What made you choose a FAZER?

[Dave48]

Having read threads like noggys recent "War & Peace" & all the Gen 1 v Gen 2 type features got me thinking....what started the obsession for want of a better word?
First saw a Gen 1 thou in a showroom in 2002-everything about it looked right except the price back then.
Guy I worked with passed his test & bought a new 52 plate silver Foxeye-loved the looks,size ,felt right sitting on it and not too expensive.
Ran a couple of H****s til switched allegiance to the triple tuning forks in 2004 -have owned 2004 FZ6(not for long though-didn't gel),2002 FZS 1000 (2 years-loved it!) & 2 FZS 600 Foxeyes.  In a nutshell - the present 600 is likely to be the last bike I will buy simply because it does everything I want & makes me feel good!

[mickvp]

I did my DAS lessons on an 03 plate FZS600. loved it.

Had my FZS600 for about a year, but the lack of torque, and having to really work the box was becoming tedious, so decided (in the end ) to step up to a gen 1 FZS1000. I cant see me getting rid anytime soon as its everything I could want in a bike:

pretty good looking
fast
torquey
comfy
fairly upright
knees not too bent (I cant bend one of my knees too much after a previous motorbike crash).

Ok - its not the outright BEST bike at any one thing, but I genuinely dont think there is a bike thats as good all round out there in just about any price range.

[ChristoT]

I got my Fazer as a swap for my Varadero 125. It seemed OK for me, certainly better than what I had. I remember the first ride on it, even on 33bhp, it felt small compared to the Vara, but boy did it shift!

Over the next year, I fell in love with its foibles, its reliabilty, its ability to do it all. I bought the ZX-4 as I couldn't afford to insure a Fazer - what a mistake that was. When I got the opportunity to buy another Fazer cheap, I seized the opportunity. And it's a project to keep me busy until I can afford to run and insure it.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Hard to say exactly what made me go for my first gen 1. I had an SV650, naked, which I got cheap from where I worked, Woodford Motorcycles. I hadn't had a bike for a couple of years, and the SV was the first thing that came up. I took it on a week's tour of Wales but found the seat bench-hard, a bit cramped and lacking grunt, having been used to bigger bikes for most of my riding life.
 
So we ended up with 2 silver gen 1s in the showroom - again, I was looking at a good deal, including them taking back the SV for what I paid for it. So I took one out for a spin and instantly liked it - riding position, comfy seat and loads of grunt. Seemed to handle ok too.
 
After about 2 hours, I took it back to the showroom (the boss was a bit miffed that I was gone so long, as I was supposed to be working behind the parts counter    ) and struck a deal.
 
My situation is a bit unique. I'm always reluctant to part with a bike who's riding position works for me, as I have a dodgy arm and shoulder and am always scared that I won't get on with even a slight change in something like the bar height or reach. But the Fazer just worked for me straight off the bat.
 
Cost was another big factor - it's a lot of bike for what you pay. Plus, working at a Yam dealer, I got all parts cheap, and paid nowt for labour on services etc 
 
So, then I gradually came to realise that nothing else would do everything as well as this bike does in a single package - so I'm on my 4th one on the trot (2 sold due to changing circumstances, 1 stolen).
 
I had a stint at Waltham X m/cs, and got to use a boxeye 6 for a couple of weeks while my thou was in for repairs after an off. I thought the 600 was a great bike, very much in the mould of it's bigger brother, but of course a bit nimbler in the twisties - if I couldn't have afforded to buy my current thou, the 6 would almost definitely have been my 2nd choice, for virtually all the same reasons as I chose the thous.

[stevierst]

I bought my first boxeye after passing my test 12 years ago. I studied all the articles in the magazine's, and the fazer was the winner. Bought it for £2300, and put 30,000 miles in it in the 12 months of ownership. I commuted from Sailsbury to Blackpool on it every weekend!
I traded in for an aprilia, and regretted it. (got £2250 for the fazer with 45k on it!!!) 12 months later I wanted rid of the Aprilia and craved a gen I, but got offered a 99 R1 as a swap! I streetfightered it within weeks, modelling it on the gen I.

Several bikes have come and gone over the years, but a further 2 boxeyes took pride of place in my garage as my daily commuters. Now got a thundercat as an 'alternative' fazer just for a change. It's not a fazer though.
My pleasure ride is now a gen II, got offered a deal for my tiger that I couldn't refuse, but I was after a gen I at the time.
I just can't pull myself away from the fazer, it really is that good at everything!

[dazza]

Pretty simple for me, wanted a comfortable bike that would eat up the miles, looked good and would hold it's own against most sports bikes. As soon as I gave this brief to my old school pal who works at my local bike dealers, he just pointed me towards the yellow (best colour} fzs 1000 sitting out the back, just been taken in p/x.  He then told me that he could have a pick of any machine in there a few years back to use for the weekend and always chose a Fazer if they had one in. I've got to say I was a little disappointed when I first took ownership as I felt that it was holding back. It was this problem that made me stumble across this site and before you know it after a dyno run to confirm, those cheesy smelling plastic restrictors were discarded.   I remember someone on here when I first joined came on here praising his gen 1 saying it was just getting faster and faster and I thought he'd just got a bit carried away and was spurting rose tinted bullshit..... BUT.....since I've now had mine Ivanised as well as derestricted, I can say without any rose tinted bullshit....It's just got faster and faster.

[mtread]

I came back to biking after 15 years and things had moved on enormously. So I bought ...... a Bandit, as you do ...... It got trashed and written off, and I was determined to go and get a replacement straight away. What's the best 600 on the block ? The foxeye 600 Fazer. Bought one new. Never looked back. Still got it 12 years later, and will never sell it  (although I then when and bought a Speed Triple as well, for sunny days)

[unfazed]

I had a black XJR400 which I bought in 98 and went into one of the local bike shops one day for tyres for it and saw a lovely 6 month old 2000 S model Fazer600 thought it was class looking and bought it. My wife reckons it was the most expensive set of tyres I ever bought  Kept  it for a year and a half and traded it for a brand new 2003 Foxeye (one of the last sold in Ireland) because I did not like the under seat pipes of the new models and I have it since.
Would not sell it for the world, love the all round ability. I just like the design of the older Fazers.

[Mick-H]

In 2002 after selling my VFR750 I was looking to buy something that could match the VFR as a real world bike.
It came down to a Fazer 1000 or a Vtec, the Fazer was a good bit cheaper at the time and Honda dropping the gear driven cams sealed the deal.
Kept that bike for 6 years before making my biggest ever biking mistake selling it to buy a ST1100 

[darrsi]

Went to view a Fazer 600 on behalf of a friend for his first bike, it was a bit tatty but only £800, so i done the decent thing and bought it for myself instead, as my NTV 600 was running a bit ropey and i fancied a change after 10 years anyway. 


I had to chuck a lot of money at it though as i soon found out the previous owner had abused the foc out of it and obviously didn't know what the word maintenance meant, hence the price, but it's all been a learning curve and i really like the bike as well.
It's just cosmetic stuff that needs finishing off now but as it's mainly a commuter bike i'm in no real hurry.


In fact i liked it so much that not long after i gave my mate a lift to go and pick up another one for himself.   

[mr self destruct]

Simple really, it ticked all the boxes.
I learned on a 650 bandit so didn't want anything slower than that, and most middleweights in my price range are around 60-70bhp.
I didn't want anything bigger than a 750 for insurance purposes.
I didn't want a sports bike for the same reason.
I need a fairing for my motorway commute.


The FZS600 is the only bike that has over 85bhp, a half fairing, fuel gauge, under seat storage and a centre stand. Perfect for me.


The only downside is that I paid way over the odds for it from a dealer, but it was worth it for the warranty when the clutch went a-knacker.

[esetest]

Got mine to replace my back to biking bike a GS500F , I did lots of demo rides on various bikes , nothing ticked enough of  the boxes , I read a review of the Fazer in Ride , owners seem to love them , found one at the right price ,  I wanted something that was upright , quick with power on tap  , with at least a half fairing , that would be fine for weekend blasts , a bit of touring and I like the half naked looks with the shiny engine on show  .
Since I have had it I have found it easy to live with , smooth and pulls easily from low revs , economical ( I am fairly easy on the throttle)  , easy to work on , and great for touring . 

[Panthor]

My mates father unfortunatly passed away and when i was helping clear some of his things from the house i saw the FZS600 in the garage which had been sitting there for a couple of years and so made a deal to have the bike then did my test and have loved it ever since.  I am considering now changing for a gen2 thou though as i want something to keep up with my mates' blackbird and zzr1400, fzs is fine on twistys but i get left behind on the straights.

[hightower]

Simple: the name.


"You ride a what?!"
*Puts shades, takes a sip of Martini James Bond style* "That's right baby, a Fazer"


But in all seriousness: I learnt on a bumble bee (or whatever they're called, CB600) which I enjoyed. I knew I wanted a 600 (or there abouts) to start with, but never even considered buying a CB600. I think the choice was always between a Fazer and an SV650. I'm not quite sure why I arrived at those two bikes, but I did. I thought and thought and thought, and something in my mind said get an SV650, it will be a safe bet (ideal beginner bike blah blah blah). But the idea of a Fazer always kept me honest - I think it was because the Fazer was more suited to my height.


Anyway, a week before my test I had a lesson - when I went in the shop they had just gotten this Fazer in part-ex. I said there and then it was an omen, and that I'd be back the following week to buy it, so have it ready to go. The following Thursday I sold my van in preparation (God knows what would have happened if I failed my test), passed my test on the Friday, and was riding a Fazer home about 20 minutes later.


I left the shop with advice ringing in my ears - "go steady HT, it's an unfamilar bike and you will be on cloud 9, so go steady" - I got about 2 miles down the road and just knew it felt right, I had to open it up. And that's the day I had this permanent grin etched on my face.

[Lez72]

Well my biking life started on a CB50J that my dad bought for me 2nd hand for my 16th Christmas. At 17 I sold it and passed my test and bought an LC. I loved that bike and had it for a few years until I was 21 when I bought an 18 month old GSXR750M. 21 Years later I still have the 750M but age has taken its toll and I don't find sportsbikes comfortable in any way. I have always sacrificed other luxuries to satisfy my hunger for bikes and have owned multiple and varied bikes over the years but have always hung onto the GSXR as it just reminds me of really happy times. In 2007 I saw a silver Gen 1 in Stratstones at Clay Cross (now known as CMC). I sat on it and loved the looks and the comfort compared to what I had been used to but it was just out of my price range and the dealer wouldn't budge so I walked away but had developed a soft spot for the brand. I put it out of my mind and continued with sportsbikes until 2009 when I saw a beautiful black Gen 1 parked up in Matlock. I hung around until the owner finally came back to it. We got chatting and he stated he was looking to sell it to fund his passion for MotoX. I made him an offer and picked it up 2 days later. I had never even ridden one but the ride home of around 50 miles made me realise what I had been missing all those years. It had sportsbike power, looked beautiful, handled as well as it looked and was the most comfortable thing I had ever slung a leg over. The Gen 1 is such good value for money its almost obscene. I hope I never have to sell it.

I bought my boxeye on a bit of a whim off Ebay for £1000 as I wanted something to put loads of miles on and save the Gen 1 for sunny Sundays. I didn't even go and look at it prior to making my bid but it just seemed like the way forward at the time. I have spent a few bob on it over the 18 months of owning it but the money has mainly gone on consumables and tidying it up a bit. I didn't regret the purchase and its been a cracking little bike. I find it a little bit underpowered but in the real world its all you really need. Having said that I will look to replacing it over the next year or two for something with a bit more umph but it will be a reluctant sale.

[peterjca]

As I mentioned in a recent posting, I got the biking bug in my mid teens in the early 80s. No idea why - riding bikes just looked awesome fun! My mum didn't approve, my dad was silent (his brother died in a bike accident in WWII). None of my mates had bikes. In a small rural town in Scotlandshire, if you had a bike (or cropped hair!) you were a nasty hooligan. Unfortunately, there is simply something about motorcycling that bites and bites very very very hard. I had to make do with buying motorcycle magazines and trying to understand what riding a bike was possibly like.

Whilst at university, I did a programming job for a lecturer and got handsomely paid around £2K. That was enough for me to buy bike gear and my first ever motorcycle: a brand new black Suzuki RG125 (from Shirlaws in Aberdeen). This was 1990. A few years later, the bike got nicked. I remember posting a huge email to the ogri email list (as it was then, ixion now) about the theft and my failed attempts to find it wandering the streets of Aberdeen in the wee small hours. After that, a friendly lecturer lent me an old CB100N. Then I trundled around on a battered hand-me-down CBR600 for a few years.

Moving on a few years and I ended up working in Surrey. Fed up with commuting by public transport, I realised it was time to get back on two wheels. There was a bike show on at Excel in the Docklands so I attended. Unbeknownst to me, the Fazer 600 had just come out. There it was gleaming on the Colin Collins stand. I didn't fall in love with its looks yet decided that was the bike for me. Took a test ride a few weeks later and bought a red one.

Moving on to 2006, the FZ1 came out so decided it was the right time to upgrade to my first litre bike.

That's how I got into Fazer land.

If I had my time again, I'd love to be employed in the motorcycle industry in a computing/maths/software engineering guise. Ho hum!

[JoeRock]

Had my Ninja 900 which got stolen, and at the time I was doing a fair bit of two up, longer distance milage, and unfortunately the 9 wasn't as good for the pillion as it was me, so i decided to try out an FZS 1000 as my uncle had one, loved it, and I'd enjoyed being on the back of it.
Did rather like it, and my pillions certainly did, but I just never felt it was quite as exciting as the Ninja. Then found out I'd lost my no claims because of the theft, so had to sell the 1000 and downsize, and as my dad had had a 600 for best part of a decade and loved it I thought I'd try that out. Can't deny it was a good bike, but for me it felt completely bereft of any character, and just didn't have that "sparkle" you want with a bike, so when i got my no claims reinstated I sold it to my dad to stop him from commuting on his FZ1 and bought another Ninja - now I'm not doing as much riding with pillions its pretty much the perfect bike until I stop having to ride from Leicester to Kent and can buy something like a ZX10R!

[dolau]

Had a CBR6 that was doing my elbows on long journeys  and was on the blue2 site with Glyn lewis who had a boxeye and raved about the comfort and rideability and ended up selling the CBR and buying an 51 plate FZS6 from a guy on here
 
Did Scotland twice and Ireland and loads of miles around Wales
 
Loved it and kept it for about five years until wifey says - do you want to change your bike- well- what could I say!- apart from thank you yes.
 
To be honest couldnt think of another bike that would be as comfortable or suit my riding abilities but the boxeye looked a bit long in the tooth so brought a FZ6S2 and love it- despite all the bad press about half and half and doesnt know what it is- you just change your driving style to suit the revvy engine and sit back and enjoy the ride.
 
Cant think of a replacement for it so will have to keep it
 
 

[bigralphie]

Too tall and fat for an R1 

[Mattsplat]

Always liked the look of them.
I knew the GenI was a decent bike, the GenII is pretty cheap so I went for one.
I came from an electronic 180hp bike so was disappointed with the power delivery, handling was pretty sloppy and the seat uncomfy.
I've chucked a bit of cash at it and I'm now satisfied with how it goes/handles/stops.

Would I buy another.......no.
I would buy an R1 and put Renthals on, should have done that in the first place...

[adeejaysdelight]

I had a CBR 600 and ended up getting surgery which left me with 42 staples down my front and a massive scar from my chest to my pubic bone. The lean over the bars was AGONY, so I sold it and bought something a bit more upright till I healed. Almost 3 years later I have not even considered selling the Fazer, even though I'm fit as a fiddle. Don't think I will ever get rid of him. I love it.


I have added to the collection mind 

[stevierst]

I would buy an R1 and put Renthals on, should have done that in the first place...

I keep getting tempted to do it again, best bike I've ever had my fightered R1

[Kosmic Kartman]

I first saw the Fazer in the flesh at the motorcycle show when it was first out and my jaw dropped. FUCKIN AWESOME! 

I cued up to sit on it and once there I was on it for about 20 minutes. My mates all jeering at me to let someone else have a sit on it. I thought, one day I WILL have one. In 2004 I decided needed another bike to keep my XJR 1200 company so before my expectant wife spent all my hard earned cash on nappies and baby stuff I went out, test rode one, and then bought one.

The test ride was for an hour so I blasted it from Clapham to near enough Maidstone and back. Yep... one of them al do me 

Mine has been modded a bit, but fuck me it's still a mental bike for the everyday man.

[bigbluebear]

I had an old Yamaha Virago 535 which I was offered to swap for FZS600.....took a test ride and couldn't believe the power, torque and handling......so being a big heavy foccer I then decided to try the FZS1000.....and the rest is history

[AndyL]

I had been planning on buying a CB500s from a mate but passed my test on a 650 bandit.


In hindsight I think I should have bought the 2002 model that had been lowered instead of the 2001 bike I got. Years ago I sat on a mates Fazer and it bike with a weight I could manage and 95bhp seemed plenty when you're on a SR125


After passing the test it was a bike I could get on (struggled with a SV650) and was lighter then the bandit. I don't think they look bad with a bit of luggage on them and it's reasonably comfy.