OneTrack
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2007
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- Location
- Richmond, BC, Canada
I should be clear that what I'm really leery of is my ability to control the bike. I've read continually about a quirky throttle, and to a lesser extent, clutch. I'm new at the game, and a pretty slow learner, and I'd rather go slowly and surely. I hear a lot about the FZ's top end, but that scares me more than interests me. For me at this point, the watchword for everything I do on the bike is smoothness. Whether it's cornering, braking, or accelerating, I'm looking for control. So I'm looking for the bike that will best help me in that regard.
I returned to riding after a 25 year layoff. It was not without a great deal of trepidation that I swung my leg over my new (faster red) FZ6 in July. Believe me, the FZ6 is eminently controllable. It's a very mild machine at low rpm's and less-than-half throttle openings. If the thought of hanging on for dear life at 13000 rpm+ puts you off, then don't go there until you're confident enough to do so. I didn't take my FZ6 over 8000 rpm until it had a thousand km's on the odometer. I can ride at 60kph in 6th gear down Steveston Highway no problem at all, and the bike's quite happy doing that. OTOH, I can go faster in 3rd gear than I could have even dreamed of going flat out on my old 68 Bonneville, which was no slouch in its day.
paul1149 said:What did you mean "shame on yamaha"? It sounded like the fault was the bike press, not the manny, but then you turned it around. Or did you mean that Yamaha gave the press the opportunity for criticism and didn't set the record straight?
Sorry, I should have put after my "Shame on Yamaha" comment. Apparently, bike magazines insist that the FZ6 is hopeless as a commuter. Rubbish....it does that job just as well as a moped. I don't feel one bit disadvantaged in traffic on my FZ6.
paul1149 said:At this point I'm leaning toward the SVS, and will eat the posture. I've got some pics up as wallpaper, and am beginning to think that I could live with the posture, or worst-case, raise the bars. I think the SVn is out because I want two headlights to play with; and a windscreen, such as it is. I like the fairings as well.
p.
The SV is still an excellent choice for a first "big bike" as is an FZ6. All I will say is that V-Twins are great bikes...but the siren call of the FZ6's 4-cylinder engine in the FZ6 will still call out to you.