2008 Yamaha FZ1 Consumer Rating

I bought a brand new 2008 Yamaha FZ1 last summer and I'm loving it so far. I am your average weekend rider, hubby and daddy who can only spend a day at best riding per weekend, otherwise I'll get in troubble with my boss...I usually try to find some twisty backroads and combine it with some hwy to push it a bit...before stopping at a Tim Horton for coffee and then back. I clocked approx 5,500km last summer, which I think is pretty good considering our season is somewhat short in Quebec and it rained quite a lot last summer, especially on weekends of course! Engine wise, I find my Fazer has a lots of power. The accelaration is delivered in a strong but very civilized manner. Nomatter what I read and heard I find the injection pretty smooth. The bike feels light and agile yet has a geometry that makes it stable and confortable over bumps and into tight corners. It is the best compromise I found between sport, naked and sport-tourer bikes I've riden so far. It brings a grin on my face everytime I ride it and it gives me this feeling of freedom and power I look for whenever I'm on two wheels. I especially like the feeling of a tight entrance on the speedway where I can lean the beast on its side and accelerate hard, feel the power and hear the formula one noise this inline four threadmill produces... Well, you get the picture... On the complaint side, I would have liked a longer 6th gear especially at 120-130Km\hr on the hwy, to lower the revs from 5000rpm to 4500rpm to bring down vibration in my hands a little bit. On the confort side, better wind protection and a softer saddle would be welcome. On the ergo side, a slightly lower and forward handlebar, and bringing back the footpegs by about 1 or 2 inches would be nice. That being said, it is quite comfortable stock and I can ride for hours without too much pain in the butt or arms. Still, I changed the windshield for a taller GIVI, which I don't recommend as it creates lots of turbulence and wind noise around the helmet. I will be looking into another one such as zerogravity next summer. I will also get myself a gel seat from Yamaha to improve comfort on longer rides as the stock one is a bit hard after more than 2-3 hours of riding. If anyone knows of a way to lower the handlebars and move them forward by about an inch and a footpeg kit, I would be grateful. Of course it all depends on one's size, I'm a short rider at 5'7", 160pds. But that's my wish list to improve the riding position on the FZ1. All things considered, fun, power, comfort, quality and price, I would make the same choice over again and I recommend the Yamaha FZ1 for lots of great times. Looking forward to reading your comments, Ronnie Dargy rdargy@videotron.ca