and nimble
* The bike hums along quietly at 400/401 speeds
* Fuel guage
* Price

You can get an FZ-09 for $8500. I personally believe its a great option for the price. Certainly I would have liked to have a BMW S1000R or KTM SuperDuke 1290, but like most people... Price is an issue. I would honestly say you need to spend about $500-1000 on the FZ-09 to make it worthwhile. (ECU, ZX10R/Penske Shock, possibly seat).


What more can I say? FZ-09 is comfortable, quick and lots of fun. Just keep the front wheel down ;)







CafeRay said:
I tried the FZ09. Great engine in a mediocre chassis. I figured the bike could be great with major suspension upgrades, which negates its lower price.
I think next year's model will address those issues.
Ari Henning at Motorcyclist has been doing a long term test on the bike, and if you read between the lines, he thinks the bike has major handling issues, which is why he's spending time on the shock and forks. Given that Motorcyclist cheerleads everything, he's saying a lot.
I only read better things about the FZ07 from the Euro press.

To me, if you are going 900 naked, might was well go all in on a Z1000 and get a better bike. $2000 more, but you get much more everything.

Fz07 is much less insurance, closest competition is the Kawa ER6-N, which just cleaned up at the Isle of Man.
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Thanks! Appreciate the response.

I do feel that I may get bored with the 07 before the 09, even if that does take a few years, so will probably go that way

May well wait until next season, unless a deal pops up beforehand. Or I simply can't wait anymore :p

Thanks again - appreciated.
 
You will not get bored on a "lovely", congested, pot-holed riddled and predominantly straight roads of Ontario. If you live at a track or near one, or somewhere with abundance of good roads, then maybe ....

You will not see any deals on these two bikes .... they are selling faster than they can get them .... in Europe, there's often a waiting list .... just saying. Not to mention already attractive MSRP in the first place.

BTW, what do you ride now?
 
Chasem said:
What more can I say? FZ-09 is comfortable, quick and lots of fun. Just keep the front wheel down ;)
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Thanks for the FZ info.. @ 200+ lbs you definitely will need to adjust the suspension on that bike. how about its luggage capability? Any decent options out yet? Have you done any long highway rides yet? Hows the seat?I did look at one last year, but yet to demo one. It would be interesting..
 
kiwi said:
Thanks for the FZ info.. @ 200+ lbs you definitely will need to adjust the suspension on that bike. how about its luggage capability? Any decent options out yet? Have you done any long highway rides yet? Hows the seat?I did look at one last year, but yet to demo one. It would be interesting..
Click to expand...

There are quite a few luggage options already available for the bike. Rear Luggage, Tail bags etc. Surprisingly aftermarket stuff has been coming out REALLY fast. I've put on 2600KM and I bought the bike about a month ago. The stock seat is absolutely terrible (for me) ;(

There are a few seat options though:
Seat Concepts
Corbin
Saddlemen
Sargent (Soonish)

Keep in mind this is not a touring bike. Tank range is around 220KM and no wind protection. I've since done the Seat Concepts route, and put a Ermax 33CM Windscreen on. These two options made the bike much more viable on the QEW/401. I'd still like to get the Corbin seat though.


I'd personally like a bigger gas tank, but you know... I don't think you are going to get a perfect bike for $8500.

To me the acceleration to 120 KM/H is roughly the same as a 1K SS, but a little more startling. In terms of acceleration/speed I don't see how you could get bored.


I know personally I would have gotten bored with the FZ07, and regretted my decision.
 
Chasem said:
I'm not sure where you are getting the $2000 more for a Z1000 over FZ-09.

I was recently shopping for a new bike and the Z1000 was almost $5,000 OTD more....
Click to expand...

Fz09s are selling at MSRP due to demand, 2013 z1000s can be had for $10500. But you need at least $1500more in the FZ09 for shock and fork mods, and a ECU re-mapping.

As with most things, you get what you pay for. My concern is that in 1-2 years, the FZ09 will be significantly better making the older models devalue like rocks.

The z1000 has some issues too, the rear shock is way too stiff.
 
Chasem said:
Keep in mind this is not a touring bike. Tank range is around 220KM and no wind protection. I've since done the Seat Concepts route, and put a Ermax 33CM Windscreen on. These two options made the bike much more viable on the QEW/401. I'd still like to get the Corbin seat though.I'd personally like a bigger gas tank, but you know... I don't think you are going to get a perfect bike for $8500. To me the acceleration to 120 KM/H is roughly the same as a 1K SS, but a little more startling. In terms of acceleration/speed I don't see how you could get bored.
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For sure. Did you test ride a Street Triple? It would be interesting to compare to a street triple.. I know the new ones are going to be 2-3K more in $$ but a low KM used one can be had for much less. btw - Maybe a SW-Motech rack will come out for it. They are just awesome.
 
CafeRay said:
Fz09s are selling at MSRP due to demand, 2013 z1000s can be had for $10500. But you need at least $1500more in the FZ09 for shock and fork mods, and a ECU re-mapping.

As with most things, you get what you pay for. My concern is that in 1-2 years, the FZ09 will be significantly better making the older models devalue like rocks.

The z1000 has some issues too, the rear shock is way too stiff.
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Got my FZ-09 $500 under MSRP. Where are the Z1000's selling for $10500 new? That would be a good deal.....


You don't NEED to redo the shock/fork/ecu on the FZ-09 to make it streetable. I uh don't live near Deals Gap or a track. I've pushed the bike fairly hard, and didn't feel I HAD to redo the suspension to even ride it. I would like to, but the bike goes beyond my limits. I can see if you are going to the track often, but around town..!?!? If you are a track-warrior I would probably look at the BMW S1000R etc.


The concern about price dropping in a couple years can be said about ANY new vehicle, and its the chance you take buying new.
 
kiwi said:
For sure. Did you test ride a Street Triple? It would be interesting to compare to a street triple.. I know the new ones are going to be 2-3K more in $$ but a low KM used one can be had for much less. btw - Maybe a SW-Motech rack will come out for it. They are just awesome.
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SW-Motech already has a rack for it... ;)

Honestly I didn't test ride a Street Triple. I wanted a new bike, set a budget and tried to find the best bang for the buck. I landed on the FZ-09.

OTD the Street Triple, Z1000 would cost more than I was prepared to spend. Also suspension is upgradable, engine not so much.
 
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Chasem said:
Got my FZ-09 $500 under MSRP. Where are the Z1000's selling for $10500 new? That would be a good deal.....


You don't NEED to redo the shock/fork/ecu on the FZ-09 to make it streetable. I uh don't live near Deals Gap or a track. I've pushed the bike fairly hard, and didn't feel I HAD to redo the suspension to even ride it. I would like to, but the bike goes beyond my limits. I can see if you are going to the track often, but around town..!?!? If you are a track-warrior I would probably look at the BMW S1000R etc.


The concern about price dropping in a couple years can be said about ANY new vehicle, and its the chance you take buying new.
Click to expand...


Burlington Cycle has an FZ-09 in their showroom and a crated FZ-07 waiting for a mechanic. Was told that it should be in the showroom this weekend, so will head back then for a look and compare.
 
Performance Cycle in Cambridge has an FZ09 on the floor.

I can't speak about the 07, but as to the 09, you get what you pay for.
 
I had the opportunity to demo both the FZ-07 and FZ-09 at the Oakville Yamaha demo day. And I also managed to spend a day on the FZ-09 during a recent vacation in Los Angeles (rented through Racy Rentals who were awesome to deal with).

The FZ-07 is a great bike right out of the box. I'm a smaller guy (5'5, 150lb) and felt the bike had some of the best ergos of any bike I've ridden. The engine is strong, with great/usable torque across the rev range. The chassis, suspension and brakes all work well together, it just feels well balanced in terms of performance. This bike is like a modern day SV650, only further refined/improved. As an all-around bike that really does everything well, this thing is hard to beat in my opinion.

The FZ-09 is a fantastic bike, although not perfect out of the box. The engine is insanely good, the throttle-by-wire though, not so much. The bike feels bigger then the 07, but still with great ergos. My girlfriend even liked the ergos as a passenger. The clutch and gearbox are super smooth/effortless. The suspension is a bit of a letdown, but certainly not bad. The softness and lack of proper damping are exemplified by the massive torque this engine makes, and the strong initial bite from the brakes. But you can't help but smile while riding this bike, it's so damn smooth and yet has the grunt to easily lofts the front wheel on command.

There's no doubt that the FZ-09 is the stronger performer of the two, but it needs likely $500-$1000 in engine mapping and suspension to reach the balance that the FZ-07 has right out of the box.
 
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sEvOn said:
I had the opportunity to demo both the FZ-07 and FZ-09 at the Oakville Yamaha demo day. And I also managed to spend a day on the FZ-09 during a recent vacation in Los Angeles (rented through Racy Rentals who were awesome to deal with).

The FZ-07 is a great bike right out of the box. I'm a smaller guy (5'5, 150lb) and felt the bike had some of the best ergos of any bike I've ridden. The engine is strong, with great/usable torque across the rev range. The chassis, suspension and brakes all work well together, it just feels well balanced in terms of performance. This bike is like a modern day SV650, only further refined/improved. As an all-around bike that really does everything well, this thing is hard to beat in my opinion.

The FZ-09 is a fantastic bike, although not perfect out of the box. The engine is insanely good, the throttle-by-wire though, not so much. The bike feels bigger then the 07, but still with great ergos. My girlfriend even liked the ergos as a passenger. The clutch and gearbox are super smooth/effortless. The suspension is a bit of a letdown, but certainly not bad. The softness and lack of proper damping are exemplified by the massive torque this engine makes, and the strong initial bite from the brakes. But you can't help but smile while riding this bike, it's so damn smooth and yet has the grunt to easily lofts the front wheel on command.

There's no doubt that the FZ-09 is the stronger performer of the two, but it needs likely $500-$1000 in engine mapping and suspension to reach the balance that the FZ-07 has right out of the box.
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Good review, I didn't ride the FZ-07 so I can't really compare it to my FZ09. I maxed the preload/dampening on the shock and front fork, which helped substantially. I've got about 60lbs on you without gear though.
 
I test rode the FZ-07 and ride my SV650S as a commuter. I agree with what was said above that the FZ-07 is a more refined SV. Performance wise, there is almost no difference. In town, the FZ is a lot more comfortable with it's upright ergos, but on the highway I prefer my SV.

If I had to purchase new, I'd probably go with the FZ, but considering you can get a used SV (S or N) for $4k and invest $1k in suspension adjustement to make it perfect for you, its a tough decision ... plus I like V-twins :)
 
I just picked up my FZ-07 on Wednesday. The 270-degree firing interval makes it surprisingly similar in sound and feel to a v-twin. (At least in my limited experience, only v-twin I've ridden is the Bolt.)
 
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