600 Fazer for my Father in Law, opinions please.

[Billy Balthorpe]

My Father in Law has caught bike fever again (its lucky I didn't give all his gear away like he told me to). He has sat on a Fazer 600 available from a local small dealer close to him in Northwich and he really liked it. The bike in question is a 2003 foxeye and has done 65,000 miles but has got an almost complete service history. He says its very clean with wavy discs and only a couple of small scratches. You can see it here 

http://www.soot-hill-motorcycles.co.uk/used-bikes

So the question is, what do you think of it? Is it worth it at £1195?

Im going to put a wanted ad in the For Sale/Wanted section on here anyway, just to see whats about, but he will want a looked after near standard box/foxeye with about 30 - 40 K miles for around £1200, yes, I know, he doesn't want much does he!!

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year.

[mtread]

It's got lots of nice extras - downpipes, rear shock, Scottoiler etc and is a very good price. I wouldn't be put off by the mileage. If a test ride shows it sounds and goes well, I'd go for it

[darrsi]

The rear shock alone has saved you £300, that looks like an absolute bargain.

[Deefer666]

Looks good initially, but its still running the original rubber brake hoses.... 13 years old now and looking at everything else that has been done to the bike I wonder why they haven't been changed. Also the downpipes look like the cheap ones that got punted about cheap a few years ago... I could be wrong but I would want to check that they are 4-2-1 rather than what I suspect are the 4-1 pipes that give the FZS a horrendous flat spot @6-7k.

Also remember if you are buying with cash, dealers should be climbing all themselves to do deals and shift bikes in January so I would wave cash money under their nose and go in at 1k.... It is cheap at what they have it at but it is the dead time for dealers at the moment.

Oh yeah, also aftermarket bars with no bar ends

[mtread]

Downpipes look the same as my Motads? Other points to note - bellypan and hugger looks like the genuine Yamaha ones. Right hand side panel missing (should cover rear master cylinder). Cylinder head fins have been painted black - worth checking engine paint overall condition. As Deefer says point these things out and £1k might get it.

[Bretty]

It's on the money.

Full service history? Does that match the Yamaha recommended schedules? At that mileage what starts to go? Clutch? Camchain? What condition are the exhaust studs in? Have these things been addressed or changed recently is what I'd be looking for, the rest is pretty much bombproof.

My bike is 14yrs old and still appears to have original brake lines. No issues! I just bled them after 'servicing' the calipers all round and they are plenty firm with loads of feedback.

Aftermarket bars and can - I'm probably wrong (most of the time), as these are common modifications, but it would be worth looking for evidence it's been dropped or down the road, original engine covers? levers, pegs? etc

[darrsi]

At 65000 miles the engine paint would've been pretty flakey, so, like me as well, they've probably just given it a spray/paint job to tidy it up.
I've painted my fins too, just because i prefer the look, not because i'm trying to hide anything sinister.


Take a torch, see if the sprocket nut's been upgraded out of interest, listen for cam chain noise, even flick through the service history and see what's been done if that's possible.


There is always the small chance that they weren't a regular on here, so things like upgraded brake lines which is generally a standard mod for us just simply may not have been known about or even needed. Some people are quite content and have the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude.


At that mileage his original shock would've definitely been knackered and could've been a shop recommendation.


Side panels are easy enough to get.


You'll probably get a better idea up closer anyway, but it's still a 13yr old bike so it's not gonna be mint for that kind of money anyway.


Good luck. 

[Deefer666]

My bike is 14yrs old and still appears to have original brake lines. No issues! I just bled them after 'servicing' the calipers all round and they are plenty firm with loads of feedback.

Aftermarket bars and can - I'm probably wrong (most of the time), as these are common modifications, but it would be worth looking for evidence it's been dropped or down the road, original engine covers? levers, pegs? etc

Rubber brake lines are reckoned to have a "use life" of 5-6 years" after that they start to degrade and are generally reckoned to be due for replacement by 8 years max. Obviously this is generalisation as it does not take into consideration the use the brakes have had and while you think that your brakes are fine and they probably feel fine because the degradation is a slow process that if you were to replace the hoses you would feel how much performance you were losing. This is why when people fit braided hoses they always reckon that they are so much better than rubber hoses, this is not true its just that the rubber hoses were probably past their best.

As for the aftermarket bars and lack on bar ends, I only pointed it out because Jan/Feb are really a buyers market if you have cash and its one more thing to use to attempt to beat the dealer down in price.

[Bretty]

You're right mate.

I'm beginning to wonder about my brake hoses now. They are not braided, but I don't know if they are original or not. (my bikes had a hard life n all)?!

and my comments about the bars were independent of your observations. ( well spotted btw!) I was just saying when I got my bike it had been dropped (loads). The handle bars are a little bent and the exhaust scratched. If these have been changed it may suggest it's had a tumble.

I'd buy that bike for a grand, Short of something catastrophic happening you won't lose £1000 on a bike like that. A complete secondhand engine is only £250-300!

[tommyardin]

Hiya Billy,
The FZS looks good, it looks like a bike that has been loved, rear huger color matched to the bike, front fender extender fitted, the down pipes and collector look like the could be stainless steel that need a good clean, if not they could be replaced with stainless steel for about £200 UK, but I would not replace them until they leak or blow because the manifold studs have a nasty habit of snapping when removing the original downpipes. They are cheap enough to replace but a right bastard to do (I talk from experience) the brake lines would cost about £100 UK to replace, but it is an easy job to do.
If you had to replace the down pipes and the brake lines with everything you would need, fluid and a set of stainless steel manifold studs (eBay)you would have to pay out approx £320 UK.
I bought a 2003 FZS with 27,000 3 years ago and paid £1950 UK, I felt it was a bargain at the price, its in Silver as is the one your looking at. The clutch basket rattle on them but as long as the noise is reduced when pulling in the clutch lever all should be good.
You must make up your own mind, But I have no regrets buying my 2003 Foxeye FZS (Last year they did the normally aspirated model, 4 Carbs) Things went downhill in my opinion after that with the FZ6, not so manageable at low speeds in town due to erratic throttle response, hit and miss at low speeds plus they lost a lot of mid range grunt that made the FZS such a responsive ride.
The bike looks great in the pictures on the website.
My mates with their 1000cc V Twin Aprillias and 1000cc Kwackers can lose me on the motorways (but 130mph is enough for me) but they really struggle to keep up on the windy country roads.

My FZS has S/Steel down pipes and an Xpipe race can, all engine case screws and cam cover screws have been replaced with mid blue colored stainless screws, carbon rear huger, front carbon fender extender, blue braided stainless
steel brake lines, blue fairing screws, and the black wheels have mid blue pin stripes around the circumferences. other bits (Rear brake anchor rod) have been sprayed mid blue to match.

I have now done about 8,000 miles on the bike, the only thing I had to do for the MOT last year was 2 new tyres (Bridgstone Battlax BTO23) scuffed them out charging down country lanes laughing at the big boys, and new rear wheel and sprocket bearings, again an easy job to do. 3 bearings and wheel oil seals about £20-00 eBay.

Love my FZS             

[tommyardin]

The last paragraph above should read ''3 bearings and wheel oil seals about £20-00 eBay''.

[tommyardin]

Billy,
Give us a post in here and let us all know the outcome.
Is your F-i-L the proud owner of one of the best Yamaha mid range motorcycles ever made?

[mtread]

You mean
'one of the best Yamaha mid range motorcycles ever made' 

[tommyardin]

mtread,
Sorry about that terrible error in my last post, fancy making such a glaring mistake as that.
Of course the word 'Yamaha' was totally unnecessary.
lol   

[tommyardin]

Hey I'm getting a bit flash in here now, lol!
Just learned how to post photographs.


My FZS just over 33K on the clock. 2003 [/size]Foxeye[/size] model.

[/size]I passed my bike test back in 1966 and had a lot of bikes over the years ranging from BSA Bantams 175cc single pot 2 stroker (Passed my test on that lil beaut) a BSA Super Rocket 650cc A10 preunit construction and a few other Beezers, a Cotton Conquest with a 250 Villiers 2T lump, I have had a number of Hondas ranging from 125cc up to 750 4.
But I have to say that none of them has been a patch on my FZS, this bike handles so well, it turns tight into bends due to its relatively short wheel base, its great on fuel, I personally think they look great I love the retro styling.
They are a very comfortable ride on long runs but mostly, they are BRILLIANT for scratching.


Woo woo Love that Fazer

[mtread]

 
BSA Bantam, BSA Lightning, Honda 400/4, Suzuki GS750, Suzuki 600 Bandit, Fazer FZS600, Triumph Speed Triple, Triumph Tiger 800,
and the Fazer stands out as the best

[Billy Balthorpe]

Thanks for the info Tommy, lovely Fazer.

I've always found that the best bike is the one i'm having next!!

He is going round there again tomorrow to check the missing service stamp between 55,000 and 65,000 , if its the one he has the receipt for with mileage somewhere between the two figures above, I think he will have it.

Side panel is £15 from ebay, and a pair of bar end weights cant be much more, so the obvious missing stuff is not a headache.