New member welcome thread..

[Spider 007]

My Xmas present "from me, to me" was a 2008 FZ6, so here I am looking to learn everything I can about the beast! It's winter here right now, so I won't get to ride it before a few months but I can't wait to take it out!

I have this disease where I can't hold back from modifying everything I own, so this bike won't be any exception! I've already removed the rear fender and I'm in the process of fabricating my own FE, I'm also working on a new tail light with integrated turn signals and will be doing the dual headlight mod before the bike finds its way out of the garage this spring.

I'm a big fan of the naked bikes, so I plan on going that route, but that will most likely be a project for next winter. I love fabricating stuff so all the conversion will most likely be home made, and I need to do quite a bit of research before I attempt it...

Here it is, waiting for spring (and in desperate need of a good clean-up):

 

[jeadra]

....I found a deal I couldn't pass up. Isn't that how it always goes?
A couple of years ago a local dealership had a demo day with the FZ6 and the FZ6R. I fell in love with both, and have been saving & waiting for the right deal to come up.
I started riding about 6 years ago, first on dirt, then moved to street with an old UJM as my first bike. I quickly outgrew that & my husband bought me a 1996 Suzuki Bandit 600. I've put about 38,000 miles on her in the past 4 years, and just rolled over 50k on the bike this past summer. Never had any major engine issues with her, but she is getting a bit harder to ride these days. I think she's developed the motorcycle equivalent of parkinson's, since my last ride left my hands buzzing for a good 10 minutes after stopping.
Thing is, I also ride in the winter, and the Bandit is a bit cold-blooded for Midwest winters. I really wanted something fuel-injected that is able to comfortably make the long-distance rides we do, so I've kept my eyes open for a FZ6 I could afford.

I found her on Craigslist over the weekend....Drove two and a half hours to get her yesterday morning, loaded her up in the rain with my brother in law & trucked her back home.

The first thing I did when I got her home was a rear tire change. The axle did feel like it was sticking when I had it about halfway off the bike, but by holding the rear wheel up & wiggling the axle a bit, I was able to get the wheel off the bike.
Damn, but this is a lot easier than getting the wheel off my old bike! I'm not sure that I like that the brake caliper comes loose along with it, though. I'm used to that being bolted to the swingarm.

Anyway, new tire is on, thanks to a bit of help with a rubber mallet, adjustable wrench & several choice expletives...but I did forget to swipe a thin layer of grease on the axle before doing so. Eh....the miles tend to pass by quickly for me anyway. It shouldn't be long before I have to take it off again.

Joy of joys, there's snow on the ground here, and I get to out to the unheated garage & take the front wheel off today. I'm hoping this will be a bit easier.

She has a lot more work that needs to be done to her...I have a wishlist going between BikeBandit, Twisted Throttle, and ColorRite.
I still say winters are for riding....but when there's ice on the ground, that's always a good day for maintenance. :thumbup:

Anyone have a good recommendation for a garage space heater? Heh.

Anyway, here she is in her new home.

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome:new members!

 

[pipski]

Hi all from a new forum member and fairly recently new FZ6 owner :thumbup:

I'm Phil, 39 going on 20 and from the UK.

My first bike was a Yamaha TZR 125 when I was 18, which was stolen, never to be seen again (by me anyway). I took my bike test in my 20's and failed first time then gave up and got a car. Been driving for 20 years then thought I should get my bike licence before I hit 40 - is this an official mid-life crisis? Maybe

So in November 2011 I began the very long, very drawn out, very EXPENSIVE routine to get my bike licence in the UK.

1st - Take what's called a CBT - Certificate of Basic Training - easy peasy basic riding and road safety training and a 2 hour ride out on the road with an instructor. Difficult to fail this unless you do something dangerous.
(£95)

2nd - Take a theory test and hazard perception test in a classroom scenario on a PC.
(£31)

3rd - Take a module 1 test in a dedicated compound, including low speed manouvers, slalom, figure of 8, u-turn, emergency stop, hazard avoidance and so on.
(£205)

4th - Take a module 2 practical test out on the roads with an examiner in radio contact following on another bike. 56 minutes following instructions and riding up to standard.
(£210)

Passed them all first time this time luckily and all within 4 weeks from start to finish. Also, in the UK this test route allows a full licence with "Direct Access" to ride any bike immediately, no restrictions at all, as long as you're over 21, which I am.

I bought my 2008 FZ6 Fazer S2 on 28th December and have managed around 160-170 miles on it so far due to the weather, work and Christmas and New years holidays.

I'll shut up for now As you may come to know I do tend to ramble a little but hope to be a regular on here and get to know some of you FZ6 wizards.

 

[motojoe122]

Thanks for the break down of how to get a license there, I didnt realize it was that involved. In the overall, it will produce better and safer riders, IMO. I wonder if the US will adopt the same steps?

Anyhow,:welcome: to the Forum and congrats on the new(to you) ride:thumbup:

 

[kjelly]

Hello Everyone

I am Kjelly,
20 Years old and i'm from Belgium.

I found this Forum and i think i will have a nice time here!

I have bought my very first bike to ride on the street,, it's a yamaha fz-600 from 1987, yes yes, older than me :d

friendly greetings,

Kjelly

 

[Cloggy]

A big :welcome: to all our new members :cheer:

Pipski, the european route is really long winded but at the end of the day you are pretty well prepared for the road and at least you can ride any bike you want :thumbup:, the FZ6 is a great choice :rockon:

BTW my family are from west yorkshire as well :rockon:

 

[firstbike]

Hello everyone,
My name is Hugo and I'm from MD. I ride a '06 FZ6 Red first bike and loving it. I started to ride last October and enjoying it. My wife wants also to ride, maybe this year she'll take the classes.
Thanks

Why is the blue fazer faster?

 

[degake]

Hello everyone,
My name is Hugo and I'm from MD. I ride a '06 FZ6 Red first bike and loving it. I started to ride last October and enjoying it. My wife wants also to ride, maybe this year she'll take the classes.
Thanks

Why is the blue fazer faster?

:welcome: to the family Hugo!!
You will enjoy spending time with us :cheer:

As you are new, you should know our rule: :needpics: :BLAA:

A blue colour will always be faster than a red version (But the owners of the red versions tell otherwise )
But everyone knows that the silver ones are the fastes anyway :flip: They run so fast that no colour can hold on them :cheer::rockon:

Grtz,


Degake

 

[Motogiro]

Hello everyone,
My name is Hugo and I'm from MD. I ride a '06 FZ6 Red first bike and loving it. I started to ride last October and enjoying it. My wife wants also to ride, maybe this year she'll take the classes.
Thanks

Why is the blue fazer faster?

:welcome: to the family Hugo!!
You will enjoy spending time with us :cheer:

As you are new, you should know our rule: :needpics: :BLAA:

A blue colour will always be faster than a red version (But the owners of the red versions tell otherwise )
But everyone knows that the silver ones are the fastes anyway :flip: They run so fast that no colour can hold on them :cheer::rockon:

Grtz,


Degake

:welcome:to this great forum! I see your join date of Oct 2011.

I think the blue bikes are faster because of photon resistance being lower on the blue spectrum of light or something to do with the sub space time continuum...

 

[degake]

I think the blue bikes are faster because of photon resistance being lower on the blue spectrum of light or something to do with the sub space time continuum...

*sigh*
At least your good with electrical stuff, Cliff

Grtz,


Degake

 

[MiFZ6]

Hey All,

I'm Mike, 26 from Michigan and I've been riding for about a decade now. Yes it sucks owning a motorcycle here 9 months out of the year.

I just bought an FZ6 and I won't be able to ride it for 3-4 months. I went looking for a forum to read and get my fix and after sampling some top posts, this one seemed like the best.

Bikes I've had previously: 1994 Suzuki GS 400, 1971 Honda CL175, 1972 Honda CL 350, 1982 Suzuki GS 550 and last year a 2005 Ninja 250r track bike for stock class and illegal street racing in Detroit on Belle Isle.

If you aren't from the area and don't know Belle Isle, it's a large island in the Detroit river between downtown Detroit and Windsor Canada with a formal race track around half the island and perfect roads around the rest. It's very popular for all kinds of organized racing events as well as midnight racing. "Illegal" racing events are completely tolerated by the cops who often stop by to watch. They've even stopped by our BBQ pit before. Detroit really is the BEST city to live if you march to a different beat.

I probably won't be posting much, because I can't even ride my FZ6 yet. I look forward to the riding season as well as reading here.

 

[Function]

Hello. I'm Brian, and I bought my first street bike back in December, a 2007 FZ6 (blue, of course). Have been on the watch for a good deal on a good bike, and when I saw an 07 FZ6 hit Craigslist in mint condition with less than 5k miles for $3,600, I pounced and it was in my garage that night.

I've ridden dirt bikes on and off for almost 25 years now, but making the jump from a 22hp XT250 to an FZ was... quite eye-opening. Have been commuting to work on it just about every day now, and it's a ton of fun.

 

[William]

Hello. I'm Brian, and I bought my first street bike back in December, a 2007 FZ6 (blue, of course). Have been on the watch for a good deal on a good bike, and when I saw an 07 FZ6 hit Craigslist in mint condition with less than 5k miles for $3,600, I pounced and it was in my garage that night.

I've ridden dirt bikes on and off for almost 25 years now, but making the jump from a 22hp XT250 to an FZ was... quite eye-opening. Have been commuting to work on it just about every day now, and it's a ton of fun.

Nice bike Brian! Dang, I just paid about that for a 2006...blue...too. That's a heck of a deal you got there. Congrats and welcome.

 

[mikenoface]

Sup all,

My name is Mike. I live in the SF Bay Area. I started riding dirt bikes at age nine. Rode in Trials for kids. Stopped riding for a long time as a young adult (didn't own a bike) but always thought about a street bike.

I started researching street bikes in 2007/8 and always had my eye on the FZ6. Last year I started commuting again and traffic is hell in the Bay Area, so I went out and pulled the trigger on a 2009 Cobalt Blue FZ6. It was brand new when I bought it. It had just been sitting in the store waiting for me.

I really dig these forums and look forward to posting some stories and hopefully meeting some other Bay Area riders.

Cheers,

~Mike

 

[William]

Welcome Mike. Seems like a lot of the new guys signing in, like me, have dirt bike backgrounds. Of all the dirt riding though, I think the trials riders are amazing. They had a trials exhibition at the Barber Vintage Fest (Birmingham, AL) back in October and I just stood there with my jaw dropped for an hour. Mad skillz!

 

[Qwibby]

bd43 sent me!

My name is phil, have loved bikes ever since I can remember, 5 years ago I got my license and today I purchased a red 2006 FZ6!

I am from bethlehem Pa and im re-learning to ride.. ty for the warm invite

 

[beachbums86]

what's up?!? I'm Jake from north carolina, I bought my new fz6 today. It's an 09 but had zero miles on it when i got it, apparently they were having a hard time selling it and it's been sitting in one show room or another for two years. i have to say I LOVE IT... originally i was looking at a kawasaki concours or a suzuki v strom. however my short short girlfriend can't touch the ground on either of those bikes so the sales guy introduced us to the fz. i'm glad he did, it's half as much money as the concours but it's a blast to ride. I hope i won't need to look for mechanical information on here so i guess i'll mostly be using this site to see what others have done to improve there bikes and that kinda stuff. If you've read this whole thing you must be very bored and should get out and ride

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome:New people!

 

[William]

what's up?!? I'm Jake from north carolina, I bought my new fz6 today. It's an 09 but had zero miles on it when i got it, apparently they were having a hard time selling it and it's been sitting in one show room or another for two years.

Welcome Jake. The dealer must have been anxious to move that after so long. Hope you got a great deal.