Testify!
Oh, this isn't a religious meeting, is it?
One day, someone will make a bike that betters the qualities that we have in the Gen1, but it hasn't happened yet. What qualities? For me, it goes like this
1) Perfect riding position, even with standard bars
2) Unbelievable reliability
3) Very cheap running costs for such a high performance bike
4) Very cheap to make much better
5) Revvy hooligan and torquey tourer in one engine. That's an incredibly hard trick to pull off.
6) Reasonably light and chuckable
7) Quick enough 99% of the time
8 ) Tremendous forum knowledge on tap (who runs this forum? They're doing a bloody good job)
9) Very simple to work on
10) Stealthy. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition. Er, I mean a Fazer to go whanging past. (I stuffed a boy racer trying very hard on a CBR 600RR round a medium fast corner the other night. He couldn't believe it and he was hanging off like Redding)
11) Good tank range. Completely overlooked these days, but utterly vital.
12) Perfect torque curve. At least with an Ivan's jet kit. Again, very important.
13) Size. I like the lofty riding position and height. It's not mad like a KTM Adventure, but it's not an RS125 either.
14) Very benign handling. It tells you what is going on all the time. Damn near uncrashable if you ask me. I think it's the steel frame, you know.... it's got exactly the right flex in the right places.
15) I like the looks. That canted forward engine hanging out like a CBX's is cool.
If anyone from Yamaha is reading this forum for research into future models, here's my tips for the 2014 model
1) By all means add traction control and ABS, but forget riding modes. And make sure it fuels properly from new.
2) The only thing lacking from the Gen 1 engine is a bit of character but a Crossplane engine would fix it.
3) Flat torque curve. Give us more power by taking it out to 1100cc, but don't cripple it with too many revs like the Gen 1
4) Make the seat a bit longer to prevent being locked into one position on long rides.
5) I'm not a midget and can't fit on modern sports bikes. Don't make it small.
6) Tank range should not be less than 200 miles. Ever.
7) Keep the pillion cubby hole. It's useful.
8 ) Go on then, make it more economical. Petrol's bloody expensive these days.
9) Adjustable fairing/screen. No one really likes buying half a dozen screens to find the one that suits them/their helmet/riding position/usual speed range
10) Accurate fuel gauge (anyone ever ridden a bike which has one? Really?)
11) Better forks as standard. They're very expensive to replace, so make them work properly from the off.
12) Never ever do to us what you did with the design of the EXUP. It's a 24 carat pain in the neck.
And for God's sake, paint the bloody thing properly. It's by far the worst aspect of Fazer ownership, watching your bike's finish dissolve into blisters of flaking paint and corrosion. Growl.
Otherwise, look at the Gen 1 like list and replicate.