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Possibly trading my FZ8 for FZ07?


travisty

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Call me crazy if you want, but I currently drive a 2013 FZ8 (that I've had for 2 years) and am considering trading for the 2016 FZ07. I'm test driving the FZ07 tomorrow morning. There are a few reasons behind this. I do like my FZ8 (the aggressive looks, the quick acceleration at higher rpms, it's a fairly comfortable size for me being 6'2" and 185lbs), but the FZ07 is around 70lbs lighter than my FZ8 and also has it's torque in the low/mid range which is kinda what I'd prefer right now. I currently have hardly any torque with the inline four until about 6k rpms (then it feels like a turbo kicking in) and even in 1st gear that not until about 40mph. Living in more city areas, I feel the FZ07 would be a more fun and usable bike for me and would fit my riding environment and style a little more, especially since I don't go to the track. I'd like to have something that's more fun to drive around town living in the Madison Wisconsin area, rather than having something that doesn't give me a ton of thrills anymore until I'm well over the speed limit. 
 
Every time I try looking something up about this, I notice everyone suggests the FZ09. I've done research on both. I'd like the 09 (I think, haven't driven that either), but it's a little out of my budget at the moment and don't need that much power right now. If I get the 07 it would be my third bike. I started 5 years ago on a 2005 YZF600R, then went to the FZ8, but want something with a little more fun factor around town.
 
I know I can't determine anything until I get a feel for the bike during the test ride, but has anyone else been in a similar situation? I've read about people having many years of experience going with the 07, and even preferring it to supersports or bigger bikes saying it's power is more usable. Any thoughts or input is greatly appreciated! 

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I've been through a bunch of bikes and consider the FZ-07 one of my favorites because of its light weight and usable power. It's just a great all around fun bike.

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Guest ChicagoAJ

You're pretty much on middle ground right now. Both the 07 and 09 have torque pretty much everywhere but don't have a huge top end in terms of top speed. I'm sure your FZ8 is faster than both in that department. Looking at 1/4 mile times the 07 is around a 12.1, your bike is around 11.3, and the 09 is high 10s.
 
But the 07 in the city is awesome. Power everywhere until about 80-90mph - then it starts to lose steam, but it will beat just about any car on the road to 60 without breaking a sweat. It'll pull up the front wheel in 1st and 2nd pretty easily at any rpm - the 09 will do the same but in 3rd gear as well.
 
If you want a lot of torque and don't care about top speed - get the 07. It'll be cheaper to maintain than your FZ8 and probably get better gas mileage as well. The choice in the end is yours, though. You'll get mostly people saying to get the 07 here at the 07 forums. Probably get most people on the 09 forums telling you to get that, and if there's an FZ8 forum - they'd likely mostly tell you to keep your current bike.

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AlbatrossCafe

You can't go wrong with the FZ-07. I started on a CBR 600 and like many others who made a similar switch was worried that the 07 would be too slow and that I should just shell out for the 09.
 
I was completely wrong. The FZ-07 is everything you need and nothing that you don't. It is as fast as you really "need" from about 0-75mph which makes it perfect for commuting and short jaunts. Even compared to my CBR, it didn't feel like I was on a slow bike at all. It is much more fun to hammer through the gears on this bike than it is to accelerate 0-62mph in 1st on my CBR and then realize I'm already 20mph over the speed limit. If you find yourself out on empty roads a lot where you are fairly consistently at 85mph+ you will realize it runs out of breath at those speeds. But for someone like me who uses it 95% of the time for commuting it's a non-issue. And TBH that fact has probably saved me from doing another stint in jail for excessive speed lol ;) . I also  love the fact that I can accelerate hard consistently with no thought of MPG in my mind and still end up getting around 46-50mpg (I'm 230lbs as well).
Plus if you already do or want to learn to work on your own bike, the FZ is probably one of the cheapest & easiest things to learn on.
 
Get the FZ-07. You won't regret it.

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Thanks for the input! That's kind of why I'm leaning towards it, everyone who has driven them seems to love them. The gas mileage is also a plus, 58mpg compared to 39mpg on the FZ8.

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Guest ChicagoAJ
Thanks for the input! That's kind of why I'm leaning towards it, everyone who has driven them seems to love them. The gas mileage is also a plus, 58mpg compared to 39mpg on the FZ8.
All depends on how you ride. If you mostly do city - you'll likely get high 40's. I rarely do any highway riding and my average in the suburbs is always around 46-53mpg depending on how much I wring its neck. 
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AlbatrossCafe
Thanks for the input! That's kind of why I'm leaning towards it, everyone who has driven them seems to love them. The gas mileage is also a plus, 58mpg compared to 39mpg on the FZ8.
I don't know how big you are, but 58mpg is if you have godlike control of the throttle and your urges. More realistically it will be around 48-55. Pretty terrible, right?
 
One of the things that turned me off to the FZ-09 was the small tank (same size as the 07's) combined with its ~42mpg. Your range is pretty limited.
 
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AlbatrossCafe
Thanks for the input! That's kind of why I'm leaning towards it, everyone who has driven them seems to love them. The gas mileage is also a plus, 58mpg compared to 39mpg on the FZ8.
All depends on how you ride. If you mostly do city - you'll likely get high 40's. I rarely do any highway riding and my average in the suburbs is always around 46-53mpg depending on how much I wring its neck. 
We need to just blend our comments into one. That's twice now that we have essentially said the same thing back to back lol 
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Guest ChicagoAJ
Thanks for the input! That's kind of why I'm leaning towards it, everyone who has driven them seems to love them. The gas mileage is also a plus, 58mpg compared to 39mpg on the FZ8.
I don't know how big you are, but 58mpg is if you have godlike control of the throttle and your urges. More realistically it will be around 48-55. Pretty terrible, right? 
One of the things that turned me off to the FZ-09 was the small tank (same size as the 07's) combined with its ~42mpg. Your range is pretty limited.

+1 - forgot to even consider that. I get about 160-190 miles per tank on the 07. You'd be lucky to get 120 on the 09. 
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I'm 6'2" and about 185ish pounds. So far the 07 seems much more like my kind of riding style. I don't go insane speeds too often and I've never felt the urge to top my FZ8 out, just every once in a while to get the enjoyment of the inline four at it's peak. Not that I'm too worried about it, but is the power drop off on the 07 pretty substantial after 85mph? Substantial as in disappointing at all? Again, not my biggest concern.
 
Also I'm fairly comfortable working on my own bike. I did a ton of work to my first bike, YZF600r. I rebuilt the carbs, had to put mirrors and blinkers on, a whole new fairing kit, chain, rear tire, oil changes... That bike was a piece of work when I bought it, but I learned a hell of a lot about motorcycle mechanics from buying it though!

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I call the fz-07 a full blown road legal 450f dirt bike that has a motor from the JGR Yamaha motocross team... so if your used to riding full sized dirt bike you will feel right at home...
 
The power drops off around 105mph...you can get to 100mph  in just over 1/3 mile if you get into it, easily crack 85mph in a 1/4mile at top of 5th gear...after that it's slow to gain speed..that's why i say it's a dirt bike...if you want faster top speed go get a crotch rocket...

2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition...2015 fj-09- 120whp- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich Race Kit- tuned by 2WDW
 

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Guest ChicagoAJ
I'm 6'2" and about 185ish pounds. So far the 07 seems much more like my kind of riding style. I don't go insane speeds too often and I've never felt the urge to top my FZ8 out, just every once in a while to get the enjoyment of the inline four at it's peak. Not that I'm too worried about it, but is the power drop off on the 07 pretty substantial after 85mph? Substantial as in disappointing at all? Again, not my biggest concern.  
Also I'm fairly comfortable working on my own bike. I did a ton of work to my first bike, YZF600r. I rebuilt the carbs, had to put mirrors and blinkers on, a whole new fairing kit, chain, rear tire, oil changes... That bike was a piece of work when I bought it, but I learned a hell of a lot about motorcycle mechanics from buying it though!
That's already more work than you'll probably ever do on an 07 even if you replaced just about everything on it, lol. As far as the power drop off after 85mph - if you're looking to put some lengths between you and something merging on the highway at the same speed it'll do ok. But at 85mph you'll be disappointed most likely after coming from something with the power there. It'll do 120 or so stock, but after 95 it takes a whilllleeeeeee to get up there when comparing how quick it initially got to 85.  
Best way I can describe it is: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd feel awesome. 4th feels like 5th, 5th feels like 6th, and 6th feels like an over drive. 
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AlbatrossCafe

Yeah I'd say it slows down around 85mph, but isn't too substantial till just over 100. However, it's not disappointing unless you are trying to run from police or race other inline-4 supersports. I barely spend time in the top end on this bike anyway. I like the grunt it has at lower RPMs so this is never an issue for me.

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Well...I'd like to let you all know that I pulled the trigger on the 2016 FZ07 today!! I got the all black, drove it home from the dealer already. That bike is a blast! I don't think I'll miss the high end power of the FZ8 too much, and I like the sound of the twin compared to the inline four, and especially will with a new exhaust soon. It feels so much lighter! Plus I have a gear indicator now! As I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty excited!
 
Thanks again for all the input yesterday! Lookin forward to being a part of this forum now!

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AlbatrossCafe
Well...I'd like to let you all know that I pulled the trigger on the 2016 FZ07 today!! I got the all black, drove it home from the dealer already. That bike is a blast! I don't think I'll miss the high end power of the FZ8 too much, and I like the sound of the twin compared to the inline four, and especially will with a new exhaust soon. It feels so much lighter! Plus I have a gear indicator now! As I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty excited!  
Thanks again for all the input yesterday! Lookin forward to being a part of this forum now!
Told ya you'd love it. The sound is great and definitely new after coming from an line 4 and I love how you can throw it around with ease. Make sure to post pics! 
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