The FZ1 is a deceiving bike. With a few mods like airbox, butterfly removal, CAT removal, exhaust and PCIII this bike puts out 142-147 RWHP. And its every bit as responsive as my 1125R if not more. In stock form it was a dog. The butterflies really kill it down low. Fixed that though.
Best part this thing only needs valve adjustments every 24K. For an I4 it is very low maintenance and a very comfortable commuter. I can putt around at 10 mph with no issues in stop and go traffic. On my Buell I am about ready to break every traffic law to get out of a traffic jam.
But if I had to pick a bike to get rid off then it would be the FZ1. I just cant get over how cool and fun the Buells are.
Luckily I can have both and they both serve their purposes.
Check that - it was an '06 - however - from a strictly street perspective - I was disappointed that the 'road-ified R1' still needed 7,000rpm before 'it all happens'. By that time it's all getting very, very fast.
"Check that - it was an '06 - however - from a strictly street perspective - I was disappointed that the 'road-ified R1' still needed 7,000rpm before 'it all happens'. By that time it's all getting very, very fast."
Yes you are correct. In stock trim its not very impressive for having a 05 R1 based motor and is easily fixed by removing the secondary butterflies that are controlled by the ECU to reduce power below 7K. Once removed and it response more like a dirt bike. Power comes on strong at 3000 rpm all the way to red line. That sudden rush that the stock bike gives you at 7K is not so noticeable because the power feels more linear when hitting harder down low. But it does require a PC111 to compensate for some added fuel.
I don't think they can put a true underslung exhaust on it as Buell has the patent.
My 75, 77 and 79 Vespas have underslung exhausts, as the manual transmission 2 strokes have since the 40s. Buell wasn't the first to do it, and I'm not sure there is a patent or not on the exhaust but if there is it probably relates to some very specific configuration easily overcome with slight differences.
One reason I can see other manufactures not going to the true underengine exhaust is lack of clearance. I just don't understand why all the other manufactures, in as much of a horsepower war as they are, don't switch to a dry sump.
I have the 07 which is just as bad as the 06 as far as peaky. The 06 had a bad snatch issue which most 06 owners fixed by adding Ivans FCE (fuel cut eliminator).
The 07-08 had most of this fixed but still suffers from it slightly. Yammy just did a better job hiding it with updated ECU program. There was no change in 08. But by doing this it made the 07-08 feel softer down low and the 7K hit that much harder.
Really the only way for this bike to feel right is to remove the flies especially after riding a Buell. IMO
Think they'll give it a cross-plane crank in the future? Only thing that makes an inline interesting. If the 09 r1 rips up the track I think everyone else will be redesigning as fast as they can.