I haven't read all of this, but how many miles do you have on your spark plugs? My FZ6 was really sensitive about plugs. Change 'em at 8000 miles, or else! good luck!
Great to see ya getting it dirty. I ride with a guy who does the same thing with his. he is about to turn 70 and he thinks his 07 FZ6 is a dirtbike.
I thought that I had posted a follow up to my FZ6's problem, but apparently I hadn't. I finally accepted that I wasn't getting the bike fixed and took it to a Yamaha dealer. Diagnostics pointed at a air temp sensor and a fuel pressure sensor. After they got those parts in, installed them and adjusted the throttle position sensor(? TPS), the bike was much better, but still not right. They then looked into what they termed "lost spark". They found one bad spark plug cap, and the others were not snapped on tight...doh! Performance is once again restored. Rode it home from the dealership...about 60 miles and all was well. I'm wondering it the spark plug caps were most of the problem from the beginning, but at least it's fixed. Talking about needed repairs may not be a good way to start a plug for the bike, but I've decided I have grown the fleet too much (once again) and have decided to sell the FZ6. If you're interested in the bike, you can find the ad on the flea market and by clicking http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824665 I really like the bike, but can only justify having so many bikes and cars around, and the FZ6 is just not getting used as much as I thought it would when I bought it. As distasteful as repairs are, I accept that things do malfunction and repairs are just part of ownership. At least the sensors and plug cap problems won't be someone else's problem now....all is good. Update from additional service performed 9/20/12....apparently the dealership didn't quite get things right the first time. I ended up taking the bike back to the dealership the 2nd time, and after hours of trying various things the problem boiled down to spark plug wires/caps again. It's now been ridden 100+ miles since getting it back and hasn't had a glitch or miss. I do give the dealership credit for sticking with it through the problem and getting it resolved. They only charged me for a fraction of the time they actually worked on it. Lynn
To reduce vibration be sure that you have the original bar ends. They are heavy with a purpose. I've replaced the bars with FZ1 bars and that was huge improvement for my wrists, and to get rid of the nasty vibration at 7-8k rpms just sync your throttle bodies. There was a thread somewhere on how to build your own from clear tubing and aquarium tubing connections.
I did the muddy dirt road thing a few weeks ago with my brother in law. I've washed the bike 2 or 3 times since then and STILL am finding mud in spots. Never again. The KLX is for that kind of stuff.
See'in I ain't gotta KLX, 'n see'in mah other bike's an FJR, this iz the "dirtbike." It did take several clean'ins ta get the dirt & mud out, butt she did clean up nicely. (And now she all dirty again )
I've been seeing a few of the FZ6's in the classifieds lately and they got my interest. Anyone put many miles on their FZ6 with a passenger? I need something that will carry about 400 pounds of rider/passenger comfortably.
The fz6 is surprisingly smooth with a passenger. Taking off is a bit trickier, since the bike has a pretty narrow range to take off smoothly, but after 2nd gear it's smoother than butter . Just the bike a ride and you won't be disappointed.
Really, do you have a link or something? I would love to get one myself. I feel the exact same way, this bike does everything really well in moderate comfort (might consider throwing some money into a corbin seat, or just eating a few more burgers for some ass padding). Very reliable (seen some with over 120k miles on the clock and still running), good looking, powerful, and fun to ride.
Thanks for the info. I may have to see if I can swing a leg over one. I had a chance to sit on a new FZ6R and my initial thought was that it felt narrow, but to be fair, I was also oogling a FJR1300 at the same time.
I have a Yamaha Comfort seat arriving tomorrow. I'll snap some pics and give a review. However, I've heard you have to break it in before it's actually comfortable.
The FZ6R and the FZ6 are totally different bikes. The FZ6R was made to be a more budget 'entry-level' bike. It's even advertised as such on the yamaha website. The R has a steel steel frame (as opposed to an aluminum frame from the original), cheaper suspension, and cheaper brake set up.
I got the seat today. I can see where the comments come from that say it pushes you up against the tank. It feels firmer, but there's more "stuff" in it. It's heavier. I rode around town a little bit and it seems pleasant, however it's the long distances that I hope it is nicer for.
Yours aren't as bad as mine. I have the pl351. It's not too bad when the cases are on it, but when they aren't, the indicators stick way out and look very stupid. I'm thinking about getting smaller aftermarket signals and putting them in the stock location, but then you would only be able to see them from the back with the side cases on.
I'm looking at a 2009 FZ6 thru a Yamaha dealer...... asking $5,300 with 5,200 miles, and detachable side bags, no tail box. Serviced thru the dealer selling. Reasonable? Still plan on making offer! I'm coming off a FJ1200 (I'm over the liter bike power thing), what should I expect other then noticable decrease in power and weight? Tought is to add the comfort items to make it a middle weight tourer Comment, suggestions.....
FZ6 has been on my radar for a few weeks now and Ive been looking in the western NY area as well as Detroit and the North Eastern OH area. If this thing is in good shape, and depending on what it has for luggage it could be a very good buy. Have you actually seen it? And if anyone knows of a nice 07 or newer with luggage in the areas I mentioned, along with Ontario, please let me know.