[jaganm]

It's been over 7 months since I posted on this thread. What happened in that period is that I bought a Honda Highness CB350. The character of that bike couldn't be more different, much more relaxed in riding position and comfort. Initially my thought was that I would keep the FZ25 as a second bike, but after 2 months of ownership of the CB350, whenever I rode the FZ25, I couldn't get adjusted to the riding position, the engine was a lot less refined and to be honest, for cruising at 100 kmph on the highway, it is far superior. Though the FZ25 gets there faster and can go to a higher speed, I'll take the CB350 any day of the year when it comes to a long 400-500 km day on the saddle. The one area where the FZ25 really scores is the seat, I don't find the CB350 as comfortable at the end of a long day.

Ultimately, I ended up selling the FZ25 after 3 months. It was one of the best VFM ownerships for me, I had it for almost 3 years, bought it for 1.05l (second owner) and sold it for 75K. With a TCO of 30K for 3 years and around 12000km, I'm quite satisfied.

[Samba]

6,000 km update.

Bike is running fine and niggle free.

This update is mainly for the LiquiMoly engine oil with the additives, I used during the last service.

After using the LiquiMoly for 1000 km, am confident that I'm not going to spend again on such a costly oil in FZ25. Nothing against the oil. Just the bike's engine is not able to extract the superior performance from this oil. This oil will be better for more high compression & performance oriented engines.
It's at par with the Motul 7100 in regards to NVH.

From the next oil change, I will switch back to YamahaLube sporty premium. It's friendly on pocket and suits this bike the best. With YamahaLube the bike is most free revving and the top-speed is also higher by 3-4 km/hr.
With LiquiMoly and Motul7100 the smoothness in the higher rpm is tad better and they may last longer too, but with YamahaLube this bike performs the best.

Sharing pics from last few highway rides-

[mugen_pinaki27]

Quite an engaging read, Samba. While scouting for a bike in 2018, I did chance upon the Fz 25 but owing to lack of ABS, did not opt for it and went for the Suzuki Gixxer 155 ABS version. The pillion comfort on my bike isn't that good but on seeing the one on the Fz, would definitely want to upgrade mine to a similar setup. Many happy miles to you, brother!

[Fastdriver]

Originally Posted by Samba

6,000 km update.



From the next oil change, I will switch back to YamahaLube sporty premium. It's friendly on pocket and suits this bike the best. With YamahaLube the bike is most free revving and the top-speed is also higher by 3-4 km/hr.
With LiquiMoly and Motul7100 the smoothness in the higher rpm is tad better and they may last longer too, but with YamahaLube this bike performs the best.

What's the top speed you could achieve?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by Fastdriver

What's the top speed you could achieve?

Motul 7100- 137 km/hr
Yamahalube sporty premium- 141 km/hr
LiquiMoly - 130 km/hr with pillion. Maybe 135 km/hr will be max, if I try solo.

All the above are speedo indicated.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Fastdriver

What's the top speed you could achieve?

Originally Posted by Samba

Motul 7100- 137 km/hr
Yamahalube sporty premium- 141 km/hr
LiquiMoly - 130 km/hr with pillion. Maybe 135 km/hr will be max, if I try solo.

All the above are speedo indicated.

Let's answer that with some Math;



The above seen are your per gear speeds with respect to RPM. The figure inside the Green Box is your True cruising speed and the figure inside the Red Box is your True top speed.

How'd you like that? Got the figures without even breaking the speed limit or even getting off the couch.

Hope that helps.

P.S. I do hope it is common knowledge that all vehicles are mandated by law to have a positive margin of error when indicating speed.

Ride Safe,
A.P.

[Rama Naveen]

https://youtu.be/VvKBtzziDB0

Guys check out my video which I uploaded to YouTube.
I have done some modifications.

[C300]

Wonderful thread Samba. Thanks for sharing.
I recently booked FZ25 and waiting for the delivery. Was in the market for an all round bike for city use and occasional highway runs. Pillion comfort was also priority. FZ25 fits the bill perfectly. Did check out KTM ADV 250 but lack of low end punch was deal breaker.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by C300

Wonderful thread Samba. Thanks for sharing.
I recently booked FZ25 and waiting for the delivery. Was in the market for an all round bike for city use and occasional highway runs. Pillion comfort was also priority. FZ25 fits the bill perfectly. Did check out KTM ADV 250 but lack of low end punch was deal breaker.

Thanks.

I have not taken a test ride of the KTM 250 ADV.
The character of the KTM engines are just opposite to the FZ25. They have a poor low end and a fantastic top end.

If Yamaha considers a FZ25 Adv with some tweaks, it will be awesome!
KTM is more of a highway bike whereas the Fz25 is more like a street bike which can go off-road with modifications.

[C300]

Originally Posted by Samba

Thanks.

If Yamaha considers a FZ25 Adv with some tweaks, it will be awesome!

Yeah. Unfortunately not many ADVs in the market. Will prefer all round Adv type bike for long term use. FZ25 is a good starting point at this price point. Did you install any accessories? I am planning to go for larger windscreen and handlebar risers.

[MadRasTan4986]

Originally Posted by C300

Wonderful thread Samba. Thanks for sharing.
I recently booked FZ25 and waiting for the delivery. Was in the market for an all round bike for city use and occasional highway runs. Pillion comfort was also priority. FZ25 fits the bill perfectly. Did check out KTM ADV 250 but lack of low end punch was deal breaker.

I know we are talking different price bracket here, but have you considered the Himalayan.
It's quite a do it all ADV bike.
With the current BS6 update, it's even more refined.

[MadRasTan4986]

Originally Posted by Samba

If Yamaha considers a FZ25 Adv with some tweaks, it will be awesome!
KTM is more of a highway bike whereas the Fz25 is more like a street bike which can go off-road with modifications.

Yamaha really isn't listening to the market and the pulse. The FZ-X should have had the FZ25 engine. It's a gem of an engine and quite an all rounder in it's performance.

I'm not holding my breath, Yamaha seems to have gone on snooze mode in terms of the performance and enthusiast market.

[C300]

Originally Posted by MadRasTan4986

I know we are talking different price bracket here, but have you considered the Himalayan.
It's quite a do it all ADV bike.
With the current BS6 update, it's even more refined.

The bike will mostly be used for city and short highway rides. Reliable and hasslefree ownership was priority. I think REs have improved a lot but feedback from friends was not that great.

[RenuKumar]

I am writing this review after 2 years of owning the Yamaha Fazer 250. This is a simple no-nonsense bike from Yamaha and is extremely capable for touring if the rider's expectation is a hassle free ownership, reliability, extremely efficient handling and suspension feedback, a cruising speed of about 90 to 110 kmph, seat comfort for rider and pillion and fuel efficiency.



Will directly jump into Pros

1. Hassle free ownership - This is a no-nonsense city or highway bike capable of 0 to 100 in less than 9 seconds and the top speed of about 140 (on speedo). It doesn't get sci-fi speedo meter or 4 valves or 10 spark plugs or liquid cooling or any astronomical features. It comes at an affordable price and the service cost so far is about 2 to 3 thousand rupees. Bike has done 20 thousand kilometres and I have replaced the front brake pads once and the fork oil seals 2 times and spark plug once

2. Reliability - the synonym of Yamaha is reliability and I have not encountered any problems so far.

3. Handling - this is an everyday bike and the geometry is inclined towards easy commute with slightly rearset foot pegs. Having ridden the R15 for 146 hours continuously, this bike is a piece of cake for me. I endorse it to slightly shorter riders and people who complain of backpain. It is highly confidence aspiring with good suspension, braking and cornering abilities.

4. Speed - adequate for a 250. It does about 140 kmph. I missed the sixth gear though

Cons

The MRF tyres are not great at high speeds and when I replace it, will upgrade to slightly softer compound

Headlight is useless and I have installed 2 auxiliary fog lamps that cured the problem

The bike looks okay and if someone is confused to buy a bike at a budget of 2 lakhs, this is strongly recommended.

All you get is the happiness of riding and peace of mind!

[Samba]

Turns 4 with 6,666 km on the odo.

So far so good.

The Liquimoly engine oil is holding up well. The NVH level is very well sorted. Gearshifts are smooth. Speedometer indicated top-speed achieved without pillion was 141 km/hr. It took some time, but it was a smooth run. Overall happy with the performance of this bike.

The only niggle faced till now-

Last month, I found the accelerator to be a bit hard & it was not returning back properly.
Took it to my friend's authorized Yamaha Service centre and got the accelerator cable replaced. Now it's sorted.
Topped up the brake oil for the rear brake as it came down between Max and Min.
Damage to pocket- Rs 650.

Sharing a couple of pics from a solo 200 km ride -