[kingofmyworld]

These days, expensive cars and bikes are more or less a status symbol for most of the wealthy people. There are also a set
Of people who buy these bikes and cars just for the sake of “Facebook” and its likes. (Yes, they really do. I've also seen people who paid like 20-30 thousands for a photo-shoot just to get "likes" for their profile picture.) And then there are people, who live to ride, explore and love to say “Been there, done that ". The later set of people usually starts with smaller capacity bikes and gradually upgrade to the larger capacity ones. And when they do, they do it biker style!



So this is how the whole thing happened. A little bit of recap will help understand better. So here we go!

MAY-2011: I got the delivery of my cbr250R C-ABS. This was the month that changed lot of things in my life. I started Riding big time after I got my CBR. I met amazing people, made tons of friends and met likeminded people. One of the likeminded buds I met was this guy who used to ride a black ninja 250 and another guy who used to ride a green ninja 250. We three were the trio who used to be seen riding together at night, speed runs were a common sight and hangouts were numerous!

So who are the black and green ninja guys?

Ram (me) - CBR250R
Harsha - Black ninja 250
Abhinav - Green ninja 250



Soon, three of us decided to do the saddle sore and bun burner during November 2011 and we finished both ss and bb.

After the ride, the need for more power got into our mind and we started considering different bikes, looking for opportunities to test ride different bikes before picking them. Unfortunately, in a country like India, getting a chance to ride an SBK for prolonged duration is next to impossible unless you have a rich dad with friends owning SBKs or friends with SBKs. Having none of those, it was tough for us to choose.

Abhinav had to move back to UK so he sold his 250.

Me after a lot of thinking, settled on a ninja 650 (Detailed Ownership thread here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...en-goblin.html )

Harsha sold his 250 few months after the iron butt challenge has been completed and started searching for a superbike. He initially wanted to pick a N650 as he preferred upright position for touring which we mostly would be doing and obviously some POWER! Since I got the N650 and we wanted to make sure that no 2 bikes should be the same among our group, he dropped off N650 plans and kept the search going.

First deal - A sparingly used 2011 R1 with just 3500kms on the ODO. (A super sport position, the idea was to use it for a year and sell it as soon as he gets a deal for fz/cb1000) Too good to be true eh? The owner was quoting a big number for the bike which was ridiculous. Tried negotiating but the owner was nowhere near realistic numbers. So quit.

2nd Deal - An FZ1 from down south with a good number of kms on the odo.

Again, since the pricing has gone up due to our great Indian budget, owners took great advantage of this and quoted crazy numbers even for a pre-owned SBK. The deal was almost final but considering taking an NOC paying local road tax and registering it again, the deal sounded lame. So quit.

3rd deal - A pretty neat CB1000. The pricing was fair but the NOC and previous owner background had negative feedback from sources that I would not like to reveal.

4th deal - An FZ1 with a big number on the odo. Price quoted was good but could be better. Told Harsha about the deal and he was interested in it. Meanwhile, I asked some reliable sources about how the bike was taken care of; it was positive news from everywhere. Harsha was in negotiations with the owner and was closing on a deal. The negotiation and other stuff happened for a couple of days and the deal was closed! With all positive news from sources, we were a happy bunch of bikers.



The following weekend is when we planned to drive down to Mumbai to pick the bike and ride it back home. Due to some bank related issues, we had to push the plan to sunday-monday.

Harsha’s cousin and Abhinav decided to join us on the trip. All four of us were hyper excited. Couldn't wait till sunrise on Saturday so started at 12.30 AM on Saturday. Harsha’s parents insisted on taking the driver with us. Just to keep them happy, we took the driver along with us. Soon after crossing city limits, I took the wheel and started gunning the Innova just to make sure we r on schedule. We reached Mumbai before we thought we would. 0 close calls and 0 panic situations on the way. A very smooth journey. Even after 750 kms of drive and no sleep the previous night, we were all energetic and excited to lay our hands on the FZ1. Called the owner and he said he is out for lunch with his family and would be there in 30 mins.
He wasn't expecting us to be there so soon. Yoko sizzlers was right opposite to his apartment so thought we'll have our lunch too, but it was all crowded and a huge waiting list so skipped lunch and kept waiting. Those 30 mins were like ages for us.

Finally Captain Rohit, the owner arrived and we rushed to his apartment. The first question he asked was
- Do you guys want to see the bike first?

With truckloads of excitement in our faces we answered - YES!

We walked around the parking lot and there lies the FZ under a cover teasing us.




Captain took off the cover and our hearts fell and rolled towards the bike. Had a good look all around the bike and moved to his apartment to close the deal. All paper work and formalities were done and it was time to take the bike for a spin. Captain took us to a less crowded stretch and gave us some elderly advice. Taking note of the advice we set off one by one. We were blown away by the mechanical condition after clocking so many kms. Hats off for that captain. Captain has made arrangements for the night at a nearby hotel.

The following morning we planned to start at 5.30 AM SHARP! As a typical Indian, we followed the schedule sincerely and started from Mumbai at 6.00AM. Last night, Harsha was roaming in the city with traffic around. Battery was not getting charged because of that. Not knowing about that, we tried to crank the bike and it failed. Couple more attempts and it failed again. Captain told us the previous day that you cannot push start the bike and you need to jumpstart in case the battery dies. We did not have leads to do that and did not want to delay our schedule. So I jumped onto the bike and made the owner push the bike. Lol. First attempt, the bike did not start. Not enough momentum. Second time, asked to driver and Abhinav to join. I was waiting till the speedo to show 2 digits and tried again, the bike started and the exhaust started roaring! Left the bike to idle and the engine to warm up and setoff. Harsha isn't a technical guy so he did not want to risk riding the bike and stalling it in the city over bumps as he was not used to the bike yet. (Push starting a superbike isn’t a joke and it can kill the person trying to push-start if he doesn't do it properly. Please do not ever try to push-start an SBK if you have never tried push starting a bike/car. At least if you don't know how the push start technique works) so he decided to be in the car till we cross the city. I geardup and got on the bike and we set off.

The FZ1 has ample amount of power in the low revs to negotiate city traffic and turns with ease. Post 6k Revs, it's a different bike all together. Don't even think about taking this bike above 6k revs on city roads unless you want to end up like a smashed vegetable lying on the road.



I had the tinted visor on so kept it open till the sun came up. By the time we reached the highway, the exposed area of my face through the helmet turned black. All thanks to the dirt on Mumbai roads and rains. The dirt was so bad that my specs turned black too :P

Eventually the roads opened up and the battery was charged. I could see the excitement in Harsha's face. Did not want to spoil it so I took the wheel and gave him the bars. Though he was having the same dirt problem as I was having, he was more than happy to ride in those conditions. Abhinav meanwhile was the navigator giving us the prompt and accurate directions.



Showers reduced and the roads were dry on the highway, Harsha unleashed the bike and was out of our sight in no time. Not knowing the route, he then slowed down and made sure he was in our sight. The roads between Mumbai and Pune were fabulous.
Very scenic and very well laid. Since Lonavala was on the way, we decided to have some leisure time there. Had breakfast in Lonavala and we switched position. Harsha behind the wheel and me behind the bars. I just could not control the excitement you see. Rode to tiger hills and man! What a sweet place! Very less crowd, open land, a beautiful sight and best of all, they serve hot Pakora and some Arabian Smokey stuff. (I’m not sure if I can talk about it here.) Couldn't get any better than that for us when we are 600 kms away from the closest place which serves it.









Ride uphill was great, there was a small ghat section which was pretty well laid and it was very scenic. Fz1 was very flickable on those roads. Loved every part of it.

An hour later we headed back to Hyderabad. Harsha was behind the bars now. As always, he listened to everything I told him (ride slow, follow us, keep us in sight, do not make noise and grab attention on the highway) and as expected ignored every word of it and rode like there’s no tomorrow. Young blood. Can't help it.

Soon we reached Pune, followed the same route we took while coming and crossed Pune in more or less the same time which it took for us while coming though it was a working day. This was surprising. For a weekday, the traffic was pretty less. The last time when I came to Pune for some personal work, I was stuck in traffic half of the time.






We headed onto the highway and the climate changed. It was fairly sunny though the temperature was cool. The roads were well laid too. Taking full advantage of the situation, Harsha started gunning the FZ scaring the waste out of people walking on either sides of the road. All thanks to the GPR growler. Man that's loud. Soon, Abhinav remembered that it's been quite some time and kms that we've tanked the FZ. It's a superbike. Cannot expect a big number when it comes to fuel economy. We were sure that Harsha would be least bothered to check the fuel gauge since he was busy playing with it on the highway. I started gunning the Innova just to make sure that we chase him and remind him about fuel. After a good 30-40 kms, we could see Harsha at the origin. We pulled beside him and asked him to stop for fuel; he nodded and then started gunning the FZ again.
1-2-3-4 fuel stations passed and he did not stop, we reminded him again, he nodded and started gunning again. Me and Abhinav looked at each other and were like “what the heck is happening? Did we do the math right? The tank must have gone dry by now? Isn’t it? "

After some good 50kms, Harsha finally stopped for fuel. We asked him why he did not stop for fuel and he smiled and said; the fuel meter was showing 3 bars when you guys asked me to stop for fuel, and it just fell to 2 bars when we told him the second time. We were confused. Fueling was done and we did some math to see what FE the FZ gave. The final number was so surprising that all of us dropped our jaws. WIDE!





A superbike with normal fuel and with young blood riding it gave 18.x KMPL! Can you beat that!

To celebrate it, we stopped at the next newly opened Dhaba and had some food and continued our journey. Abhinav couldn't get his hands on the FZ yet, so it was his turn now. Abhinav geared up and got behind the bars. Harsha with some satisfaction got into the car and started telling bout his experience with the FZ on the highway. Soon after Abhinav left the place, it started raining. It was raining so much that Abhinav just couldn’t manage riding. We took a break till it stopped raining and set off again. Weather was better in some time and we set off. Abhinav decided to ride again. We crossed Sholapur and we stopped for some refreshments/nature calls.

It was my turn to ride and then Harsha reminded me that I have bought a gopro along with me for the trip. I've completely forgotten about it. Maybe because of the excitement. Mounted the gopro and rode for some time. It started raining again. Having no plans to get wet and end up with truckloads of mud on my face again, gave the bars to Harsha and I got behind the wheel. :P






Our speeds went down after Sholapur as the road was bad plus it was dusk. Traffic was more too. We were 150 kms from Hyderabad and it was completely dark. Low beam on the bike was not working and high beam was not properly aligned. Road were full of potholes. Actually full of craters. Harsha stopped us and complained about visibility. He was not riding for maybe 8-10 months before that so he did not want to risk it. I got on the bike and managed to cross the bad patch without dropping the bike in those potholes. Roads then evened out so gave the bike back to Harsha.





Hyderabad - 60 kms milestone crossed and we could feel at home already. Stopped for a tank up and gave the car to the driver as I had no patience to deal with city traffic on a Monday evening/night.

A couple of hours later, everybody reached home safe and tired and crashed for the day.

So that's how a biker would pick his companion.

During the First DIY on the FZ1.



Posing time! The END!

[niranjanrvce]

Congrats to you and your friend kingofmyworld!
I had seen this one for sale on FB and good to see a proper biker pick it up.

How does this fare against your N650 in the city and on the highway? I know for a high speed run the FZ1 would run away but in terms of real world in-gear roll on times and cruise-ablity?

[Nikhilb2008]

Congrats! Your bike looks really dirty and that is the way it should be! Shows you are riding it rather than using it as a trophy!

The FZ 1 has pure class and character. Brilliant bike.

Dont you want to buy leathers and other protective gear? Riding a litre class bike is always a risky affair!

[black12rr]

Congrats on the buy to your friend . Could you disclose how much your friend shelled out for this beauty . Ride safe .

BTW post some more pics of DIY on Fzee .More close up shots of mods installed on bike .

[Octane_Power]

Congratulations to your friend. A superbike , and miles of open highway; what else does one need ?
Enjoyed every bit of the post!
Is your friend going to keep that visor as it is? IMHO, the bike looks quite brutal and muscular sans the visor.

How did you find the riding position and the riding comfort as compared to your N650? (both on ghats and on straight highways)

And where is the video from the go-pro ?

-Bhargav

[bigron]

Congratulations. Long first post but always nice to hear the escapades of a fellow biker. Rode the FZ1 a few times and liked the comfortable saddle and torquey mid range. Great bike to cover long distances .Ride long , ride safe !

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

Congrats to you and your friend kingofmyworld!
I had seen this one for sale on FB and good to see a proper biker pick it up.

How does this fare against your N650 in the city and on the highway? I know for a high speed run the FZ1 would run away but in terms of real world in-gear roll on times and cruise-ablity?

Thank you niranjan.

It fares very well be it city or highway. Below 6k RPM it is a little lazy but the exhaust note will compensate for that. You wont notice the lag in low revs because you'll be be busy admiring the exhaust note

N650 has loads of low end. So in the city, N650 pulls off. But once you hit the highway, FZ leaves the 650 to dust. It's a different animal post 6k RPM. First gear if you redline the bike, Expect nothing less than 140 on the odo.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Congrats! Your bike looks really dirty and that is the way it should be! Shows you are riding it rather than using it as a trophy!

The FZ 1 has pure class and character. Brilliant bike.

Dont you want to buy leathers and other protective gear? Riding a litre class bike is always a risky affair!

Than you nikhil. My friend already had rst leathers. Both jacket n pants. Riding boots as well. We are completely geared. This time out of excitement and due to rains, we preferred to carry our textile jackets. Leathers and rains = bad idea.

Originally Posted by black12rr

Congrats on the buy to your friend . Could you disclose how much your friend shelled out for this beauty . Ride safe .

BTW post some more pics of DIY on Fzee .More close up shots of mods installed on bike .

Thank you black. Will have to check with my friend if I can disclose the price. Will get back to you on that.

Yes, More pics will flow in soon.

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Congratulations to your friend. A superbike , and miles of open highway; what else does one need ?
Enjoyed every bit of the post!
Is your friend going to keep that visor as it is? IMHO, the bike looks quite brutal and muscular sans the visor.

How did you find the riding position and the riding comfort as compared to your N650? (both on ghats and on straight highways)

And where is the video from the go-pro ?

-Bhargav

Thank you octane power.

The first DIY was to remove the windscreen, paint the spools, carbon fiber wraps on the metal plates neat the footpegs.

Originally Posted by bigron

Congratulations. Long first post but always nice to hear the escapades of a fellow biker. Rode the FZ1 a few times and liked the comfortable saddle and torquey mid range. Great bike to cover long distances .Ride long , ride safe !

Thank you bigron. I'm not a regular writer so expect long first posts always.

[roshan_cruise]

Hey bro,

Awesome write-up!!
one could feel the fun you get from riding the bike just by reading the post.

A ride with your bike\car along with your friends would last for 1-2 hours, but the memory lasts for ever. Guess that's one thing you and your friends would cherish even after a year of ownership plus this journey of getting your bike makes for one hell of a story

The post made me regret for keeping my bike (a humble pulsar) home to work elsewhere

Look forward to your travelogues [the SBK dairies]

[n_aditya]

Nicely written Sir.

I had the opportunity to ride an FZ-1 a few months back and surprisingly found it so easy to ride and maneuver in traffic.

I could easily potter around in 6th due to the huge amount of torque and a slight blip of the accelerator would send the bike forward in a mad rush.

I managed 130 kays @ around 5k rpm on an open highway. Didn't have the guts to go past this mark and enter the real powerband since it was my first time with a liter bike.

Honestly, i think it's got way too much power and can be dangerous in the wrong hands. I would prefer the FZ-6 over this since i wouldn't be able to use all that power.

Ride safe.

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by roshan_cruise

Hey bro,

Awesome write-up!!
one could feel the fun you get from riding the bike just by reading the post.

A ride with your bike\car along with your friends would last for 1-2 hours, but the memory lasts for ever. Guess that's one thing you and your friends would cherish even after a year of ownership plus this journey of getting your bike makes for one hell of a story

The post made me regret for keeping my bike (a humble pulsar) home to work elsewhere

Look forward to your travelogues [the SBK dairies]

Thank you roshan.

It was a fabulous trip. Drive, Ride, chillout and loads of memories to take back home. Things cant get any better really.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Nicely written Sir.

I had the opportunity to ride an FZ-1 a few months back and surprisingly found it so easy to ride and maneuver in traffic.

I could easily potter around in 6th due to the huge amount of torque and a slight blip of the accelerator would send the bike forward in a mad rush.

I managed 130 kays @ around 5k rpm on an open highway. Didn't have the guts to go past this mark and enter the real powerband since it was my first time with a liter bike.

Honestly, i think it's got way too much power and can be dangerous in the wrong hands. I would prefer the FZ-6 over this since i wouldn't be able to use all that power.

Ride safe.

Aditya, Thank you and Please don't call me sir. I'm too young to be called sir. I'm just 23.

FZ1 has enough torque to cruise around in the city at 60 kmph in 5th or 6th gear. It's a practical SBK money can bike in india. I prefer 600s in India too but unfortunately for whatsoever reasons, Indian govt says they are illegal.

@octane power : Gopro videos will be posted soon. Need to trim the videos before I post for obvious reasons

[anoshdhondy]

From your post I infer that 600cc bikes are illegal in India? If that is so then what about the N650 and why are litre class bikes allowed then?
If I am mistaken in my understanding please clarify.

Thanks
Anosh

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Thank you roshan.

It was a fabulous trip. Drive, Ride, chillout and loads of memories to take back home. Things cant get any better really.



Aditya, Thank you and Please don't call me sir. I'm too young to be called sir. I'm just 23.

FZ1 has enough torque to cruise around in the city at 60 kmph in 5th or 6th gear. It's a practical SBK money can bike in india. I prefer 600s in India too but unfortunately for whatsoever reasons, Indian govt says they are illegal.

@octane power : Gopro videos will be posted soon. Need to trim the videos before I post for obvious reasons

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by anoshdhondy

From your post I infer that 600cc bikes are illegal in India? If that is so then what about the N650 and why are litre class bikes allowed then?
If I am mistaken in my understanding please clarify.

Thanks
Anosh

Inline 4 600cc bikes are classified as not permitted if I am not wrong. It's something like that. That is why none of the manufacturers launched their inline 4 600cc bikes in india. Liter class bikes are allowed officially. Indian govt has a weird mechanism as to which bikes to be allowed and which not to. Maybe experts can throw more light on it. N650 on the other hand is legal. Maybe because its a twin?

[djay99]

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Inline 4 600cc bikes are classified as not permitted if I am not wrong. It's something like that. That is why none of the manufacturers launched their inline 4 600cc bikes in india.

First of all Many Congratulations . Did you get all the stuff Captain posted on tbhp classified? This bike has lot of addons.

Inline4 600CC bikes are permitted and are legal only they are imported as CKD. Current government norms do not permit bikes with <800CC via CBU. Hence some people think it as illegal.

Manufacturers do not see good numbers in india if they were to import kits for an I4 600CC. Some how Bajaj took risk with N650 and are reaping benefits.
Next will be Triumph bringing in Street triple, bonnie, daytona which are under 800CC via CKD (not from Thailand ). Expected launch in Sep-13 end and possible deliveries to start in Oct-13.

[kingofmyworld]

Originally Posted by djay99

First of all Many Congratulations . Did you get all the stuff Captain posted on tbhp classified? This bike has lot of addons.

Inline4 600CC bikes are permitted and are legal only they are imported as CKD. Current government norms do not permit bikes with <800CC via CBU. Hence some people think it as illegal.

Manufacturers do not see good numbers in india if they were to import kits for an I4 600CC. Some how Bajaj took risk with N650 and are reaping benefits.
Next will be Triumph bringing in Street triple, bonnie, daytona which are under 800CC via CKD (not from Thailand ). Expected launch in Sep-13 end and possible deliveries to start in Oct-13.

Aah! Finally some clarity. I don't see the point why CKD is legal and CBU as illegal. Wonder who thought of this. Step motherly treatment eh?

And yes, We got almost everything captain posted.

[Octane_Power]

In one of your posts above, you have said that it can do 140 in the 1st gear if red-lined Is that right? or is it a typo ?

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Inline 4 600cc bikes are classified as not permitted if I am not wrong. It's something like that. That is why none of the manufacturers launched their inline 4 600cc bikes in india. Liter class bikes are allowed officially. Indian govt has a weird mechanism as to which bikes to be allowed and which not to. Maybe experts can throw more light on it. N650 on the other hand is legal. Maybe because its a twin?

OT- The same reason why the R6 is also not available in India and is "illegal".
It is also an in-line 4 600 cc. But, I can not see the reason for not allowing these bikes on roads.
Why do these 600cc bikes not get the homologation certificate is quite abstruse to me.
What is the reason behind this ?? Can anyone throw light on this ?

Thanks!

-Bhargav