[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by mobike008

HM, been missing you for plenty of our rides.

Look forward to a ride with you soon ( tomorrow you guys enjoy the Srisailam ride and post some nice pics here)

The color that I strongly recommend is a Red and White combo or a full blue (Ford Fiesta S---same shade). Iam sure it will look awesome

Speed and FZ1 look almost identical except for very minor differences to the headlight and exhaust and side fairings.

FZ1 is raw on power and is blisteringly fast...

The srisailam ride was cancelled and postponed to next week due to some unwarranted reasons
To compensate it, we did a night ride to one of our fav destination i.e hill park on sunday.Must say i thoroughly enjoyed it and was a very relaxed one compared to our early morning breakfast runs
Lets ride out this weekend, if possible1

Regarding the color, you spoke my mind.Full blue(similar to fiesta/m5..etc) is what i wanted to get on it from the beginning of my ownership.I am still in search of a good garage from where i can get the work done from(right now NEW MARS is the only one i have in mind right now.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Unlike every week,couldn't ride this saturday because of unavoidable reasons.To compensate that did a short impromptu ride along with 2 of my friends on ninja 650's.

Harsha, can you tell us how good/bad is N650? This is one VFM bike we get here and hence this info would be helpful if you could.

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Harsha, can you tell us how good/bad is N650? This is one VFM bike we get here and hence this info would be helpful if you could.

Before Penning down my views about the ninja 650, I must say that this is one of my favourite and most practical big bikes which are available in our country!

Having ridden N650 on multiple occasions both in city as well as on highways, I always was impressed by its capabilities.If not for the I4 sound and the greed for more power, I would have never looked at any other bike.

Needless to say about the quality, the build quality is excellent and the bike ages very well and is quite a head turner(thanks to the green color).It is very reliable machine too.
It is one bike which can comfortably make you do inter-state rides(800-900 kms/day), handle terrains like leh, gives you the adrenaline rush in the short highway blasts and can still have some serious fun when pushed on tracks.I couldn't think of any other bike with these capabilities at that price range!

The power might look less on paper when compared to the litre class bikes but with around 70bhp, it has got enough power to keep up with the big boys in those early morning speed runs in our traffic conditions.Only under WOT the n650 will be left out(which is not very easy considering our traffic conditions).The power delivery on n650 is too good to believe, spread out evenly it doesn't require any gear shifts to perform a sudden overtaking manoeuvre.Must mention that it is capable of doing some serious top-speeds(don't think i can mention the number here) very quickly.

Coming to handling it does soften out the undulations very well and at the same time give good feed back to the rider.Thanks to its suspension, it does job as a wonderful tourer and doesn't fatigue even after doing some serious kms.Despite the weight it is very easy to push the bike into corners.The weight is felt only when the bike is stand still and once you are move it doesn't bother much(this is the same with most of the heavy bikes)

If there is something i dint like(not bad) about N650, it is the sound and brakes.
-- Don't mistake me, it does sound good for a twin and won't irritate you even after riding it day long but who doesn't want to announce the presence with a nice orchestra
--Brakes have always been a sore point for ninja650,not that they are completely bad.They does a decent job of stopping in time.But with a bike of this kind of power/high speed capability the brakes should be sharp and give a very good feedback which the stock brakes totally lack.However changing the brake-lines and pads will improve the brakes and makes them sufficient.But i wonder why kawasaki dint give n650 brakes when it gave THE best brake on n250

Overall at this price,n650 is a total VFM bike and a perfect all-rounder.Hope this helps.

Best regards,
harsha

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Before Penning down my views about the ninja 650, I must say that this is one of my favourite and most practical big bikes which are available in our country!

Overall at this price,n650 is a total VFM bike and a perfect all-rounder.Hope this helps.

Best regards,
harsha

Excellent!
This was the only bike in my radar till Bonnie came in. The detuned story is now a deal breaker for Bonnie. Another advantage is have is that the shop's nearby and hence a.s.s and of course the price.

[harsha.muvva]

This saturday we rode towards the Banglore highway making a round trip of close to 200kms.We started earlier than usual so as to experience the fog on the highway.Even though the speeds are reduced due to the poor visibility, we thoroughly enjoyed it so much so that we actually stopped in between to click couple of pics(usually it is a non-stop run till the hotel)

The machines for the ride were Aprilia rsv4, tuono v4, Fz1, HD iron 883, HD super low, Ninja 650, Speed triple and Z800.
Have always liked the looks of z800, this particular has Red wrap on few parts and it was looking killer in flesh and also sporting a two brothers exhaust which is neither too loud nor too soft(perfect sounding machine)

Here i would like comment about the in-city handling of Z800 here.Dont know if it is because of the rider or the machine, I was surprised to see how easily z800 zipped through the traffic in city.It felt very compact and nimble especially when compared to its weight on paper.








This pic isn't doing justice to how it looks in real

[djay99]

Nice pics harsha. I guess you have GPR exhaust on your fz1. I am planning for an aftermarket exhaust for my z800. Any inputs on GPR furore black edition? I have not heard how gpr sounds and hence would like to know from you.

Where is the number plate on that z800? Did the owner get it painted in orange or he got some 3m stickering kit? Looks yummy in orange-black combo colour.

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by djay99

Nice pics harsha. I guess you have GPR exhaust on your fz1. I am planning for an aftermarket exhaust for my z800. Any inputs on GPR furore black edition? I have not heard how gpr sounds and hence would like to know from you.

Yep, I do have GPR deeptone slip-on exhaust on my fz1 and i totally love it.It gives perfect sound track for me.The GPR Furore is a different edition and it looks and suits z800 more than the deep-tone i feel.

GPR exhausts in general are louder when compared to others like Akrapovic,Two brothers..etc.The only other exhaust louder than GPR is probably the RACE-FIT.
So go for GPR only if you like louder exhausts.However i am not sure if the same applies to the "FURORE" series you are looking at(have a look at youtube videos of different exhaust to get fair idea about the loudness levels)

The quality of the exhaust is very good and haven't heard any from friends who are using it.The best part i like about GPR exhaust's is their price, they are a lot more VFM when compared to others

Just found this video comparing different GPR exhausts on youtube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BzYQ697-3Q

Where is the number plate on that z800? Did the owner get it painted in orange or he got some 3m stickering kit? Looks yummy in orange-black combo colour.

He purchased the sticker from 3M and got it wrapped with the help of some guy he know.I totally loved the combination and it looked killer in person.
This z800 has Two-brother exhaust and it sounded sweet!

Reg the number plate, I remember him saying for some DIY on the existing holder to make it look like fender eliminator

Best regards,
harsha

[djay99]

Thanks for the info harsha. Will buy GPR Furore in coming days.
Do you have more pics of orange Z800?

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by djay99

Thanks for the info harsha. Will buy GPR Furore in coming days.
Do you have more pics of orange Z800?

While purchasing make sure that you purchase the baffle too!

Just found two pics of the same z800 on a photography page(facebook), sharing them here:

[harsha.muvva]

Update on the thready after long time. The usual break-fast rides on the regular highways were happening almost every weekend. Some pics from the those rides

Near the ORR towards vijayawada on NH9






But the big update is that I had my first every track day on FZ1 at Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore @ May 9 and 10. These are open sessions with KNOG(Kawasaki ninja owners group) and CCT (Cotton City Throttle,superbikers group from coimbatore). Me and My friend on RSV4 rode from hyderabad to bangalore, from there the bikes were transported to coimbatore in truck along with others. Even though the weather was not so friendly and were sweating like pigs the experience on track was nothing short of amazing, unlearnt few things and learnt lot of new things and now I am eagerly waiting to hit the track again. Apart from improving myself I also got to understand more about Fz1, can happily say that fz1 is more suited for track riding/ aggressive riding when compared to other nakeds in the same segment. She was very inspiring even under extreme cornering and the only needed to change/modify to get rear sets as the stock foot pegs were scraping after certain lean and that is the only limitation I have felt as far as the bike is concerned. Also rode the RSV4 on the track for sometime, I am totally floored by how effortless and easy it is throw around it on corners. Driving a supersport on track itself is an amazing experience and RSV4 further sweetened it. Given chance I would like to have FZ1 for street riding/ touring and pick a supersport for these track days.

Meanwhile got an action camera(Garmin Virb Elite) when it was on sale @flipkart with some heavy discounts it finally came upto 11k which I think is a steal considering the features it has. Here are couple of pics from the track-day along with the video from Garmin.

The customary no chicken-strips pic of track day









Here is a short video compiling few laps, i used 3 extensions for the camera as result there are vibrations and the sound was poor so added music to compensate for that. Also do note that this video is from the day1 on which I made lot of mistakes like braking in too early, missing apex, wrong body position..etc

https://youtu.be/geLGbNGKvn4

Will add some more pics from the track day as and when i get them and also details about couple of upgrades I have done on FZ1 recently in the next post

[classic86]

Hi Harsha,

Quite impressed with the details so far and your travelogues look quite interesting, especially one from Mumbai to Hyderabad. Are you part of any riding group here in Hyderabad or just riding with your friends?

I just got myself a new Benelli TNT 300 and I'm looking for groups in Hyderabad to spice up my rides. Any suggestions?

Also, good choice on the FZ1. Looks amazing...

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by classic86

Hi Harsha,

Quite impressed with the details so far and your travelogues look quite interesting, especially one from Mumbai to Hyderabad. Are you part of any riding group here in Hyderabad or just riding with your friends?

I just got myself a new Benelli TNT 300 and I'm looking for groups in Hyderabad to spice up my rides. Any suggestions?

Also, good choice on the FZ1. Looks amazing...

Thanks for the appreciation

Not a part of any riding group as such, just group of friends with different types of bikes riding together. You can check with the showroom guys if they are planning to have any benelli only group or something similar(usually they organise these kind of rides)

Congrats on the TNT300, its a crazy sounding machine

[harsha.muvva]

It has been close to 2 years since i have acquired the FZ1 and have done close to 14,000 kms till date. During these 2 two years she accompanied me on couple of inter-state rides, regular weekend break-fast rides, commuting(once in a while) and finally a track day recently. She never gave me a reason to complain either on those 700km/day rides or continuous bashing on the track. Every time i take her on ride, I feel happy that i made a perfect choice and never ever i felt like trading it for some other bike, though adding a proper track oriented bike is always in my mind.

Few pics from the track day :




Thought I will summarise likes and dislikes of Fz1 based on my experience in the past two years

what i liked :-

1. VFM litre class naked bike (especially in the pre-worshipped super-bike market)

2. Perfect riding position for someone who is into regular weekend rides along with occasional touring needs (neither too upright like a ninja650 nor aggressive like a supersport)

3. Raw and unadulterated power, the pull after 6-7k rpm is wild and 150 bhp (power rating of stock fz1) on a naked bike is a unique experience. It is still one the most powerful nakeds around

4. Seats are roomier when compared to other nakeds( z800, z1000, speed triple..etc), something which is good for healthy guys like me

5. Wind-blast is relatively less compared to the other nakeds

6. Handles exactly the way you wanted it to and is sure footed even at high speeds.

7. Yamaha A.S.S in hyderabad is the best I have experienced till date. Thanks to the chief mechanic moorthy who goes out of the way to get the things done in a perfect manner

Tall gearing which is a boon & bane

What I dint like :-

1. No electronic aids, not even ABS. With the kind of power FZ1 makes, it would have been nice to have atleast ABS & Traction Control

2. Instrument cluster is too basic. It just has time, odo reading, trip A & B and F-trip(reserve trip). DTE would have been really good

3. looks boring for most, especially when compared to the latest nakeds on sale. But I find the looks to be neutral.

4. Stock Fz1 has a jerky throttle response and poor power at lower RPM. But with the addition of power commander and down-sizing the front sprocket, the bike pulls cleanly from speeds like 30-40 kmph to all the way till top speed @6th gear

Adding few pics from the ride immediately after picking the bike, clicked @lonavala :




Meanwhile, have done couple of upgrades on the bike

CHAIN & SPROCKET
Had to change to change the chain & sprocket on the bike as the existing one is worn out. So got DID 530 ZVMX X-ring chain in gold color along with Vortex sprockets in 16/45 configuration (stock is 17/45) for better initial acceleration. Ordered both of these via amazon and chose to pay customs before hand, the parcel landed here within one week of ordering and costed me less than what it was retailing for here. I totally loved how the gold chain looks on bike with that black sprocket. This particular chain is advertised to last 40% longer than the OEM ones and lighter too. The sprockets too weigh less when compared to the oem ones. Overall I am very happy with the purchase. In brief the specs are
Chain : DID 530 ZVMX X-ring chain - 122 links
Sprockets : VORTEX Light weight Front :16 T and Rear :45T



QUICK SHIFTER
Have added Dynojet quick shifter to the bike via power commander 5. I just love it and now the upshifts especially at higher rpm's are lot more fun and it is addictive. Now, I have a wide grin plastered on my face every time i up shift . It is just a plug and play job as i already have the power commander 5 in place. This is definitely one of my favourite mods on the bike



The next probable upgrades on the bike will be a steering damper and Ivans ECU remap which makes the FZ1 even more wilder

Regards,
Harsha

[FasterSon]

3 yrs and no other chit chat in such a awesome thread?! First of all thank you for all that is about all bikes in this thread Harsha! But you just left at a time when it seemingly got more interesting! Very interested to know the rest of the story man! About tyre options and costs, about 50k plus maintenance and sorry to even mention..any troubles? Change in the motor character or refinement? Circuit troubles? Are these bike owners also prone to upgrade bug?!