fzs600 vs fzs1000

[scoobie_paws]

ok so looking at the stats on the two bikes it got me wondering if the 600 wasn't far off the 1000 it terms of power to weight ratio.
the 600 is about 20kgs lighter and 95bhp aint to be sniffed at but are they really that different on the road?
Had a 1000 before and have had large capacity bike for a while (zrx1200, bandit 12, firestorm the noo) would i get on with a 600 or would i miss the power too much?
I am now using the bike to commute about 20 miles each way and the 600 def better on fuel but I wonder if the fun factor would be missing?
your thoughts ladies and gentlemen please

[red98]

This will be interesting.....iam lucky enough to have both, been using the thou for the last 2 years and have only just got the 6 back on the road......rest assured  theres loads of fun to have on the 6  ......biggest difference for me is the weight, nice and flickable the 6, torque for the thou, no need to change down for overtakes, mpg, it does get a bit of a pain filling up the thou.......if I had to choose I would take the 6.....but the best option by far is to have both 

[ChristoT]

The general consensus is that the 6 is nippier, and handles better than the Thou, while the Thou has effortless power (You need to play the box more on the 6). But as you say, 95 ponies ain't sniffing material!

[Millietant]

Like red98, I'm lucky enough to have both in the garage and get to ride them generally when I want, but the difference is that I prefer the 1000. The weight isn't really an issue to me, but I do prefer the extra punch over the 600 - but then again, I tend to do longer journeys with some motorway miles as well and find the bigger engine does make for more relaxed cruising.


Mind you, after the firestorm, I bet even the 1000 will feel revvy (ours does after I swap to it from my Aprilia RSV) until you get used to it.

[fazersharp]

The general consensus is that the 6 is nippier, and handles better than the Thou, while the Thou has effortless power (You need to play the box more on the 6).

You see that what I want from my bike, I dont want effortless power, I want to be doing stuff - constantly changing up or down, throwing my weight around and having it make a difference on the lighter bike, but I dont do 2 up or touring

[ChristoT]

The general consensus is that the 6 is nippier, and handles better than the Thou, while the Thou has effortless power (You need to play the box more on the 6).

You see that what I want from my bike, I dont want effortless power, I want to be doing stuff - constantly changing up or down, throwing my weight around and having it make a difference on the lighter bike, but I dont do 2 up or touring

Ditto!

[Dave48]

Previously owned both 600 & thou. Only reason the thou went was due to the extra weight which wasnt a problem riding but trying to maneuvre bike round tight  path to & from shed. In an ideal world I would have both but I would prob have to move house & have a different garage/shed approach.
Sure you can compare power to weight ra[size=78%]tios but it isnt quite that simple. The thou is a bulkier machine that requires a definite setting up for corners so for general scratching it would be the 600 for me due to advancing years/reducing muscle strength.[/size]
BUT for the sheer adrenaline buzz the thou wins  hands down-it doesnt even notice the extra weight of a pillion & eats "sports" cars for breakfast!
I did 75 miles of back road riding yesterday & the 600 was a joy to ride being nimble& flexible readily set up for corners with no arm wrestling steering inputs with the extra fun of cog-swapping!
So for all round fun its the 600
For adrenaline buzz-long distance touring-its the thou

[ogri48]

That kinda sums up the fz1 too mate...:-)

[noggythenog]

That kinda sums up the fz1 too mate...:-)

The jury is still out with me and the thou....& at present i still have the bonus of both machines.....horses for courses really......the thou has the adrenaline surging oomph & the noise it makes under full pelt is lovely music.


But i still "feel" like im quicker in the corners on my aged 600...it is really nimble......however what im feeling and what im actually doing are perhaps different things as the thou speedo seems to suggest.


I havent had time to properly gel with it yet....ive done the forst run from Manchester in the pissing rain....& ive done a 50 miler on B roads in high winds....i need a proper dry hot day in mid wales.




Oh wait.....saturday is gonna be a dry hot day in Wales.......i can smell a thou day pass cooking ......purely so i can compare the 2 of course.

[scoobie_paws]

This will be interesting.....iam lucky enough to have both, been using the thou for the last 2 years and have only just got the 6 back on the road......rest assured  theres loads of fun to have on the 6  ......biggest difference for me is the weight, nice and flickable the 6, torque for the thou, no need to change down for overtakes, mpg, it does get a bit of a pain filling up the thou.......if I had to choose I would take the 6.....but the best option by far is to have both 

if only i could justify both I would :P

[scoobie_paws]

That kinda sums up the fz1 too mate...:-)

The jury is still out with me and the thou....& at present i still have the bonus of both machines.....horses for courses really......the thou has the adrenaline surging oomph & the noise it makes under full pelt is lovely music.


But i still "feel" like im quicker in the corners on my aged 600...it is really nimble......however what im feeling and what im actually doing are perhaps different things as the thou speedo seems to suggest.


I havent had time to properly gel with it yet....ive done the forst run from Manchester in the pissing rain....& ive done a 50 miler on B roads in high winds....i need a proper dry hot day in mid wales.




Oh wait.....saturday is gonna be a dry hot day in Wales.......i can smell a thou day pass cooking ......purely so i can compare the 2 of course.

nothing like a hot welsh one    apart from a hot wet Scottish one of course...and then there's the roads!!


Local garage has a thou and a gen1 6 in stock so will try both i think to see. I Like the foxeye 6 but theirs will give me what I need to know.
Loved my thou from before but do remember having to wind it up to make her go and will seem heavy after my storm but watch this space for an update.


thanks for the input peeps


anyone fancy a high bar conversion storm with full luggage system and tank bag?? 

[ogri48]

That kinda sums up the fz1 too mate...:-)

The jury is still out with me and the thou....& at present i still have the bonus of both machines.....horses for courses really......the thou has the adrenaline surging oomph & the noise it makes under full pelt is lovely music.


But i still "feel" like im quicker in the corners on my aged 600...it is really nimble......however what im feeling and what im actually doing are perhaps different things as the thou speedo seems to suggest.


I havent had time to properly gel with it yet....ive done the forst run from Manchester in the pissing rain....& ive done a 50 miler on B roads in high winds....i need a proper dry hot day in mid wales.




Oh wait.....saturday is gonna be a dry hot day in Wales.......i can smell a thou day pass cooking ......purely so i can compare the 2 of course.

The early fazer 600 is a hard act to follow. When they first came out I got severely duffed up by one on my gsxr1100wp through some twisties, that was humbling as I'm no slouch. Likewise it's sibling, the thundercat..borrowed a mates when I had a cbr900rt blade and didn't want to give it back..yamaha certainly got it right with those bikes

[unfazed]

Owning both, I can honstly tell you it is a very very difficult call, for power 1000 wins hands down, but the less weight and  nimbleness of the 600 is something that is very very hard to beat and as mentioned 95hp is not to be sniffed at in the right hands..
The 600 needs to be worked through the gearbox to get the best out of it but it is probable the most fun. The 1000 needs more work on the suspension to get it to its best.
I love the 1000, I have put a lot of work into making it as flickable as the 600and it is very close now, but the 600 still brings out the extra little bit of hooligan in me more than the 1000 I think. As standard the 600 Fairing gives better protection from wind at highish speeds than the standard 1000 one.

If I was asked to sell one, I don't know what I would do, as both have very good points and hope I never have to make that decision.

The 600 without out doubt is cheaper to run, but do we care but outside that???????. 

If anyone is trying to deciding which to buy, try and get to ride 2 well sorted ones with good tyres back to back and you will find it is a very very difficult decision to make.

[hightower]

I go for regular rides out with lads on bigger bikes. Last time, there was me on the fazer 600, an SV1000, a speed triple, and a tiger 900(ish). I had no problems keeping up with any of them - but what became apparent quickly was, for example accelerating 60-90 they could just turn the throttle in top gear where as I had to drop to 4th to be able to accelerate at the same pace.


I think my 600 keeps up awesome with bigger bikes, but as has been said the gearbox gets more use to get there.

[bigbluebear]

I've had both too, whilst the 600 is quick, agile and very flickable, but being an 18st 6'3" lightweight the 1000 suits me a lot better.....the 600 is a good step to getting a real mans bike....the mighty Fazer Thou!!!!

[mickvp]

I'm sort of in the same boat as BBB. I had a 600 and it didn't have enough torque for a fat foccer like me. The thou suits me much better. The 600 is more nimble as standard though, but as has been said, there's updates out there which can bring the thou more inline with what it should be handling like.

[VNA - BMW Wank]

The 600 you have to play the box and wring it's neck but it can keep up with bigger things, especially if you can stuff it through the turns.

The thou is physically bigger, feels solid and is making 600 power in the mid range, then it goes nuts.

I was always told - you'll want more power, and when I had the 600 I did.  Though I could handle a bit more power, well on the road the thou has all the power I'll ever need, and yes you can chuck it about.

[esetest]

As much as I love my Gen 1 for its effortless power , which is great for longer runs ,  it sometimes feel a bit too much for a 50 mile blast around the lanes of North Somerset , I quite fancy an old skool bike for shorter rides .

[witchfinder]

Gen2 fz1 well set up and sorted is as flickable and nimble as any 600 but with that oh so sweet adrenalin rush at 7k +,my daughter Roxy bought a fazer 600 6 mths ago but she has already outgrown it in all aspects ,got to be a gen2 fz1 best of both worlds and then some 

[Looney tune]

I post this as someone who will probably never get the best out of both these bikes, the 600 and the FZ1.


As said with the 6, you have got to work it to keep it going as is the same with the FZ1. This is how I like to ride a bike, going up and down the gears, engine breaking, exhaust farting and popping. Between the two the FZ1 is the king at this and for me personally I find it an easier bike to ride.


Sorry to compare the 6 to an FZ1 and not the thou but for me the FZ1 gives you the best of both worlds.


If I want to do long motorway journeys I'll take the car, no offence intended.

[fazersharp]

I just dont think I could get the 1000 to do what I can on my 600 -- im just not big enough. If there were 2 of me the fazersharp on the 1000 would not be able to keep up with the 600 fazersharp, not on the twisties which is where I do all my riding, the stright bits are just the bits i have to ride to get to the twisties
 
For me at 5'.8" and 10st (with pies) the 600 is a perfect fit even the suspension people moan about, its hard to tell where man ends and machine starts.  

 

[scoobie_paws]

Great feedback and opinions guys.I have missed the site for that :-)
Going to try both on Monday so will report back!

Then it might be original fzs 600 or foxeye :-)

[red98]

Used my thou today after a week on the 6......all above comments apply....which got me thinking............is the 800 the answer ?

[Hedgetrimmer]

Used my thou today after a week on the 6......all above comments apply....which got me thinking............is the 800 the answer ?

More likely the answer between the FZ6 and FZ1?
Otherwise, why haven't you got one of those two? 

[red98]

Think I need a test ride on the 8