It's titled "Women's Street Bike Shootout" but it provides good info....
2012 Women's Street Bike Shootout - Motorcycle USA
2012 Women's Street Bike Shootout - Motorcycle USA
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6r, ninja 650, monster 696, street triple, f800
- Thread starter ksanbon
- Start date
MustGoFaster
New Member
Almost makes me wish I'd shopped around a bit more. Honestly, the 6R was a bit of an impulse buy for me. Not one I regret, but I do find myself wishing I'd spent a little more time researching it first.
TokenSSDD
New Member
Motorcycle-USA usually has pretty good reviews. It looks like the FZ6R did pretty well comparatively.
Same thing over here...
IMO it doesn't matter how much more you look around or research before you buy your bike . . if it's your FIRST bike. Until you've ridden for a couple of years, and had a chance to ride a few different styles of bikes, you don't really know what kind of riding you enjoy most . . and that makes it almost impossible to pick the best bike for YOU. Add the fact that your riding style and preferences will continue to change over time and your 'perfect' bike is not likely to stay perfect for YOU. Hmmm, come to think of it, this could apply to more than just bikes.
Thanks for the article! My wife will be riding my FZ6R until she figures out if A) she likes riding and decides it's something she wants to get into, and B) what bike she'll want to call her own. This article might help in her decision making process since it has the three bikes she's considering: the 6R, the Kawi 650, and the Monster. Plus it helps that the article is written as if just for her; a new female rider looking for a sport bike. :thumbup:
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I did an exhaustive amount of research before getting my 6R. There's a brief synopsis of the process, here:
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f87/whyd-you-choose-25295/index5.html#post336462
Granted, my criteria were very specific, but the 6R won out. It was only a minor point in my synopsis, but the fact is that I make mistakes, and the 6R is very forgiving. Here's an example:
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f87/there-two-types-riders-24952/index9.html
Honestly, that kind of stupidity is difficult to recover from. I was getting complacent and overconfident on my commute and a turn I take every day. Even as long as I've been riding motorcycles, were I on any number of other bikes, I might not have made it.
It's the way the 6R responded to my throttling through that botched corner that saved my butt. It's the fact that the back end slid out a little bit, but was easily recovered that saved my bacon. It's the fact that even going into the turn too late and too fast, everything about the suspension, weight distribution and drive train combined to enable me to finish my commute, that day.
The fact that the 6R is so forgiving and yet offer up enough of everything to still be loads of fun, simply can't be overstated - either for new riders or those who have been riding for nearly 30 years.
Some may have made the choice to purchase the 6R with less research than I put into it, but it's still a good choice. I would feel fortunate that I lucked out and didn't purchase something else, losing all the positive things the 6R has to offer. Lots of bikes offer lots of the same, but very few seem to put them all together the way the 6R does.
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f87/whyd-you-choose-25295/index5.html#post336462
Granted, my criteria were very specific, but the 6R won out. It was only a minor point in my synopsis, but the fact is that I make mistakes, and the 6R is very forgiving. Here's an example:
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f87/there-two-types-riders-24952/index9.html
Honestly, that kind of stupidity is difficult to recover from. I was getting complacent and overconfident on my commute and a turn I take every day. Even as long as I've been riding motorcycles, were I on any number of other bikes, I might not have made it.
It's the way the 6R responded to my throttling through that botched corner that saved my butt. It's the fact that the back end slid out a little bit, but was easily recovered that saved my bacon. It's the fact that even going into the turn too late and too fast, everything about the suspension, weight distribution and drive train combined to enable me to finish my commute, that day.
The fact that the 6R is so forgiving and yet offer up enough of everything to still be loads of fun, simply can't be overstated - either for new riders or those who have been riding for nearly 30 years.
Some may have made the choice to purchase the 6R with less research than I put into it, but it's still a good choice. I would feel fortunate that I lucked out and didn't purchase something else, losing all the positive things the 6R has to offer. Lots of bikes offer lots of the same, but very few seem to put them all together the way the 6R does.
Well, the Fizzer isn't my first bike. I *did* look around. And, frankly, if you ask 100 different people, they'll give you 100 different priorities for what they want to get out of a bike.
While pull is important to me, in passing, merging, etc., the FZ6R delivers, even if I don't give a crap what it's 0-60 specs are, or what it can do in the 1/4 mile.
Fun is important to me, and I believe it corners as well as any of the competition, with excellent grip and handling and does include simple rear suspension adjustment (which I've taken advantage of).
Mileage is important to me (size of tank/mpg), and the FZ6R seems to fare pretty well in its power class.
Aesthetics is secondary to me, but I think it's a damned good looking bike.
"Objective" doesn't mean goose sh!t to me, since everyone's objectivity is subjective when it comes to bike preference and priorities.
High end speed is irrelevant to me, since I didn't buy the bike as a track machine. I've done 115mph on mine. I have NO need to drive that fast (I just did it to see if I could scare the crap out of myself). So, I really don't care what the high end horses can do.
Maintenance is important to me, and I can easily maintain this bike, and it's service intervals are well spaced.
Price/insurance is important to me, and this bike was well within my means in both categories (the Street Triple, not so much -- I *did* look at that bike).
I didn't see most of those above considerations addressed in this shootout. Therefore, the shootout, to me, is irrelevant.
In my business, we have multiple vendors that run benchmarks to prove their own product lines. Unfortunately, we've learned that everyone tunes their own benchmarks to favor their own equipment, and everyone has their own angle on it. So, they've come to be meaningless to the customer base (just like this shootout), who ultimately runs their own Proof of Concept (in house test ride... like we'd do on a demo days).
So, bottom line, I'm *extremely* happy with the FZ6R, for what I want it to do for me today...
In a year those priorities may change... I may want to race, or tour more, or do off-road. I don't know. But, for me, the FZ6R was the right choice... and after a few months on it, that choice has been confirmed over and over...
It's a great bike...
While pull is important to me, in passing, merging, etc., the FZ6R delivers, even if I don't give a crap what it's 0-60 specs are, or what it can do in the 1/4 mile.
Fun is important to me, and I believe it corners as well as any of the competition, with excellent grip and handling and does include simple rear suspension adjustment (which I've taken advantage of).
Mileage is important to me (size of tank/mpg), and the FZ6R seems to fare pretty well in its power class.
Aesthetics is secondary to me, but I think it's a damned good looking bike.
"Objective" doesn't mean goose sh!t to me, since everyone's objectivity is subjective when it comes to bike preference and priorities.
High end speed is irrelevant to me, since I didn't buy the bike as a track machine. I've done 115mph on mine. I have NO need to drive that fast (I just did it to see if I could scare the crap out of myself). So, I really don't care what the high end horses can do.
Maintenance is important to me, and I can easily maintain this bike, and it's service intervals are well spaced.
Price/insurance is important to me, and this bike was well within my means in both categories (the Street Triple, not so much -- I *did* look at that bike).
I didn't see most of those above considerations addressed in this shootout. Therefore, the shootout, to me, is irrelevant.
In my business, we have multiple vendors that run benchmarks to prove their own product lines. Unfortunately, we've learned that everyone tunes their own benchmarks to favor their own equipment, and everyone has their own angle on it. So, they've come to be meaningless to the customer base (just like this shootout), who ultimately runs their own Proof of Concept (in house test ride... like we'd do on a demo days).
So, bottom line, I'm *extremely* happy with the FZ6R, for what I want it to do for me today...
In a year those priorities may change... I may want to race, or tour more, or do off-road. I don't know. But, for me, the FZ6R was the right choice... and after a few months on it, that choice has been confirmed over and over...
It's a great bike...
BKP, no need to be defensive. No one is knocking your choice, especially on this forum. But I'll disagree with you on a couple of points. First of all this article wasn't geared toward you, unless you're a new female rider, so just becuase it's meaningless to you doesn't change the fact that it's not for you and obviously wasn't intended to apply to you. Secondly, this shootout is different from your vendor's benchmarks in one significant way: it's an independant company (or magazine), which is hopefully unbiased, rating bikes from several different manufacurers. Not Ducati or Triumph comparing their bike to the competition, then posting how their bike is better.
Owning two of the bikes in this shootout, I'd say their analysis is pretty spot on as far as those two are concerned.
So bottom line is, you're taking issue with an article that wasn't geared towards you and doesn't apply to you.
Owning two of the bikes in this shootout, I'd say their analysis is pretty spot on as far as those two are concerned.
So bottom line is, you're taking issue with an article that wasn't geared towards you and doesn't apply to you.
Dido.... Only thing I might add that it is the best bang for ur buck w all costs considerd.
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That's debatable.
I don't regret purchasing the FZ6R at all, and I'm not sure I'd make a different decision now, after owning it for a couple of years. It was inexpensive, comfortable, cheap to insure, with lot's of power to make it fun. No, it's not as powerful as a SS, but the power is smooth and very useable. I spent $300 upgrading the suspension to make it perfect for me, $50 on a lower FZ1 handlebar, $100 on a Puig windscreen, $60 on Rizoma racing pegs, adjusted the risers forward, and the bike is now perfect for me. I rode a R6 on the track last summer, and then took the FZ6R to the track this summer and I have to say I enjoyed the track day with the FZ6R more. I wasn't running a race, but I was pushing the bike to it's limits and the tires were the only limitation I noticed. A new set of Diablo Rosso II's will fix that. It's not as powerful as an R6, but it was a lot easier and more fun in the turns with the smooth, linear power delivery.
Maybe I'm getting old (not maybe), but the fun:cost ratio with the FX6R is unbeatable, in my opinion, and it'll get you into deep trouble if that's what you're looking for.
Maybe I'm getting old (not maybe), but the fun:cost ratio with the FX6R is unbeatable, in my opinion, and it'll get you into deep trouble if that's what you're looking for.
I have to agree on this.. Outside of the Kawi and the 6R, the others are not in the same "class" or targeted demographic of bike.. In my mind this is like comparing apples to oranges. Should be the Kawi/6r, then the other 3 vs each other.
No, I wasn't taking it defensively... it was much more of a head-shaking resignation to an industry approach in general on how bikes are ranked.
The class of bike that was tested are not racing bikes. They're not supersports. So, why all the attention to dyno HP, upper end, 0-60, 1/4 mile timings?
So, to your point, this article was supposedly geared to women, for a mid-sized sport bike... Not a racing supersport with ergos that would make a pretzel uncomfortable. Most women entering the sport, are looking for a comfortable sport tourer (which most certainly *is* the class these bikes represent) don't care about 1/4 mile speeds. They don't care about "engine character."
They *do* care about braking. They *do* care about mileage. They *do* care about costs. They *do* care about handling. They *do* care about forgivability (I occasionally conjugate my own words... ). And, they *do* care about comfort. These are categories the Yami excelled in, but apparently didn't carry much weight.
Oh, and I *do* agree with a few others... the only comparable bikes here were the Kawi and Yami to begin with...
Bottom line, the four industry-jaded test riders in this article are certainly *not* "most women getting into the sport." So, who is to say *whom* the article is geared towards.
And, finally, it may very well *have* been an independent 3rd party doing the "testing." However, that independent 3rd party seemingly uses the same ranking and weighting criteria as every vendor, and every *other* 3rd party "independent" entity in the motorcycle industry...
Just sayin'...
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+1 on that sentiment!