The Yamaha FZ Series set a new benchmark for biking when it was launched in 2008. The styling and power figures where class leading for a 150cc motorcycle at that time. Since then, Yamaha have only been making subtle changes to the bike. As time passed on, its rivals slowly began to close the gap. Finally, Yamaha have come with an improved version of the FZ.
When I came to know that the Yamaha FZ-S FI was being launched I was very happy. The FZ was the bike I had wanted to buy but avoided due to mileage concerns. I was expecting Yamaha to add fuel injection to the bike without altering the looks of the bike. I was disappointed when they displayed the new FI version at the auto expo since the short, stubby exhaust was replaced with a more conservative design and the rear tyre hugger was a real eyesore. Bike enthusiasts were met with further disappointment when Yamaha released performance figures and we found out that the new engine had only 13Bhp and engine size had been decreased from 153cc to 149cc in a bid to increase mileage.
LOOKS
It isn’t all doom and gloom since there is a lot of stuff that Yamaha has improved. The split seats are a welcome addition along with the clear LCD display and the the fact that the overall dimensions and styling of the bike has remained the same more or less.I absolutely love the digital graphics.The split grab rails look sporty. The turn indicators have been replaced with clear lens type. The front headlight assembly has been redesigned but in my opinion the older one looked much better. The new design looks too small and sleek compared to the rest of the bike. The bulky, macho look of the old FZ has been lost to some extent due to this redesign.The tail lamp section IMHO is the best looking bit on the bike. It gets an aluminium bracket which holds the small mudguard and number plate.Sadly, LED tail lamps are missing. Like I mentioned before, the rear tyre hugger is an eye sore on the Yamaha FZ-S FI. It lasts the entire section of the rear tyre above the swing arm. While it would be a godsend in the rains, it completely spoils the rear end looks and hides the chunky, wide rear tyre of the FZ which is one of its main talking points.It is held on by a couple of bolts and you can easily remove them. The alloy wheels also come with multi coloured rim-tape which to me, looks a bit childish.Overall, the bike has been toned down to look sharp and lean.
DISPLAY & SWITCHGEAR
The old, tacky looking instrument cluster that had the rpm numbers and other bits printed on it is gone and has been replaced by a full LCD display like the ones found on the trigger and the gixxer. The features of the display are exactly the same as that of the old one except a new Green light for Eco mode on the right. This light is a bit confusing at times since you could easily mistake it for the neutral light. Apart from this, the console has the neutral light on the left with turn indicator on each side and a check engine light. There is only a single trip meter and shockingly no clock yet which is a shame considering the price of the bike. Switches are the same as the old FZ and have excellent finish and quality.
SEATING & HANDLING
The sporty riding position is great because of the sporty nature of the FZ. The new split seats are well cushioned and extremely comfortable. The pillion seat on the old FZ was very slightly cushioned and small and were painful to sit on long journeys.The tank and footpeg position allows quite a lot of room for movement and the seating position for the rider is sporty yet comfortable. The handling is as excellent as before and I feel it has improved slightly owing to reduced weight and dimensions.The bike weighs 3kgs less and length is shorter by 8.5cm.The wheelbase has been reduced by half a cm and height is down by 6cm.The rear tyre size remains the same but instead of the previous Revz-Z model, it is Revz-Y now. The tyre profile at the rear is now more rounded towards the edges which makes the steering even more responsive and sharper.I felt the tyres offered excellent grip on tarmac but were a bit slippery when the road surface had even a slight covering of sand. Should be careful in the curves since sand has a habit of accumulating in tight turns, especially during the rainy season.Try and stick towards the center of the road whenever possible.
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE
Yamaha has designed an all new engine for the V2. All the internal parts have been lightened. The new engine is smaller by 4cc and torque has been reduced by 1Nm.Power is also reduced by almost 1BHp and is at 13BHp now, which is even lower than my decade old unicorn. Fret not as you don’t feel any of this when your ride the FZ thanks to its Fuel injection system. In fact, according to tests conducted by respected motoring magazines, the acceleration and top speed of the new Fz is slightly better.Top speed has increased from 107kmph to 112kmph.The 0-60 times have come down from 5.6 to 5.1 seconds.The engine is vibe free thanks to the closed loop Fuel injection and power delivery is smooth and crisp unlike a carbureted engine.The vibrations start to pick up once you reach around 75kmph.The bike reaches 85kmph easily but begins to struggle a bit after that. Since Closed-loop fuel-injection has been used, the fuel injectors have to be cleaned after every 6-7k kms. No idea how much that is going to cost, but I am guessing its going to be a bit on the higher side since they will have to remove the side panels, disconnect the fuel pump and pressure regulator, and then remove the injectors to clean them.Coming to mileage, it has improved massively. While the old FZ returned anywhere from 30 to 38kmpl, the FI version is giving an average of 46kmpl in the city after the first service. Hopefully it will increase after the bike is properly run in. Till now the bike has clocked only around 1300kms. When we took it for a 260km round trip to Nilambur, we got an average of almost 48kmpl. keep in mind there were two of us and a lot of occasions where we were overtaking trucks and buses going up inclines.
Kudos to Yamaha for sorting out most of the kinks in the older version of the FZ.The fuel-injection solves the major problem of the bike.Even so there are a few things I feel Yamaha could have done better. The lack of a rear disc brake on a bike costing almost 90K OTR is criminal.The absence of LED tail lights and lack of a clock and second trip meter which could have been easily programmed onto the chip is surprising.These are small niggles but may have a considerable impact considering the fact that the suzuki Gixxer offers everything the fz offers and a bit more for Rs5000 less. If you can live with the fact that the gixxer has no FI, even though it still has decent mileage of around 45kmpl, it sounds and looks like the better overall package. Cheers