From FZ09 to FZ10

Welcome from Virginia! What color did you wind up getting?

I picked up the black one. Neither my girlfriend nor I could handle the yellow wheels, though the gray looks really good with all the lines on the bike. I plan to add more burgundy/dark red into the trim. It also helps that I'm a Gamecock fan, haha.

Cheers!

Thanks! It's insane to me how different the two are but at the same time (Disclaimer: Background - Feel free to skip to the actual comparison below) I know my experience will be different because of where I am. When I got the FZ09 it was after a 6 month hiatus due to a wreck in which I was run off the road by an SUV. So I was a little nervous/taking it easy, and also living in Columbia, SC, where there are a lot of open roads. Like an idiot, I ended up trading the bike in before moving to Atlanta, GA, where there are a lot more stoplights. It's been about 3 months without a bike and it's been a struggle so I finally broke down and bought the FZ10. This time around I'm excited without a hint of nervousness. All that's to say where I'm at emotionally and my physical location affects how I ride and experience the bike. There's also the fact that I bought the FZ09 brand new and put 35,000 miles on it, where as I've only put about 150 on the FZ10.

Anyway, I love pretty much everything about the FZ10. The seat still hurts my ass after an hour or more of riding, but it has so much more power, and the part that differentiates it most to me is the power is so manageable at lower RPMs. I never have to worry about the throttle being too twitchy like I did with the 09. The brakes feel a little weak, but it makes up for that with ABS (which my 09 didn't have). Traction control and cruise control are a nice touch. I do have to admit the 50lbs of added weight seems a lot more noticeable than expected, but the bike is so well balanced that I only really notice that when I'm trying to push the thing around my garage. Lastly, I think the FZ10 just looks like more of a beast, they really designed this thing well.


TLDR - FZ10 has more power but more manageable, brakes are a little weak but hardly notice because of ABS, weight difference a little noticeable, seat still hurts my ass.