Long-lasting, comfortable commuter with good service network in south Chennai

Sheel · 6th September 2010, 23:05

Until and unless He isn't upgrading(250R or is in financial crunch) there should be no reasons to sell it.
R15 is truly in a league of its own

I won't really ask you to go for the Pulsar as they would be updated soon(when?) with a 4 valve head and if you happen to buy today and the bike is unveiled the next day, you would crack your nuts.

FZ is a beautiful Motorcycle, though not very comfortable for pillions, riders will be happy though.(any build/any stature).

For pillions I would recommend Unicorn/Dazzler/CBZ Ex/Gladiator or SS-125/ZMR or Karizma-R and of course the Bulls.

rajushank84 · 7th September 2010, 11:22

Thanks Abhinav. Yeah you're right, it makes me think twice why he is selling so soon. He says the reason is "upgrading to car", but still.

@Sheel: Thanks but unfortunately most of the bikes you mentioned have a waiting period. I dont want to go for a Bull again because of the service. Even yesterday the guy who I sold my Bull to, was standing and trying to start it for a long time. A cab driver had to help him out. I was somewhat interested in Karizma, but not prepared to wait for much time.

Most likely will book the FZ16 red today. Will update.

rajushank84 · 8th September 2010, 15:01

Did test rides of Apache RTR, R15 and FZ.

Booked the FZ.

sajo · 8th September 2010, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Booked the FZ.

Congratulations rajushank!
What is the OTR and the expected delivery date?

Sheel · 8th September 2010, 16:00

Great choice. A very capable Motorcycle, something like the Punto, the chassis/brakes overwhelms the engine(engine is a tad better wrt to what i am saying)

rajushank84 · 8th September 2010, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajo

Congratulations rajushank!
What is the OTR and the expected delivery date?

Thanks Sajo. It is 73k something on-road Chennai. The dealer said that delivery would be immediate, what would take time is loan processing which is 3 working days as soon as I hand over all the documents they ask for. I asked about registration. They tried to tell me I can register it myself, and I insisted that I am not going to touch the bike unless it is registered and having a number plate. They reluctantly agreed, saying it is a total of 5 working days including registration.

So I hope to get it sometime next week. I'll probably hand over the documents tomorrow (if workload tomorrow allows me time to get out of the office, get passport size photos, go to the dealer, pay downpayment, hand over the documents, etc etc). Else I will have to do it on Friday.

If I had cash on hand and was ready to register it myself, then I could have ridden it home today itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheel

Great choice. A very capable Motorcycle, something like the Punto, the chassis/brakes overwhelms the engine(engine is a tad better wrt to what i am saying)

Thanks Sheel! Yes, it is very capable. Love the way it behaves on road.

I asked for red, but I can't make up my mind whether red is better or orange is better.

abhinav.s · 8th September 2010, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Booked the FZ.

Awesome!! Congrats on the booking. Good machine for crowded city streets with an easy to ride posture as well.

Sheel · 8th September 2010, 23:54

My choice would be orange.

aargee · 9th September 2010, 08:11

Congratulations Raju & welcome to the family of Yamaha; your choice is the right one for your needs. BTW, from which dealer did you book? Hope you haven't gone to Ambal motors Kilpauk; If I were to settle for an Fz, I would be in the same confusion as yours, as both Red & Orange are appealing to me

. On a second thought, may be Orange has an edge as I get to see so many Red Fz's now days.

rajushank84 · 9th September 2010, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Awesome!! Congrats on the booking. Good machine for crowded city streets with an easy to ride posture as well.

Thanks Abhinav!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheel

My choice would be orange.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Congratulations Raju & welcome to the family of Yamaha; your choice is the right one for your needs. BTW, from which dealer did you book? Hope you haven't gone to Ambal motors Kilpauk; If I were to settle for an Fz, I would be in the same confusion as yours, as both Red & Orange are appealing to me

. On a second thought, may be Orange has an edge as I get to see so many Red Fz's now days.

Thanks! I booked it in the showroom at OMR Thoraipakkam. I think I will change my request to orange now. I saw pics on the Net and thought red is cooler, but you are right - red is sort of common now. Orange looks cool in the flesh.

rajushank84 · 21st September 2010, 10:10

I took delivery of my bike yesterday.

Dealership experience was overall OK, they did the loan processing and registration within 1 week. Only fly in the ointment was that they did not do the numberplate stickering even when I insisted, apparently because their MD has given some wierd "strict" instructions that they should not do number plate stickering because different people might want different fonts. The MD was not around to talk to. This felt kind-of wierd because I have bought bikes from Hero Honda, Bajaj and Royal Enfield, and all of them delivered the bike with numberplate stickering done - yes, even Royal Enfield!

Well apart from this one aspect the overall experience was pleasant. On the first visit they gave me a checklist of documents, next day I landed up with all the documents & passport-size photos, they did verification in 3 days (came to home & office to verify my identity), once verification was done I handed over the cheque leaves and signed the loan agreement etc, and they registered the bike the next day - and that's it, done! They actually had the bike ready on Friday itself, but I was out of station so took delivery yesterday.

They gave me a cool "Slick" helmet free with the bike

, seems to be reasonably good quality and matches the body color of the bike.

Attaching a couple of pictures taken with my iPhone, at the stickering shop:

Long-lasting, comfortable commuter with good service network in south Chennai-bike1.jpg

Long-lasting, comfortable commuter with good service network in south Chennai-bike2.jpg

aargee · 21st September 2010, 10:43

Congratulations Raju; Now start burning the roads like the lord. Consider getting your number plates from Utsav. Thought a little expensive, they're good looking & do not violate the law on fonts & sizing + their service is good.

rajushank84 · 21st September 2010, 11:08

Thanks aargee. I have already done the "default" stickering on the normal number plate, so I guess I'll use it for some time. Maybe I'll go in for an upgrade next year. Thanks for the link.

So far the bike is awesome to ride. Today's commute took exactly 12 minutes! The surprise factor is that my wife says the pillion is actually more comfortable than the Bullet, though not on par with the Pulsar. I was surprised to hear that she found it comfortable, it is probably thanks to the monoshock.

aargee · 21st September 2010, 11:14

@Raju - Monoshoqe & comfort is only a myth

, but again, differs from person to person. I'm not denying its comfortable, however, RE's stone like suspension will definitely inferior to modern technology FZ's suspension.

How's the comfort on riding position? I once tried FZ, but didn't find it as comfortable as my Rx. Ever since then, I dropped the idea of owning one modern day 4 stroke motorcycles presently available in India.

I suggest you start an ownership thread & we can all pour in our questions, suggestions & your experience with FZ over there.

rajushank84 · 21st September 2010, 11:37

I find the riding position spot-on. That's the main reason I decided on this bike. In a way its character reminds me of the old Pulsar, with lots of low-end grunt and a reasonably upright sitting position.

Sure aargee, I will start an ownership thread after crunching a few kilometers and clicking more pictures with a proper camera

.

6th September 2010, 23:05	#16
Sheel Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Purnea (Bihar) Posts: 9,588 Thanked: 14,404 Times View My Garage	Until and unless He isn't upgrading(250R or is in financial crunch) there should be no reasons to sell it. R15 is truly in a league of its own I won't really ask you to go for the Pulsar as they would be updated soon(when?) with a 4 valve head and if you happen to buy today and the bike is unveiled the next day, you would crack your nuts. FZ is a beautiful Motorcycle, though not very comfortable for pillions, riders will be happy though.(any build/any stature). For pillions I would recommend Unicorn/Dazzler/CBZ Ex/Gladiator or SS-125/ZMR or Karizma-R and of course the Bulls.
	() Thanks

7th September 2010, 11:22	#17
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	Thanks Abhinav. Yeah you're right, it makes me think twice why he is selling so soon. He says the reason is "upgrading to car", but still. @Sheel: Thanks but unfortunately most of the bikes you mentioned have a waiting period. I dont want to go for a Bull again because of the service. Even yesterday the guy who I sold my Bull to, was standing and trying to start it for a long time. A cab driver had to help him out. I was somewhat interested in Karizma, but not prepared to wait for much time. Most likely will book the FZ16 red today. Will update. Last edited by rajushank84 : 7th September 2010 at 11:26.
	() Thanks

8th September 2010, 15:01	#18
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	Did test rides of Apache RTR, R15 and FZ. Booked the FZ.
	() Thanks

8th September 2010, 16:00	#20
Sheel Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Purnea (Bihar) Posts: 9,588 Thanked: 14,404 Times View My Garage	Great choice. A very capable Motorcycle, something like the Punto, the chassis/brakes overwhelms the engine(engine is a tad better wrt to what i am saying)
	() Thanks

8th September 2010, 23:54	#23
Sheel Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Purnea (Bihar) Posts: 9,588 Thanked: 14,404 Times View My Garage	My choice would be orange.
	() Thanks

9th September 2010, 08:11	#24
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,236 Thanked: 9,643 Times	Congratulations Raju & welcome to the family of Yamaha; your choice is the right one for your needs. BTW, from which dealer did you book? Hope you haven't gone to Ambal motors Kilpauk; If I were to settle for an Fz, I would be in the same confusion as yours, as both Red & Orange are appealing to me . On a second thought, may be Orange has an edge as I get to see so many Red Fz's now days.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 10:10	#26
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	Got it! I took delivery of my bike yesterday. Dealership experience was overall OK, they did the loan processing and registration within 1 week. Only fly in the ointment was that they did not do the numberplate stickering even when I insisted, apparently because their MD has given some wierd "strict" instructions that they should not do number plate stickering because different people might want different fonts. The MD was not around to talk to. This felt kind-of wierd because I have bought bikes from Hero Honda, Bajaj and Royal Enfield, and all of them delivered the bike with numberplate stickering done - yes, even Royal Enfield! Well apart from this one aspect the overall experience was pleasant. On the first visit they gave me a checklist of documents, next day I landed up with all the documents & passport-size photos, they did verification in 3 days (came to home & office to verify my identity), once verification was done I handed over the cheque leaves and signed the loan agreement etc, and they registered the bike the next day - and that's it, done! They actually had the bike ready on Friday itself, but I was out of station so took delivery yesterday. They gave me a cool "Slick" helmet free with the bike , seems to be reasonably good quality and matches the body color of the bike. Attaching a couple of pictures taken with my iPhone, at the stickering shop: Last edited by rajushank84 : 21st September 2010 at 10:18.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 10:43	#27
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,236 Thanked: 9,643 Times	Congratulations Raju; Now start burning the roads like the lord. Consider getting your number plates from Utsav. Thought a little expensive, they're good looking & do not violate the law on fonts & sizing + their service is good.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 11:08	#28
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	Thanks aargee. I have already done the "default" stickering on the normal number plate, so I guess I'll use it for some time. Maybe I'll go in for an upgrade next year. Thanks for the link. So far the bike is awesome to ride. Today's commute took exactly 12 minutes! The surprise factor is that my wife says the pillion is actually more comfortable than the Bullet, though not on par with the Pulsar. I was surprised to hear that she found it comfortable, it is probably thanks to the monoshock. Last edited by rajushank84 : 21st September 2010 at 11:13.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 11:14	#29
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,236 Thanked: 9,643 Times	@Raju - Monoshoqe & comfort is only a myth , but again, differs from person to person. I'm not denying its comfortable, however, RE's stone like suspension will definitely inferior to modern technology FZ's suspension. How's the comfort on riding position? I once tried FZ, but didn't find it as comfortable as my Rx. Ever since then, I dropped the idea of owning one modern day 4 stroke motorcycles presently available in India. I suggest you start an ownership thread & we can all pour in our questions, suggestions & your experience with FZ over there.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 11:37	#30
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	I find the riding position spot-on. That's the main reason I decided on this bike. In a way its character reminds me of the old Pulsar, with lots of low-end grunt and a reasonably upright sitting position. Sure aargee, I will start an ownership thread after crunching a few kilometers and clicking more pictures with a proper camera .
	() Thanks