Like a lot members, I took advantage of the unusually warm December weather and got out for a few hours today. However, my cafe racer is still apart for paint so I got out on my FZ-6. My last ride of the year was my first ride on the FZ-6 this riding season. I enjoyed riding the cafe racer so much that I never took out the FZ.
The FZ is a nice bike. It's very smooth and comfortable. The damping rod forks on this bike have received the same treatment as the cafe racer. It has a UJM "sit up and beg" riding position too. That, coupled with the large gel seat gives this bike all day comfort. The seat sits high as well, so looking down the road even when following a van or pickup is not a problem. These are all great attributes, but after riding the cafe all year, all is not perfect in FZ land.
The FZ is heavy, 425 pounds heavy. After riding around on a 300 pound bike it just feels like a ton. The heavy steering doesn't make it feel any lighter. The power about 8,000 rpm is great, but just rolling on without a downshift or two doesn't produce much passing power.
My revelation today; I don't need or want this bike. If I did a lot of long distance riding or commuted via motorcycle this would be a great platform. But most of my riding is on local twisty roads, and the FZ isn't too impressive in this role.
So I'm gonna sell it - and use the proceeds to fund my next project. I've been wanting to build a street tracker based on a dirt bike/dual sport. A few months ago I saw a DR-z400 based tracker that has been haunting me. I have figured out how to recreate this bike and after riding the FZ I've decided that I'm going for it.
This is what I'm going to build...