It has been just a few days since I got my new Fz16 (Flaming Orange) !!! I’ll start of with the things which really got my attention when I saw the bike.
The looks are one of the best that I have ever seen in any of the bikes on our Indian roads (in 150cc segment). It really looks masculine, bajaj should stop using the caption "Definitely Male" for their pulsar ad’s. People in Yamaha have re-defined that statement.
The tubeless, radial rear tyre is a great comfort and the sound that the fresh rubber makes is a pleasure to listen, especially when you sprint at a descent speed. It does give a lot of grip and you dont feel like slowing it down even on turns, its amazing !!!
The seating position and the handbar reach is good. The immediate question that we get is, how easy is it to control and maneuver in city traffic. Its good and feels easy on the drive. It certainly has a greater stability and the weight of the bike is equally distributed.
The mono suspension does give a smooth drive even if you hit pot holes which are more common in indian roads.
The pickup and acceleration is good especially between 0-60 kmph. I have to take it for a long drive to see how it performs above the 80’s / 90’s.
The headlight and the naked look that yamaha had introduced in this is really good and the head lamp is quite clear and powerful.
Some people said the length of the gear shift knob is not enough, but I did not feel any problem with that. It is probably just enough !!!
The digital LCD console is not the best, and looks puny when compared to the massive look of the entire bike. The odometer and tripmeter fonts could have been a little bigger !!!
Yamaha had clearly mentioned that the engine is air-cooled and this can really be felt when you go through heavy city traffic (Bumper-Bumper). The engine does heat up quite significantly as the air flow from the front will be very less. But once you start moving at a descent speed you dont feel the heat. It is this factor that had made the engineers to shift the front number place on top of the headlight so that the engine can get maximum air flow while on the move. So do not put the number plate below the head light. The head light can also be switched on before even you start the engine which is quite helpful at times.
The horn is childish for such a massive road runner, it does sound like a SCOOTY PEP. Quite a shame, but yamaha has a reason for this as well. The horn shares the battery with the electric starter which is the only way to start your bike (I mean no Kicker), so they have tried to minimize the battery usage for the horn. So far there is no problem with the electric start and you have got a additional provision to facilitate an easy start on a cold engine (similar to a choke).
The color options are very good, I had a little hesitation to go for the Flaming Orange but it does look good (not all that bad). Lave Red and Midnight Black are really Stunning.
It is a sure eye-catcher and YOU along with the BIKE will really feel like a Lord of the Street !!!