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Comparison: 06' FZ6 vs. '05 R1

9K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  pelon717 
#1 · (Edited)
Well I think it's time I write a comparison... as apples to oranges as these bikes are, it's interesting how close they are in some areas. Please note: This is based on street use. Obviously, in track use the R1 would spank the FZ6.

Quick Answer: For those that want the coles notes version; if money were no object, the R1 is obviously one hell of a lot more bike. That said, the MSRP on the R1 is almost double. For street use, you certainly aren't getting double the bike. The R1 costs more on gas, more to insure, is going to chew through tires faster, and requires more expensive tires to begin with. So the operating costs per km (or mile for my yankee friends) are significantly more. And both bikes will let you lean way the hell over on a winding rural road and power out of a corner at 150 km/h.


Engine/power: This is usually what most people ask about first, so I'll mention it first. The engine has almost double the HP, and the bike weighs almost 50 pounds less. The FZ6 is quick, I ran a few 12.0's at Cayuga a couple years ago, but the R1 is a rocket ship. First gear will do 160 km/h (100 MPH) and it'll lift the tire with even partial throttle past 7k rpm. The sound is excellent, you can really hear the intake note from the ram air ducts that lead up just under the headlights. The factory exhaust has a real nice burble to it, and I will probably leave it stock. I wish the FZ6 had the same burble, it's not louder, but you can tell the difference between a muffler and a glass pack silencer.

Trans/clutch: Shifts are very smooth, but then I never had trouble with the FZ6. The trans certainly clunks a little less, but it doesn't feel any more beefy than the decent FZ6 trans. The clutch also feels very familiar. The engagement area feels around the same as the FZ6, so people crying about a short engagement area probably won't like the R1. I didn't have a problem with the FZ6, and I don't have a problem with the R1.

Brakes: Without being on a track, I can't feel much difference in the brakes. The rotors are roughly the same size, if not identical between the two bikes, and rear brake effort is roughly the same on both. Of course the suspension changes the braking feel massively, but I'll cover that next...

Suspension: Here there is a big difference. I haven't played with the adjustments at all on the R1, but even with factory settings you can tell the difference between $16k suspension and $9k suspension. It's firm, has great feedback, and feels very planted on less that perfect pavement while taking turns at a decent clip. I've got roughly the same chicken strips on the R1 (about 1/2") as I did on the FZ6, the difference being I felt like I was leaning the FZ6 way over, while the R1 I feel like I'm riding at 5/10ths of the limit. Braking is substantially improved by the better suspension, because in general you can feel what your front end is doing more.

Touring: This is the section that really surprised me about the R1. I expected a shitload more power. I expected a race suspension to have a totaly different feel. What I didn't expect was how comfortable the R1 is. I was expecting to be sore after riding it, and I'm not. The body's forward lean angle it probably about 10 deg. further forward, putting more weight on your wrists, but air hitting your chest and head take that weight off the wrists. So riding at 100 km/h is quite comfortable. Down at low speeds, and around town, the tall first gear and forward position are obviously less comfortable than the FZ6, but neither bike is really meant to putt putt in traffic.

Overall: I've got to say that things are surprising me about both bikes that improves them both in my eyes. The FZ6 is almost the ideal all around sport touring bike (with the emphasis on sport), and I'm sure with the R6 forks and a better rear shock, it's a totally different bike. But at the same time, the R1 is less of a brute force, go fast only, mean machine than I was expecting. While cruising it's very usable, and the power at 6000 rpm is more than enough to pull you hard out of a corner without having to bounce the thing around the 13k rpm mark.

Fit and finish is identical on both. That's what I love about yamaha. I know that I can go and buy anything from a PW50 to an FJR1300 and it'll have the same build quality.

I give 2 thumbs up to both bikes! :beer
 
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#3 ·
Just so I don't get hit with a "this thread is useless without pics" :lol

'06 FZ6 (put 18,850 km on it):



'05 R1 (got about 800km of my own riding on it now, 3300 total):

 
#9 ·
nice review. btw how much did u get the r1 for?
OT: anyone here went from fz6 to r6?
$9500 CDN + tax, including an extra rear tire (stock dunlop qualifier). Bike had 2500 km on the clock. Probably seems like a lot, but the MSRP in Canada was $16k.

I wanted an '05 RC51, but it had 4000 km on it and buddy wanted $13,500... :bitchslap

Now that it's all done, I'm glad I stayed Yamaha, it really is a nice bike to ride on the street.
 
#8 ·
Nice looking bike. Thanks for the write-up.
 
#14 ·
Fair enough, and for what it's worth I was going of the yamaha specs, not measured. They quote 98 HP for the FZ6, and 180 HP for the R1 (172 + the ram air), that may be an explanation why the dyno of the FZ6 is only 4 hp off it's spec sheet, while the R1 is 12 hp off it's 172 mark. Still, 159 over 94 is about 70% more power. And 75 lb-ft over 43 lb-ft is 74% more torque.

Also, not that I'm discounting your numbers, because I could certainly see it weighing only 10 pounds less. But here is where I got the R1 number of 379 pounds. Total Motorcycle Website - 2005 Yamaha R1. And on that same site, they quote a dry weight of 423 pounds for the FZ6. So that's how I got the 44 pounds lighter, figuring they had roughly the same weight in fluids.

:cheers
 
#16 ·
A 180 tire will look goofy when you get chrome wheels, airbrushed skull paintjob, and stretched swingarm.
 
#21 ·
Aaron: You forgot to add that the R1 has a much greater chance of landing you a thousands of dollars speeding ticket! ;)

And if you do not get what you are looking for for the FZ, I would hold on to your FZ6 and sell it either at the big International Bike Show in January for a mere $40 fee, or wait for spring when everyone is dying to get a bike.
 
#22 ·
I ride with some R1 owners. They have offered to swap bikes on some rides.

So far I've politely turned them down. Partly from my lack of seat time.
Mostly cuz... I'd probably go buy one.

Nice bike.
 
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