I realized that I was getting too old for my Yamaha R-6S, so I sold it, but I still had a thing for that Yamaha inline 4 engine. So, I decided to get a more civilized version. I’d sat on an FZ-8 at the Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, so I decided to look into one. I meant to buy a 2014, but got a 2013 model since I wasn’t paying attention and they look pretty similar. So I missed out on the adjustable fork, new muffler, and modified fuel injection curve, among other things. Oh well.
I’d read the Cycle World article on modify the FZ-8 and did some of the same things. I got an Ohlins shock for it. I installed one on my GSX Suzuki and liked it, so I decided to try again. I took the forks to RPE (formerly Vance & Hines) in Whittier and they sent them to a guy in Nevada who modifies them. I decided to leave the pipe alone since I heard that California is starting enforce modification laws more seriously and I don’t like loud pipes anyway. After my first sort of long ride I decided to get a Corbin saddle since Sergeant doesn’t have one off the shelf. I tried living with the saddle height, but finally had to admit that I’m short and got lowering links from Lust Engineering in the UK. These are expensive but they are steel and appear to be well made. I’d also installed the factory center stand so installing the lowering links was easy, especially since I cheated with a cordless impact wrench. Oh yes, the center stand installation wasn’t too bad, not like on the Suzuki where I feared for my life due to the springs.
I’d also installed factory sliders instead of the steel wrap-around protectors and a radiator protector since the bike came without one. I put on a little MRA fairing to give me some protection. In stalled a cheap HID headlight that I found on Amazon, but I’m not very happy with it since it has a weird pattern, I also had to butcher my headlight bulb gasket to install it. I might look into something better. The MRA fairing came from Twisted Throttle and I also got from them since Barkbusters for weather protection. It does get cold in California sometimes, at least it did when I was young.
As Cycle World noted, the stock brakes aren’t great. They are very non-linear in response. I got aftermarket brake pads and steel wrapped brake lines and the brakes seem to be okay, now. I also got an aftermarket brake level to make it easier on my arthritic hand.
Updates in 2015:
Still haven’t put many miles on the bike, but I did ride from LA to San Diego and the Corbin saddle worked for that distance. Stock ergonomics are okay and I don’t plan on changing the bars. Mileage is mediocre around 40mpg. A big problem is that the saddle gets really hot, nice in the winter but almost unbearable in the summer. Someone else on a forum made a similar complaint, but everyone else laughed at him. I’ve removed the sidecovers and installed some computer fans. I’ll have to see how they work when it gets hot again. I got a rack from Twistedthrottle so I could install a Pelican case as a trunk. I’d already installed SW-Motech pannier racks for PLX saddlebags. However the bags stuck out so far that I decided not to use them. I did take the Pelican case from my GSX-650F that I’d used as a trunk and made it into a saddlebag since it was mounted on a universal Caribou mount. Not one of my best installations. This only worked on the left side since the pipe is on the right. On the right I adapted my 1 gallon Rotopax gas carrier with a home made heat shield. Looks ugly, but hasn’t melted.
Changed the headlight from HID to LED from Amazon. However, the LED light again doesn’t give a very good pattern. Okay around town, but I decided to augment the headlight with driving lights I ordered from Superbrightleds.com. These were bigger than I expected but seem to be pretty solid. I ended up replacing my Yamaha sliders with the Givi steel tube protectors. I ordered some light mounts from Twistedthrottle and got it all together. The lights stick out and will be casualty if I ever drop the bike, but I haven’t figured out where else to mount them. They do the trick. I may also try another main bulb. Givi protective bars did not fit perfectly. This may have been because they assumed a centerstand would not be mounted. Got them to fit, but some sections are under a preload. Hope the bars relax before the bike does.
The tail light was weak so I stole the Admore light bar from my GSX and that fixed the problem. Also put some Italian horns from Amazon on after someone almost ran me off the road.
Decided to go with a Throttlemeister throttle control, as on my Suzuki. This required removing the Barkbuster handguards. Took a couple of tries to get the right adapter kit for Yamaha bars, but the Throttlemeister guys took care of it.
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