Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

ff,3 L-- F I 5 I ^ \ I I .o; N .-_ { 4F /'- \iVlf ll lf5 gears have been made longer to give more relaxing high- spe€d cruising. That's an idea which works flne on the half- faired Fazer all-rounder, where you're more likely to eat some sedous miles at high speeds, fairly weli protected by the nonadiustable screen which delivers only a liftle helmet tur- bulence to a six-foot rider, but enough protection to see 160 mph with I 500 revs to go to the limiter, But on the naked FZ I , a very different kind of bike, which pun- I 6ink these ratios are a mistake. ln fact, I'd have liked the overall Eearing to be shorteri which would give it the extra oornph and incrersed muscle at lower speeds it def- initely asks for. Expect a healthy aftermarket for larger rear sprockes for this version, since Yamaha's wide range of dedicated accessories for both modelr doesnt include anyrhing that's performance related, iust bodywork and bags that are show rather than 8o. \4hat - no Akrapovic exhaust? No Ohlins susp€nsion? No Braking wave dis€s? Coine, now.... The engine is solidly mount- ed at six points as a fully stressed member in an all-new die-cast aluminum chassis, which is 37-percent lighte. than the existing FZSl000 Fazer tubular steel chassis. Though quite different from the Rl frame, it's clear, derived frgm it, with the same degree of bal- anced flex deliberately engi- neered in at strategic points by van/ing the thickness of the casting in lmm increments, to enhance feedback from the road surface. By doing so, Yamaha has created an all-new lightweiSht chassis design which is more than four-times stiffer vertically and lateral- ly than the FZR|000 tube frame, yet has controlled llex dialed in where it matters, says Tominaga. who admits that hrs main obiective in designinS the FZI chassis was to optimize weight distribution- "Many Naked bikes have unfavorable rearwards weight bias. which produces neg- ative front tire 8rip,'' he says. "We were concemed to avoid this in a high-perform- ance bike like the FZl. which has similar handling potential to the Rl." To achieve this, his team have compact- ed the mass of the bike a5 much as possi- ble, shifting the engine forwards by 2lmm compared with the existing FZS|000 to obtain a class-leading 5l/49-percent weiSht distribution for the naked FZI - though it's a surprise that the five-kilo ffr? heavier Fazer version with its half fairing and twio headlamps obviously mounted up front, is apparently only o.s-percent heav- ier on the front wheel than its bullyboy brother. Steering geometry of both bikes is quite a bit more conserv-ative than the Rl's, with a 2.6-inch longer, 58-4-inch wheelbase for both bikes delivering plenty of room for a passenger as well as lots of stabiliq/ where it mafters, aided by the 25" head angle and l09mm of trail (vs. 24?7mm for the Rl)- However, arguably the single greatest factor in loading up the front tire in turns is your own body weight, for Tominaga and his men have delivered a forward riding position which you're immediately aware of when you hop aboard the FZI's 32.6- inch-high seat. This is well padded enough only to make you feel a liftle sore after about six hours in the saddle. but the dis- tinctive, quite upright, stance delivered by the three-inch handlebar risers mounted to the top of the 43mm Kayaba upside- down forks' upper triple clamp is verf untirinE aboard the Fazei but alto makes you realize how far forward you're sittinS. The FZI's new 2.6-gallon fuel tank is (tiree 23.5mm inlets and a pair oI 25mm exhausts per cylinder), with new-for-'o5 reshaped inake ports offering improved flow from the paired 45mm Mikuni throt- tle bodier (compared to the 37mm carbs on the old Fazer), each lifted with a single iniector per cylinder and dual throttle but- terflies. The lower of these are opemted by the rider via the twistgrip, the second- ary upper ones by an electric servo digital- ly controlled by the 32-bit Nippondenso ECU, via the twin throftle-position sensors on each cylinder, with (he aim of refining throttle response and deliverinS a smoother pickup via added progression, withour sacrificing acceleration. That s nice for wet roads, as well as to stop you sPin- ning the tire out of turns in the dry with that extra lowdown 8runt. However, it ain't what you got, but the way that you 8et it that really matters, and it soon becomes +parent when you twist the wrist wide open on the FZI anywhere below 6000 rpm that you should have e-xerted your left foot a little more and worked the gearbox harder if you really wanted to make some motion. That's because the combined effec of the lower compression ratio, TPS dual throttles, revised EXUP (Exhaust Ultimate Powervalve) operation and softer carn pro- files with less inlet \ralve li{t and altered cam timing compared to th€ Rl, is to smooth out the power deliver), rather than to add serious muscle to lowdown performance. And the enSine mapplnS onv reinforces this impression at lower revs. You can acceleiate wide open literally off idle, mak- ing the FZI an easy bike to ride in town or a line of traflic - but if you want serious acceleration of the kind that will have the front wheel lifting off the ground, you'll need to kick it down a couple of gears and make the engine sing. Anywhere above 6000 revs and the FZ I is a wild cheetah superbike streetfiEhter, wheaeas below that it's more of a power- packed pussycat just purring along with its claws retraded. lust remember, this is a sportbike, not a tourer (even if the Fazer accessory list includes fairing lowers and luggage which will surely turn the FZI into yet another Yamaha sporu-tourer model), and that means working the gearbox to access its impressive topend performance by street-fighting standards. f4eetint the new Euro 3 norms surely have played a paft in this, by removing some of the torque Tominaga and his men obtained by retuning the Rl motor. The fact that the clutch action is so light and precise - and anyway, clutchless upshifts are the order of the day - makes using the six-speed Eearbox a pleasure. lt5 boftom four mtios and overall l7/45 gear- int are the same as the Rl, but the top two srr'?e15 lc) anaira iallas I a' I I n?ir?sr il!rler's tl shorter than the FZS|000 equivalent, and this helps position you further forward on the bike. Funhermore, the handlebars are lower and closer to the rider. while the footrests are higher and further back than the 2005 layout. The result is a riding posi- tion which gives a feelinS of control, with you. body's contribution to loading up the front wheel with extra weight obtained vra an upright forward stance which Sives Sood leverage from the one-piece steel handlebar, rather than reclining you for- ward on the bike (like on the new Ducari Sportclassics). transferring ),,our wei8ht to the front wheel via your wrists and shoul- ders - well, for as long as they can with- stand the discomfort, Even in similarly naked guise, the Yamaha FZI street frghter is much more comfortable to ride. with a better feeling of control. CYCLE NEWS. FEBRUARY22,2006 29 !l \ 1 "i Those lu(ky Europeoni get their choice of the fozer lrtyled identi(qlly lo the U,S. modell or this unfoired ver- sion. olso known or the Fzl, ters will ride in a veD/ different way, The FZI qlso gers o stylirh single heodlomp insteod of the duol lomps ured on the foired bike. i /" / The FZI ! Rl - derived 998<<, 2O-volve inline four hos been tuned to deliver I 5O bhp ot 'l I ,0OO rpm. The (ompqcl engine spores the (ylinder5 so

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