Does the FZ6 have enough power?

[macem29]

There is only one place on the speedometer where this bike is a "tame" between 1-15 mph. Everything else is controlled by gear selection and throttle manipulation.

just had to quote this, even though I don't own one, this makes perfect
sense and reminds me of riding my old RD350's....ie: you have to be comfortable
with shifting

 

[coiled]

I have a FZ6N that I bought new 6 weeks ago and it just ticked over 3000km on the way home from work. Most of this is with a pillion on the back.

I have found the bike to be nothing but magnificent. Compared to the power that kicks in at 8k revs the bottom end does feel sluggish but it is certainly not lacking. Even fully loaded it takes off swiftly and will happily chug through traffic normally with revs between 4-5k. When the engine was brand new I felt it had more vibration at the 5k mark but that has settled down considerably and at no point is the vibes uncomfortable even for my vocal pillion (wife). Best part is that if revs are 4k and up a flick of the wrist gettings you up and going quickly. The 4-8k rev band is very smooth linear power that is easy to manage in traffic and no need for big clutch slips on steep hill starts either.

As for upper power unless you are on a race track or a complete nut I suspect you aren't ever going to really need more power.

Other positives for it are the large fuel tank, realistic positioning of pillion pegs, the fuller sized pillion seat, underseat exhaust so no issues of burning yourself/pillion or damaging if it is tipped over. The dash display is great with digital speedo & analog tacho (best combo IMO) and it has a fuel trip meter that counts up when the fuel light comes on so you know how far you have gone. Headlight is also very good for both spread and distance.

I considered Vtwins knowing the lower revving torquey nature but the novelty of the exhaust note, shakes and vibration would wear off very quickly if it is anything more than a weekend mountain warrior. The smooth inline 4 is the way to go.

Through into the mix the high quality of anything Yamaha and you cant go wrong. I would however test ride before you buy, I did with 4 suzukis, 1 kawasaki and 2 yamahas.

I looked at the Yamaha XJ6N also and it was good but for the minimal $1,000 Aussie difference I felt the FZ6N was far better bang for buck with more power & torque, better brakes, wider rear tyre, full size axles, full size front forks and all mounted to a alloy frame instead of the XJ's steel making it lighter too.

 

[The Hill Boys]

The FZ6 does have "plenty of power", however, you mentioned that you love 2 strokes, that you want available/usable power to pass when needed, and that you don't care about top speed... with these things in mind, I would look at v-twins (or liter I4s, like the FZ1)... if you're cruising around, you won't have access to peak power on the FZ6 without down shifting... it's a great bike for sure, but it's pretty much the opposite of a 2 strokes... it's got loads of HP, but little torque, so you have to exploit the 14k rpms, which are a lot of fun btw, but means a lot of shifting to remain in the peak power zone... keep that in mind when making your decision!

Thank you. That's exactly what I was looking for.

 

[SirIsaac]

...I went and looked at a used 2007 FZ6 the other day and they guy said that he had swapped out the front sprocket to get some more torch. He wasn't a very big guy. I read into that "Guy owned the bike for a while, wasn't pleased with the throttle response, tried to improve with different gearing".

...They have an R6 as well as a GSXR600, and a Ninja 650R. How do these stack up to the FZ6? Which one would be a better comparison?

Thanks in advance.

I don't think anyone addressed the above two directly, so I will jump in.

Don't read too much into the sprocket change. Lots of folks here do that to get a little more oomph.

I don't know anything about the Suuzuki. The Ninja 650 is a parallel twin with maybe 2/3rds the horsepower of the FZ6. It may have a touch more low end torque, but gives up a ton on the top end.

I'll also ask one other thing. Isn't a two-stroke the antithesis of low-end torque? My recollection of my brother's RD350 was that you had to row the shifter like a madman to keep it on the pipe and in the power band.

 

[Wavex]

I don't think anyone addressed the above two directly, so I will jump in.

Don't read too much into the sprocket change. Lots of folks here do that to get a little more oomph.

I don't know anything about the Suuzuki. The Ninja 650 is a parallel twin with maybe 2/3rds the horsepower of the FZ6. It may have a touch more low end torque, but gives up a ton on the top end.

I'll also ask one other thing. Isn't a two-stroke the antithesis of low-end torque? My recollection of my brother's RD350 was that you had to row the shifter like a madman to keep it on the pipe and in the power band.

Actually, that's a good point, the FZ6 with -1 sprocket in the front will be closer to what the OP is looking for, more low end and less top end (which no-one uses on the streets anyway).

As for the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke discussion, that could be a thread on its own
Here are some pointers: 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines

The ONLY correct comparison of 2 strokes with 4 strokes is that a 2 stroke can (in theory) produce twice the power of a 4 stroke for the same sized engine and the same revs.

 

[wolfc70]

I'll also ask one other thing. Isn't a two-stroke the antithesis of low-end torque? My recollection of my brother's RD350 was that you had to row the shifter like a madman to keep it on the pipe and in the power band.

This is what I was thinking too. My friends old RZ350 was an absolute dog until the power valves opened. Once the power valves opened it was like a dump truck rear ended you, it just flew! I have limited experience with off road/dual purpose bikes, and the ones I have ridden have been 4 strokes.

Even 2 stroke snowmobiles are pretty sluggish at low rpm's. So I would think that the power bands between the YZ250 and the FZ6 should be very similar.

 

[Wavex]

This is what I was thinking too. My friends old RZ350 was an absolute dog until the power valves opened. Once the power valves opened it was like a dump truck rear ended you, it just flew! I have limited experience with off road/dual purpose bikes, and the ones I have ridden have been 4 strokes.

Even 2 stroke snowmobiles are pretty sluggish at low rpm's. So I would think that the power bands between the YZ250 and the FZ6 should be very similar.

Are you really stating that he power band of a 2stroke 250cc off-road motocross is the same of a 4 stroke 600cc sport touring machine???

 

[wolfc70]

Are you really stating that he power band of a 2stroke 250cc off-road motocross is the same of a 4 stroke 600cc sport touring machine???

No, not entirely, as the YZ250 is a single, so it will have more torque in the lower rpms than a twin. I was referring to my friends (when he had it) RZ350. It is a two cylinder two stroke road bike. It made about 65 hp at 9000 rpm, but only had 30 lb ft of torque at 7500 rpm. It was a very peaky engine. Now I know that a two stroke single is going to have different torque characteristics than a multi-cylinder engine. But even with that, two strokes are not known for bottom end power in single cylinder applications, mainly due to scavenging. That and the YZ250 is know for being a peaky engine. People put two exhaust gaskets in place to help alter the scavenging and add some bottom end grunt. And there are many other trick people do to help even out the power band.

Are they the same? No. Will the power curve be the same? No. Similar? Yes. A 250 two stroke will like revs just as much as a multi-valve 600cc four.

 

[The Hill Boys]

This is what I was thinking too. My friends old RZ350 was an absolute dog until the power valves opened. Once the power valves opened it was like a dump truck rear ended you, it just flew! I have limited experience with off road/dual purpose bikes, and the ones I have ridden have been 4 strokes.

Even 2 stroke snowmobiles are pretty sluggish at low rpm's. So I would think that the power bands between the YZ250 and the FZ6 should be very similar.

I guess my YZ250 is just dialed in perfectly. It will stand up in any gear at any speed. Once on the pipe, it's screams.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the FZ6. Convincing my wife to allow me (yes, allow) to get a bike has been a slow and teadeous process. If I buy a bike and then am not happy with it, well I'm sure some of you can relate to what the outcome will be.

I have a 1/2 truck. It serves all of my needs. I've never had it even in the 90's. I can pass with confidence and it handles great in the mountains. My wifes van hits the passing gear in the mountains. I wouldn't even think about passing without a good clearing. So, using that analogy, I just want to know where the FZ6 stands.

From what I've seen thus far is that rpm is key to this bike. 8K seems to be a magic point. If it's ok to ride up in that range, then I'm sure the FZ6 would suite my needs nicely. It just seems intuitive to keep the revs down.

 

[JohnP]

Personally I'd like more low end torque. When I get the FZ up into the twisties up in NH and Vermont, where I can wind it up with less fear of cars and cops, it's great. However, most of the time, I seldom get the bike into the "power band" because doing so gets me way above legal speeds really quick, which is just too dangerous for a variety of reasons where I usualy ride. Not that the bike is a real dog or anything at lower RPMs, it just would be nice to have more power down there.

My previous bikes had lots of low end torque. Much more useful for the majority of the riding I do.

I'm about 250lbs all geared up, which could be part of the problem.

John

 

[Wavex]

No, not entirely, as the YZ250 is a single, so it will have more torque in the lower rpms than a twin. I was referring to my friends (when he had it) RZ350. It is a two cylinder two stroke road bike. It made about 65 hp at 9000 rpm, but only had 30 lb ft of torque at 7500 rpm. It was a very peaky engine. Now I know that a two stroke single is going to have different torque characteristics than a multi-cylinder engine. But even with that, two strokes are not known for bottom end power in single cylinder applications, mainly due to scavenging. That and the YZ250 is know for being a peaky engine. People put two exhaust gaskets in place to help alter the scavenging and add some bottom end grunt. And there are many other trick people do to help even out the power band.

Are they the same? No. Will the power curve be the same? No. Similar? Yes. A 250 two stroke will like revs just as much as a multi-valve 600cc four.

You're confusing me man... I am not sure what you're comparing to what anymore, but anyway, it does not matter.

The point I was trying to make was that 2 stroke motorcross machines typically have a lot of torque down low, where it's needed on the dirt... open the throttle and the thing goes (kind of like an ON/OFF eletric motor), so if you compare that to an FZ6, it's about as opposite as you can make it... the FZ6 has nothing down low and starts to be fun over 8k rpm... the motocross will have all the fun down low and who cares about the top end. That was my point.

If the OP wants a bike that will have usable power "everywhere" the FZ6 is not a bike for him imo, and he should be looking at 1000cc I4s or v-twins...

 

[Wavex]

Personally I'd like more low end torque. When I get the FZ up into the twisties up in NH and Vermont, where I can wind it up with less fear of cars and cops, it's great. However, most of the time, I seldom get the bike into the "power band" because doing so gets me way above legal speeds really quick, which is just too dangerous for a variety of reasons where I usualy ride. Not that the bike is a real dog or anything at lower RPMs, it just would be nice to have more power down there.

My previous bikes had lots of low end torque. Much more useful for the majority of the riding I do.

I'm about 250lbs all geared up, which could be part of the problem.

John

You're weight is not the main problem.

Look, the R6/FZ6 engine and all supersport bikes/engines from Japan were designed for the track and then made legal for the streets. It means these engines were all designed for track use, i.e. fast speeds.
Based on that, it should not be a surprise to anyone that while on the streets, you will spend most of your time away from the "fun zone"...

My Buell is an example of the opposite mentality... it was designed to be used on the streets, so the "fun zone" is made available to you where you need it.

Anyone with a 600cc I4 will pass me at anything over 100mph in a straight line though...

So it comes down to preference... and budget...

BTW, while I am talking about Buells... it makes for a great commuter and super fun canyon carver:

Top 5 best handling bikes - according to you - | Motorcycle News | New Motorbikes | Buyers Guides | MCN

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/the-bteam-value-supersport-shootout-2005-14282.htm


oh and finally, I just saw that one can buy a brand new '08 leftover CBR1000RR for $7500 OTD!!!!! sick!!!

 

[afpreppie04]

You can get one for $6983 including lifetime engine warranty here, not sure if its OTD or BTD though... and yes I just made before the door up

Southern Honda Powersports: Unbeatable.

 

[Hellgate]

I'm a life long Honda hater but for $7,500 I think I'd spring for the CBR, wow, that a deal.

 

[Motogiro]

It's got plenty of ponies and of course it's a 600 so the bigger liter or twins have more torque. Still it's a fun bike and more than enough to get you in trouble...

Looks like my wife might kick me and my friends out of the house.....only kidding...

Cliff

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69L2vAhOymg]YouTube - FZ6 DYNO[/ame]

 

[C-bus Biker]

More power than you'll ever need. Twist and go...go...go....

 

[The Hill Boys]

You're weight is not the main problem.

Look, the R6/FZ6 engine and all supersport bikes/engines from Japan were designed for the track and then made legal for the streets. It means these engines were all designed for track use, i.e. fast speeds.
Based on that, it should not be a surprise to anyone that while on the streets, you will spend most of your time away from the "fun zone"...

My Buell is an example of the opposite mentality... it was designed to be used on the streets, so the "fun zone" is made available to you where you need it.

Anyone with a 600cc I4 will pass me at anything over 100mph in a straight line though...

So it comes down to preference... and budget...

BTW, while I am talking about Buells... it makes for a great commuter and super fun canyon carver:

Top 5 best handling bikes - according to you - | Motorcycle News | New Motorbikes | Buyers Guides | MCN

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/the-bteam-value-supersport-shootout-2005-14282.htm


oh and finally, I just saw that one can buy a brand new '08 leftover CBR1000RR for $7500 OTD!!!!! sick!!!

Great, now you got me looking at Buell's! I must say, very nice! Choices, choices....

 

[The Hill Boys]

Still looking. Next question. I've seen some stats on the different production years. It seems that there was quite a bit done to the 2007 model. Is there any year that is better than the others? Any year to stay away from? What about after market parts (exhaust, seats, etc). Any years that are more difficult to get parts for?

Thanks in advance!

 

[McLovin]

it has plenty

 

[Kriswithak]

Probably try for a 2007 or newer it should be the S2.