FJ09 owner from FL

Hey hawkeye thanks for joining us! How did the Hurricane treat you?

Hi! Another FJ-09 owner and I was able to take the FZ-10 out for a spin a couple weeks ago. I posted my review over on the FJ-09 board but for convenience here it is;

It’s a different fit than the FJ, but after a couple miles I was pretty comfortable on the bike. Good leg room and a nice balance even at slow speeds.

The motor is, in a word, amazing. Smooth, with almost bottomless power. Some testers have mentioned the lack of low end torque, but to me it felt at least as strong as the FJ. The motor in the FZ-10 makes the FJ seem like a Ninja 500, and I really like the triple in the FJ. It’s really that good. If there’s any downside I did feel the fueling was just a bit touchier than the FJ (I left it in STD mode for the ride). Not terrible, and I think it would smooth out over the first thousand miles or so.

The gearing is a bit on the high side, doing @ around 50 I realized I was still in 2nd gear, and the bike was just loafing. Since it only had a couple hundred miles on it I didn’t wind it out fully, but you don’t need to.

Didn’t have a chance to setup the suspension for each rider, but it still felt taught with a nice ride quality. There’s a small fly screen on the bike which is pretty effective on the highway. It’s not a touring bike, but is surprisingly comfortable on the highway especially with the cruise control (yay!).

All in all, a fun ride and the bike is incredible.

Highs;

• Good comfort
• Fantastic engine, if you need more power than this you should be getting paid to ride!
• Nice ride, totally adjustable suspension
• Nice options including CC

Lows;

• The passenger seat is a joke
• Didn’t like the grips, thin and rock hard, if I bought the bike I’d put on larger grips and probably heavier bar ends
• If I’m really reaching I’d say the styling, although it looks better in person, and I’m not overly wild about the colors, even though I like the gray with the yellow wheels much more than I thought I would
• From what I’ve read the bike only gets around 30mpg, can’t prove that from the ride I was on, but I will say it was the only bike that needed to be refilled before the test loop I took

Would I buy one?

Loved the test ride and the motor is incredible, but I wasn’t pulling the checkbook at the end of the ride. Really like the FJ and for the riding I do it’s probable as good if not a better choice. That being said, if Yamaha releases an FJ-10 next year, especially in better colors, it would be a great upgrade!

If passenger seat, fuel mileage and grips are what's important to you, the FZ-10 would probably not be a good choice.

My wife rides an FZ-09, so passenger seat is not a concern for me. My passenger pegs are gone, the holes are plugged and the passenger seat has a tail bag on it. It makes a really nice rest for my tail bag so high marks from me.

I've replaced the grips and they are definitely thinner than OEM.

Personally I like the styling. It's fresh.

I'm one of the few that are actually super impressed with the FZ-10's MPG. I'm currently getting 31.1 and I twist the throttle hard and very often. I always think about what kind of car I would have to drive to get 31.1 mpg and I laugh out loud. 31.1 MPG and I can out accelerate a Ferrari on this thing.

I've gushed about this bike all over so I'll spare whoever is reading this another review other than to say the FZ-10 is nothing short of amazing.

IMHO Zack Courts (Motorcyclist Magazine) sums it up best:

" ....engineering and solid execution by a company at the top of its game."

www.motorcyclistonline.com/2017-yamaha-fz-10-first-ride-review#page-8

Did you try "B" mode?

Keep in mind, the bike you rode was restricted for the US market. With a simple decat exhaust and reflash this bike is capable of producing almost 20 more HP.

Seems only natural Yamaha would create an FJ-10?

I spent most of the ride in A mode, didnt try B until the ride was almost over so I didn't really get the full effect. Way more bike than I need to keep me happy on the streets, if I want to keep my license. Totally loved the little taste of it that I got. As much as I like to drool over a Multistrada or an S1000XR, I don't think I could bring myself to spend that much on a bike. The FZ-10 is within reason for me, though.