-skip to the end if you wont want my bs story.
1 year back I was much of a car guy and very much involved in car matters. Infact I was scared to ride a motorcycle in the city road due to the irregular traffic which can knock me down for no reason. I had my uncles splendor and I dont remember exceeding 50kmph in it( I used to cruise at 140kmph in my car). But then I happened to see this bike on road and I admit the reason I liked it the most was the rear tyre width and I was like’woah I want this’. Convinced my parents the need for a bike for a guy of my age(21) and got it without any test riding:D, so dumb eh?
I was actually afraid to ride the bike out of the showroom, I was thinking, this bike is 2 times fatter than splendor can a skinny guy like me handle the weight? but the thought was soon erased from my brain when I sat in the bike, it actually feels lighter than the splendor when I tilt it=). My home was 6 kms from showroom and I started off praying to all gods to prevent crazy rickshaws from hitting me from behind. But after 1km of riding I was praying’please dont put any dogs or pedestrians on my way’ coz I was riding at speeds over 80kmph for the first time in my life and it went till 100, all these on a bike that just have 3kms on its odo:D(i didnt receive the manual yet, so wasnt aware of running in), anyways I didnt feel like goin home, so just took a 40 km ride on the highway as I was addicted to the FZ! Thats how easy it is to ride an FZ.
It took to around 200 kms of city riding to know the real potential of this bike. The difference betwee r15 and fz(sports and street bike) is if you can pass a C corner at high speeds in r15, you can do an Z in fz at high speeds, thats how good it handles in city. The wide handle bars and the low center of mass is what gives you the leverage(thats the right term). I never used my bike for errands as I have the car for that, I used the bike only for my own joy of riding during sundays or free time and does some’ghostrider’ style riding(ofc not to show off, but hat pleases my inner self a lot:D) Thats what I use the bike for. So it only has 4500 kms on odo after 1 year:D.
Review
Top notch handling when compared to other bikes in the segment, Engine never gives up, Excellent brakes, Easy to ride even for a beginner, Trouble free running, Suspension that works hard to keep you soft, High leverage in city traffic, Low weight and not that bad fuel efficiency. Talking about fuel efficiency 40kmpl on city for moderate riding and upto 48 kmpl on highway. When I rips(which I always do, 7k rpm) its goes down around 27kmpl. The speedo looks toy like, but who cares its all modern and digital. I would definitely buy another fz16 if this one got stolen. Coz I definitely have an edge over others when im on an fz. I only wished it has more power which the frame deserved, yes! it can easily handle 20 bhp with the same frame.
Here are few things I need to mention, the bad things that happened to me.
The bike was super silent when new and started making more noise as it got older -every engine does.
Gear shift was hard when I bought it, but became silky smooth now -gearbox needs break-in?
Handle grip is slippery when wet, so changed it.
The engine kill switch was kinda loose now, it even went off when I was riding -some a**hole played with the kill switch while I parked it 3 months ago and it broke, anyways it wasnt a top quality switch.
Front tyre started losing air recently, mud got on the sidewalls so had to clean it for 50rs -tubeless tyres really needs maintanence
Because its a yamaha I always wants to and does ride at 7k rpms -i shouldve bought a bajaj?:P
Bottom line: I was a beginner when I bought this bike, else I would’ve definitely bought an R15. Since ive used an fz16 and got addicted to it I will keep one forever even if I get an r6 coz only it can show you how it feels to be the’Lord of the Streets’.
Review based on heavy and random traffic roads of india.