The FZ750 wasn't really on my buying list. I wanted a 600 race replica. They were just as fast as the 750s and cheaper to insure. I had a £2000 limit on what I could afford. No 600s that weren't on the way to breaker's yard were available for that kind of money in Bristol. When a 1985 FZ came up for £1950 I decided it was worth a look.
The styling wasn't much to write home about. Looked like they had bunged some left-over RD350/500 bits on to a square section frame. The four cylinder, 20 valve engine was canted forward at a radical angle. All the frame tubes were at different angles to that, making the whole look a mess. It sounded pretty good, though, and looked nice enough for a 22000 mile, six year old.
I didn't know what to think about the engine. The gearchange was a right bastard. By the time I'd finally hit on third gear I was happy enough to let the grunt of the motor waft me around the housing estate. I even pulled off in that ratio a couple of times, needing only a modicum of clutch slip. There wasn't the space to rev it hard but there appeared plenty of power on hand. No obvious chassis faults or worn consumables. I used the awful gearbox as a good bargaining point. Rode away 1700 sovs short of pocket.
I'm always a bit uneasy when I've just purchased a used bike. Worried that I've bought a dog which is going to fail or throw me off before I could reach home. So, I took it easy, again for most of the time stuck in third gear. I locked it away for the night after checking it over again.
The next day it started easily, ran beautifully until I hit the M4 when it locked into fourth gear. Not an auspicious beginning. I revved hard to see what it would do. 110mph. The bars shook slowly from side to side, convincing me of the need to back off. I pulled off at the Severn Bridge services. Relieved to find that the gearchange still worked with the engine turned off. The oil sight-glass looked white, so I headed home on just a hint of throttle.
An oil change and new filter improved the gearbox action no end. It always required a deliberate foot but only rarely decided to stick in a gear. I was quietly impressed with the torque below 6000 revs and the grunt above it. The FZ went faster than it felt, as evidenced by the way it blew a friend's GPX600 into the weeds without really trying. Vibes were also minimal, certainly not harsh enough to reach fingers or feet.
The handlebar shakes were traced to an extra 10psi in the front 16 inch wheel. This was a trendy item when the FZ was introduced but proved to be a bit on the small side for both tyre longevity and high speed stability. Later FZ models had 17 inch wheels. I found that mine only went twitchy when the tyre was worn out or when the tyre pressure was incorrect.
On a decent set of Pirellis or Metz's I found stability was good, with a nice neutral, planted on the road feel and that the Yam could be flung over until the ends of the footpegs ground down on the tarmac. The low slung engine doubtless aids the feeling of security with the resultant good centre of gravity, but it also puts a lot of mass on the front end. Turning is quite heavy at town speeds. Flicking through corners isn't particularly heavy going once used to using a bit of body language. The mass over the front wheel perhaps explains why the front tyre lasts no longer than the rear, Figure 4 to 5000 miles before they wear sufficiently to upset the handling.
I doubt if the pair of double piston caliper discs did much for front tyre life, either. They may have been fine when new, but they were very grabby on my bike. Low speed work involved a lot of juddering even though the front forks, like the single rear shock, were still sporting taut. High speed work produced a lot of desperate graunching noises. After a bit of hard use the brakes also faded.
Wet weather was even worse. The on/off action showed up one of the inherent problems of front 16 inch wheels. It would slide away with incredible ferocity when suddenly locked on a wet road surface. The bike felt otherwise secure on damp roads, aided and abetted by the controllable power delivery. I could cruise at 90mph on motorways but not come to a quick halt on wet roads at town speeds. The gearbox would also go temperamental just when I most needed to knock down a gear or two to avail myself of some engine braking. All in all, I was not too happy with the bike.
Close examination of the front discs revealed that they were warped. I sent them away to be skimmed flat only to receive a box full of broken discs a couple of days later. The explanatory letter blamed the quality of their manufacture and material. I had a perfectly good motorcycle sitting in my garage without any front brakes.
The breakers couldn't help me. The only ones they had were also warped. I ended up phoning around the country until I located a new pair at the bargain price (that's what the dealer told me) of £120. Time was when I could buy a perfectly good motorcycle for that. Anyway, they fitted straight on and braking improved immeasurably. There was still a slight bit of fade after a bout of hard braking. It was nothing compared to the earlier horrors. Wet weather braking became safe and predictable. Front pad life worked out at 9 to 10000 miles.
The easy going engine characteristics soon convinced me that it was an ideal device to use for the holidays. It wasn't easy to load up with my large mate and our camping gear. Redistribution of the contents of a massive haversack and tank-bag solved it. The suspension took the weight and steering still felt amenable to a bit of hustling. What I hadn't reckoned on was the pillion perch throwing my mate into an unholy intimacy with myself. My groin complained about its intimacy with the tank. A harsh bit of acceleration threw him backwards but every time I slowed down he was thrown into my spine again.
It took about 50 miles before we were in serious pain. After 100 miles I had to pull into some services. Neither of us could immediately stand up straight and we both cursed each other and the poor old FZ750. The shape of the seat has as much to do with its lack of comfort as the density of the foam. Some work with tape and a pile of rags we'd found in the garage built the seat up. It looked well weird but allowed us to do a couple of hundred miles in a day without having screaming fits. I eventually had the seat refilled and recovered... and very nice it was too!
Other than the seat, the FZ proved a more than adequate tourer. The half fairing allowed comfortable cruising up to about 120mph, when wind buffeting took over. 140mph was about the most the FZ would do. Fuel was horrendous over ton, 25 to 30mpg. Saner riding, but by no means having to bore yourself to sleep, returned 40 to 45mpg. Mild riders might better 50mpg but I was never that inclined to ride slowly.
After about a year and 16000 miles, in which I did nothing to the motor other than change the oil, I was becoming a bit bored with the bike. It never had the startling power punch of some race replicas. I kept pestering a local dealer about an FZR1000 he had for sale. After two months of persistence he finally decided that some money was better than none and gave me a reasonable deal on the smaller Yam.
The FZ750 has one of the toughest engines around (you hardly ever have to touch the valves or carbs) and a chassis that has no nasty surprises. It'll tour, race or commute. It all depends what you want, I needed the massive dose of power the FZR1000 lays down. Nuff said!
Martin Jones