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/128631
very sim ilar to th e 998cc , five-valve per-cylinder, li q ui d -cooled m otor that reside s in the RI. Naturally , th e FZ-I i s equipped with Yamaha 's f a m o u s EXUP (Exhaust Ul ti m a t e Powerva lve ) exhaust va lve , de sig ned to increase mid -rang e p ow er by o p ti m i z i n g exhaust backpressure throughout the rev -r an g e. The ex ha us t p ip e itself is of t he 4- into- 1 sta inless -stee l head er and ca nister variety . The chassis fe at ure s a perim et er sty le st eel -tube fra me , an alumi num swi nga rm , and fully adj us t ab le sus pe ns io n . Starting at th e front, th e fo rk is a co nventional 43 m m Kay aba unit wit h 140mm of travel. It is adj usta b le for pre loa d, c o m p re s s i o n , a n d rebo und dampen in g . To st iffe n thing s up, th e fork s also featu re bee fy alum in um triplecl am ps. O ut back th e shock is a p i g g y back -style unit ma te d to a pro gres sive li nk age. It is a lso fully adjustab le for p r el oad, co mp ress io n , a n d re bo u n d dam p en in g . The rea r sw inga rm is m ad e fr om box-sect io n al um in um a nd w as des ig ne d t o b e bot h li ght and rig id. The wheels ar e br and new 17 -inch c ast alum inum three-sp oke rim s with a 120j70ZR 17 t ir e up fr ont and a 18 0 / 50ZR 17 tire o n th e rear. Yam aha says the b ike will be fitted wit h pr emium sport rubber. T he brak es are ano the r of th e co m po ne nts that Yama ha did n' t sk im p on . The calipers ar e exact ly t he same as the exc ellen t braking pa ckage fou nd on t he R 1s. Th e rotors are 29 8mm ven ted dis cs. also pulled from the R 1 parts bi n , with the only real d ifference being that pa d material is sli ghtly differen t on t he FZ - I . On the rear there is a 267mm ve nte d di sc sq ueezed by a sing le- pisto n c alipe r. Th e desi gn ers of th e FZ -I wanted to ma ke the bik e 's li ne a g e t o th e YZF - R 1 o bvio us. Th e cat-ey e twin hea dli g h ts - fitt ed w ith 6 0 /55 -watt bulbs - and the distin ctiv e sh arp li ne s of th e tai l/seat un it definitel y borrow sty ling c ues from Yama ha's fl ags hip sp o rtbi k e . Th e upper f a ir ing was des igned n ot onl y t o o ffer decent wind pr ot ection for th e ri der , bu t also to help provid e aero dyna mic effici ency . The fuel tank also has a strong resemblance to the R 1, a nd sho u ld hold eno ug h fu el t o giv e th e b ik e a cru ising rang e of around 2 00 mil es . Th is bi ke w as des ign ed to b e an "e ve ry thi ng bik e." It was design ed to b e a comm uter, a w eek end ca nyo n ca rve r, and even a sp ort-touter . It was al so design ed to be bras h whil e pro vi d ing so lid p er fo rm an c e, grunt, and hand lin g. Her e 's hop in g that it li v es up to th e h ype because th er e 's littl e doubt that moto rc y cl es like th e Suzu ki Bandit 1200 are a bl ast to rid e. Two c olors will be o ffe red her e in the U .S .: The m as sivel y popular Yamaha blue , and als o black . Yama ha hasn 't set a firm release date yet for the FZ - I, but it should be out in early 2001. eN -, III ""Tell thelTl you read about it in Cyc le Nevvs"" nnual AMI MX ! . t~e Sa~d elf, n e vv c« s