MCN and Foc

[bludclot]

many thanks for uploading the article scans.


those of us with decent medium term memories will remember the bike 440. (for non 'bike' readers and copious amounts of dope smokers it was a 440 mile test route that bike magazine rode all their test bikes round, encompassing pretty much all types of tarmac roads.)


and which bike was the fastest around this route? yes, you guessed it - the fzs1000.


faster than the r1 and gsx-r1000 of the time. not in terms of outright performance of course, but a combination of speed, handling, comfort and tank range.


my personal experience tells me that my own fazer is faster than a db9 (he had a good go on a dual carriageway) and a bently continental (he had a good go on a motorway)


so, to my mind, the fazer 1000 is most definitely the fastest vehicle on british roads.  for me, this was a factor in buying the bike.




having said the above if i had to set off from my house on a 440 mile round route i think that i would complete it quicker in my escort van than on the fazer. why? there's always the kit on and off time factor but crucially i could do 440 miles straight in the van without stopping for fuel or stretching. the fazer would need 2 fuel stops and i would need perhaps another 2 stops for stretching, eating up any 'stuck in traffic' time.


so in reality the fazer 1000 is slower than a 12 year old escort van with 35 bhp at the front wheels.




in conclusion the fazer can be thought of as a performance bike but the reality is that any vehicle is only ever fast given the right circumstances.