Any former FZR600 riders here?

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Bugs

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I currently ride an 90'FZR600. Love the thing. It's my first bike, and I've been riding for 2 seasons now. The thing I dont like is the carbs and some of the older bits and pieces starting to show their age. So, as I put more and more kms on i, i start thinking to the future and what to replace it with.

Catch is i ride ALOT. The FZR is fairly comfortable for day to day riding, but more comfy would be a plus. Performance wise, im happy with it. Can't justify trading up just for more power. Not that i would mind more, I just know i dont *need* it.

Anyone have experience with trading up to a newer bike? What major differences did you see?

Short list of replacements
1.) 2002-2005 CBR F4i (FI and one of the most comfortable sport bikes from what google says
2.) 09+ Ninja 650R -- Just concerned about it being a step back in performance
3.) Triumph Thruxton - emotional choice. Just love the bike. Price may be tough to swallow tho
4.) Street Triple - love my buddies Speed, so this is on the list. However for the money i THINK i prefer the thrux.
 
i was looking at the FZ6R (fully faired, standard bike, detuned 600cc).. It checks all boxes, but cosmetically, i dont know. Im partial to bikes with 2 headlamps (purely cosmetic, but you do have to WANT to ride the bike right?). Just not sure I dig the single large headlamp up front.
 
I have an fz6r if you wanted to sit on it/check it out in person sometime. Mine is blue and I removed the white/black weird looking decals from the sides.

Funny thing is, I was going to buy a '91 FZR600 with full racing exhaust, jetted, intake pods with 66,000 kms for $1600 off a guy who lives in my building for my first bike, but he sold it before I could get the cash together a couple years ago.
 
Was gonna suggest the FZ6R or VFR as well. No to the 650R yuck
I wouldn't worry the headlight issue much, I got used to my single light FZR when I had it. (91)
 
The only thing I don't like about the FZ6R's headlight is the stupid little "diamond" shaped part on the top. The headlight is super bright too, brighter than any other bike without HIDs I've seen. It's very very good for northern roads at night, or even 401 in the middle of nowhere at night. Basically anywhere without street lights at night, haha.

This is my bike with the decals removed.

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Have you tried bar risers (3/4") and a Corbin seat? Did the trick on my ol' Fizzer
 
Got the 09 650r this year and you are probably right about the step back in performance. Feels like it's just a bigger beginner bike
 
keep in mind FZ6 and FZ6R are very different, by about 40hp. the R is more like the ninja 650 but with 60hp isntead of 50 or whatever.
just picked up an FZ6 but haven't rode the FZR600 so I couldn't compare. the biggest difference I notice beyond power (detuned R6) over the old ex500 is comfort though. the suspesion, seating position, all of it. the ex500 is listed as sport touring but I now get 'sport touring'. fairly descent power and super comfy position + wind protection. amazing balance too. where I used to fight the bike at -4km/h to keep it upright this one wants to just stand up stright while not even moving. very planted int he ground and stable feeling.
 
fyrebug said:
keep in mind FZ6 and FZ6R are very different, by about 40hp. the R is more like the ninja 650 but with 60hp isntead of 50 or whatever.
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FZ6R is rated at 76 hp at the crank from everything google came up with. I believe from my research (at least with newer Ninja 650's) is that the fz6r gets 2 hp more but 2 tq less than the 650. Stats were pretty similar, and if my memory is correct the 650 is 0.1 faster in the 1/4 mile. Most dyno charts for stock fz6r is around 62-66 rwhp and around 38-42 rwtq.
 
alhope34 said:
FZ6R is rated at 76 hp at the crank from everything google came up with. I believe from my research (at least with newer Ninja 650's) is that the fz6r gets 2 hp more but 2 tq less than the 650. Stats were pretty similar, and if my memory is correct the 650 is 0.1 faster in the 1/4 mile. Most dyno charts for stock fz6r is around 62-66 rwhp and around 38-42 rwtq.
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well the cool thing is my bike is currently in the shop sorting out the carbs once and for all. (mixture of stock, dynajet and other jets -- dont ask)... so once its cleaned up and tuned, its being dyno tuned, so i will have a realistic hp/tq number to compare with some of these bikes you guys have mentioned.

Thanks!
 
i had a street triple.

although a little pricier than some of the bikes OP listed, it is a GREAT ride.
an sbsolutely comfortable bike, i am just under 6 feet, i did not feel scrunched up on the bike.
I had a couple r6's before the street triple, and power wise, the street triple has a lot more power down low, and for that reason it seemed almost more powerful than the r6. whereas the r6 had power up high, the triumph had more power down in lower rpm's where you can actually use it on the street.
very flickable, and easy to handle. if you can find one with the arrow pipes on it, it sounds great with them.

the only downside, no windscreen, if you plan a lot of long-distance cross country touring, then days on end of highway wind might get hte better of you and you may be better off shooting for something with a windscreen. i had the little fly screen on mine, i think its more cosmetic than anything.

i commuted some 30km each way, on highway, then cut through the city to get where i was going. it was a great bike. i loved it, so i may be a bit biased.
 
insert said:
i had a street triple.

although a little pricier than some of the bikes OP listed, it is a GREAT ride.
an sbsolutely comfortable bike, i am just under 6 feet, i did not feel scrunched up on the bike.
I had a couple r6's before the street triple, and power wise, the street triple has a lot more power down low, and for that reason it seemed almost more powerful than the r6. whereas the r6 had power up high, the triumph had more power down in lower rpm's where you can actually use it on the street.
very flickable, and easy to handle. if you can find one with the arrow pipes on it, it sounds great with them.

the only downside, no windscreen, if you plan a lot of long-distance cross country touring, then days on end of highway wind might get hte better of you and you may be better off shooting for something with a windscreen. i had the little fly screen on mine, i think its more cosmetic than anything.

i commuted some 30km each way, on highway, then cut through the city to get where i was going. it was a great bike. i loved it, so i may be a bit biased.
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one of my good friends has a speedtriple. Awesome bike. And the street actually on the list i originally posted :-) Love it. Love the sound, performance, and the size of the street makes it more suited to me (also about 5'10-11 or so). But for the price point, i am drawn to the thruxton more so. I know its 'less of a bike' performance wise, just something about it. So if im gonna spend 8000+ i will likely go thrux.

Issue is, Im hoping to spend closer to 4-6. Which pretty much eliminates the brits and leaves me with japanese choices.

Hopefully my fzr will come home from the shop this week running smoother then ever, and i will decide to just drive it another 2-3 years and worry about it then.
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