First Bike FZ6

This was my first bike, a 2006 Yamaha FZ6-S.

Immediately after successfully completing my M1 course with RTI (Rider Training Institute) in the frosty spring of 2010, I spent days scouring the Kijiji and CL classifieds for an appropriate first-steed and made arrangements to meet sellers. This was the very first and last bike I went to see, for the moment I laid eyes on her, I fell in love.

My attraction to the FZ6 was not just skin deep, for she had good fundamentals, even for a noob. Here is what appealed to me about the FZ6:

Reliability:

• Fuel Injection so there would be no fiddling and cleaning of carbs. Just start and go
• Japanese made so I would be reasonably sure I wouldn't be leaving a stain on the garage floor
• Modern electronics, tight tolerances, high-quality finish

Condition:

• Clean and free of dirt, grease and rust shows that the PO cared for the bike
• Chain was clean, lubed and rust free
• No scrapes and dings so I was sure the bike hadn't been down

Appearance:

• Dual under-seat exhaust
• Dual front headlight
• Naked style with upper cowling and windscreen
• Cast aluminium frame

Performance:

• A smooth, high-revving, 600cc R6-based inline-4, tuned for more low end torque
• ~100HP and ~50lb-ft torque, available at the higher end of the RPM range (above 12,000rpm)
• Power delivery is linear and docile at lower revs (below 10,000rpm) so it isn't scary like a typical 600cc supersport
• Can grow with the bike as your skills improve

Ergonomics:

• Upright sport touring seating position great for long rides
• Standard bars (not clip ons!)
• Good weather and wind protection from windscreen and upper cowling

Costs:

• Classified as sport-touring
• Insurance: under 30, first-year, M1 with StateFarm was $600
• As a modern Japanese bike with impeccable build tolerances, all it needed was fluids

Upgrades!

Despite having good bones, there were some minor shortcomings that were easily addressed:

• Corbin gun-fighter seat (a must if you plan to do any serious touring). The stock seat was good for only a couple of hours for me before I completely lost all feeling below the waist
• Breakaway cruise control - a neat little piece of kit that's CNC milled from aluminium so it's a little pricey at $200. Only retro-fit cruise control that I'm aware of that disengages with the application of the brake. The brake lever activates a cam that disengages the mechanical throttle hold
• Givi: engine bars, top-box Monokey setup (52L box)
• Bridgestone Battlax BT023 tires: great sport touring dual compound tires - hard stuff down the middle of the tread for the long straight roads and sticky shoulders for carving up the canyons
• Activate right-side headlight for dual-lamps. I think for DOT reasons, the second headlight was de-activated (the wire is literally cut) either at the factory or at the dealer before delivery. A simple wire from the bulb to a relay doubles your lumens and safety!

Adventures and Lessons with the FZ6:

My most notable experience with the bike was during a ride up to Parry Sound. We decided to venture off the highway and onto a twisty road called Southwood Rd in Muskoka, IMO one of the best roads within a few hours of Toronto.

It turned out, though, that this awesome twisty road was just a bit too twisty for my first-year skill level at the time and I dumped my bike on a sandy shoulder in a tight turn. Now, they say it's only a matter of time before a rider drops his/her bike so I wasn't too upset that it happened, rather I was upset at my particular circumstance. For you see, this was my first long trip with a passenger - my wife on the pillion seat to be specific.

Fortunately for us, the fall was at low speed at about 30-40kph and we fell on sandy dirt, however because the rear part of the bike/subframe usually widens out on modern bikes, my wife's leg was pinned between the ground and the bike. Unfortunately, she had been donning all of the proper riding gear except boots, and so her leg suffered some soft-tissue damage (luckily, no broken bones). Had she been wearing proper boots, I suspect that she would have been unscathed! Needless to say, within days I bought her a pair of full-length Alpine Stars S-MX5's. To add to our good fortune of this unfortunate event, I was riding with my friend who is an anesthesiologist, and we had fallen near a cottage whose owner had just pulled into his driveway moments after the accident and graciously invited us in to rest.

The incident was recorded by my wife:

[cid=98928,https://i.embed.ly/1/image?url=http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/497235565_640.jpg&key=516300eb362841bdadceffb501cc9537]

https://vimeo.com/112308643

Lessons learned:

• Don't get ahead of yourself and be modest/conservative with your experience
• Don't feel compelled or pressured into keeping up with more experienced/faster/riskier riders
• Don't take on a passenger if you think or feel you are not ready
• If you take a passenger, remind them to lean with you into the turn. I find that an inexperienced passenger has the tendency to sit upright, leaning away from the turn, increasing the lean angle of the bike and reducing your margin for correction and error. A good rule of thumb is to get the passenger to look over your shoulder, ahead of the turn- In my video above, you can see that I'm making a left turn while the video is taken from my right side
• Wear ATGATT (all the gear all the time). I had zero injuries, other than a bruised ego
• Read a rider technique book and practice or take an advanced skills course. I thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from "Total Control" by Lee Parks
• At the time, I didn't understand the importance of looking through and ahead of the curve, which prevents incidents of...
• Target Fixation. You tend to go where you look so look where you want to go (sounds obvious but much harder to practically do)
• On loose surface like dirt, gravel, sand, etc., refrain from using your front brake. If you lock up your front wheel, you lose the inherent gyroscopic stability provided by a spinning mass. Also, losing traction will likely result in dumping the bike, as indicated in my video
• Consider bike crash protection: The Givi engine bars minimized damage to the bike (only cosmetic damage to the plastics) and allowed me to make the 3 hour ride back to Toronto. I always install some kind of protection on all my bikes (R&G, Woodcraft, GSG, etc.)

The bike served me well for the 10,000km and 3 years I had it, and I suspect that I'd still have it had I not acquired my Suzuki Bandit 1250. Clearly, the FZ6 sport touring formula works as Yamaha made the FZ8 for a few years and now the fantastically reviewed MT09 and FJ09.

Cheers to a great first bike that taught me much and gave me many memories, both good and bad,

-Larry