First Bike - Yamaha FZ6

[bdevries]

Hello everyone,

I am on the verge of owning a Yamaha FZ6. After researching bikes for a couple months, my heart has settled on an FZ6 for the looks and also comfort and medium power.

The bike I will likely be buying Saturday is a 2007 FZ6 with 18,000km(11,000 miles) for 4500. The seller said he would come down to 4000 for me and throw in a cover and a fender eliminator kit. He says he has never put the bike down and there is no evidence that it wad down before(no scratches etc). The rear tire has 4000km on it and the front is original(likely needs to be replaced IMO). Everything in the pics looks nice and clean to me.

Here's the link, sorry I don't know how to embed.

Used 2007 Yamaha FZ6 Motorcycle For Sale In TORONTO ON - autoTRADER.ca


Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Ssky0078]

Look for frame cracks, I'm not sure the year but the first year (get them confused with the Fz1) of the Gen II Fz6 had an issue with frame welds.

If the bike has been sitting and not being ridden then the fluids will likely need to be changed out; oil & filter, coolant. If the original air filter is still in there, that is due to be swapped out as well. Check the tension on the chain and maybe another forum member can tell you what speck is. Also look for notching or other signs of poor wear on the chain and sprocket. Chain and sprocket are due between 15,000 and 25,000 miles (not sure in km) to get changed (I've heard some forum members sneaking 35,000 miles on theirs)

Pictures look nice, good luck with purchase

 

[Carlos840]

Welcome to the forum, great looking bike!

Only advice i would give you is take it easy in the beginning, and wear good gear.

Regarding the bike, assume that nothing was done on it service wise, so change the engine oil, the fork oil, the coolant, the brake fluid, and check the pads.
If possible do a throttle body sync, and the little things like lubing the cables etc...

Most of this is pretty easy to do if you have a few tools, a bit of common sens and a minimum of mechanical knowledge.

I would also change the front tire, tires are affected by aging as much as they are by mileage, and a 6 years old tire should be changed asap.


Then, you can start reading the forum and go on a modding frenzy, exhaust, sprocket, fork springs, belly pans, handlebars, levers...

Enjoy...

PS: Drive chain slack
45.0–55.0 mm (1.77–2.17 in)

The bike is happier at the top of the range.

PPS: it appears both rear plastic trims are black, just an optical illusion because of reflection...

 

[Solarservant]

Welcome! And congrats on the bike. As we all know, red is the faster color.

 

[bdevries]

Thanks for the welcoming and advice guys! Excited to get going!

As my dad is going to see the bike Saturday, he called the seller and actually ended up talking him down to 3900 with the bike cover and fender eliminator included. The saddest part is that I won't be able to bring the bike with me to my place until the spring arrives!!Im in an apartment building with a covered but not insulated garage. It'll sit in my dads heated shop until March or so. and then the first ride I have on the bike will be 600km back to my place!

I'm all over the gear websites..here's my links that I emailed myself from work, no one has to look unless interested. Actually, gear advice would be great as I'm a complete noob, although I do have decent mechanical ability.

Cortech Latigo RR Gloves - RevZilla 90



Scorpion Hat Trick Jacket - Canada's Motorcycle 250



Alpinestars Black Top Riding Shoes - Canada's Motorcycle 125



Alpinestars Fastlane Air Shoes - Canada's Motorcycle 135



Icon Anthem Mesh Overpants - Canada's Motorcycle 108



Icon Hooligan 2 Mesh Overpants - RevZilla 89



Alpinestars Flare High Visibility Vest - Canada's Motorcycle 62


Any other advice for a new rider about riding or the bike in general would be great!

Cheers!

 

[2nd childhood]

One of the best things I've heard is "Ride like you're invisible". Always assume no one sees you and it will serve you well. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycling. :welcome:

 

[lytehouse]

Definitely looking forward to pictures after you get it! I'm happy to see that you're also looking into good gear, it'll save your arse, and all the other important stuff :thumbup:

 

[Kazza]

:welcome: to the best forum on the web!

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome:to our big family! :rockon:

 

[ShoopCE]

Congrats on the bike and welcome to the forum!

All the prior posts provided great advice and particularly the warning about how car drivers often will not see you.

My advice is about training. Please get some! You mentioned that you were a noob. Most of us will admit to having been there at some point, but even if you have years of dirt experience, please get some training for street riding. I rode for 14 years then stopped for 25. When I got started again this fall I took a refresher course that the Motorcycle Safety Foundation runs. I'm so glad I did that!

For Ontario, this link might be useful. I don't know the cities and colleges listed.

Motorcycle Safety Course Providers

May you enjoy every ride!

 

[Red Wazp]

Welcome, sounds like your getting a nice bike. Don't forget to clean and lube the chain every 3-500 miles.
Great to see you are getting full gear.
Think about getting a jacket / pants combo that zip together. May you never need to find out how well your gear works but dress for the slide not the ride.

 

[Carlos840]

Thanks for the welcoming and advice guys! Excited to get going!

As my dad is going to see the bike Saturday, he called the seller and actually ended up talking him down to 3900 with the bike cover and fender eliminator included. The saddest part is that I won't be able to bring the bike with me to my place until the spring arrives!!Im in an apartment building with a covered but not insulated garage. It'll sit in my dads heated shop until March or so. and then the first ride I have on the bike will be 600km back to my place!

I'm all over the gear websites..here's my links that I emailed myself from work, no one has to look unless interested. Actually, gear advice would be great as I'm a complete noob, although I do have decent mechanical ability.

Cortech Latigo RR Gloves - RevZilla 90



Scorpion Hat Trick Jacket - Canada's Motorcycle 250



Alpinestars Black Top Riding Shoes - Canada's Motorcycle 125



Alpinestars Fastlane Air Shoes - Canada's Motorcycle 135



Icon Anthem Mesh Overpants - Canada's Motorcycle 108



Icon Hooligan 2 Mesh Overpants - RevZilla 89



Alpinestars Flare High Visibility Vest - Canada's Motorcycle 62


Any other advice for a new rider about riding or the bike in general would be great!

Cheers!

Personally i would stay away from mesh jackets and pants...

I know a lot of people wear them, but i have seen enough pictures of ripped and torn mesh things to not trust them!

I go for a leather jacket and some Hood riding jeans, not super water proof, but i feel that i can trust them in a fall.


Adding to what a previous poster said, my instructor once told me:

"imagine that everyone on the street is death, blind, and about to do the stupidest thing they could possibly do"

Also, 600km as your first ride is IMO a bad idea...
I doubt a new rider could keep focused, and stay mentally and physically aware for that long. It takes a lot more concentration to ride a bike than a car
especially when you are new to it.

 

[erburtt]

When I read the add it says "anti lock brakes" in the bottom with the list of its features, this bike definitely doesn't have ABS unless it was imported from Europe. From what I can see from the pictures this confirms it doesnt, just in case you were using that fact to add to the value.

Your going to want to go over everything you can maintenance wise when you get it, I got lucky buying my bike but I've followed 2 other people who bought FZ6's (one in the GTA, one in Belleville)that I'd looked at and made offers on before I got mine that hadn't been maintained at all. you'll want to look at;

Changing the oil
Changing/inspecting the coolant
Changing the brake fluid
inspecting the brake calipers and seals
Lubing all the cables (clutch and throttle)
lubing/inspecting the chain

These are just a start but are some of the commonly unmaintained aspects which can really contribute to primarily safer as well as smoother and nicer ride.

 

[lawlberg]

Not sure what the market is like up there, but that looks more like a summer price to me. I bought my 06 in the summer 2 years ago for 3500 in the same condition, and I felt like I paid a bit more than I should have. In the winter there's really not much demand, plus anyone is trying to sell it so they can drop it from registration and insurance in the season they can't even use it. You could probably get him lower, though the problem with negotiating on your dream bike is that you'll never just walk away - not saying it's a bad thing.

 

[erburtt]

that looks more like a summer price to me.

Up here that's a pretty decent price, most are 2007 and up and are going for $4500-$5500 depending on mileage, I offered $5000 on a bike (which was turned down) in Toronto that had a low speed drop that another forum member ended up with, really low km on it but really poor maintenance as well from what I've read.

 

[mxgolf]

Welcome to the best forum and motorcycle out there. Lots of good advise so far from this great bunch of motorcyclists. I might suggest getting taller boots and not the shortys. Motorcycle footpegs can trash a leg or ankle pretty easily and the taller boots serve to protect the fragile ankle and leg area in case of a crash better. Just my 2 cents worth. Now what's two cents worth in Canadian money! LOL. Enjoy your hopefully new motorcycle. Ride safe and enjoy the ride.

 

[long101]

Get the bike, you will love it. Make sure you respect the power. For the first month I dont think I got over 6k RPMS IMO it looks much better in person. I told a few friends that I got a 'sport' bike, but not a 'super sport'. They were all expecting a much more dull bike, even after seeing pictures.

 

[scidork]

Is that the stock windshield? I have an American '06 and I'm pretty sure the windshield has a "double bubble" where there is an initial parabola then a second bump in the middle, going from the outside inward. It looks like it fits the faring though...

I second the 600km ride as your first being a tad ill advised. My first ride was roughly 180 miles and I only ended up riding for about half an hour before having the guy who rode with me in the car to pick it up drive it home (he had more experience and I felt better knowing I was the chase driver than him rushing home to see his girl friend). It is really easy to hit the highway pumped up on adrenaline then hit the city streets hours later, mentally and physically fatigued only to have an accident.

Not to start an argument but when looking at helmets, you might want to find out what the different safety tests and certs entail. IE. Snell is a popular one but to me focuses on higher speed, high impacts like you'd see in a racing situation while ECE (european) is more realistic for common riding. For my use, ECE is what I looked for.

For mesh equipment, I live in Charleston (yeah, profile says Germany but that's a recent development) and I don't have anything mesh. My gloves are supposed to have a wicking liner and seem to do the trick but I've found that getting things with vents worked well for me. While they may not carry just what you're going to end up buying from online, it might not be a bad idea to find a local store and try different gross styles just to get an idea of how they work (ie, short vs long gloves, high vs. short shoes or boots, jackets with zip out liners, armor vs none, helmets with or without internal sun visors, etc). Remember you're dressing for a crash, not to impress anyone. Granted, I bought a single ensemble that was going to work for everything from a Pennsylvania winter through to a southern summer, rain or shine but there is probably going to be a little bit of trial and error to find what works for you.

Congradulations though. I'm probably going to buying another FZ6 here in the next couple weeks myself (this time an 07 rather than an 06).

 

[JayyVee]

Congrats on the bike, I'm jealous.. I'm still hunting for the 'right' FZ6 around here to purchase for my 1st bike as well. All in due time.

Lots of good advice in this thread, all I can add to it is - AGATT if you value your life and skin. Respect the bike and it's power, and you'll do fine.

MSF course yet? I might have missed reading that if you did. I would always suggest this for first time riders or even those returning after a long layoff. At worst, it will help with insurance rates, and touch on a number of good practices that even long-time bikers skip/forget/don't know at times.

 

[bdevries]

Wow thanks for the reply's everyone!

I got the bike last night! It's sitting in a warm insulated shop along with the rest of my families bikes!

I'll certainly be doing the MSF course as soon as possible, and not just for insurance reasons. I want to be as skilled and alert as possible, I'm sure itll pay itself off.

The bike looked far better than I expected it to! It is absolutely flawless, I went over it with my iphone light looking for scratches in the paint, stains on trim, etc etc and found nothing. I'm extremely happy about that, as previously almost bought a bike with a load of scratches that had been dropped for the same price(this bike definitely hasnt been dropped)

I'm super excited, and once I detail it I'll post lots of pics!!

Thanks again for all the replies and advice!