New Rider With a Confession

[Explosivpotato]

Hey everyone, thought you might be interested in an update. I currently have 260 miles! Cleaned and lubed my chain the other day because it looked like the dealer delivered it lubed with road tar :spank:


Also, had my first *incident*. I was parking, running late because I was out riding too long and was cutting it close for a date with my girlfriend (no you cannot have pics of her ). I put down the sidestand, but while I wasn't looking.... it popped back up. Needless to say, I very gingerly laid her down and had some choice words, then picked her back up and surveyed the damage. I colored in the scuffed engine cover with sharpie (tip I found on this forum :Flash, and ended up having to GLUE the front turn signal back into place. Seriously, whoever designed the front signals on this bike should be shot. It ripped the threaded boss right out of the inside of the fairing, making the whole shebang irreparable without complete replacement of the fairing. WTF. WHY IS THAT THE PREFERRED FAILURE MODE.

So I tightened the top screw back in, and glued the boss back together with some super-thick goopy glue I found at walmart (yes I did this repair in the walmart parking lot - I noticed the signal when I got on the bike to ride it again after laying it down so my ride for the day consisted of walmart's parking lot. lol.) Anyway, the signal is now outwardly indistinguishable from the right one. :cheer: :rockon:

So, once I get my sliders and I'm sure I'm done with dropping this F**king thing, I'll replace the engine cover and she'll be good as new!

 

[tcmalker]

dont' sweat it, everybody drops their bike, eventually.

Install those frame sliders ASAP. I hope you took tcmalker's advice and got the extended OES.

 

[Erci]

Hey everyone, thought you might be interested in an update. I currently have 260 miles! Cleaned and lubed my chain the other day because it looked like the dealer delivered it lubed with road tar :spank:


Also, had my first *incident*. I was parking, running late because I was out riding too long and was cutting it close for a date with my girlfriend (no you cannot have pics of her ). I put down the sidestand, but while I wasn't looking.... it popped back up. Needless to say, I very gingerly laid her down and had some choice words, then picked her back up and surveyed the damage. I colored in the scuffed engine cover with sharpie (tip I found on this forum :Flash, and ended up having to GLUE the front turn signal back into place. Seriously, whoever designed the front signals on this bike should be shot. It ripped the threaded boss right out of the inside of the fairing, making the whole shebang irreparable without complete replacement of the fairing. WTF. WHY IS THAT THE PREFERRED FAILURE MODE.

So I tightened the top screw back in, and glued the boss back together with some super-thick goopy glue I found at walmart (yes I did this repair in the walmart parking lot - I noticed the signal when I got on the bike to ride it again after laying it down so my ride for the day consisted of walmart's parking lot. lol.) Anyway, the signal is now outwardly indistinguishable from the right one. :cheer: :rockon:

So, once I get my sliders and I'm sure I'm done with dropping this F**king thing, I'll replace the engine cover and she'll be good as new!

Agree 100% about the front turn signals. When mod fever strikes, you can look into flush mounts

Lesson learned, right? Make damn sure sidestand is fully extended before tilting the bike over

 

[OKstate311]

Agree 100% about the front turn signals. When mod fever strikes, you can look into flush mounts

Lesson learned, right? Make damn sure sidestand is fully extended before tilting the bike over

This. I guess I don't have enough blind faith in my kickstands... I've logged well over 25,000 miles on various bikes and I am still very cautious about how I put my bike down on its stand.

Every time I dismount, I kick the stand out, keep my foot behind the stand so that it can't slide back, and then keep my eye on that stand the entire time until all the weight has been transferred to the stand. I guess it's an old paranoid habit, but I'm sure it's saved me some money and anger...

But these things do happen, so just use it as an opportunity to learn. Happy riding, and welcome! :welcome:

 

[FinalImpact]

Yep, the FZ is my first street bike and I think its a great choice! Although I've been in the dirt for 25 years off and on, this is still my first street bike. . .

To add to all that was said up there, be sure to check the tires for punctures and lights for function before every ride! The last thing we need is someone not knowing our intentions or a flat when one could be avoided. As for you testing the turning ability of the bike; good job, I do it often and practice panic stops in various (safe) places so I know our abilities.

Welcome and do enjoy the ride!

 

[DrewT86]

THANK YOU. I was just going to search for these. I asked the parts section of the dealership, but the punk behind the counter was either stoned or retarded. The conversation went a little like this:

me: Could you tell me how much frame sliders for an 09 Yamaha FZ6 go for?
punk: Depends.
me: ... Kay. On what?
punk: If you get the ones that have you cut the fairing or the no-cut ones.
me: ... Ok, well my bike doesn't have a fairing.
punk: *looks at me like I'm from mars and just told him I'm his long lost grandmother* What do you mean... no fairings?
me: I mean that the side of the bike... where the engine is.. there's no plastic covering anything below the headlight area.
punk: ... what kind of bike was it again? *looks up in a large book* Yeah they didn't make those after 2008 according to this book.
me: yeah I'm just gonna go to the internet.
punk: *blank stare*

Sounds like you went to a Harley Dealer for your sliders! LOL FZ6 is my second bike you can't go wrong! Enjoy it!

 

[malicious439]

Horray for first bike FZ6 club. The FZ6 was my first bike too and im glad i got it! I was very cautious for the first few hundred miles and really didn't let it all out until I had been on it for several weeks.

It still amazes me the difference in the bikes style between 8k rpm!:BLAA:

Your first drop wasn't too bad, my first drop was the same weekend I got my bike. I went on a 60mi trip with my dad to a biker bar infested with Harlys I rode up to park in between 70+ bikes (the only spot i could find) and hit a little drainage ditch and dropped it in front of a huge group of ppl. I was so embarrassed it was awful but you get over it:thumbup: Lucky for me we have bikes with minimal fairings and they can survive slow drops much better.

 

[Tiver]

Out of curiosity, how much did you get it for? I figure Michigan has to have a similar riding season as Massachusetts. Dealers here all seem to want MSRP for a 2009 bike... At this point thinking I'll be buying a used one via craigslist.

 

[Explosivpotato]

Hey guys!


So I rode myself to work yesterday and today... all I can say is YES. GOD YES. I've never loved waking up at 5am more than when I know I'll be riding for an HOUR before I even show up at work (early) and then do work (that doesn't feel like work -- I love my job) then chug a cup of coffee and ride home for a WHOLE HOUR before I have to park.

YES YES YES!

If it is ever not raining, and above freezing, and I have to be at the office, you bet your ass I'll be riding my FZ6 before the morning rush hour and after the afternoon rush hour. In my car, I'm always waiting to get there. On my bike, I'm always disappointed to arrive!

So, no more drops (thank goodness) and I'm getting comfortable with the power and the clutch control (which means shifts result in a lot less tailbone pain, and almost no "stalling-at-a-light" embarrassment.

Also, I've made it to almost 500 miles so far! Tomorrow (I work a 4 day, 10 hour schedule, so Fridays are off!) I'm going to take a whack at giving the bike it's first oil change and it's second chain cleaning. Once I get a vacuum balancer I'll balance the throttle bodies. I've done so much maintenance on my turbo'd Honda Fit (along with fitting and tuning said turbo myself with help from a friend) I'm sure I can handle it.


P.S. - the FZ6 Mobil 1 oil filter part #? M1-110. My Honda Fit's Mobil 1 oil filter part #? Yup - M1-110. My 1.5L Honda engine, turbocharged to 175 horsepower, uses the SAME OIL FILTER as my 0.6L bone-stock Yamaha FZ6 motor. SW337.


EDIT:

I got my 09 FZ6 for 5700 brand new. Probably not the best deal in the world, but I couldn't pass it up when it was well under 7 out the door, and my original choice (FZ6R) was over 7 out the door. I hate fairings. Why cover up the beauty? I don't care what some asshat did with a crayon, I wanna see what the real engineers did with the machine itself!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Don't feel too bad, we had a member drop the bike with .3 miles on the clock!

 

[DownrangeFuture]

Yeah, I always leave my foot on the kickstand plate until it's down. That way if it doesn't quite make it all the way out to locked, I already have both feet on the ground and both hands on the handlebars. It makes it easy to catch. It also means you can feel it when it's actually locked out because you're moving it all the way out with your foot and not relying on the spring.

I dropped mine about 60 miles after I bought it. I kinda got cut off though, and was still learning more than I thought I was. I thought I was **** hot after 3-4 months of riding my katana. But I quickly realized that a '92 Katana 600 and a '08 FZ6 aren't in the same league.

 

[Tiver]

I got my 09 FZ6 for 5700 brand new. Probably not the best deal in the world, but I couldn't pass it up when it was well under 7 out the door, and my original choice (FZ6R) was over 7 out the door. I hate fairings. Why cover up the beauty? I don't care what some asshat did with a crayon, I wanna see what the real engineers did with the machine itself!

Right now $5700 seems like a damn good deal to me. Was that including any fees they tacked on (besides tax title and license/registration)? I'd love to find a place that would sell a new 2009 for $5700, and it happens to be what I start offering for them. Yet I've never gotten so much as a counter offer, only a stern answer that the sticker price is what they want.

 

[Swedge58]

Explosivpotato how long did you shop for your bike? I have been looking for the last month or so. I am in the Cincinnati area and the dealers here are a bit rude. The prices for the same bike seem to be all over the place. The best I have found is 6700 OTD a hour away. Some dealers act offended when asked to match this offer????? Has anyone else ran into this?? Lately I have been emailing offers (work and kids not much time to do hands on) and no one wants to budge on price. Just wanting to hear from some folks that have haggled with some of these dealers. Love that blue 09!!!

 

[Explosivpotato]

The price was only missing a ~200 "setup fee" (which was BS, but it is what it is). After TTL and assorted fees, I was out ~6700. The dealer said that the only way they could sell it for so cheap was because it was purchased in a bankruptcy sale from another dealership that went under. I shopped around for quite a while and actually showed up at the dealership for the FZ6R, but they had just sold it before I showed up and saw the (waaay better looking) FZ6. Funny how they can ADD an "R" to the name and make it uglier & slower (no offense to R owners, I just don't like my engine hidden!).


Did my break-in oil change yesterday at just under 500 miles. Filled it up with 3 quarts of Mobil 1 4T 10W-40 motorcycle oil, and shifts are way smoother! It also feels good to get the break-in shavings out. The oil came out grey because of all the metal filings!


Anyways, still loving this bike! Rode to my buddy's house (around 30 minutes on the freeway) last night, and I figured that "Hey, I've got almost 600 miles now, and I just did the break-in oil change... Let's see what happens above 8k!"

I found the warp-drive button!!

:scared:


Seriously. Holy Fawk. I need to practice more. :rockon:

 

[Swedge58]

Hey Tiver any luck with 5700 yet??? I haven't even had a dealer counter offer. Oh well I am set on 5700 even if I have to wait to November.

 

[ticktock]

I recently got my 09 FZ6 for about 7K out the door. I looked all over the place and that was the cheapest price I could find for the color I wanted. I could have bought used, but wanted the piece of mind of the year long warranty. I don't think it's a bad price at all for the amount of bike you get.

You can find them on eBay brand new for $5k + fees + shipping... but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of buying something I couldn't visually inspect myself/possibly deal with damage during shipment. Instead I paid a little extra and bought it from an awesome mom and pop bike shop. They even opened the place on Sunday for me (a day all dealerships have to be closed in NJ) just to let me pick up the bike during a hectic schedule of mine. Worth the extra $!

-Nick

 

[Bates121]

:welcome: I bought the FZ6 as my first bike and I still love it. You seem to be taking the right attitude to handling and respecting her.
The sidestand thing sucks I did it too. I didnt check to make sure my stand was locked in place and put weight on it. It went down very slowly and back was not happy about that :spank::spank:but luckily i only got my slider scuffed a little.

Also think you might like these some people shared them with me when I hit 1000 miles on my new FZ6.

YouTube - ‪I Wanna Ride‬‏


YouTube - ‪I Wanna Ride! Holiday‬‏


sorry do not know how to embed the video

 

[Tiver]

Hey Tiver any luck with 5700 yet??? I haven't even had a dealer counter offer. Oh well I am set on 5700 even if I have to wait to November.

No luck, I haven't had a chance to go out to several of the dealers with them in stock and see if person I can do better. Honestly, I'd probably take a higher price than $5700, but thus far no dealer has even wanted to talk more than $100-200 off MSRP. I missed on a reasonably priced used one on craigslist. I'm guessing it's likely one will show up on craigslist for a decent price again and I'll buy that.

I was kinda hoping to get the FZ6 by August/September as I'd love to do a long road-trip with it. Till then, still enjoying my Ninja 250. I'd just rather not invest in a top case mount for it.

 

[Erci]

No luck, I haven't had a chance to go out to several of the dealers with them in stock and see if person I can do better. Honestly, I'd probably take a higher price than $5700, but thus far no dealer has even wanted to talk more than $100-200 off MSRP. I missed on a reasonably priced used one on craigslist. I'm guessing it's likely one will show up on craigslist for a decent price again and I'll buy that.

I was kinda hoping to get the FZ6 by August/September as I'd love to do a long road-trip with it. Till then, still enjoying my Ninja 250. I'd just rather not invest in a top case mount for it.

This one looks really good and is within driving distance: Yamaha : FZ | eBay

 

[Tiver]

This bike does look like a good deal, but 3.5 hours drive to take a look at it... I also don't own a vehicle to transport it back so I'd have to rent one or figure out someone to borrow one from, adding to the cost. There was a 2008 for $4000 I just missed. I think i'll stick to ones closer to home and either get a dealer to actually deal or have another decent deal show up locally.

Edit:
It's actually tempting to go the trade-in route and ride down to Pennsylvania to pick up this bike and ride it home:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2009...otorcycles&hash=item25648f3931#ht_1278wt_1165
$5500 before tax title and registration is pretty good. However doing that means risking them giving me absolutely **** for my trade-in, and me being in a poor position to argue.