Yamaha FZ1

Yamaha FZ1 – The most overlooked, underrated bike

The Yamaha FZ1 is one of the most underrated motorcycles of the modern era. Tremendous comfort, outstanding performance, impeccable reliability. It’s one of the best Jack-of-All bikes on the market today. If you want to commute around town or on the highway and carve through the twisties, all the while experiencing a comfortable ride to…

Tradeoffs and Relatives

Life is full of relatives and tradeoffs. This became apparent to me for the hundredth time this morning while hopping on my 2006 Yamaha FZ1 for the first time in three months after having put 1100 miles on a 2013 Suzuki GSX-R750 a little over a week prior. What was immediately obvious was that relative…

Winterizing the Yamaha FZ1 and Shed

Today is the official start of Winter, according to the Jeremy Blanchard Motorcycling Calendar. Why is it today, you ask? Today, I have put away my 2006 Yamaha FZ1 for the winter and have winterized my shed to bring the snow blower to the forward and ready position. To my FZ1, I say “Sleep tight,…

Yamaha FZ1 with larger rear sprocket

At the 30,000 mile service the chain needed to be replaced. To my knowledge it had never been replaced. The stock FZ1 is geared quite high which makes it very subdued even when doing 80 MPH on the highway. This behavior is great for MPG and long highway trips but is not very engaging for…

Motorcycle Commuting: the end is nigh

I did not take the bike to work today. I took the cage for two reasons, namely it was a bit cold (32F) and the road was coated in white. I would like to say this white coat the road wore was snow. In which case it would melt away eventually and the road would…