[funkeycold]

It was a stroke of luck...it had to be a miracle.

Over the last two weeks, I've called every single dealer in Washington State, Oregon, and Idaho. None. I was so sad that I might have to wait several months or more for the '05 FZ6.

So I decided to visit the dealer one last time in hopes of trying to open a Yamaha credit account under their current $39/month promotion. It was a long shot anyways, and they wouldn't do it. While I was there, I told one of the sales guy about my fruitless search for an FZ6.

And then a glimmer of hope. He thinks really hard, starts looking around, and says he wants to go check "one more time..." I figure this guy is just trying to be nice, so I say what the heck and let him go.

Then, the big moment. He comes back really excited. He explains that the manager went out and bought a brand-new FZ6 at a "dealer's only" auction.

It was weird because they said the auction was "grab-bag" style. The bike was still in the crate, unopened. The only problem was that there was a slight crunch in the front of the crate. So dealers had to bid on a bike that they couldn't even see.

Just today, I went back and got final approval for the Yamaha $39/month promotion. The sales guy also told me that the crate will arrive on Tuesday, and we will all find out what damage (if any) has been done to the bike. The dealer is going to make sure that any damage would be repaired with brand new parts, and that it will still have the new warranty and all that good stuff. My only hope now is that there is no damage to the frame or something.

That's my story, and now I am going to be part of the proud FZ6 crew. I finish up the MSF course on Tuesday, and I hope to be on the road by the end of the week (if I can find some gear). I'm a big guy, so I either gotta find a local store with my size or I'm gonna end up ordering off the 'net.

:grinbounc

 

[sparky8844]

congratulations..your gonna love the FZ6 its gonna be quite a jump from those little 125 and 250 bikes at msf..i know what you mean about gear im a big guy also and its hard to find any local dealers that carry a decent selection in the xxl and up stuff..

 

[Hams51]

Nice!!!!!!

 

[ZeuSeason]

Congrats and welcome to the crew! Do you know if you are getting the faster silver one?

 

[funkeycold]

Thanks for the kind words. I would prefer the silver because I already bought some red Firstgear gloves to match. If its blue, well then maybe I will try for a red, white and blue (Go USA!) color combination with my gear.

The crate with the bike in it won't be arriving at the dealer until tomorrow (Tuesday). So until then, nobody knows anything about the bike. All the dealer knows is that there in an FZ6 in the crate, and that the crate has a slight crunch in the front. Everybody at the dealership is excited, especially the manager who bought it at the auction. It's been his project, and he is making sure that nobody messes with it except for him. I told the sales guy to call me when they do open the crate so I can be there for "the unveiling." I just hope there's only minor (if any) damage.

 

[funkeycold]

I found out today that the bike is BLUE!

I also found out the bike has some minor damage to the front, I think it was a cracked windshield or fairing or something like that. Also, the bike has been delayed in getting to the dealer. Now it seems like it won't be coming in until next week.

The girl in gear/parts there at Renton Motorcycles was really helpful. I had nothing but a GREAT experience. She took the time to explain all aspects of gear since I was a new rider. It was really amazing. We picked out a jacket, pants and helmet and she is going to hold them until I pick up my bike. I am going to get the Firstgear Kilimanjaro Jacket in yellow, the Firstgear HT overpants, and the Shoei RF-1000 helmet in yellow. The helmet fitting was weird because since I am a big guy, my head is naturally larger than most, or so I thought. I tried on an XXL and it was fine in the cheeks but too loose up top. It turns out a large helmet was good for the top, and I had to use the cheek pads from the XXL helmet to fit my cheeks in. So my cheeks were squished a tiny bit (I assume it was a bit funny looking), but the girl said that the cheek pads should conform and relax a bit with some time.

 

[exciter99]

Here in the Northeast I know of a few shops that have FZs sitting around on the floor. Of course my girlfriend picked up one of them a week and a half ago so that one doesn't anymore :lol I guess they just don't sell as well here.

 

[funkeycold]

I knew there were a few here and there in SoCal and the Northeast, but I wanted to buy through a local dealer and they wouldn't ship one in for me. They also wouldn't have negotiated on the price. With this one I'm getting, there will be a good discount since they have to replace a few parts on the front of the bike. I'm hoping for at least a $5500 or lower price when its all said and done. Or should I go lower?

 

[Dexter_643]

MSRP is 6599$, I think you'd be doing quite well if you could talk them into 5500$. Of course less would be better, but you don't want them to laugh you out of their shop .

 

[funkeycold]

Ha, they better give me a good deal! I'm sure that they bought the bike for pretty cheap since it had some damage.

I'm buying all my gear from them too, so maybe I can get them down on that stuff too...

 

[funkeycold]

Pfft...

Went to the dealer today and saw the "damage." The left side of the fairing had a 1.5 inch crack in it, not too big of a deal. The only thing is that if the dealer fixes the crack, they will not be as lenient on the price. If they leave it, they will likely discount it, but who knows how much. The way the guy was talking, it didn't seem like they were going to give up enough to make it worth buying/installing a new fairing ourselves.

Unfortunately, the sales guy also told me that his co-workers have been drooling over this treasure and trying to get permission to sell it to other possible buyers, who I'm guessing are willing to pay a premium since there are none left in the Northwest. We had to go down there and put a down payment on it just to keep it in our hands, even though we were approved by Yamaha for it already! What a bunch of sharks.... Anyways, because of this and the fact that we told them to go ahead and fix the crack, the discounts are going to be slim. Either way, my monthly payment for the bike itself ($39) stays the same, discounted or not, so I am going to try and get a b***** discount on the gear I will be buying since that will increase my payment more. The sales guy said $1000 in accessories will probably bump the payment up $10/month. If I can get them lower, my total payment will be lower.

I know I'm giving out every single detail as it happens....but I'm just too excited!

 

[virtualt]

Pfft...

Went to the dealer today and saw the "damage." The left side of the fairing had a 1.5 inch crack in it, not too big of a deal. The only thing is that if the dealer fixes the crack, they will not be as lenient on the price. If they leave it, they will likely discount it, but who knows how much. The way the guy was talking, it didn't seem like they were going to give up enough to make it worth buying/installing a new fairing ourselves.

Unfortunately, the sales guy also told me that his co-workers have been drooling over this treasure and trying to get permission to sell it to other possible buyers, who I'm guessing are willing to pay a premium since there are none left in the Northwest. We had to go down there and put a down payment on it just to keep it in our hands, even though we were approved by Yamaha for it already! What a bunch of sharks.... Anyways, because of this and the fact that we told them to go ahead and fix the crack, the discounts are going to be slim. Either way, my monthly payment for the bike itself ($39) stays the same, discounted or not, so I am going to try and get a b***** discount on the gear I will be buying since that will increase my payment more. The sales guy said $1000 in accessories will probably bump the payment up $10/month. If I can get them lower, my total payment will be lower.

I know I'm giving out every single detail as it happens....but I'm just too excited!

There are dealers in other parts of the country that will also take your Yamaha card over the phone and deliver the bike via Forwardair for about $350, and are selling the bike for about $5800, so tell them to stick thier broken bike up their butts.

Don't settle for second best as they probably got that bike for around $5k and are going to make far too much profit on it.

Don't let the fear of loss drive the price up, they will be banking on that, plus, the 2005 will be out fairly soon, maybe a month or so if it is the same as this model, and if I am not mistaken you are somewhat restricted to the time you can ride a bike in the Northwest due to weather, so factor in the amount of time you will be able to ride the bike before it is " A year old bike" or "Last years model".

It is way too late in the season to be paying retail for a model that is a couple of months away from be "Last Years closeout"

Think about it a little more before settling for second best.

Skippy

 

[funkeycold]

Well, I'm still gonna go in there and shoot for $5500. But if I can't go that way, then I would do well to take your advice and just have a bike shipped from the East. Is there any real confirmed information on the release of the '05 FZ6? I've heard everything from one month to over four months.

 

[Dexter_643]

Yamaha hasn't stated a release date yet for '05's. The '04's became available in Dec. '03 IIRC.

Hehe, you lucky 49 staters, you have the option of ordering your FZ600S from anywhere in the union. When the FZ600S-C's were gone, us Cali folk were SOL (short of buying the emissions stuff at retail, installing ourself, and going through the DMV paperwork and hassle of having it inspected).

 

[funkeycold]

Just got back from all the day's errands. I put a good 80 miles on the bike today, which means yes, I did buy it.

Unfortunately, they scalped me on the price. Those greedy bastards wanted to soak every last dime they could get on this bike. When it was all said and done, I ended up paying MSRP+tax for it. Plus I got 20% off the MSRP's off all my immediate gear and accessories, and 10% off if I decide to buy anything else from them in the next year. I'm just glad I paid what I did and some other poor sucker didn't get soaked for more. You can flame me if you want, but I am going to stick with thinking that I paid for the convenience factor.

I know I could have waited for an '05, but nobody knows what the deal is with that. I also wouldn't have been able to get the $39/month financing.

The dealer is also going to replace the fairing because one side had a crack in it (shown below). The rest of the bike is perfect.

 

[Dexter_643]

I too paid the $$ for the "convenience factor" and easy financing. In the end, it's only money... right?

And just think, your bike even comes pre-wrecked, so now you don't have to worry about doing it on your own. Usually people have to wait months or years for the same experience.

At any rate, welcome to the club!

 

[funkeycold]

You know, I never even thought about it being "pre-wrecked." They are going to replace the fairing anyways...hmmmmm... Nah, I'd probably screw up more than the fairing.

And yes, I HAVE had the wonderful experience of going down back in the day. I used to have a '78 Yamaha 250 dual sport a few years back, and one day I was riding around in the local gravel pit. My friend and I both had dual sports so we would race each other around the pit, since it laid out like a street circuit, just on the dirt. I came up to a corner way too hot, and jammed on the brakes way too hard and somehow ended up in a really bad wobble..I'm not sure how. Anyways, the wobble was too much and I lowsided on the left side. Being the dumb kid I was, I was only wearing a helmet, t-shirt and sweatpants. I ended up turning my left knee into mush, which took about a month to heal. My helmet kept me from becoming the next "two-face." I did learn lessons from it and it has turned me into a better rider today.

 

[greatzippy]

If the dealer is replacing the fairing it really doesn't matter is you paid MSRP then .... the rest of us pretty much did. If that's all thats wrong with the bike once it's fixed nobody will ever know.
If I were you I'd ask the dealer if you can keep the cracked fairing. You may be able to patch it up ans sell it ... or keep it just in case.
Either way ur gonna love it.

 

[funkeycold]

Yeah, they said I could have it once they have the new one installed. They didn't seem too interested in keeping the old one. One sales guy made a quip about it being a consolation prize for having to pay full price.

 

[charlieoneseven]

They should have given you 20% off on gear. The price is always an issue with some and you know the 05's will have a higher msrp. Yamaha parts has a few items you may want like a fitted cover but don't bother with the higher windshield. Sit tall when you ride this one to keep the wind noise down and watch your knee going over that grab rail. Take some time in a parking lot to scrub your tires with some 8's to prevent them from giving up traction when your in traffic. Take it back in for the 600 mile service for sure, mine had some slop in the throttle cable that was causing me to bog in the apex.
You did get the faster one!