Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128094
leap away from stoplights. The motor has a nice top-end rush, which I didn't expect from a naked bike. It acts more like a sportbike, revving out to 11,500 rpm, which is just 250 rpm shy ofthe Rl's redline. All in all, the FlJ impressed me. I think that Yamaha left a little bit of room for the owners to personalize the bike with accessories and hot-rod parts. I also think that the bike will react well to performance modifications. Some of the modern sportbikes are difficult to gain additional performance from because they're so efficient to begin with. I'm not saying that this bike is inefficient, but it looks like there is room for improvement - bigger carbs maybe? It should be a fun bike to play with. The styling of the FZl is awesome. Yamaha is the first Japanese company to get it right in the naked bike class. The bike has a sharp purposeful look to it - the sleek angles of the minimalist bodywork make it look light and aggressive. One of the coolest things that Yamaha did was to stay away from the "retro look", and just make a good-looking bike. Yamaha makes no bones about the fact that the styling is ripped off from the R I, and why not? It's a great looking bike. The bike will be available in two colors, Yamaha's popular blue, and black. The MSRP is set at The frame is an all-new double-cradle steel design with an integrated steel sub-frame. The suspension is fully adjustable front and rear. The FZ1 has a beefy set of 43mm forks up front which are 2mm larger in diameter than the R1's, and have a tick more travel as well. Out back is a piggyback-style rear shock with a touch more travel, mated to a new aluminum swingarm. The rear rim is 5.5 inches wide and shod with a 180/55ZR17 instead of the R1's 190 series tire. in an effort to quicken tum-in. The front tire is a 120/70ZRI7, the same as on the RI. We rode on Metzler MEZ-4 sport touring tires. and they were just fine, but I think that stepping up to a little stickier tire would be a good idea for serious sport riding. The bike will most likely come shod with Bridgestones in the States. but in Europe they wear the Metzlers. The front brakes Sumitomo monoblock calipers and 298mm twin discs may be standard RI, but the brake pad material has been changed to a new sintered compound. The rear brake is an all-new 267mm disc. with a caliper that features larger 42.9mm pistons, for those rear-wheel lock-up slides. $8499 which is a thousand bucks more than the competition, but looking at the spec sheet the FZ 1 offers way more performance than the others have to offer, so it's still a bargain in my book. eN UST PRICE $8499 DISPLACEMENT 998cc ENGINE TYPE Liquid-cooled, in-line four-cylinder CYUNDER HEAD 20 Valve. DOHC BORE x STROKE 74 x 58mm COMPRESSION RATIO 11.4:1 CARBQRETlON (4) 37mm Mikuni sidedraft IGNmON Digital TCI TRANSMISSION _••••..•................. .six-speed CLQTCH ................••.•..••..•.••.•....Wet multi-plate STARTING SYSTEM ....••..•.......................Electric FQEL CAPACITY 5.6 gal FRAME _ Steel double cradle __ . __ . _ •............. .57.1 in. WHEELBASE RAKEffRAlL 26 degrees/1 04mm SEAT HEIGHT .32.3 in. FRONT TIRE 120/70-17 FRONT RIM _•.•.............. .3.50 X 17 cast aluminum REAR TIRE 180/55- 17 REAR RIM ...............•........... .5.5 X 17 cast aluminum FRONT FORK .43mm fully adjustable FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL .5.6 in. REAR SHOCK ...........•.••...•.. 'piggy-back fully adjustable REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL 5.3 in. FRONT BRAKE Twin 298mm discs FRONT CAUPER Sumitomo four-piston REAR BRAKE .........•...................Single 267mm disc REAR CAUPER ...................••.....Sumitomo two-piston FINAL DRIVE Chain CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT .455 Ibs. cue' _ n _ _ lIS • MARCH 7, 2001 17