I've owned no less than three of these fine machines, the latest sitting in my garage with a mere 15000 miles on the clock. The most obvious attraction, the stunning power to weight ratio (90hp/395lbs), which together with its excellent Deltabox frame makes it an immensely fun machine to ride on the toad. That's why I keep coming back for more and more of the same!
The engine is almost brilliant, only let down at high mileages by a weak clutch and dodgy gearbox. The five valve heads are amazing, I've done over 50000 miles on an engine without having to touch them, even the camchain and tensioner can go for similar mileages without producing an excess of rattles.
The clutch is the weak spot, quite mild abuse, as in a 100 yard wheelie, can cause it to slip at high revs. It's very light in action, after about 20,000 miles becomes jerky and vicious as the drum wears out. I had one pattern set of plates go in 8000 miles, had to crawl home eighty miles at 30mph and 6000rpm in top gear. The problem is so common that few clutch bits are available from breakers.
The quality of the gearbox has varied quite greatly from both model to model and according to the age of the engine. The action is light, quick, fairly precise under acceleration but otherwise vague, lacking in feel. Often it's possible to become lost in the box, ending up a gear further up or down the range than required. This all becomes much worse with high miles, as the selectors wear out.
I had one box lock up solid, admittedly on a 123000 mile engine. It jammed in fourth gear, which whilst the torque and power were able to cope above 25mph meant that slow town work and take-offs became a fast way to burn out the clutch. I had no intention of rebuilding the gearbox so rode it like that until a newer motor turned up at the breakers.
High miles, meaning over 80000 miles for these stalwart motors, also burnt out the electric starter, the ignition pick-up and the alternator (all three replaced with used bits, so the problem couldn't be that common). One engine out of a racer, developing about 110hp, with lots of tuning goodies and an awful wail out of the 4-1, only lasted for 8000 miles in my tender hands.
The piston rings disintegrated, flowing around the engine, leaving a trail of carnage that I could dine out on for months afterwards. There wasn't much left and I was forced to fit in the high mileage engine that had preceded it, which rattled and smoked but proved ever durable. The rumour about the FZR series doing the rounds at one time was that if the punter could compare the craft in their internals with rivals then everyone would buy the ultra tough Yamahas.
The most I got out of a basically stock FZR was 141000 miles (on original pistons, bores, crank, cams, valves but not gearbox selectors, clutch and tensioner). I'd bought that bike off a friend who'd done 98000 miles and assumed that the motor was due for retirement (being more used to CB Honda fours) and kept cursing his ill judgement as | piled up the miles over the next three years. The most amazing thing about that motor was that it'd still put 140mph on the clock!
A word about camchains is in order, here. One friend put in the cheaper variety with a split link which 4500 miles down the line fell apart, causing the valves to do an interesting reconstruction job on the pistons. I've always found that it pays to fit original Yamaha bits as the engine is so highly stressed that pattern items invariably cause a weak link that causes the whole motor to tear itself apart. Camchains seem to go for 50 to 75000 miles, depending on the kind of abuse the motor has taken and how worn the tensioner (a much easier bit to replace) has become.
I do my oil changes every 2000 miles, something that the motor has no objection to (filters are replaced every fifth lubricant change) but after 1500 miles the gearchange action is very irreverent, noisy and difficult. Oil can be burnt off on high mileage engines at the rate of 200mpp (anything more then the rings are shot or there's a hole in the crankcases). Oil leakage is confined to the gearchange shaft seal and cylinder gaskets (don't reuse the latter unless you want an expensive mix of oil and water streaming out of the exhaust). The water pump has failed on some machines but it's not something that I've experienced.
The motor really is a gem of engineering, managing to combine a reasonable amount of torque below 7000rpm with an excess of power thereafter, all emphasized by the lack of mass it has to push along. Sure enough, ZZR and CBR 600s have even more power but they also weigh more, somehow lacking the hard edged, hard charging feel of the FZR. Even if in reality they can go 5 to 10mph faster and charge a little ahead from the traffic light GP.
The FZR needs less action on its gearbox, can run along rather rapidly in top gear between a mere 30mph and 140mph. Favourable conditions will put 150mph on the clock but it's rather a frenzied struggle, with some secondary vibes thrumming through the chassis, although normally there's only a minor amount of tingling in the bars and pegs that does no harm to my body even on long journeys. A motor with excessive vibes is on the way out.
Something else to avoid is non-standard exhausts, unless the four carbs have been given a good going over (they need, by the way, a balance every 5000 miles) because in my experience they invariably put some holes in the power band. At first, the engine might seem more powerful, as the stutter before the power comes in emphasizes the power band, but the poor low rev running soon becomes tiresome. I haven't found any exhaust that lets the stock engine produce more power, so Yamaha engineers knew exactly what they were doing.
Stock exhausts last for between three and six years depending on mileage and the kind of weather endured, salted roads being especially nasty. I've survived buying used ones from breakers, sometimes combining elements from different rusted sets of exhaust, as they don't seem to go first in any particular place. A noisy stock exhaust will be accompanied by an engine full of flat spots.
Another area susceptible to corrosion and wear are the front discs and calipers. Braking when the set-up was in a good state, and fitted with EBC pads (that last for almost 10000 miles) was predictable and powerful, so much so on the latter count that the slightly substandard forks could flex and twitch under a really vicious right hand. Alas, it took all too much work to keep the front brake in good shape, with everything from fade to seized up calipers to dangerously thin discs playing havoc with my state of mind.
To be fair to Yamaha, they'll see out the guarantee without any hassles and the latest machines have an improved set-up (the clutch and gearbox have also been modified, so maybe newish machines will go around the clock with even less hassle than the old ones).
The calipers can be rebuilt a couple of times before they are ready for the scrap heap (every 8 to 10000 miles, usually lasting 15000 before they require initial attention). The discs have lasted 20 to 25000 miles before their thinness becomes a danger. And, the brake fade is solved with a couple of lengths of Goodridge hose filled with new brake fluid.
The most worrying thing that happened to me was when the master cylinder was cracked in a mild slide that I thought had done no damage to the bike. Shortly after that I had to brake like a lunatic to avoid a cager in town who'd stopped dead for no apparent reason. The master cylinder fell apart, the lack of retardation allowing the front wheel to whack the back of the car, which it turned out had stopped for some tiny dog. He was all for killing me on the spot for putting a large dent in the back of his auto but an excess of spectators inhibited him. Damage to the FZR was minimal, so I didn't put in an insurance claim.
I was surprised that the front forks had survived unscathed, as they were the minimum that Yamaha could get away with. The most useful addition to the front end was a fork brace, stiffened them up much more than heavier springs or thicker oil. With a brace, and the hefty frame to back things up, I was quite happy to keep the forks as they were. There was a small amount of bouncing around, the odd twitch, but nothing that would cause the rider to throw up in sheer terror. Front wheel bearings lasted a good 50000 miles, steering head bearings about half that.
Tyres, sadly, lasted only around 6000 miles at either end, but I did fit choice Metzelers. Although the rims didn't allow the widest available 17" tyres to be fitted, the lack of rubber breath didn't upset stability; the FZR is one of the few bikes of this type that will run on bald tyres without throwing itself into massive wobbles or sliding off the road. I only did that the once, though, as I was booked for having unfit tyres, no working lights and horn. The fine was nothing compared to the way my insurance increased.
The back end had a shock that lost most of its damping after 20000 miles and was always a bit dubious when a hefty pillion was stuck on the rear, not a particularly clever idea as the seat becomes very cramped and a certain edge is taken off the acceleration. I bought a rebuilt White Power shock off an ex-racer and have kept swapping this over each time I've bought a new bike. They can be adjusted to suit most requirements, last about 25000 miles before needing another rebuild. They really are the business but at £400 new way over the top for most riders - I suppose it depends on how long the bike is kept and how hard it's ridden.
I've been amazed at the differences in longevity of the swinging arm and mono-track linkages. I know someone who bought an FZR for the first time, thinking the mild weaves were quite normal when in fact the back end was 250 miles short of needing all its spindles and bearings replaced. Just shows how much stability is inherent in the Deltabox frame. 10000 miles seems a reasonable point at which to tear the back end apart for a greasing session.
I've had bearings last for over 50000 and under 15000 miles given this sensible treatment. I found it helps to build up some extra protection around the back of the swinging arm - a combination of an old inner-tube and easily moulded alloy plate worked well, stopping a lot of the crud covering the rear shock and linkages. Mudguards on race replicas are pathetically minimal, they look great in the showroom but a day in the rain leaves them covered in muck. The rest of the chassis is pretty good.
I've yet to have a petrol tank rust through, although the plastic does crack around its mounting holes. I actually had the whole of one side of the fairing torn off in the mildest of slides along the road (the result of some spilt diesel rather than any chassis defect), down to the cracks weakening the structure. Not that the fairing was the best made plastic around, rather too thin and prone to vibrating harshly in the wind.
I did ride for a while without a fairing fitted, but it seemed to knock the edge off the high speed acceleration and top speed was down to 130mph. The wind blast didn't inspire very much love and I soon patched up the old one. The only problem with the plastic is that side winds can catch it, throwing the lightweight machine all over the road. The screen is on the low side, needing a real racing crouch to avoid having my head all shook up above 95mph.
The riding position you either hate or adapt to. It's not-as extreme as some and it's quite possible, after a few months, to happily throw the FZR around in town. No, it's the seat, more than anything else, that lets the side down. I've been in agony after a mere hour of hustling, from the way the foam goes flat and the edges of the seat digs into thighs. The bar/peg relationship isn't perfect for my long legs which end up a bit cramped after a couple of hours. Others will find the low seat height brilliant.
Fixing the seat involved recovering, denser foam and about seventy quid (I keep swapping the seat every time I change bikes)! It was better but still painful after more than 200 miles of riding in a day. If I stopped for half an hours rest I could continue, but the best solution seemed to be a pair of heavyweight jeans and Barbour overtrousers, which let me do 400 miles in a day without staggering around like a sexual deviant. It's the one thing I envy CBR600 riders, their instant rapport due to its excellent ergonomics.
I get my own back in the corners, where the superior flickability more than makes up for its slight deficit of power. The Yam really can be heeled right over until the laws of physics intrude. Even after so many miles on the FZR's I still haven't fully taken the Yam to its handling limits. Often, after a series of bends I'd come away with the feeling that | could have done them even faster. Some of this ability must come from the way they have craftily angled the cylinders forward, the rest of it from the massive Deltabox frame, the combination of strength and low centre of gravity overcoming even the rather mediocre suspension.
That basic stability, combined with the surprisingly easy going nature of the engine, meant that after a hard day's riding it's quite nice to rumble home in laid back fashion (the seat and riding position apart) rather than have to ride like a half drunk juvenile delinquent. It's rather strange that Yamaha never developed the bike into a more touring orientated machine. Naked, with a decent seat, milder riding position and the same chassis and power unit it would surely win lots of friends. The development of such a bike would cost next to nothing.
The problem with buying a used one is making sure that the engine hasn't been raced, the extra power and continuous thrashing taking their toll. The most obvious sign of racing is wired in nuts and bolts, not so easy to check with all the plastic in the way. The second potential horror is that they attract entirely the wrong type of owner, being viewed as a four stroke YPVS350. They are then ridden and neglected in a totally shameless manner, until thrown down the road. At least evidence of a bent Deltabox frame is easy to suss. Clutches and gearboxes I've already mentioned and are equally apparent during a test ride.
Prices vary greatly, depending on age and condition. The cheapest I've ever seen a runner was £1500, but I didn't buy it as it was the only FZR600 I'd ever heard with rumbling main bearings! £2550 bought my latest, one owner, pristine, in totally original nick, but I had to wait until November to buy it at such a bargain price. 3000 notes will buy an immaculate example, £2000 one with a decent engine but a chassis in need of some attention. I think they are a bit undervalued and underrated, one of the great bargains of the decade.
Dennis Howell