Yamaha Fazer FZ8 motorcycle test

Menus

• Ho-mo-gene! (finally)
• The bull by the horns
• In the saddle
• Contact
• In the city
• On the highway
• Departmental
• On track
• Braking
• Comfort and duo
• Convenient
• Consumption
• Conclusion

Ho-mo-gene! (finally)

Poor Yamaha FZ-8. When it arrived on the market in 2010, the new mid-size roadster from the tuning forks firm had all the assets (at least on paper) to dethrone the Kawasaki Z 750, bestseller of its kind: a big four-cylinder well torquey and originally developed to develop 106 hp, a cycle part borrowed from the FZ-1, itself directly derived from the old R1, all wrapped in a dress also largely inspired by the big villainous roadster. But two years later, the results are mixed. Admittedly, the sales scores are decent but the Z 750 has remained firmly anchored at the top of the sales in its category and the Suzuki GSR 750 even nabbed third place on the podium last year ….

However, the FZ-8 was not a bad machine, but it suffered from a few shortcomings in the face of particularly sharp competition. These include a hideous exhaust silencer with a finish unworthy of the rest of the machine, a shy ground clearance in bends and a look certainly rewarding because inspired by the “big” FZ-1 but often considered a little too wise facing the competition (the lines date from 2006). Above all, a homogeneity at half mast coupled with a sporting potential seriously hampered by the fault of poorly tuned suspensions and above all devoid of adjustments. In the context of a classic use (commuting, solo ride….), Nothing to cry scandal, especially as the road holding is healthy and the flexible suspension make it one of the most comfortable machines in its category . But as soon as you board a passenger, take a departmental that has not seen a DDE employee for 5 years or just want to have a little fun, things go wrong. Do all three at the same time and it was a disaster ….

The bull by the horns

Yamaha France understood this before Japan by multiplying the special series (SP, SP-R, Red Line, R Line….) Intended to make its machine more pleasant and more homogeneous. Logic, France being the biggest market for roadsters, no question for the number one of the Hexagonal market to be cut off croupiers in the comparisons on a major segment.

The recipe is the same each time: an adaptable exhaust, revised and corrected suspensions without forgetting a specific cosmetic treatment. So rigged up, the FZ-8 regains its splendor and it is no coincidence that the R-Lines made up 60% of FZ-8 sales last year. For 2013, Yamaha has therefore renewed the approach of the French subsidiary on a global scale. The fork can now be adjusted in preload and we can play on the hydraulic compression (13 positions) and rebound (11 positions) with the adjustments concentrated on the right tube.

At the rear, the new shock is fitted with a 6.4% firming spring, new damping laws and a rebound adjustment screw.

On the cosmetic side, don’t dream, an adaptable silencer from a leading brand (randomly Akrapovic who equips the Yamaha M1s in MotoGP) would have weighed down the final sale price. The black pot is therefore preserved, but Japanese engineers have worked miracles to make it more attractive. Well, not enough to detach the retina when looking at the final result either, but the grafting of an anti-heat plate and a mouthpiece mimicking the productions of the Slovenian brand do "the job" very well.

By the way, Miss FZ-8 adapts a new, more eye-catching saddle covering and transparent turn signal cabochons more in line with current aesthetic canons, it does not eat bread.

Those who want to refresh their retina and their ideas can check out the 2010 test drive of the old Yamaha FZ-8.

In the saddle

No surprise in taking over the handlebars of this 2013 vintage of the FZ-8. We find a driving position slightly tilted to the front with a short and narrow handlebars, a tank still a little too wide at the crotch compared to the competition and a saddle height which, despite its 815 mm high, allows my seventy-five to put both heels on the ground. The footrests, as low as ever, will make taller builders feel comfortable. The dashboard is relatively complete with an analog tachometer incorporating the usual warning lights and neutral indicator and a digital keypad indicating speed, engine temperature, fuel level and two partial trips.

Parisian bikers will be delighted to learn that the left commodo includes a button dedicated to activating the warnings. Finally, note that if the brake lever is adjustable, the clutch is still without an adjustment of the freehold.

Contact

Not enough to wake up at night when starting up, in the literal sense of the word. The soft, almost subdued noise will want condescending looks on you on track days but will preserve your neighbors’ sleep during an early morning start. And, luckily, it gets better when you ride, with a very elaborate intake noise emanating from the airbox in the second half of the tachometer ….

In the city

Without being as easy to handle as a Hornet, this FZ-8 should be classified in the category of good students. We appreciate the soft controls, the driving position in the standard of the genre and the ultra-complacent engine. Even for a four-cylinder, its flexibility is surprising. Able to pick up on idle speed in the last gear (ie 30 low km / h), it offers above all a very smooth response to the accelerator below the 2,500 rpm mark. A real “plus” in the context of our presentation when we discover a machine with barely run-in tires on wet pavement, all with a temperature below 5 ° C. The chassis also gives you confidence with a on the neutral angle, progressive and effortless and a brake lever offering a perfect mix of stopping power from the first millimeters of travel. The FZ-8 also does well in traffic jams with narrow-gauge mirrors that allow you to go through a mouse hole. And in addition mirror correctly !

Two small caveats in this almost idyllic setting, a turning radius too limited to make it a real traffic queen and a gearbox lacking in smoothness and sometimes catchy. A congenital defect of sports mechanics from Yamaha when changing gear under light load and / or in the first third of the tachometer.

On the highway

Nothing to report in particular. Like all roadsters, the FZ-8 doesn’t like this kind of exercise but allows for legal cruising without tiring the driver. The windshield does its job correctly and no engine vibration is to be reported at steady speed, whether on the handlebars, footrests or mirrors. At 130 km / h, the engine speed stabilizes at around 6,000 rpm, or 4,000 less than the maximum power speed. Under these conditions, we can expect an average consumption of less than 6 liters which, combined with the 17 liters of the tank, gives the FZ-8 a road range of almost 300 km..

Departmental

As part of our presentation, organized in the Alès region, Yamaha invited the seven-time Moto Tour winner Denis Bouan and Barbara Collet, 7th in the scratch of the 2011 edition riding a… Yamaha FZ-8! In addition to the conditions mentioned above during our handling in an urban environment, King Bouan took us on the small roads that he likes when he is preparing for his fetish event. The layout is rock’n roll with rutted portions often no wider than an automobile and lined with the remains of snow from the day before, all sprinkled with patches of salt as an appetizer. And in these extreme conditions, to say the least, the FZ-8 is doing it with honors. Some of the comfort is gone, we have nothing for nothing, but the rigor is finally there with a fork and a shock absorber that work together on the bumps. The whole provides an excellent reading of the bitumen and above all never comes apart. Healthy, rigid and solid, the FZ-8 then puts forward a frankness hitherto unknown to its front axle once the tires have warmed up. As the pace increases as the temperature rises, the braking becomes more intense, the cornering becomes sharper and the acceleration much sharper. And still no sign of weak suspensions! The observation should be tempered according to several parameters. Denis Bouan having defined the most suitable suspension settings for the course the day before, the compromise was perfect for testers with an equivalent size (garden gnome, around 60 kg). Colleagues with a more massive build encountered some pumping phenomena on long series of bumps or on big compressions but none complained of any lack of stability or of a disagreement between front and rear…. On the changes of angle, the liveliness is surprising in view of the weight of the whole (216 kg all full facts on our ABS versions) as soon as we take the trouble to accompany the movements on the handlebars with light pressure on the rests. -feet. A sportier ride than the very conservative Bridgestone BT 21, yet well suited to this part-cycle, should further improve things. On the engine side, the does not come in a linear fashion, giving the whole thing a little bit of nice character. Slowly below the 2,500 rpm mark, the thrust increases between 3 and 6,500 rpm before starting a new level, clearly more violent from 7 to 10,000 rpm. Then, the engine lengthens in a less manly way up to the switch at 11,500 rpm.

On track

After the lunch break, head to the Alès Mechanical Center to push the FZ-8 to its limits. The temperature is ideal, the sky clear, the track dry, the tanks full, the suspensions firmed up, in short, yapluka…. The layout is more of the turnstile type – braking at the end of the line at 170 km / h anyway – I would not go into the overall stability, full angle and elbow on the ground…. On the other hand, the thirty or so loops performed on the handlebars of this 2013 vintage of the FZ-8 help to better understand how this machine has forged a very respectable track record in competition. In addition to his victory in the hands of Denis Bouan the year of his release, the Yamaha roadster has already hung on his hunting board a victory at the 2011 France Trophy with Mathieu Charpin and another at the Bol d’Argent 2012 in the hands of Cyril Carillo and Franck Tauziède. The only difference between these machines and the stock versions being…. suspensions. Moreover, at Yamaha France, we are so confident in the qualities of the new elements that the future FZ-8s entered on the next Moto Tour will do without the Ohlins preparation as in previous editions. On the other hand, they should all benefit from raised and set back racing footrest plates..

Because if we only scratched the asphalt with the tips of our boots on the road in the morning, the original footrests were all copiously filed down after our first series of laps. By swaying outrageously, you can easily gain several degrees of angle and a good handful of seconds per lap, but track enthusiasts will have to go through the “adaptable parts” box to unlock the full potential of this FZ-8. Because for the rest, it becomes difficult to find arguments to put in the Less box of this test on track. Braking? Apart from a few untimely triggering of the ABS on the brakes that were a little too violent, nothing to report. At the most, we could claim a little more power at the very end of the race, but the feeling, the bite and the endurance are impeccable. Engine ? On the track, we would always like more but the acceleration is already copious, the torque more than enough to wind up a gear below in the series of tight turns (those who have done the track in 600 will know what I’m talking about) and the throttle-rear wheel connection is excellent. Even the box, under these conditions, is perfect. You can shift gears on the fly without using the clutch and finally take advantage of the selector’s short travel to grab a few hundredths on each lap…. before being done outside by a Barbara Collet in "elbow to the door" mode. Infuriating ….

Braking

Having said all about the front element, let’s look at the rear brake. Perfect in its role of stabilizer or to tighten a trajectory, it lacks on the other hand feeling to offer a really correct dosage. A remark valid for almost all mid-size roadsters on sale today…. As for the ABS (+ € 600), it is transparent in its operation and hardly generates any rise in the lever when it is activated. Better still, when it is triggered unexpectedly on the track, the braking returns to “normal” mode in a few tenths of a second and we find all the power (and especially the dosage) of the monobloc calipers. Reassuring !

Comfort and duo

No pain in the buttocks to report during our test but the firmer suspensions should logically put a little more strain than before on the driver’s rear end. At least original but since it is now possible to adjust the settings, nothing will now prevent you from slightly opening the hydraulic settings to gain comfort or on the contrary from concocting a machine stiffened from everywhere for an outing. track. It’s up to you. The same goes for the passenger, who will be able to benefit from settings adapted to, but who will still plague on the breadboard which is assigned to him.

Convenient

There is room under the saddle and especially to place a good big U-lock approved standard, or even a disk block in addition. The tank is made of metal and offers the possibility of putting a magnetic bag. At the rear it is possible to secure a large bag, using both the footrest brackets and the plate holder (drilled). Regarding the suspension settings, unfortunately we have to deplore a trigger adjustment screw almost stuck to the handlebars and which will make its adjustment difficult. Paradoxically, it is easier to adjust the latter with the tip of a Swiss army knife passing under the handlebars than with a traditional flat screwdriver. At least there is no need to disassemble the handlebars ….

Consumption

While it is possible to drive quietly while consuming only 5.5 liters per 100 kilometers, consumption can also skyrocket if you force the pace. On the road, you can easily exceed 7 L / 100 km and even exceed 8 liters on the track. Range therefore varies, with the average pre-reserve range being slightly over 200 km in mixed use..

Conclusion

The FZ-8 has just erased in a very nice way its biggest flaw, namely a homogeneity at half mast. This 2013 vintage therefore wins in two respects by offering a more homogeneous behavior with the usual paces while being now able to click a pendulum on a lap. On the other hand, the most rare will have to fall back on adjustable plates to exploit the new sporting potential of the Yamaha roadster. Cosmetic touch-ups are also welcome, the old exhaust being really unworthy of the level of finish to which the manufacturer had accustomed us. There remains the thorny subject of price. Priced at € 8,399 in its standard version and € 8,999 with ABS, the FZ-8 sits just between the Kawasaki Z 800 (€ 8,900 / ABS € 9,450) and Suzuki’s GSR 750 (€ 8,300 / ABS € 8,800). These three box in the same category and only a comparison in good and due form will allow to release a real hierarchy as their performances seem close. On paper, the sporting potential of the Kawa should be set back due to its excessively high weight (230 kg in running order) but the excessiveness of its design does not a priori target the same clientele. There remain two shock outsiders, the Hornet and the Street Triple 675. The Honda is the last representative of the 600 cm3 and despite its age is still the benchmark in terms of handling. Its low price of € 6,740 (ABS: € 7,240) makes it a more than attractive alternative despite its low torque deficit. As for the Triumph, it remains the essential reference for sporty roadsters.The improvements made to the last vintage even bring it a welcome touch of versatility, all for a price that will defy all competition as long as the Japanese see the competitiveness of their products weighed down by a unfavorable Yen / Euro parity ….

Strong points

• Motor
• Handling
• Getting started
• Braking

Weak points

• Ground clearance
• Rough gearbox at low revs

Competitors: BMW F800R, Ducati Monster 796, Kawasaki Z800, Suzuki GSR 750

The FZ8 technical sheet

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