Fazer - A True Classic?

[Hedgetrimmer]

We all love our Fazers, be it FZS600/1000, FZ8 or FZ1. But is any version destined to be a true classic? With many insurance companies now giving reduced premiums to any bike over 15 or 20 years old as a classic bike, what are the criteria to define a classic bike? And can you really be objective in your view if you're a true FOCcer?

[stevierst]

Well the boxeye is the original and the first, so I guess it would be that one.

[red98]

Well the boxeye is the original and the first, so I guess it would be that one.

i`ll second that....the real early ones,parhaps a 98 in red 

[Hedgetrimmer]

So first version of any model will always be a classic? Doesn't classic status require a little more than that?

[dBfazer600]

So first version of any model will always be a classic? Doesn't classic status require a little more than that?

Yep, Fox Eye and in red 
 
Daz

[Bornagain again]

FZS will be a classic.  As an overall bike it still outperforms many bikes out there now.
 
What I would love to know from Yamaha is why they could continue to build the XJR and not the Fazer FZS?

[red98]

So first version of any model will always be a classic? Doesn't classic status require a little more than that?

any collector will always go for an early model,and yes it does require a bit more than that...old british bikes as you probably know are fetching big money and are highly rated...not so much for early jap bikes although some are starting to achive classic status and the money that goes with it,check out the prices for honda`s cbx1000 and kawasaki`s z1300 and z1`s and you`ll see what i mean....also,there will be loads of brit bikes at cassington on monday night,if your brave enough ask the owners what they think of jap bikes 


 the reason i bought my 1975 honda 400/4 f1.......registered in the same month as they were launched and of course......................its a red one 

[slimwilly]

so what is the definition of a classic, name 5 classics

[slimwilly]

i think i owned a classic for the last ten years,, a 1996 Honda VFR 750 , i think that is one of the 5

[Hedgetrimmer]

The reason I've asked this question is that I was skating through the classified ads in a couple of so-called classic bike magazines at work today, and I couldn't believe the money some people were asking for older Jap bikes that weren't even rated very highly in their own day. To me, one of the essential requirements for a true classic is that it has to have been considered as pretty special when it first hit the streets.
A couple of examples: RD 350LC, GPZ900R, Ducati 900SS (I'm thinking late 70s/early 80s with the Ducati).

[slimwilly]

well i guess the classics will also be added all the time, the BMW crew will have a few shouts

[noggythenog]

It seems to be the common sales shpeel these days to self proclaim ones for sale bike as a rare, a classic or a future classic, seemingly to get a bit more dosh for it.


But i dont know what makes a classic, is it even official and if so then which group or association decides it???


Or is it just an over used word to describe something that is desirable & few in number.


I think the original fazer already has that nostalgia from a high number of previous owners & many people return to it after years of trying out other bikes.no problem either as they are still cheap & plentiful.i can see this continuing until there are eventually more 'returners' than there are fazers left & then the demand could push up the prices & well.....produce a classic i suppose

[caretaker]

whoever would have thought that superdreams would become collectable? i had 3 and they were not great bikes but they just got on with it. i predict the cbx550 faired version will become a classic, mainly because there arent that many around anymore  in completely standard condition. nostalgia has a big part to play here, but also the look of a bike is extremely important.

[Lawrence]

Well the boxeye is the original and the first, so I guess it would be that one.

You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen mine 

[Buzz]

Well the boxeye is the original and the first, so I guess it would be that one.

i`ll second that....the real early ones,parhaps a 98 in red 

Shouldn't that be a n-n-n-n-ninety eight in r-r-r-r-r-r-red? 

[JZS 600]

Laverda Jota, 180! a true classic. (and triple)

[fireblake]

any collector will always go for an early model,and yes it does require a bit more than that...old british bikes as you probably know are fetching big money and are highly rated...not so much for early jap bikes although some are starting to achive classic status and the money that goes with it,check out the prices for honda`s cbx1000 and kawasaki`s z1300 and z1`s and you`ll see what i mean....also,there will be loads of brit bikes at cassington on monday night,if your brave enough ask the owners what they think of jap bikes 


 the reason i bought my 1975 honda 400/4 f1.......registered in the same month as they were launched and of course......................its a red one 



It makes me laugh when you chat to people who say Jap bikes are shite. I know everyone is allowed their own opinion but you have to wonder what they define as shite? For me anything that starts on the button (Or kick start) every time is great. Peeps who who berate Japanese bikes mostly don't have to commute at 4 o'clock in the morning all year round.


Mickey

[red98]

Well the boxeye is the original and the first, so I guess it would be that one.

i`ll second that....the real early ones,parhaps a 98 in red 

Shouldn't that be a n-n-n-n-ninety eight in r-r-r-r-r-r-red? 

 
 
funny buzz...very bloody funny.... ......might be sorted this weekend 

[bigbluebear]

Should a classic not be in standard format, that excludes most of us on here with all the modifications that have been done....mind you I'd rather have mine the way it is.....totally unstandard and running perfect

[VNA - BMW Wank]

What I would love to know from Yamaha is why they could continue to build the XJR and not the Fazer FZS?

Cos they've been to specsavers and you haven't?

Who knows what becomes collectable.  Don't think any of the FZS models are on their way there yet.  Reasons?  Not pretty enougth.  Not weird enougth.  Not ugly enougth.  Not notorious.  Far from rare.

As I do a little more work on sorting out my ancient garage, I have been thinking what bike I might add if I ever get it finished, oh and have a little cash lying around.  I'm thinking about things I just fancy, plus with a view to em becoming collectable

An early 90's Speed Triple is always in mind. 
An original 98/99 R1 is always an option.
2004/5 GSXR750 anniversary model.
Honda VTR1000SP1 or 2 (but prices are already getting quite firm)
Suzuki TL1000S or R    Not sure about the S it's reputation def makes it collectable, but I wanna ride the thing - is it really as nasty as some made out?

The TL1000R is becoming collectable and sure to be a classic.  Why, cos it looks weird and it's rare.  Poor sales due to reputation of the earlier model and frankly the competition had it wasted before it even came out.    But over ten years later, just look at the thing, it's a classic and it didn't even try.

I had a 99 Fazer 600, and I've had my thou for over 9 years now.  But I don't see any of the Fazer models becoming collectable any time soon.  Give it another couple of decades, by that time anything that survives is reasonable standard nick a classic.

Oh if I do go for something, it'll need to be near dammit standard.  Nothing wrecks collectable desirability like mods and dodgy paint jobs. 

[Hedgetrimmer]

For me, age alone will not qualify a bike to classic status. Again, I reckon it starts with grabbing the imagination when it first comes out. There has to be something really outstanding about it which puts it ahead of the competition. I think you have to be careful not to confuse classic with vintage. Almost all pre-70s British bikes are now generally considered as vintage, but I'm sure that people who rode and owned bikes in the heyday of Brits will tell you there were good and bad, same as with the "Jap era".
Regarding "grabbing the imagination when it first comes out", it's interesting to note that the Fazer gen 1 thou did not do this - it's price in the showrooms was too high, and Yamaha made too much of the "son of R1" hype to market it as an aggressive street bike, which in standard form it isn't. But when good second hand examples started to appear in showrooms, then it began to make it's name as what it truly is - a great all-rounder. (Of course I'm bound to mention this bike - I'm now on my fourth one. But I have my reasons for liking them so much. But classic? Probably not.)

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Yeah the price of the FZS1000 was silly when it came out.  It was about 9 grand or thereabouts I think, not much cheaper than the R1.

It started selling in decent numbers after Yamaha adjusted the price.

I bought mine pre-reg zero miles for 6 grand in 2004.

As for classic and grabbing the imagination.  True.  But I think there's other factors.  Or other ways that bikes grab imagination or later get remembered. 

Plus there's the slow burners.  TL1000R - what do you think - I say it's gonna be a classic, but it was an also ran when it came out.  It was daft when it came out, but the daftness has aged so well.  I think I want one! 

[Simon.Pieman]

Plus there's the slow burners.  TL1000R - what do you think - I say it's gonna be a classic, but it was an also ran when it came out.  It was daft when it came out, but the daftness has aged so well.  I think I want one!

 My neighbour tried to race one in the mid nineties (he's round the twist anyway, the idiot raced an BMW R100RT in the 1300 proddy class in the eighties) and that old Suzuki spat him off countless times. The verdict was that the engine was great but the chassis was awful, it's not the barking rear shock that's its achilles heel, it just didn't steer right. As a road bike in good nick the R or indeed the S is I think collectable as you say, because they are daft in a way that makes them stand out.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I would agree that the TL1000 was a classic engine. Didn't Suzuki reuse it in the SV1000? Or was it re(de) tuned for that? Certainly the SV didn't get the same reputation.

[VNA - BMW Wank]

The S came out in 97, 125bhp and got rave reviews.  But then endless tales of accidents, fatalities and lots of tank slapping action plagued it.  Suzuki recalled it and fitted a steering damper, which just seemed to confirm that there was something fundamentally wrong with the bike.  Many claimed the weird compact rear rotary damper set up was to blame, others said the front end was just to radical to ever be stable.  New prices plummeted as Suzuki struggled to shift em.

They are cracking looking bikes.

Both Honda and Suzuki were tinkering with V twins.  Both decided to developed them further.  WSB and other series rules limited 4 cylinder bikes to 750cc, but twins could go to a full 1000cc.  Manufactures of 4 cylinder bikes protested, and Ducati and Aprillia started winning everything.

So Honda and Suzuki got serious about their twins. 

I get the impression that the Honda boys drank coffee, worked out and got plenty of OT in.  Meanwhile looking at the TL1000R (now 135 bhp) maybe the Suzuki boys were off to the pub at lunch and out every night popping pills.

The R was available with a race kit, if you had 50 grand to spare, but despite big boasts about thrashing all and sundry with their new creation it wasn't long before team Suzuki were nowhere to be seen as Honda with their more thoughtful creation mopped up all the trophies.

And of course the R1 popped up at about the same time, lighter and more powerful than the R it sold in droves.  Honda struggled to shift their beautifully put together SP1 and later the 2, basically just down to price, big discounts were eventually offered to shift em.  It's reckoned Honda made a loss selling these bikes.  While the R1 and the TL1000R are basic production bikes, the SP1/2 are high spec production bikes in a similar manner as the VFR750R (RC30 and RC45)

The Suzuki engine cropped up in a few other bikes, there was even a Bimota powered Suzi twin.  Yeah it got retuned and stuffed into the SV1000, the SV1000 also ditched the rotary shock.  The SV was just a bit dull after the mayhem of the  R and S.  SV1000 makes a darn good buy I think, but it'll never be a classic.