FZ1 Fazer Test Ride

Helen tested a demo model 2009 FZ1 Fazer yesterday at Keith Dixon in Accrington.  She expected to love it but she didn’t click with it in the same way she did on her first ride of her BMW or on my VFR…and Mr Sale Yamaha you were wrong, it didn’t make her smile but the VFR does! 

This is Helen’s review of the FZ1 Fazer

Loved:-

The engine – nice and punchy, sounded gorgeous, pulled well and overtakes were an effortless hoot, felt miles more powerful than both the VFR and mine.

 
The gearbox – nice and smooth, never missed a gear and I wasn’t up and down the box like I am on mine.

 
Steering – very agile, turned really well and I felt confident cornering and turning at slow speeds, very well balanced.

 
Part-ex price they offered for mine – about £400 more than the bloke at Sale Yam, and a couple of hundred more than book price gives for 3.5k miles less than mine has.

 
Price for the bike – decent price compared to the tatty 07 plate at Sale Yam which was almost £6k, and it had done just 21 miles after being pre-reg in August (plus the 30 odd I put on it today!) – if anyone’s after one go and check this one out!

 
Didn’t love:-
Riding position – too upright, bars a bit too high for me and I felt a bit exposed and plonked on top (like driving a sports car perched on a bar stool!), rather than at one with the bike, didn’t feel natural gripping the tank with my knees, the ergonomics just didn’t go with my thighs and knees!

 
Seat – uncomfortable compared to mine and the VFR, and I don’t think I could cope with a long day on it.  Although I wasn’t leant forwards, the shape of the seat kind of tilted my pelvis so I wasn’t sitting on the bit of the body we’re meant to sit on (which made for very uncomfy lady-bits!).

 
Suspension – felt very hard and was rough over some of the sunken grids and pot holes you always seem to hit no matter how hard you look for them (I’d have to add some more sports bras to my wardrobe if I bought a Fazer!).

Cost of extras – to get up to the accessories/gadgets standard of my BMW it’d cost me another £1.5k on top of the £4k I’d have to give them in addition to part-exing my bike (fairing lowers, touring screen, crash bobbins, heated grips, luggage, oh and the new sports bras!).

 
I can definitely see how some folk love them, but it just wasn’t for me, we just didn’t click.  Getting back on the VFR and then back on mine on the way home was what really made me smile, I’ve forgiven mine after falling out with him post-VFR riding, and I know that the VFR with higher bars is likely to be the perfect combination for me.

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Rideout to Crossgates

Helen and I went out with NUKB yesterday on a rideout to Crossgates in Wales. Due to Helen’s bike being in bits (forks off, sheared bolts, long story) she decided to give my VFR a try, which obviously means I was on the ZX-9R.

 

 

We met up with everyone at around 9:00am at Lymm Services. We left Lymm on the M56 and got off at junction 10 and joined the A49. We took the A49 all the way down to Whitchurch where we joined the A525 and then turned left at Redbrook onto the A495 to Ellesmere, at some point we lost Andy who let us know that he had had a puncture. We continued through Ellesmere and Whittington on the A495 and joined A483 near Oswestry. We then stopped at Oswestry services for a quick break.

 

We left the services on the A483 and  followed that all the way to Newtown via Welshpool. We then turned left to continue on the A483 to Crossgates. We stopped just outside Newtown and then set off individually to enjoy this stunning road at our own pace. We arrived at Crossgates after a slightly damp run and stopped at the services for lunch.

We left Crossgates and took the A483 back to Newtown. This time the road and dried and we were able to enjoy the run to its full effect. CJ went off 5 minutes before us so he could find somewhere to take some action shots with his camera, as we came past. We all re-grouped in Newtown and then set off back up the A483. On the outskirks of Newtown we turned right onto the A489 to head across to Shrewsbury.

We got a few miles down the road and stopped in Kerry when we realised 2 people were missing. We left Mike a message on his phone and set off again. We continued on the A489 and then cut across to the A488 at Broadway. We took he A488 to Shrewsbury where we turned right onto the A49. We took the A49 up to Whitchurch where we stopped for a quick break and managed to met up with our 2 lost souls. Wolfrunner’s bike wouldn’t start in Newtown and had to be push started, hence way they got left behind.

 

We set off again and continued on up the A49 all the way to the M56 and then we went home via the M6, M62 and M60. Helen really enjoyed the VFR and up until 30 minutes from home she was all up for trading her BMW in against one. The only problem she found was that her wrists started to really hurt, also she would want heated grips. She may look into getting one next year and get bar risers fitted to it.

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