Does anyone ride an FZ-07 or FZ-09?

[ch33zecake]

Hey guys, I used to own an FZ6R a few months back. I traded it for a '14 CBR600RR because I wanted to get into aggressive riding. Then I realized that my CBR kinda sucks for commuting or casual riding. I've been eyeing the FZ-07 for quite a while now. I'm thinking of getting that as my second bike in the future. I know how the FZ6R feels on the road. Does any FZ6R owners have any experience with the FZ-07? I'm also considering the FZ-09 too. Is the extra money for the FZ-09 worth it over the FZ-07? I love the way those 2 bikes look.

 

[tw586]

Mt07

I just sold my MT07 (FZ07) for you guys in the states, and replaced it with an XJ6s, I like to ride all year and being a naked bike found it to cold in winter. overall the bike is fantastic, but for 3 things, 1 cheap suspension, 2 hard seat, 3 no wind protection. the XJ6S is a for more refined and comfortable bike but not as exciting as the 07 but easer to live with. Oh and the 07 will get you way better fuel economy, XJ is around 22klm per L the MT07 about 29klm per L

 

[dart1963]

a few members have the fz09.... beasts!

I did a demo day ride on one... and it is a blast

 

[Marthy]

Let me pitch in here... since I own 2 and rode 3 on your list.

The 6R is a pretty solid machine. Like I said many time, the bike doesn't do anything great but is good at everything! I sold mine few months ago and honestly miss the 6R sometime.

The FZ09 on the other hand... it's a beast! In stock form the bike is a 7/10, once you throw few coins on suspension the bike is a 10/10. Suspension is not that bad, but for the amount of torque/HP vs. weight... if you ride spirit a bit, that's an issue that need to be address. I did fork spring + change the valving (about $500.00) and fit a 2008-10 ZX-10 rear shock (was the first to do so ) Bike ride amazingly good now. Did few track days... actually my bike in this form is a 600 SS killer. LOL More torque coming out the corner and I can keep up with them until 140 MPH. Good enough for a casual rider like most of us.

The FZ07 is very nice too. Suspension is FZ09 grade but since the bike doesn't have as much HP... it suite the bike just fine for most riding. If speed wasn't a big deal and you do a lot of city commuting, this is the bike you should consider IMO. Especially if you keep the CBR. The little inline twin growl is quite addicting and that thing WILL willy in first gear on demand (throttle only) Super light and nimbly with the right amount of power for everyday use. Powerwise it's a 6R with more torque but put that on a bike that is close to 80 lighter. It's a really fun bike to ride...

Now if I was in the market for a commuter bike, I think the FZ07 will be a winner for me. More nimble than a 6R and a bit more well behave than the FZ09.

As far as wind blast. Not much I can say on the FZ07 since it was in stock trim but a simple fly screen does a fine job. My FZ09 was actually less tiring than the 6R on freeway speed under 80 MPH. I can deal with a nice clean airflow on my helmet over helmet buffering all day long!

Let us know your pic

 

[ch33zecake]

Let me pitch in here... since I own 2 and rode 3 on your list.

The 6R is a pretty solid machine. Like I said many time, the bike doesn't do anything great but is good at everything! I sold mine few months ago and honestly miss the 6R sometime.

The FZ09 on the other hand... it's a beast! In stock form the bike is a 7/10, once you throw few coins on suspension the bike is a 10/10. Suspension is not that bad, but for the amount of torque/HP vs. weight... if you ride spirit a bit, that's an issue that need to be address. I did fork spring + change the valving (about $500.00) and fit a 2008-10 ZX-10 rear shock (was the first to do so ) Bike ride amazingly good now. Did few track days... actually my bike in this form is a 600 SS killer. LOL More torque coming out the corner and I can keep up with them until 140 MPH. Good enough for a casual rider like most of us.

The FZ07 is very nice too. Suspension is FZ09 grade but since the bike doesn't have as much HP... it suite the bike just fine for most riding. If speed wasn't a big deal and you do a lot of city commuting, this is the bike you should consider IMO. Especially if you keep the CBR. The little inline twin growl is quite addicting and that thing WILL willy in first gear on demand (throttle only) Super light and nimbly with the right amount of power for everyday use. Powerwise it's a 6R with more torque but put that on a bike that is close to 80 lighter. It's a really fun bike to ride...

Now if I was in the market for a commuter bike, I think the FZ07 will be a winner for me. More nimble than a 6R and a bit more well behave than the FZ09.

As far as wind blast. Not much I can say on the FZ07 since it was in stock trim but a simple fly screen does a fine job. My FZ09 was actually less tiring than the 6R on freeway speed under 80 MPH. I can deal with a nice clean airflow on my helmet over helmet buffering all day long!

Let us know your pic

I appreciate everyone's replies but this is the reply that I was really looking for! I've heard from many that own an FZ-09 that it's a beast of a bike. The main the purpose of me getting a 2nd bike is to just putt around down and maybe do a 100+ mile commute every now and then. That's mostly the reason why I was leaning towards the FZ-07. This upcoming weekend the IMS will be nearby from me and will have the opportunity to demo these bikes. I will let you know how it goes!

 

[Marthy]

https://youtu.be/tE04wkzL0Go

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[Marthy]

Here's a little teaser for you.

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[blkbrd]

I second everything that Marthy said. I traded my 6R for and fz-09 in June. Crazy fun bike and it accelerates to 100 mph faster than just about everything on the road.

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[ahperson]

I second everything that Marthy said. I traded my 6R for and fz-09 in June. Crazy fun bike and it accelerates to 100 mph faster than just about everything on the road.

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That's my plans in the spring. I can't get what I want for my FZ6R since it's winter, so I'm going to trade it in the spring. My only reserve with the FZ-09 is all the problems that I have been reading about. CCT, Suspension, throttle (ECU) and a hard seat.

 

[blkbrd]

That's my plans in the spring. I can't get what I want for my FZ6R since it's winter, so I'm going to trade it in the spring. My only reserve with the FZ-09 is all the problems that I have been reading about. CCT, Suspension, throttle (ECU) and a hard seat.

The fuelling on the 15 got an update, mine seems fine, so I'm sure the 16's would be as well. I've got just under 18000 kms on mine and zero concerns with cct.

The seat...not by any means real comfortable but I still have no problems riding it 500 kms or so in a day. I found the 6R's seat wasn't great either, and I took that bike to the east coast last year.

The suspension on the 09 is way under-damped. Having said that, I rode on the stock suspension for 10000 kms. They say if you're 170 pounds or less it's fine. I'm around 200 pounds. I put Racetech gold valves in the forks, along with new springs, and put an 05 zx6r rear shock on it. This cost me around 800 CDN, including the labour to rebuild the forks. There are a few options for forks, also quite a few different zx shocks that'll work. There are also several aftermarket rear shocks of you're willing to spend the $.

Overall I'm extremely happy with this bike. I don't think you can do better for the money. The fun factor is through the roof! Every time I open that throttle, I'm astounded by the way it pulls.

Here is Felix!

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[ch33zecake]

So I did manage to ride both bikes for about 20 minutes each. During the demo ride we were only able to ride in the streets and highway. Also, it was a group ride so we had to ride at a certain pace. I rode the FZ-07 first. Then later on I rode the FZ-09. My demo rides were fairly short so I don't have a whole lot to talk about. I was mostly paying attention to how the bike rides on the street and the highway so I can really only do a street review. Even then, I'm looking at these bikes to ride on the street only and maybe some canyon riding.

So I guess I'll start off with...

Appearance - Honestly, I'm not sure which one I think looks better. I really love how both bikes look! I would have to give a very slight edge to the FZ-09.

Comfort - I felt more comfortable on the FZ-09. I like the handlebar placement. I'm not sure if it was just me but the handlebars felt wider on the FZ-09 than the FZ-07. The FZ-07 was just as comfortable of a bike too. Both bikes didn't make me feel too small or too big to sit on. The footpegs were placed just right for easy commuting. All the buttons on the handlebars were easy for me to find without needing to look for them while riding. If maybe I had more seat time with both bikes I would find comfort issues, but for a 20 minute ride for each bike, I didn't seem to find too any to complain about.

Performance - Both bikes have very noticeable torque over my CBR600RR. I was playing around with the gearing while we were on the street and highway. I'll just talk about the FZ-09 for a second. That bike has some serious pull even at low RPMs. There were a few times when I felt the front end about ready to lift off. It was kind of funny actually because I was riding the FZ-09 mellow at first. Then as we were turning onto the highway I decided to see what it could do. I was in 2nd gear and nearly near threw me off the bike. I was definitely caught off guard there. My face went something like this :jawdrop: I really like the power modes on the FZ-09. I was only messing around with standard and A mode. I thought A mode was really fun but the throttle response felt a little abrupt for casual street riding. Standard mode noticeably turns down the throttle response and still pulls really hard. It's just not as twitchy as A mode. I was having a lot of fun accelerating out of stop lights. On the other hand, the FZ-07 wasn't a slouch either. It felt much more tame than the FZ-09. The FZ-07 also had noticeably much more torque than my CBR600RR especially for street riding. I feel that bike doesn't really need power modes like the FZ-09. We weren't allowed to do wheelies during the demo rides, but I feel I could definitely pop some wheelies if I wanted to on the FZ-07. And with the FZ-09, I'd be doing a lot of unnecessary wheelies.

Handling - This is a hard topic to talk about because I didn't really try to get sideways with either of these bikes. The suspension on both bikes did feel softer than what I'm currently used to on my CBR600RR which is currently set up a little overdamped on compression and rebound. I was riding the FZ-09 a little more spirited than the FZ-07 and noticed some brake dives and rear squats. So yeah I would understand why you track enthusiasts would do aftermarket modifications on front forks and rear shock. Brakes on both bikes felt pretty solid. Both bikes felt stable on the highway going 65 mph even without a windscreen. My CBR600RR has a tiny windscreen so yeah I'm used to wind blast too. Honestly, for commuting purposes I can't really complain too much on either bike.

Fun Factor - I definitely had the most fun with the FZ-09 because it just felt like it had raw power from the get go especially in A mode. It was almost as if I was riding on a pist off bull. I've ridden an S1000RR on the track so I know what power feels like. The S1000RR is brutally fast once at a certain powerband, but the FZ-09 the power is there boom in your face. I could see myself getting in some trouble with the law on the FZ-09. I had a good time with the FZ-07 as well. The FZ-07 felt like it still has enough torque to have a really good time blasting through streets but in a much more controlled manner.

I know this isn't the best review for both bikes, but I still have to choose which bike I would go with when all said and done. So which bike would I choose? Before I hopped onto both bikes I was leaning towards the FZ-07. Now that I've had a taste of both bikes, I would honestly still have to choose the FZ-07 over the FZ-09. Even though I had much more fun with the FZ-09, I just felt that the power that thing had wasn't necessary for the purpose of me having a second bike for commuting purposes. I would also be saving myself some money. Maybe if I decided to get rid of my CBR600RR and wanted a jack-of-all-trades bike then it would probably be a different story.

 

[BzB]

^ that's actually a great review considering the circumstances.

i've only sat on both of these bikes, but it seemed like the ergonomics of the fz09 are closer to the fz6r. pegs on the fz09 are lower than the fz07. i'm relatively tall rider at 6'2" so leg room is important for me. handlebar positioning is close between all three, but that's good because i prefer a slightly more upright riding position.

both fz07 and fz09 seem comically light compared to the fz6r. too lazy to look up the numbers, but the fz6r feels noticeably more top heavy than the other two.

i plan on keeping my fz6r for a while, but when it comes time to move on the fz09 is the current front runner for me.

 

[ch33zecake]

^ that's actually a great review considering the circumstances.

i've only sat on both of these bikes, but it seemed like the ergonomics of the fz09 are closer to the fz6r. pegs on the fz09 are lower than the fz07. i'm relatively tall rider at 6'2" so leg room is important for me. handlebar positioning is close between all three, but that's good because i prefer a slightly more upright riding position.

both fz07 and fz09 seem comically light compared to the fz6r. too lazy to look up the numbers, but the fz6r feels noticeably more top heavy than the other two.

i plan on keeping my fz6r for a while, but when it comes time to move on the fz09 is the current front runner for me.

Yeah that's probably the reason why the FZ-09 felt more comfortable than the FZ-07. I also would definitely agree that both bikes feel a lot lighter than the FZ6R.

 

[blkbrd]

...I could see myself getting in some trouble with the law on the FZ-09.

Haha! Love this! Totally agree though, I have a feeling owning the '09 is going to end up messing with my clean driving record. [emoji48]


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[blkbrd]

Yeah that's probably the reason why the FZ-09 felt more comfortable than the FZ-07. I also would definitely agree that both bikes feel a lot lighter than the FZ6R.

Yep, the FZ09 is a little over 50 pounds lighter than the 6R and the FZ07 is about 70 pounds lighter.

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