Question for you 2007 owners

[Botch]

I've read several reviews of the FZ-6 when it first came out that the throttle transitions were not the best: This characteristic made it difficult for even the advanced riders to get the power down smoothly, and thoroughly frustrated our newbies..., as well as having a very sensitive clutch:
Finally, the clutch on both our test bikes was touchy, with a narrow engagement band right at the end of the lever's travel. All together, this is not a powertrain friendly to the inexperienced.
(those quotes are from an online MotorCyclist mag/website)

This is one of the reasons I looked for an '07 model, as Yamaha claimed this stuff had been reprogrammed and much better. So my question to you other '07 owner is, do you like the response of your bike, either compared to older FZ6's or other makes?

I spent about an hour this morning in a church parking lot, practicing my braking, turns, shifting, and starting; it's going very well (FUN!) but I'm having trouble letting the clutch out smoothly from a standing start. I've driven manual transmissions my whole life, but with my feet so it may be just a learning process for me, but I'm curious as to what you other '07 owners think. As far as the power band/throttle response is concerned, I'm not revving it beyond 4,000 or so, so I don't have anything to add about that other than I'm feeling the chain jerk a bit during shifts (again, it may just be my inexperience).

[sportrider]

I can't answer the 07 based questions but try practicing "feeling" the friction point of your bike( where the clutch just begins to engage the engine with the gearbox) give the bike no throttle at all, with clutch control you should be able to make the bike roll. when you get that down, add a touch of throttle as you just pass the friction point that will make you smoother at the stops. as far as shifting goes let the clutch completly out before you get back on the throttle. if you think your bike has excessive drivetrain lash check your chain adjustment if its too loose it can cause that also.

[GBinAZ]

I've had a bunch of bikes over the years, some less displacement than my 2007 FZ6 but most with bigger engines and thus more torque which always makes starting easier as you don't need to rev the engine as high to prevent it from stalling when starting from a stop. I will say my '07 FZ6 is one of the easiest riding bikes I've ever had once you get away from a stop. You do have to get it over 4 -5,000 rpm to really get what torque is available in this engine but that's easy and the engine is so smooth you don't really feel the higher rpm's until it gets over 9,000 rpm or so. The throttle on my bike is very smooth and pregressive and I don't notice any jerking or stumbling. I have no experience on the '06 model FZ6 but have heard from guys at the store I got mine from that the '07 was worth spending a few more bucks as the EFI programming was better and they like the instrument panel a lot more as it's easier to read when riding. My advice would be to go for the 2007.

[fz6xlr8r]

I have the '07 and it took me about 1500 miles to get a good feel for the friction zone on the clutch. The other bikes I owned in the past had much wider friction zones than the FZ6. I use to flash the throttle a little before I eased out on the clutch but now I'm very smooth starting from a stop, just one smooth action with no high reving or luging. I think the more miles you put on the bike and the more you practice you'll get that narrow friction zone and throttle down pat and your gear changes will smooth out too.

[wrightme43]

Practice is the trick for the clutch. I have been working on not closing the the throttle unless absolutely neccesary. Close to closed but not all the way, helps alot, also like has been said, check chain and driveline adjustment.
Mainly just practice.

[rubyrabbit]

I'm around 3,000 miles on my 2006 and the clutch grab that was so evident when the bike was new is gone. I don't know that it was ever the clutch. When the bike's rolling and I'm shifting, just flashing the clutch in and out with a corresponding blip up or down on the throttle makes shifts as smooth as you could want.

And I haven't killed the engine starting the bike after the first couple rides. The engine revs so freely with no load that traffic around me probably think I'm looking to race, but like someone said above, it doesn't take much throttle to get off to a smooth start.

It's a great bike.

[jamesfz6]

I had an 06' i bought last september. I say had because it got totalled it in a wreck. I now have an 07'. I put over 10,000 miles on the 06' in the 7 months i had it so i was pretty use to it. And i can tell you, after putting 2,000 miles on the 07' last month, that there is no difference. Other than the plastics of course.

[Hound]

I'll comment on this.

I didn't find any of that to be a problem. Maybe because of the bike I came off of. I found it easy to engage. I stalled it once and I can forgive myself for not having been on a bike in 3 weeks. The clutch was fine, the throttle response is immediate and tight. I realize how much free play my Ninja had in the throttle and I understand 'throttle lag' now.