I am not being arguementative but asking out of genuine curiousity. How many of the riders at the meet had stock setups and were pushing that hard? This is an honest question. This question aside, I also know for a fact that there are riders here who are far and above my riding skills and would have left me standing at the Dragon. There are some on this forum that can take my old stock FZ6 and push it harder than I did and maybe not have the same problems. I strive to be as good but here in NH, it's
VERY hard to find places to practice.
Now, I'd like to explain why I ask...
The reason is, I pushed mine harder than I ever could there because NH doesn't offer any road nearly as technical and I thought I was going to have an insurance claim. I somehow managed to get the bike back upright without laying it down. I think that came from years of dirt track at that point.
I also let a very experienced rider take my bike on the Dragon. This guy rides a customized SV650 and leaves me in the dust far too easily but he's got a lot of money in suspension, braking and tires. He made it less than a mile and stopped. He had en even worse opinion of the stock setup than I did. I took his bike and couldn't believe the difference in riding a pro-tuned setup like his. That bike literally fell into the corners and held no matter how hard I pressed the bar.
It was then I knew I was either doing all sorts of expensive crazy mods on the FZ6 or getting a bike better designed for technical riding. The FZ1 is everything the FZ6 is with a lot more thrown on top. The engine, torque and power all set aside, the rest of the bike is a better technical machine with more advanced features.
As for touring, I like it better now as well. It's got a lot more power to haul the loads. When you load up an FZ6 and throw on a pillion, the bike has to grunt a lot in the mountains. The FZ1 takes the same path with a lot less effort. Because it struggles less, the tour is that much more enjoyable.
These are just my opinions based on personal experience, advice of trusted riders, reading and my fat arse sitting on both saddles. I am in no way trying to change anyone's mind or say I'm the guy who is right. :thumbup: These are to be taken with a grain of salt please. :Flash: