Posted March 30, 2006   Email   Print

The bike that does it all, now does it all just a little faster

Story by Lance Oliver
Photos by Riles & Nelson

Every time I ride a Yamaha FZ1, I get the feeling something is amiss.

Not because of what's wrong with the bike. But because of what's right with it.

It just doesn't seem quite normal to have this kind of four-cylinder, 10,000-rpm, liter-bike power at my command while sitting comfortably upright. Usually, to get this kind of performance, I have to assume the position and hunch over a gas tank, clinging to low clip-on handlebars with my feet perched on pegs so high I feel like I'm waiting for the gate to open on the Kentucky Derby.

The FZ1 may not feel normal, but it sure is welcome.

"The FZ1 has always been about being the perfect balance between performance and versatility," said Mark Dipko, Yamaha's motorcycle marketing manager.

For 2006, Yamaha set out to address the items remaining on the wish list of many FZ1 owners, and more importantly, on the lists of many people who almost bought FZ1s but didn't. The tubular steel frame has been replaced by a curvaceous aluminum one that's lighter and much stiffer. Carburetors are out, fuel injection is in. Say goodbye to the conventional fork and look at the new, sleek inverted unit.

The aim was to make the new FZ1 a little sexier, a little sportier, without compromising its versatility or comfort. Yamaha also wanted to position it a little further from its FJR1300 sport-tourer.

The most obvious change in the FZ1's shift toward the sporty side is its new aluminum frame, which weighs 19.8 pounds less than the 2005's steel unit yet is far more rigid. The aluminum swingarm is longer and the engine moves forward. The final result is 51 percent of the bike's weight on the front tire's contact patch, compared to 48.9 percent for the previous model.

At the same time, Yamaha shifted the rider's position slightly. The handlebar is an inch lower, the rider sits 2 inches further forward, and the footpegs move an inch back and 0.6 inches up.

The stiffer chassis bolts to an inverted fork with an uncommon damping adjustment system that's been used in the racing world. One fork leg controls the rebound damping and the other controls compression damping. Yamaha says if it works on Valentino Rossi's M1 MotoGP bike, it'll work on your FZ1, too, and who am I to argue? It does have the benefit of keeping adjustments simple.

The other change Yamaha made to inject some more sport into the FZ1 is the new engine, taken straight from the YZF-R1 sportbike with only a few modifications. Changes to the R1 engine were limited mostly to different cam profiles and valve timing to increase low- and mid-range power, and a heavier crankshaft.

The FZ1 has the same gear ratios in the transmission as the R1, except for fifth and sixth, which are increased to allow lower engine rpms at highway cruising speeds.

Yamaha says the engine changes add up to an increase of 7 horsepower over the 2005 FZ1 while producing the same torque.

The third step in making the FZ1 sportier was freshening the look. The old FZ1 is handsome in an understated way. The 2006 has a more sculpted look, with its curvier tank, nicely shaped frame and swingarm, and two-piece seat. Yamaha continues down the "shorty muffler" line of styling with the new bike's stubby exhaust sticking out the right side.

Yamaha let us ride the new FZ1 on a Northern California route that included everything from sections of the 101 freeway to curvy coastal stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway and even a detour down a bumpy side road through redwood groves. Fortunately, while the new FZ1 does feel a little sportier than its predecessor, it retains the old bike's wonderful versatility.

While the ergonomic changes are subtle, they do add up to a sportier feel. The bike feels less tall and tippy than the old FZ1 and the additional weight on the front helps feedback. For me, at 180 pounds, the suspension's stock settings worked fine, though lighter riders were fiddling with the adjustments.

The new gauge cluster, with its analog tachometer and LCD information display, gave me all the info I wanted at a glance: speed in big numbers, odometer, clock, fuel level and coolant temperature.

Since it inherited the R1's engine and transmission, the FZ1 also has the R1's high gear ratios. And although the engine was retuned for more low-end power, it's still a supersport screamer at heart. The FZ1 doesn't provide the grunt off idle that you get from a V-twin cruiser, for example, or even from some of the liter-size, multi-cylinder competition. But the power builds predictably and smoothly, and above 8,000 rpm, the bike really pulls hard all the way to the 12,000 rpm redline.

The change to the FZ1 that will likely draw the most debate and complaints is the fuel injection. There are still plenty of die-hard proponents of carburetors out there, especially in the active FZ1 online community, and unfortunately, the 2006 FZ1 isn't likely to win converts to the fuel injection camp.

Really, the only problem in my book is the on-off throttle transition. Concentrating as hard as I could on being smooth, I still couldn't transition from closed throttle to even the smallest opening without a lurch that ranged from a minor tap at lower speeds in the soft part of the powerband, to a whack in the back when more power was on tap.

It's the sort of thing I'd get used to if I owned the bike and only rode it easily. But riding aggressively magnifies the issue. Say you closed the throttle going into the curve and you're looking forward to the powerful drive out using all those Yamaha horses. The transmission's in its tall first gear and you're just under 50 mph, which puts you at 7,000 rpm, the perfect engine speed to enter the swell of power that builds from there on up the dial.

Unfortunately, as soon as the throttle is opened even the slightest amount, the power hits with a lurch that never did overwhelm the chassis and tires, but made me worry that it would. At an even more aggressive pace, such as during a track day (something the FZ1 could definitely handle), that abrupt hit of power could be a real problem.

That's pretty much it in the complaint department, except for some notchiness in the transmission, mainly in the lower gears.

On the positive side, Yamaha's re-styling of the FZ1 eliminated my biggest complaint about the old bike, which was the buffeting I used to get from the windscreen. In the past, lots of FZ1 owners, especially taller ones, experimented with different-sized windscreens to eliminate buffeting, only to conclude that the real problem was the distance between the rider and the fairing.

The new fairing, combined with the more forward riding position, feels a lot closer to my helmet now, and wind management was excellent for my 5'-11" height.

The FZ1 has always been a model of competence and versatility, the kind of bike that could commute to work comfortably all week, take off for a weekend tour with nothing more than some soft luggage, out-accelerate anything without a full fairing and even perform admirably at a track day, if the rider was so inclined.

With the changes to the 2006, Yamaha has kept all the power, added a little handling performance and upped the style factor. The fuel injection keeps it short of perfection, but if that doesn't bother you, its versatility could easily make it the only streetbike you'll ever need.

2006 Yamaha FZ1
Engine	998cc, DOHC, liquid-cooled, 20-valve, 4-cylinder
Bore x stroke	77.0mm x 53.6mm
Carburetion	Mikuni electronic fuel injection
Transmission	6-speed
Front brakes	4-piston Sumitomo calipers, dual 320mm discs
Rear brake	Nissin pin-slide caliper, 245mm disc
Front suspension	43mm Kayaba inverted fork rebound, compression and pre-load adjustments
Rear suspension	Kayaba shock, rebound and pre-load adjustments
Seat height	32.1 inches
Wheelbase	57.5 inches
Tires	120/70-ZR17 front, 190/50-ZR17 rear
Claimed weight	439 pounds dry, 485 pounds wet
Fuel capacity	4.76 gallons
Charging output	560 watts at 5,600 rpm
MSRP	$9,099

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association