Advice needed from Experienced Riders

[lonesoldier84]

I have been riding dirtbikes offroad and some short trips on old county roads for about 15 years now and a dual-sport for about 3 years now. My under 250cc class dual sport is getting a little small for my growing want to ride more and more. I have been considering a larger dual sport (KLR 650) until I saw a 2007 Yamaha FZ-6 in a classfied advertisement in my hometown. I like the look of the FZ-6 but the persona of sportbikes still weights heavy with me. Im not a beginner on bikes by any means but Interstates and 50+ speeds are a new adventure. Anyone have any advice on if this is a good around college campus bike considering my past with duals sports and offroad bikes. I like upright position so also consider that and my size of 6'0'' 220lbs. Also another question is the bike a good deal. 2007 FZ-6 Red with 1,500 miles for $3,500 I have yet to see this bike in person but consider all mechanical in excellent condition and the usual small cosmetic flaws. Thank for any useful advice.:thumbup:

I would feel much more "at risk" on something like a KLR on the roads. ****tier handling, lower quality brakes, and less get-away juice.

Mind you I am not bashing the KLR....I really want one its probably my next bike I think. But on road the FZ6 will fare much better.

Just because it's a "sports" type of bike doesnt mean it will eat your face. It isn't a "crotch rocket" and isn't really insanely fast. It is pretty quick, much more so than what youre probably used to, but not enough to have you dangling in the air behind it or cause serious problems. Its a detuned R6 motor and for the first half of the rev range is VERY manageable and calm. Above 7k rpm it will propel you forward in first and 2nd gears with some sense of purpose, but again, nothing ape**** crazy. You will get used to it very quickly it is nothing to be concerned about.

And its seating position actually has you feeling a bit comfortable on gravel and packed dirt roads (and sometimes a bit gnarlier if you are willing to take it slow).

It does everything well enough. Its a great bike and is MUCH better for on the road from a safety perspective than a KLR.

 

[Erci]

Just because it's a "sports" type of bike doesnt mean it will eat your face.

Yeah, it's no Ariel Atom!

 

[lonesoldier84]

LOL

love that

 

[FB400]

Geeezus WTF is that guy's helmet!!!

 

[sxty8goats]

You're getting confused with supersports bikes....

See Yamaha link here

Road Products | Yamaha Motor Australia

Can't blame your confusion Youngy - you're heads a little in the clouds at the moment due to the cricket :scared:

Not to continue this argument but...

In my parlance, there are three types of street bikes. Cruisers, standards and sport bikes. The FZ6 is a standard. Just because Yamaha lumped them in with the dominating category 'Sportsbike' doesn't mean they are correct. :thumbup:

 

[MDManley10]

I would feel much more "at risk" on something like a KLR on the roads. ****tier handling, lower quality brakes, and less get-away juice.

Mind you I am not bashing the KLR....I really want one its probably my next bike I think. But on road the FZ6 will fare much better.

Just because it's a "sports" type of bike doesnt mean it will eat your face. It isn't a "crotch rocket" and isn't really insanely fast. It is pretty quick, much more so than what youre probably used to, but not enough to have you dangling in the air behind it or cause serious problems. Its a detuned R6 motor and for the first half of the rev range is VERY manageable and calm. Above 7k rpm it will propel you forward in first and 2nd gears with some sense of purpose, but again, nothing ape**** crazy. You will get used to it very quickly it is nothing to be concerned about.

And its seating position actually has you feeling a bit comfortable on gravel and packed dirt roads (and sometimes a bit gnarlier if you are willing to take it slow).

It does everything well enough. Its a great bike and is MUCH better for on the road from a safety perspective than a KLR.

My main concern wasnt how on my ability to handle the bike or the learning curve of driving a different style bike. Despite the difference in cc's and top speed a few years riding 250 two stroke mx bikes will teach a good respect for a snappy responding bike. It was mainly how easily the bike could be controlled and driven on low speed campus streets with many hazards (Ex. pot-holes, peds, bicyclers, buses).

The give and take for a KLR is
1. We have tons of county and rock roads close to where I live that would be a little rouch on a fz-6.
2. Handleing would be even more of a strain on the KLR but the more mellow engine could compensate a little.

I have a buddy thats lending me his older Honda cbr for a week or so and would that give me somewhat of an idea what the FZ-6 would ride like?
Thanks and GIG EM'

 

[novaks47]

My main concern wasnt how on my ability to handle the bike or the learning curve of driving a different style bike. Despite the difference in cc's and top speed a few years riding 250 two stroke mx bikes will teach a good respect for a snappy responding bike. It was mainly how easily the bike could be controlled and driven on low speed campus streets with many hazards (Ex. pot-holes, peds, bicyclers, buses).

The give and take for a KLR is
1. We have tons of county and rock roads close to where I live that would be a little rouch on a fz-6.
2. Handleing would be even more of a strain on the KLR but the more mellow engine could compensate a little.

I have a buddy thats lending me his older Honda cbr for a week or so and would that give me somewhat of an idea what the FZ-6 would ride like?
Thanks and GIG EM'

Coming from thumpers myself, I can honestly say FZ6's are excellent at the low speed stuff like you describe. I started with(and still have) a little TW200. I find the FZ to be much easier to crawl around on! I wish I had had the FZ for the DMV test! It's very well balanced, and takes very little effort to ride. The engine/gearing combo isn't the best for going really slow, and does take a little getting used too, at least if you want to be somewhat smooth. Just like any moto, you just have to learn its little niggles. My advice, go for the FZ, and you can always get another thumper later on for the dual-sport fun.

 

[lonesoldier84]

The FZ doesn’t have much juice down low. As a result it’s very casual in its low speed stuff and very manageable. The CBR is more powerful so while it could potentially have a smoother powerband through the revs, it might need a bit more throttle control to ease on the gas smoothly.

Even then, I’ve ridden a Ducati 848 which is a twin with comparable power to a CBR 600 and it was very smooth in terms of throttle and power application in the low speed stuff. Nice thing about it was that it just kept pulling throughout at an even pace so you couldn’t even tell how quickly you were accelerating (not necessarily a good thing ). But you would still need to be smooth on the throttle in the low speed stuff, especially if traction is an issue (Eg. cold wet morning).

FZ6 by comparison in low revs even if you accidentally blip the throttle too much it’s not going to really react that much. As the revs build up it will….just be sure not to blip the throttle too much in a tricky situation at 7k rpm in first gear…..that’s pretty much the only time in any gear at any rev the bike will give you problems. Even in second it settles down and is predictable unless you change your gearing (which I have, it’s great, turns second into first and first into something better from a go-juice perspective).

You are worrying too much though. You really are. The bike is very manageable and won’t cause you any problems at all unless you want it to. If you do want it to, it will give you most of the sport experience you can enjoy on public roads even if you are of the braver sort. There is a reason we all tout the machine as so very versatile. For everything from getting groceries to outrunning the bad guys in the canyons it is a good machine that delivers. The people that ride this thing range from girls for whom it’s a first bike to people who tour across country to people who rev the piss out of it and throw it around corners at high speeds. It’s a great machine. Now just buy one already and post up some pictures.

 

[youngy]

you sure that CBRs a twin? all the CBR600s I ever saw had 4 cylinders.

 

[lonesoldier84]

you sure that CBRs a twin? all the CBR600s I ever saw had 4 cylinders.

What ever gave you that impression? I said nothing of the sort!!

 

[Erci]

What ever gave you that impression? I said nothing of the sort!!

RC51.. v4! Now that was a sweet ride!

 

[youngy]

What ever gave you that impression? I said nothing of the sort!!

oh yeah, my bad............

 

[youngy]

RC51.. v4! Now that was a sweet ride!

RC51 = v-twin
RC45 = v-four

 

[Kazza]

RC51.. v4! Now that was a sweet ride!

We used to have one - called the SP-1 in Australia (first version).

It was beautiful. Red with yellow and black.

Mike had scorpions on her. I think it was the loudest bike he has owned :rockon:

Still miss her. He got rid of her because he grew devil horns every single time he rode her. It DID NOT like going the speed limit - needed the throttle fully open :shakehead:

He made the right decision. He still has a full licence :rockon:

 

[Red Wazp]

My main concern wasnt how on my ability to handle the bike or the learning curve of driving a different style bike. Despite the difference in cc's and top speed a few years riding 250 two stroke mx bikes will teach a good respect for a snappy responding bike. It was mainly how easily the bike could be controlled and driven on low speed campus streets with many hazards (Ex. pot-holes, peds, bicyclers, buses).

The give and take for a KLR is
1. We have tons of county and rock roads close to where I live that would be a little rouch on a fz-6.
2. Handleing would be even more of a strain on the KLR but the more mellow engine could compensate a little.

I have a buddy thats lending me his older Honda cbr for a week or so and would that give me somewhat of an idea what the FZ-6 would ride like?
Thanks and GIG EM'

I have a Gen1 KLR and for what you describe as urban assault type riding I think the KLR would be the better bike due to it's great chugging ability, better rough road/pot hole suspension, factory rack for easy install of a top case and less appeal to thieves over the FZ6.
Insurance would be less too. Mileage is about the same but overall maint. costs would be less.
To me the FZ6 has a funky clutch (grabs real late when releasing) and is not as good as a single or v twin for low speed maneuvers for what you describe. It does lack power at low rpm's and agility in the parking lot vs the KLR.
I'm not a big fan of the Gen II KLR as it is heaver and seems bigger than the Gen I. Plenty of used KLR's out there just find one owned by a city guy, if you don't like it sell it.
It is a bit of a pig in the dirt bike world but it will do city, highway and dirt duty just fine. Another nice feature is the nice big seat for a dualsport and it will cruise 70+ all day long on the highway,
Because I own 2 street bikes I run knobbies for dirt riding but their are plenty of more street tires out there such as the Avon Gripsters.
Here's my green tank loaded up with the bags as I am the mother ship for storage and fuel (love the 6 gal tank in the desert). This picture was taken on Saline Pass in Death Valley.


We did 450 miles in two days with no problems and my butt was the happiest. Hope this helps with your decision. Doug

 

[Erci]

RC51 = v-twin
RC45 = v-four

Whatever gave you the impression that I said it was v4? I said nothing of the sort!!