2004 Yamaha FZ 6

I had stopped riding for about 20 years when I decided to get back in it. I wasn't sure what kind of riding I wanted to do, so I looked for something of an all-rounder and settled on the FZ6.

I undersestimated how much fun this bike would be. It has a very comfortable slightly forward-leaning ... seating position. The bike is quick and has a great mid to high powerband. The short wheel base makes it extremely flickable in the corners.

I've put in several 500+ mile days on this bike and been mostly comfortable. I will say that the stock seat gives a little butt burn at that mileage, but taking breaks every hour or so minimizes the effect. There is also a bit of a buzz in the seat and handlebars between 5-5.5k rpm. Get right at 50 mpg on the highway, 45 around town.

I've got over 24,000 mile on mine and I've never had anything close to a mechanical problem. I did mod my headlights so that both are on at all times, and this does reek havoc on the strator, seriously draining the battery if stuck in traffic below 3000 rpm for any extended amount of time.

I've done some 2 up riding on it, but I would recommend something else if you're serious about that kind of touring.

fz6 this bike realy has it all.

comfort/speed /brakes/looks/realiable.

I had an almost 20 years long break in driving motorcycles.

In 2003 I got back to my hobby, you can also call it midlife crisis.

Fazer FZ 600S was replaced in 2004 with brand new fuel injected FZ6S Fazer 2004 model.

Driveability/road stability is much better than predecessor, ... especially while cornering.

Brakes seems to be kind of downgrade-previous model used YZF R6 set, but working ok so far despite of less appealing appearance.

Engine is really smooth but much more sporty/peaky in performance than the old carburated model, you have to rev really high to get the kick out of it.

Well, it is 600cc anyway, but be carefull above 7000rpms all the way up to 13000.

For me there is only one serious downside - instrument cluster, Speedo is OK, but rev counter is a real disaster, almost invisible.

Relaibility was almost ok, except for this summer - I had to replace crankshaft position sensor.

Yamaha recalled some of bikes 04-05, ( but not for mine) to replace CPS under warranty.

The bike is really good for city traffic or short trips

First - 600 cc bikes rule - you can open them up on the streets and still be (almost) legal plus get the full thrill of the RPM windout and the acceleration. That being said, I have removed the windshield, added some custom paint, and down geared the bike by 16%. Results - one great looking bike ... from any angle which finds the right rpm/gear balance at most curves one encounters along the coast of San Francisco. Four years later this bike is still taken as cutting edge design.