[Sheel]

Guru's MT? It is trying to intimidate the FZ's

[e46]

gr8 stuff Mahesh! I dint know, you had a full fledged ownership report, running parallely to your posts in "Super bikes spotted in India thread". FZ1 makes for a very sober choice among the options available in the sbk front.

Having the same itch to own one someday, albeit in a toned down avatar (read CBR600F/ XJ6 diversion etc), i terribly feel the OEMs are kinda slack exploring the sub 800cc segment, which has immense potential. bring them on fellas..

And did i tell ya, i am an addict of the i4 engine too. though havent ridden a biggie before, the exhaust rumble makes me go weak on my knees. pure music to ears. once i had this incident, when i was waiting in the signal, adorned by a GSX1000R (k8/9 guess) on the left and non cross-plane R1 on the right. And when both of them started fired their engines, it was as if Ronny K at his best, belting uplifting trance tune.. ahh.. i luve it.

ride safe,
Abhishek. (appreciated you got ur parents to do frst crank)!!

[invincible7]

A bit late but never the less Congratulations for owning this beauty of a beast ku69rd .

The bike looks very desirable no doubt, I would like to know what are the after market perforance options for this beast i.e. any better exausts for punchier/sportier sound, maps etc.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Guru's MT? It is trying to intimidate the FZ's

Sheel, It's not Hari's MT, but owned by Jagadish Prasad.

Originally Posted by e46

Having the same itch to own one someday, albeit in a toned down avatar (read CBR600F/ XJ6 diversion etc), i terribly feel the OEMs are kinda slack exploring the sub 800cc segment, which has immense potential. bring them on fellas..

Thanks Abhishek, would have very keenly checked out the FZ-8 if it was rolled out in India. Agree the bikes from 600 leading to liter class are quite confined. Hopefully the powers to be have an apple on their day to roll them out at the earliest. Well that's the least that i can do for my parents

Originally Posted by invincible7

I would like to know what are the after market perforance options for this beast i.e. any better exausts for punchier/sportier sound, maps etc.

Invincible, Thanks for your wishes, yep the bike has a whole list of after market & performance enhancing accessories. You have exhausts from all major makes like akrapovic, V&H, Yoshimura, Brothers to name a few. PC is also available off the shelf in India itself.

[black12rr]

Hey Mahesh , nice to see the ownership report here . No updates for so long . Hows FZ doing ?

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Hey Mahesh , nice to see the ownership report here . No updates for so long . Hows FZ doing ?

Thanks for the reminder mate, should put up an update shortly with some photos. Will do one of these weekends been a bit lazy

[ku69rd]

Hi All,
Been quite some time since i wrote an update on this thread.
Things are going in smooth, she has put on a mileage of 7500 Kms. Riding has been predominantly limited to highway travels with my riding groups.

The ride to Mahabaleshwar was fantastic amidst the strawberry hills, Joined a group of Harley owners (Bangalore Pandhis) for this ride. Started from Bangalore on the early hours (600 Hrs) and we were able to reach our destination by 2000 hours was a good achievement considering the fact that we were a group of 18 riders. A good 90 minute stopover in Belgaum for lunch at Sankam was very refreshing.

A very good trip of 1600 Kms where the bike performed exceptionally well. Petrol was an absolute non-issue, she happily consumes petrol from any bunks without complaining. But when there is poor quality fuel she does a get rough and mileage returns are very low. Rk_sans (Santosh) was very kind enough to share his tail bag for the trip. The entire ride was an uneventful one and partying with a group of Mumbai HOG's was very welcoming. Have put in a photo of me on my steed.



A couple of small rides and a ride with FZ owners to Shoolagiri.

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

You can see the drop in numbers as quite a few of them dropped out at the last minute :(

With the bike due for service at 5000 Kms; (Second Service) an appointment was taken with Perfect Riders. Engine Oil was replaced; clutch tightened as it had gotten loose. Oil Filter was checked but not replaced as it was supposedly 'clean'. Air Filter was immaculate as my rides have been always on the highways and none of it in city rides. Synchronization amongst the 4 throttle bodies was checked and found to be consistent, all in all the service costed me 5 hours on a saturday & 3800 INR, Must say it has been fairly consistent. Believe 10K service might warrant replacing Air Filter & Oil Filter as mandatory along with Engine Oil. Am still using the Yamalube (Semi Synthetic) and might make the switch post my 10K service as I did not want to void the warranty. Yamaha suggests to use Semi Synthetic but my friends overseas feel otherwise and also leads to age old discussion of chicken & Egg story. My 2 cents would be like track usage might warrant Synthetic and touring is happy with semi synthetic. Will make the switch and pour my experience shortly.

Renewed the Bike Insurance which set me aback by 9687 INR. Went in for the plain comprehensive Insurance with Oriental Insurance.

Unfortunately the bike had a minor tip over due to me being a tad slow whilst stopping. Luckily the body did get to bear any road rashes or love bite from the tarmac or mother earth. Did not quite enjoy the ride and I was completely lost for the remainder of ride.
My rides took a bit of breather due to my marriage for a good 3 months. Should say that the battery did hold up well (touch wood) and no signs of any degraded performance. Believe with me idling the bike for a good 5 minutes on every weekend might have actually saved it as I have heard of some horror stories from my fellow riders.

Cometh November and we had a big party riding down to Goa. A total of around 51 SBKS set out braving Cyclone Nilam and must admit that it was one of my best endurance ride in the wet. Was soaked completely by the time we managed to reach Goa. It was a steady drizzle all day long, and with me getting wet could not actually stop even for a smoke or warm tea. The body would tremble with cold and once on the bike had to maintain 120 Kays so that the visor stays clear of water, anything too much would mean a completely non sighter as visibility was very poor. Should commend the FZ prowess in wet and never felt unsafe even in slippery or damp conditions. It ploughed through nearly 2 1/2 feet of water without any hitches.

Have put in a satellite photo of the weather conditions and our route map.



The return from Goa was very pleasant, the FZ carving up the corners and with weather all the more pleasant, the ride back was very uneventful. Had an early morning start(0530) and was able to reach home sweet home by evening around 1830 hours. Considering the fact that we stopped in Hubli for a good 2 hours and a further 90 minutes in Sira we could have made it much faster.

Mileage all along the rides have been at a steady 18-21. The bike has not seen much of city rides, except for a couple of rides to my friends store across the town. The bike has been maintained consistently to stock conditions even though it has been very tempting to go in for an end can. Only deterrent for me is I like to keep the exhaust notes low as I am beginning to really enjoy long rides.

Shall end my rantings here as I feel this might lead to an endurance read for any viewers.

PS: If there is anything that you would want me to know, please pose them across and I shall do my best to respond at the earliest.

[Sheel]

Hi!

Yup, it was a much needed update from your end on the FZ. Glad to know it is doing well w/o any hiccups, but where are the photos of the Goa ride mate? SBK's in rain would be a sight to behold. Please do share them.

Thanks

[rk_sans]

Mahesh,
I have one and only pic of your Goa ride..
Lonely horse getting wet in the rain.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Hi!
but where are the photos of the Goa ride mate? SBK's in rain would be a sight to behold. Please do share them.

Sure Sheel shall post an pictorial update of the ride as well. For sure it was one of the most memorable rides in recent time mainly due to the physical efforts that were required. Agreed the roads were neat which probably was the only sliver lining on the dark clouds which otherwise were pouring all the time.

Originally Posted by rk_sans

Mahesh,
I have one and only pic of your Goa ride..
Lonely horse getting wet in the rain.

Santosh,
Many thanks for posting it up and joining us till the breakfast ride. Believe you were happily clicking away at the motorcycles, pray do upload them and i shall start to scourge for the remainders.

[coolboy007]

Nice and much needed update on your FZ. Good to know that you are enjoying the bike and itz serving you well, infact i was surprised to see your service costs, so measly for a litre class bike. Heck, my GT service costs me more due to fully synth oil.

Any plans on an aftermarket end can?

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Nice and much needed update on your FZ. Good to know that you are enjoying the bike and itz serving you well, infact i was surprised to see your service costs, so measly for a litre class bike. Heck, my GT service costs me more due to fully synth oil.

Any plans on an aftermarket end can?

Thanks Mate, She is doing absolutely fine. Probably the 5K service costed me less can be attributed to the fact that it required only an Oil Change and regular service (Cleaning of Air Filter), basic checks on the electronics; ECU & Throttle Body Synchronization.
Think the GT might be turning out to be expensive for you can be attributed to the usage of synthetic oil. Am planning to make a switch post the 10K service to ascertain if the oil is good enough for touring where I will be in relatively lower RPM (around 6-7K) with an occasional burst to wake myself up.

Not too sure if I would pick up an aftermarket end can; the bike is predominantly being used for long hauls on the highways. If the noise gets too loud then sustaining it for long distances can be painful.

Are you planning for any end cans for your GT however? Must say your thread is more upto date

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Think the GT might be turning out to be expensive for you can be attributed to the usage of synthetic oil. Am planning to make a switch post the 10K service to ascertain if the oil is good enough for touring where I will be in relatively lower RPM

GT is turning out to be expensive because stupid Hyosung India is using fully synthetic oil that costs 3600 at every service and the service interval is 4 months/5,000 kms. Wonder who clocks 1200+ kms per month on a sportsbike. I could do 5600 in an year.

Regarding switching to fully synthetic, do give it a try, i have always found it to money well spent, be it cars or bikes. Am sure you will love the increased smoothness and refinement, not that FZ has any dearth of both

Are you planning for any end cans for your GT however? Must say your thread is more upto date

Am more of a silent killer , i usually dont like much noise and the v twins with end cans become too roaring so might stay away from it. Sort of becoming bored so might go for a two brother's exhaust + HID setup next month, that if i can save some money.

[Sheel]

If you folks plan to add after market can & like to tour as well, then hold-on. Find a bike which sports the similar can, ride on the high-way & see if you like the baffling exhaust from dawn to dusk. Maybe then, you can decide.

[lionell]

Originally Posted by Sheel

If you folks plan to add after market can & like to tour as well, then hold-on. Find a bike which sports the similar can, ride on the high-way & see if you like the baffling exhaust from dawn to dusk. Maybe then, you can decide.

Exactly the reason, why I too opted for the stock ninja 650 exhaust. Everyone's been pushing me to get a akra or two brothers exhaust. It's good for short rides, but on the long distance one's am sure it will start getting irritating very very soon.