30 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

ROAD TESTJ YAMAHA FZ6 FAZER 90%

Yamaha’s FZ6Fazer had big shoes to fill. Our first test reveals it isbetter than the old bike in every respect. The Hornet had better beware

THE problem with buildingsuch a successful bike as theYamaha Fazer 600 is that atsome point you have toreplace it and risk makingsomething that isn’t as good

as the machine it replaces.But the thousands of fans of this

practical and sporty middleweight canrest easy. After riding the all-new FZ6Fazer at its world launch in the AustrianAlps, not only has Yamaha risen to thechallenge of producing a bike as good asthe old Fazer, they’ve built a bike that isbetter in every way.

This much was evident even on therain-sodden and extremely greasymountain roads during the launch.

Yamaha’s hand was forced in June thisyear when the Fazer’s carburettedengine failed to meet tough newEuropean emission and noise regulations.So it had to be withdrawn from the firm’sline-up. It was also bumped off the top

spot in this class by the revised HondaHornet 600 in our test earlier this year.

The Fazer has been an excellent sellerfor Yamaha. Its brilliant combination ofspeed, comfort, handling, practicalityand affordable price tag meant thatsince its launch in 1998 it sold over100,000 units in Europe alone. Withsuch an impressive sales record,designing a replacement was alwaysgoing to be a tricky job.

We rode the half-faired Fazer whichwill be available in October this year. Thenaked FZ6 was on hand for photographsbut wasn’t ready for testing and it won’tbe in dealer showrooms until Februarynext year.

One of the main things that made theold Fazer so appealing was that youdidn’t have to suffer sports bikediscomfort to enjoy sports bikeperformance and handling. You couldscratch all day without the attendantaches and pains of a full-on sports bike.

But the new bike goes even further tomake sure you can enjoy your stay in thesaddle as long as you want.

Plonk your behind on the soft, dimpledseat and you immediately notice theone-piece bars are closer to you andyour feet a little lower than on theprevious machine. Moving the bars 13mmback and lowering the pegs by 13mm hascreated a more upright and comfortableriding position. Even six-foot-plus riderswill find it comfortable over longdistances. There’s still lots of room tomove around and after a solid day ofriding no one on the launch complainedof any aches or pains.

The new Fazer is still easy and practicalto live with. All the switches and buttonsare exactly where you’d expect them tobe and are simple to use. The cable-operated clutch is light and the throttleaction so easy that wrist ache shouldn’tbe a problem, even on long journeys. Acentre-stand comes as standard.

The wide-screened half-fairing with R1-style lights, does a good job of forcingthe wind over your head and shouldersat cruising speed. The lower flanks of thefairing also stop the wind blowing yourlegs apart, which can happen on somehalf-faired machines.

Sitting on the bike is one thing butriding it is what we’ve really come to thelaunch in Austria for. It was good news todiscover that the new machine is everybit as capable as the old one. But puttingto one side the bike’s sportier abilities,practicality is still high on the list ofattributes.

The relaxed upright riding position andupswept handlebars make the bike veryeasy to manoeuvre, especially throughreally tight turns. U-turns or threadingthrough gridlocked town traffic is adoddle because of the Fazer’s generoussteering lock.

But out on fast A-roads with acombination of long, sweeping corners,

BY MICHAEL NEEVES PICTURES PAUL BARSHON

Middleweightchallenge hots up

TWIN-BARRELLEDrear is a definiteimprovement

R1-STYLE lights give theFazer a purposeful look

SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS 31

BARS are set further back than the oldmodel and pegs are lower, making for a

sit-up riding position and all-day comfort Fazer offered sportsaction withoutgoing to extremesWHEN Yamaha launched its Fazer 600in the winter of 1997 the assembledjournalists were expecting areplacement for the workhorseDiversion.

But officials from the Japanese firmhad other ideas. They were keen topoint out that the Thundercat-poweredbike was more than just a new budgetcommuter. It was a 140mph sporty all-rounder for those who didn’t want theextremes of full-on sports 600s.

Yamaha reckoned it was whatthousands of people in Europe had beenwaiting for – it was also a step beyondwhat Suzuki had achieved with its nakedBandit 600. The spec was higher andthe half-fairing gave the Fazer muchmore all-round ability. And 100,000

European sales shows Yamaha got theformula right. Honda thought so too,bringing out its own naked CBR600-powered bike, the Hornet, in the Springof 1998. Within a year it had added ahalf-faired version to compete moredirectly with the Fazer.

The 94bhp engine was taken from theThundercat – Yamaha’s hottest 600 atthe time. The front brake calipers werestraight from the R1 and the chunkyswingarm’s dimensions were the sameas the old FZR1000.

The Fazer was updated in 2002,getting a host of revisions including abigger fuel tank, new seat, fairing,instruments and stainless steel exhaust.

’97 Fazer had R1 brakes and 141mph

2002 saw a new fairing, seat and tank

Even six-foot-plus riderswill find it comfortable overlong distances. The newbike is still easy andpractical to live with

‘

’CONTINUES OVER

32 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

ROAD TEST

fast straights and tight, twisty hairpins is wherethe Fazer excels. It felt composed andcompetent at all times. Straight-line stability isexcellent and because the chassis providesloads of confidence, it will also calm less-experienced riders’ nerves.

But then, just an hour into our test and aswe were starting to enjoy ourselves, theheavens opened.

There was standing water everywhere. Justdabbing the road with the soles of my bootwhen riding along told me the surface had allthe abrasive qualities of Teflon. But even inthese hazardous conditions the excellentchassis lets you know what is going onbeneath you. It gives you huge amounts offeedback and plenty of warning if things arestarting to get out of shape.

The Fazer’s front forks are conventional43mm items. They’re taken from the Fazer1000 and like its forks, they aren’t adjustable.The single rear shock is adjustable for springpre-load only. At least you can tweak it tocope with heavy loads like a pillion or luggage.This very limited range of adjustment isn’t aproblem because Yamaha has used goodquality internals. The suspension seems verywell damped – neither too soft or hard.

The new Fazer does away with the R1–stylefour-piston brakes of the old model. Although

THE Austrian Alpsprovided a scenictesting ground for theall-new Fazer FZ6

Continues page 34

‘Yamaha has risen to the challenge ofproducing a bike that is as good as the old

Fazer and built one that is better in every way’

TWIN-POT calipers seem like a step backwards but did a good enough job in the rain

From previous page

R6 motor is detuned for more midrange and makes 98bhp

Stripping downCHASSISTHE new FZ6 Fazer’sframe is made using thesame technology as firstseen on the 2003 R6,which uses large castpieces in the frame,subframe and swingarm.

The FZ6’s frame iscreated by injectingmolten alloy into mouldsin a vacuum. Temperaturein the mould is carefullycontrolled as it cools,resulting in fewerimperfections thanconventional castingmethods. This allows lessmetal to be used for agiven strength – theframe is 4kg lighter thanthe old Fazer 600’s.

But rather than being aone-piece unit, the frameis made up of left andright-hand side sectionswhich are bolted together,making the frame cheaperto build than a welded one.

The two sections arejoined at the headstock bysix tamper-proof boltsand a cross memberunder the swingarm pivot.Additional strengtheningis by way of the engine’sfive mounting pointsaround the frame.

By using the compact R6engine (see right), theswingarm pivot point can

COMING SOON IN MCN

îNEW BLADEîALL-NEWR1îGSX-R600îMV AGUSTA 1000îR1200GSîV-TEC BLACKBIRDîFOGGY FP1AS MANUFACTURERSROLL OUT ALL THE....

NEWMETALFOR 2004KEEP UP WITH IT ALLIN MCN EVERY WEEK

THEY’RECOMINGFIRST OFFICIAL PICSFULL SPECSFIRST ROAD TESTS

SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS 33

FUEL injection helps to clean up the emissions TWIN 298mm discs and two-pot calipers up front NEW compact dash tells you everything at a glance UNDERSEAT exhausts feature a catalytic convertor

new Fazer reveals its links with the R6be moved much closer tothe front sprocket. Thismeans a longer swingarm(70mm longer than the oldFazer’s) is used. As a resultthe revised suspension getsan easier time, with theincreased linear movementof the arm.

The final change to thechassis is a revision of thebike’s steering geometry.Despite getting a 23mmlonger wheelbase(1440mm) to booststraightline stability at highspeed, and increasing therake by 1° (it’s now 25°) andtrail by 9mm to 97.5mm,the FZ6 retains the oldFazer’s flickability – thanksto less weight and better

weight distribution.New five-spoke wheels

wear superbike-sized tyresof 120/70 x 17 up front and180/55 x 17 at the rear. Soowners will have a widerange of makes andcompounds of tyre tochoose from – from longlasting touring tyres to racecompound track tyres.

The standard DunlopD252 tyres were designedspecifically for the FZ6.Project leader Yukata Kubo(see page 35) wanted all-new tyres on Yamaha’s newbudget middleweight. Heclaims they give the rightbalance of grip combinedwith longevity. We’ll giveyou our verdict once we’ve

tested them in allconditions.

Although non-adjustable,the 43mm forks have aquality action. Only hardbraking – from the twin-pot calipers that replacethe old R1 items – makesthem feel on the soft side.But even on rough surfacesat speed the bike is calmand composed.

The rear end does awaywith the rising rate linkageseen on the previous model(and almost every othermodern bike) for a simplerdirect connection betweenshock and swingarm. It haspre-load adjustment onlybut gives the same comfortand stability as the forks.

ENGINETHE FZ6 is powered by adetuned version of the2003 R6 engine. The onlyinternal changes are tothe camshafts and valvesprings. The camshaftsare reshaped to workwith the old Fazer valves,which have longer

duration but less lift thanthe old Thundercat motor.

Combine this withrevised ignition timing andthe addition of fuelinjection and the FZ6makes a claimed threehorsepower (98bhp)more than the old Fazer’sclaimed 95bhp (which

MCN has measured at80.8bhp at the rearwheel). Even though theFZ6’s output is improvedit is still way down on theR6 donor engine’sclaimed power of 117bhp.It’s a shame, but you can’thave midrange tractabilitywithout sacrificingsomething – top-endpunch in this case.

Emissions regulationskilled off the old butpopular Fazer 600 –hence the introduction offuel injection and revised 32-bit ignition mappingfor precise fuelling on theFZ6. A catalytic converterwedged inside the verticalpipe of the new underseat

exhaust filters outharmful hydrocarbons,carbon monoxide andother nasties that lurk inexhaust gases.

The FZ6’s injectionsystem is made up of twopairs of 36mm throttlebodies to replace the oldFazer’s carbs. Each bodyhas two-directional spraynozzles for efficientatomisation of the petrol.The injector bank is of thespace-savingdowndraught-type (whichis more upright comparedto the R6’s) and connectsto a six-litre airbox –which makes the R6 mill avery tight fit in the FZ6’schassis.

WELDLESS frame is a radicaldevelopment and looks

stunning, but the box-sectionswingarm looks dated

they look similar, the twin 298mm frontdiscs are now bitten by twin-pot floatingNissin calipers. This may seem like a stepbackwards from the old superbike-stylecalipers but they offer good, predictablestopping power. You aren’t going to test thebrakes to their limit in the rain, but I knew Icould always rely on them.

Practicality and comfort aren’t the onlyaspects Yamaha have addressed. This bikehas always been about having fun as well.It’s powered by a slightly reworked versionof the brilliant 2003 R6 motor. The guts ofthe engine are almost identical to thesupersport machine but its cylinder headhas the softer-tuned camshafts from theold Fazer. This moves some of the R6’sscreaming top-end power down into themid range, where it’s more useful for townwork and everyday riding.

It’s still obvious that it’s an R6 motor,though. It feels silky smooth through the revrange from tickover all the way to the14,000rpm redline. There is enough powerlow down the rev range if you want to belazy with your gearshifts, especially aroundtown, but don’t expect an instant surge ofacceleration when you crack the throttleopen at low revs.

If you want to get a real move on, theFazer’s engine knows only one way ofdelivering its power – you need to rev thepants off it. Real surges of acceleration onlystart at around 10,000rpm. From there theengine note hardens into a deep growl asthe larger capacity airbox takes a deepbreath, the note from the twin underseatexhausts hardens and LCD blocks on therev-counter build up pretty sharpish to14,000rpm. At that point it’s time to hookanother gear and repeat as necessary.Once you’ve got a taste for the revs andspeed the Fazer has on tap it’s hard not to

34 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

ROAD TEST‘To get a real moveon, you need to rev

the motor hard’

SUSPENSION only has rear pre-loadadjustment but the plush ride suggeststhe internals are good quality

From page 32

SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS 35

keep revisiting this naughty zone.The Fazer doesn’t feel as quick as the R6,

but then you wouldn’t expect an enginethat’s been tuned for low-down and mid-range grunt to make as much outrightpower as the full-on sports bike. Yamahaonly claims a crankshaft figure of 98bhp at12,000rpm for the Fazer – compared tothe R6’s 117bhp at 13,000rpm – translatingto around 90bhp at the rear wheel for thenew bike.

The engine had to be far cleaner than theold model and it now more than satisfiesthe latest emissions regulations. The bikehas a new fuel injection system (see page33) as well as having a catalytic convertersqueezed inside the four-into-two-into-oneunderseat exhaust. Although it looks likethere are twin cans at the back the pipesfeed into a single collector box, much likethat on the Ducati 999.

The response from the new fuel injectionsystem is smooth from part throttleopenings. However, from a closed throttle,just like you would use when in heavy towntraffic, the response from the throttle wasslightly jerky and irritating. The gearbox wasalso clunky at low revs, especially thechange from first to second. However, thisdisappeared at speed on the open road andeach cog swap was smooth and easy.

The setting of the test, at a mile or soabove sea-level in the Austrian Alps,highlighted some flaws with the engine. Itjust felt a little breathless at times. Rollingthe throttle on from 40mph in top gear, thebike accelerated briskly then seemed to get‘stuck’. Only after getting past 8-9,000rpmdoes the Fazer start to get going again.

However, the reduction in oxygen levels atthis height was obvious when just puttingwaterproofs on required more effort thanusual. Yamaha technicians said very highaltitudes can sap around 15 to 20 per centof engine power. To find out how the newbike really performs, we’ll be testing theFazer soon in the UK against its closestrivals: The Honda Hornet 600, TriumphSpeed Four and Suzuki SV650.

Yamaha’s FZ6 Fazer has got the engine,handling, practicality and comfort to eclipsethe old model. And the new bike should beas successful in the sales charts as the oldone. The only question now is whether it’sgood enough to knock the Honda Hornetoff the top.

THE three colour options for the FZ6 Fazer are blue, silver and grey/blue. For unfaired FZ6 colours, see right

THE Fazeroffers around90bhp at the

back wheel

OVERALL LENGTH: 2095mm

WHEELBASE: 1440mm

RAKE: 25°

HEI

GH

T: 1

215

mm

WID

TH: 7

50

mm

FUEL: 19 litres

SPECIFICATION:Engine: Liquid-cooled, 599cc (65.5 x44.5mm) 16v dohc four-stroke in-linefour. Fuel injection. Six gearsChassis: Cast aluminium twin beamFront suspension: 43mm forks, not adjustableRear suspension: Single shock,adjustable for pre-load.Tyres: Front 120/70 x 17, rear 180/55 x 17Brakes: 2 x 298mm front discs with two-piston calipers, 245mm rear discwith two-piston caliper

PROS l Comfortable riding position l Smooth R6-derived engine l Good build quality l Well equipped as standard

CONS l Fuel injection snatchy at quick throttle openings l Gearbox clunky at low revs l Still needs more midrange torque 90%

YAMAHA FZ6FAZER£5350 otr (est)Available: October 2003Colours: Silver, grey/blue and blueInsurance group: 12 (of 17) Info: Yamaha UK: 01932-358000

TRAIL: 97.5mm

WEIGHT: 187kg (411lb) Naked version coming soon

Five minutes with FZ6project leader Yukata Kubo

YUKATA KUBO is the project leaderfor the FZ6 Fazer. The youthful 44-year-old was responsible forproducing the updated 2002 Fazer aswell as leading the team of engineersthat designed the Fazer 1000. Wecaught up with him at the Austrianlaunch to find out a bit more aboutYamaha’s new model…

MCN: How long have the new FZ6Fazer and FZ6 been in the making?KUBO: Well, the FZ6 Fazer is acompletely new bike. And to get it readyfor launch we have been working on thisproject for nearly three years.

MCN: The old Fazer 600 was a hugesuccess for Yamaha – selling100,000 in six years. Howimportant is the new bike?KUBO: The FZ6 Fazer is very important,especially in Europe where 20 per cent ofall bikes sold are 600cc. Of this, 20 percent are sporty 600s like the Fazer. Theyare very popular so we are hoping thisbike does as well as the old one.

MCN: Why did you choose to use theengine from the supersports R6 topower the FZ6 Fazer?KUBO: We wanted the new bike todeliver very good performance but at thesame time to be very smooth. But wealso wanted to make the bike exciting toride, so the revvy nature of the R6powerplant was the natural choice.

MCN: How much of the R6 enginedoes the FZ6 Fazer actually use?KUBO: The engine is almost identical tothe R6. The only significant differences arenewly-designed cast camshafts, whichuse the same profile as the old Fazer,different intake valve springs and reshapedintake ducts. We’ve done this to give theengine more midrange power and make itmore useable in everyday conditions.

MCN: The old Fazer no longer mettough European emissions laws.Your thoughts on these regulations?KUBO: (Laughs) That’s a very goodquestion! We understand that theseregulations are in place for a reason. Andsince we want to continue making newand exciting motorcycles we need tomake sure that we abide by the rules.We’ve spent a long time making surethat the FZ6 Fazer beats the emissionlaws by a large margin. The new bike isvery ‘clean’ in this respect thanks to thenew fuel injection, engine managementsystem and catalytic converter.

MCN: The frame technology on theFZ6 Fazer is very new. What are theadvantages of die-castmanufacture?KUBO: We were able to make the framefor this bike lighter and stronger usingdie-cast manufacture compared to moreconventional methods. It also meansthat there are no visible welds on theframe, which we think looks better. Die-casting also allows our designers to havethe freedom of making more complexframe shapes.

MCN: What’s next for you? Are youworking on any new projects at themoment?KUBO: My role at Yamaha is about tochange. I’m about to join Yamaha Brazilto help with their operations. That meansI’ll be involved more in the sales andmarketing than design. I’m very proud ofwhat I have done with the FZ6 Fazer,though.

INTERVIEW

YAMAHA has released two distinctmodels to replace the old Fazer: Thehalf-faired FZ6 Fazer, as featured inour main test, and a stripped downnaked version simply called the FZ6.

The FZ6 engine and chassis areidentical to the FZ6 Fazer but it has afar more aggressive appearance. Theteardrop headlight – reminiscent ofthe MV Agusta Brutale – replaces theFazer’s wind-cheating half fairing. The

FZ6 is geared more towards townriding than long distance hauls.Performance will be on par with theFazer, but top speed will be slightlydown due to the lack of fairing.

The FZ6 Fazer will be in dealersnext month, but we won’t see thenaked FZ6 until February of nextyear. Prices are yet to be released,but it will be slightly cheaper thanthe faired version.

NAKED FZ6s come in silver or red