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/330779
2014 YAMAHA FZ09 RIDING IMPRESSION P94 few clicks on the fork's preload, which I thought improved the ride a bit for more aggressive play- ing and made the bike feel more balanced and a little less busy. Still, the overall ride is a bit on the bouncy side no matter what I did, and I could never adjust out the wiggles in the high-speed corners. You can still make great time on the back canyon roads on the FZ, but you just have to work a little harder on it than you would on a higher-end (and more expensive) sport bike. However, the fun factor is still way up there when you get the FZ-09 on the twisties, especially on pristine roads. For city riding, the soft stock suspension set-up isn't worth complaining about. It gets the job done. Good Stuff Grab a handful of front brake and the FZ-09 comes to a quick stop. The dual floating 298mm discs with four-pot opposed piston Ad- vics calipers, which are paired to a Brembo master cylinder, cer- tainly do the trick, as does the singe 245mm disc in the back. Stoppies are very doable. The FZ-09 is not offered with ABS. That's okay, I never missed them nor did I ever wish for them while I was on the FZ. For night riding, the FZ-09's headlight does a great job light- ing up the road, and the LED taillight is bright and has sepa- rate left and right lamps that il- luminate when the taillight is on and across the entire lens when the brake light is on. The extra lighting gives you a bit more con- fidence that you'll be seen when the stars are out. The FZ-09 has a full LCD in- strument panel with a digital bar- type display for the tachometer. There is also a gear-position in- dicator and clock that are easily visible at a quick glance. It took me a long time getting used to the FZ's slide-type starter button. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got used to it. It's nothing bad, just different. Livin' Life For me, living life with the FZ-09 has been simple. Like the bro- chure says, the FZ-09 is fun to ride yet it is also practical in its own kind of way. But what I like best about the bike, besides its $7990 price tag, is that it just feels like a motorcycle. There is nothing dainty about the FZ- 09. It growls when you fire it up, you can feel the vibration in your hands, throttle response isn't ex- actly silky smooth, the ride is a little rough and dirty, the front end wants to come off the ground when you grab a handful, it feels like a motocross bike between your legs and it looks mean. Plus, you have to ride it — all of it. There are no ABS, linked-brake system or traction control to aid you, and there is still a clutch lever and a shift lever. There isn't even a fair- ing or windscreen to make your life more comfy; heck, those are for sissies — at least that's the frame of mind I got into whenever I was aboard the FZ-09. Bags or compartments? Forget it. Get a backpack. This is a motorcycle. And a fun and practical one at that. Just like motorcycles should be. CN The meter has a modern look and is fairly easy to read. The FZ-09's hyper inline three-cylinder motor pumps out gobs of torque and impressive power. The right bar switch incorporates a small button that operates the drive mode and an intergraded on/cutoff switch.