Moving up to an old Fazer...

[lightfoot256]

Hey,

Coming to the end of my restriction period... Well, will be in July 07 :-p, And I figured I better start getting interested in what else is out there to gauge weather I can stick with what I've got for another year or move up now.

I've gotten to what I feel is the end of my boundaries with the CB, done about 16k mile on it in just under 1.5 years. I'd been riding for nearly 2 years before that and am now looking for something a little more fun with a lot more power...

I've never ridden the bike without the choking kit (a.k.a. restrictor kit) before, so I don't really know how powerful the bike is without it. I've noticed that overall the bike feels really crap in lower end gears and tends to choke the harder I accelerate, my plan was to derestrict a couple days before my insurance runs out and only re-insure If I felt I'd have fun for another year...

...My main gripe is that every insurance company I've been with have charged me through the nose for changing bike half way through the insurance period so I kinda wanna get it right before I sign up for another year.

Firstly, anyone been in the same situation of bumping up from 33bhp to (i think) 58bhp and found it enough to last another year?

Secondly, I've been looking at the 98-02 yamaha fazers and was wondering what they're like as a commuter/first-real-real-bike.

They're a little similar to what I've had before, and apparently (98bhp) are a little more powerful... but I was interested in what everyone else has to say!

Anyways, Look forward to some replies,
Cheers,
Chris

[krebsy]

The older Fazers are a nice, decent and nippy little urban workhorse that will eat up the open road with no issues.

Regarding power, My ZZR at 97BHP wipes the floor with a similar powered Hornet owned by a mate of mine and also the 05' Cb600f as mine is set up as a sports tourer, not a commuter.

You will definitely notice the difference between 33bhp and 50+, I did when going from a 48 BHP GS500e to the 59 BHP Divvy.

I'd recommend taking out the restrictors for a month or two (once your time limit is up) and seeing how the power feels. You'll be on a bike you know and will have more grunt in the engine to play with. If after that it feels flat and uninteresting still then look at upgrading to a decent mid-range commuter or possably an entry level sports-bike.

It's not all about the power, it's how the bike delivers it that makes the difference.

K.
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What's my New Year's resolution?

1280 x 1024.

[mark83]

I reckon that once you've been riding for a year you'll be fine to jump to any power bike (as long as its not a Busa/R1 or something with 5 times the power)

You just can't be as throttle happy when its wet/bumpy at first, because you need to realise that there's enough welly to send your back end out.

Just approach it cautiously, and you'll be fine.

Good luck!
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[lightfoot256]

Might enquire into how much it costs to switch to a fazer... Only pay 180/year at the minute... shouldn't be too much more. 21, 3 years NCB...

I've been looking at the other 600s for a while, I wanna stay "under" 600 for a couple years until I have more NCB under my belt, but wouldn't mind a test ride on the following:

Honda Hornet
Honda CBR600
Honda CBRR600 :-p
Yamaha R6
Yamaha FZR Fazer (98-02)
Bandit 600/650
Suzuki GSX600R
Suzuki SVG650

Need to figure out how much I can get for my CB....

Chris

[mark83]

[lightfoot256]

Yep, I noticed that moving up from 12bhp to 33bhp...

I remember hearing my bike the first time and thinking, "wow that sounds nice". Now it sounds like my old 125 (until I actually hear one).

I'm a very cautious person anyway so wouldn't do anything silly.

I'm just getting sick of having to wait behind blocks of traffic as I know there just isn't enough power to get me past; Once I'm running at 50-60mph It takes too much of a run to get up to 70/80 to be able to get round in time before the cars on the other side are in my face... good job I'm used to filtering! :-p.

Its too cold right now so I wont be switching bikes any time soon, just wanted to start the ball rolling now. I'll be taking the bike "off" the road once I pass my car test... gimme some time to do it up a little and get it ready for a sale in the summer... (if need be!).

Chris

[lightfoot256]

I liked the ER5... But I dunno about the ER6... it never really appealed to me. Too many round bulkly plastics...

I wanted to move over to a fully faired bike, but I only like the fairings on the R1/GSXR(2003+) and they're both well out of my league at the minute...

[lightfoot256]

With current insurer... can insure the fazer now for 277, or by next july for 233 (approx lying about my age/experience :-p)...

Tis about right, might be a little cheaper when I actually get round to it, also I guess if I change "now". I'd probably pay the difference for the next 6 months as apposed to 277-180... hopefully.

I'll give em a call once I finish work, lol!

Chris

[lightfoot256]

Couldn't wait... They say ~£84 to move up in january (I wont be buying a new bike just yet at this time of year!)... and only ~£200 to renew the policy...

Anyone know what group the Fazer's in? Might be a good idea to see what else comes in about the same price...

Cheers,
Chris

[extreme3d]

[lightfoot256]

lol, looks good both faired and bellied.

I want one of each! heh... ah well.

Gonna go to bank next week, see if they'll lend me some money... gotta pay some debt off first but I'll put some asside for new bike early next year... only if they'll lend it me!

I dont think I'll ever buy new again... too many things to go wrong. I'd rather it have been bedded in for a couple years and also lost that nasty new-price-tag, lol.

Free insurance and free track day cover do sound very nice though!!!

OOOH ITS SHINY...

[Finglonga]

[_Will_]

I would say don't limit yourself to just a 600, afterall your restriction will be up, also bigger bikes can be slower depending on the type.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[lightfoot256]

Yeah, winter is a good time to buy... but its also not a good time to sell... I don't fancy paying two lots of insurance or holding a bike without it being insured so I really need to sell my old one before I can get a new one...

Some dealer rung me this morning saying he'd give me "a couple hundred quid - if your lucky" for my bike... reminds me of when I sold the one before this and a dealer offered me 70 quid for it, ended up selling private for 1500 I think...

I'm more concerned about insurance prices than anything else, I've got a budget of around £200 for insruance at minute as my car insurance eats up nearly 600 quid a year... heh, and I thought cars were "safer"! :-p

Chris

[KTM Gordo]

The original Fazer, the FZS600 is an excellent all-rounder: I've got one, and loads of couriers in London have too - which is always a good sign.

I've had mine from new in 2000, and after 42k miles it's still doing fine: trackdays, touring and commuting. Incidentally I think they're 85bhp, not 54.

The FZS600 was built 1998-2003, and there were three varients. The modifications where for the 2000 and 2002 model years. The 2004 Fazer, the FZ6, was less popular and is a very different 'bike to ride. This is due to the R6 derived engine which replaced the Thundercat engine in the FZS.

For 2007 there's another new version, the FZ6 S2, and it is supposed to be closer to the original.

There's a owners' "club" for the Fazer (all versions) at www.foc-u.co.uk

HTH
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Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

KTM 990 Adventure | KTM EXC 250 Racing | Land Rover Freelander SE Td4

[Finglonga]

The lights are worse than shiyte though, first thing that needs sorting.
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Andy Sez....
F.Y.Y.F.F.

[KTM Gordo]

[Simple]

Sorry to thread Hijak, I too am toying with the idea of a Fazer next year,

With regards to insurance, I pay £146 on geeperz, this will go upto £357 for A 98 R6. so I'd expect the fazer to be a tad lower than then r6, htough mayb not due to it being a newer machine?


I want to know what mileage you get out of a decent set of rubber?
mpg on a thrash and on a long haul (motorway) commute.

Simple
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Insta - FemFeral