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/128232
2004 Y amaha FZ6 Oka y , the motor on the FZ6 is very similar to its cousin the RS, but this is where the analogies stop. The FZS has a completely new and fairly radical chassis design. The aluminum frame uses Yamaha's fairly new CF die-casting process to create the two hemispheres of the chassis. The kicker is that the two halves are then bolted together; there are no welds anywhere on the FZS's frame. Yamaha claims that this reduces weight, while it was still able to achieve the necessary rigidity. The motor is rigid-mounted in the frame via asymmetric al engine mounts, with a single top mount on the right side and two top mounts on the left side. The subframe is made from steel with the rear footrest hangers integrated onto it. The swingarm is a new aluminu m unit and is 2.9 -inc hes longer than its predecessor, the European Fazer SOO. The FZS has a 1440mm (57.6- inch) wheelbase, while the front-end geometry has 25 degrees of rake and 97.5mm of trail. A centerstand is standard on the FZS. The suspension up front featur es 43mm convent ional forks with 130mm (5.2 inches) of travel but doesn' t have prov isions for adj ustabili ty. The trip le clamps are brand new and feature increased pitc h (the distan ce betw een the fork tub es in th e cl am ps) , whi ch imp roves rigidity and acco mmo dates the new front rim. Out back is a preload adjustable link less shock. Braki ng is handled by a pair of twin-piston pin -slide calipe rs clamping down on a pair of 298mm rotors, while out back is a Nissin two -piston caliper with a 220mm rotor. The wheels are right off of the R6 and measure 3.5 x 17 inches for the front hoop and 5.5 x 17 inches for the rear. They carry a 120/70ZR 17 and a 180/ 55ZR17 tire respectively. The U.S. bikes should wear Dunlop 0 252 Sportmax ti res. The bodywork is comprised of a com binatio n of painted plastic pieces and the colo rimpregnated metallic -look plastic . The front fender is also made of the paintl ess plastic. The headlights are dual 12V 60/ 55-watt multireflector units, while the rear taillights feature twin bulbs and are shaped to accomm odate the under-t he-seat exhausts. The gauge assembly is all -new and features an LCD tach om eter and speedom eter, with twin tripm eters, a clock , and LCD bar-graphs for the fuel gauge and water temp . Add itionally there are idiot lights for the other inform ation. The FZ6 's p owerplant is based on the VZF·R6's. The biggest difference is the use of totally different throttle bodies. T h e new throttle bodies no l o ng e r feature the suction-piston secondary butterflies. in t he butt to read . Yea h, it looks rea l ly cool , and all th e ot he r informatio n th e dash provides is ea sy to read , but c hang ed a decent amount from th e R6 ' s, I was impressed by th e fl exib ili ty o f th e motor. It definitely feel s like the F Z6 h as more usa ble and accessib le torque than it s parent m ot or - if not more o f it. Anoth er attri b ute that I disco v ered w as th at th e m o t or a lso a hybri d ana log -t ac h/LCD spe ed omet er would be m uch eas ier to read . O ne t h i n g t h at bothers m e is t h e fact t hat t he R6 ' s excellent va cuu ms li d e seco n da r y bu tt erfli e s in t he t h rot t le b o d i es w e r e di tc hed for a less -expensive system . When I ro d e th e 2 003 R6 for th e fi rst ti me a t t he Almeri a Circu it in S pain la st y ea r , I wa s v er y i m pressed w it h i ts fu e l injection sy st em . I w ish I c o u ld say the sa me fo r t he F Z6 ' s. It is fi n e in most no rm al r id i n g con ditions , b u t h a s pretty d ec ent to p e n d , as yo u would ex pe c t f r o m a n R6 -d er i v ed powerpl an t. Th e b ik e can b e screamed ri ght up to th e 13 ,750 rp m redlin e ( t he R6 redlin es at 15 ,50 0 ) , but it m ak es its m ax imum p o w e r a little lo we r - a ro un d 12 ,000 rp m. As long as we re talking a bout redl ines , the tachom et er on th e d ash is a pa in ~[fJ@@!J(l!J@&Jll!J@[JiJ~ 2004 Yamaha FZ6 UST PRICE DISPLACEMENT ENGINE TYPE BORE x STROKE COMPRESSION RATIO CARBURETION IGNITION TRAN SMISSION STARTING SYSTEM FUEL CAPACITY WHEELBASE RAKE /TRAIL SEAT HEIGHT FRONT TIRE REAR TIRE FRONT ·WHEEL TRAVEL REAR·WHEEL TRAVEL FRONT BRAKE REAR BRAKE FINAL DRIVE CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT 34 S EPTEM BER 17,2003' N/ A .599cc Llquid -cooled, 16 valve, in-line four-cyli nder 65.5 x 44 .5mm 12.2: 1 EFI 32 -bit ECU with digital TCI Six-speed Electr ic .5.0 gal. ' .57.6 in. 25°/ 97.5mm 31.8 in. 120/70-17 180/55- 17 .5.2 in. .5.2 in. Dual 298mm discs w/ twin 2-pi ston calipers 220mm disc w/2 -piston caliper Chain .422.4 Ibs. eye I u ne vus (as is a lways th e ca se w it h less-than perfect sys te ms) it st u m b les wh en yo u p ic k up th e throttle ex it i ng co r ne rs . W e we re doing a photo shoo t in a h a irp in co rne r tha t wa s absolute l y bea utifu l in t er ms o f sc en e ry , but it was obv i o us t ha t the r e was so m e di esel fue l on t he surface right at t he apex . It was t edio u s eno ugh t o g et through the exceptiona lly ti ght corner and c r eat e some d e c ent lean a ng le for T om Ril es' lens , bu t th e sl ic k surfa c e a n d t h e st u t ter i ng FI mad e it cha lle ngi ng . As is a lway s th e ca se with ph oto graph ers ( my se lf i n cl uded ) , t hey m ake yo u run a bo u t 30 passes th rou gh th e same corner until th ey 're happy . N o rm all y this is quite fun , but I wa s h av ing to overbrake fo r th e corne r and th en get o n th e throttl e pre ma t u rel y to se ttl e the bik e before I hi t th e sli ck apex . That's n ot fu n . T o be fai r , the engineers know th e b ike is a li ttl e ro ugh in it s d e live r y . The b ik es we were r id ing w e re pre prod uc tio n v er si ons , so I bet they ' ll have th e FI m appin g a ll work ed o ut b efo r e t he b ike is r el e a sed i n l a t e D ec ember. A s I sa id before, I thin k t he sty ling of th e bik e is attract ive . T he up per fa ir ing is reall y ni ce and has a co u p le o f r eall y coo l d e tails that probably don 't show up o n fil m very we ll. Many o f th e p ieces are n ' t paint ed - t hey ar e m etalli c - c ol or impregn ated p lasti c . Th e winds cre en a ct uall y makes up t he e n t i re t op pa r t of t he fa iring, wh i ch is reall y c o o l i n person . T h e twin und er - s e at e x h a us t s yst em cleans up th e ba ck of th e b ike visua lIy , whil e the fuel ta nk's sha pe is rea lly striking . O ne t h ing the e n gineers we re very cogniz ant of is the lo o k o f th e e n g i n e a n d t h e cha ss i s . I th ink IA b ove) T he u n d er-the -seat exha u st system i s styled like it has twin canisters, but lik e the Ducati 999 , it's a single canister w ith twin outlet t ips . IBel ow ) The new d a sh assembly lo oks really stylish, but the LCD tach is a b it hard to read at t imes. th ey d id a g ood job of m ak i ng the bike not lo ok cl utt ered . Th e bik e wi ll b e a vai la bl e in D e c e mb e r , in t wo colo r sche me s, G a l a x y B lu e /B l a c k , and Liqui d Silver/Black. • Beautifully styled • Strong engine performa nce • Comforta ble riding position • Excellent handling • Snatchy throttl e response from EFI • Budget suspension • Annoying tachometer