The Best Of - Yamaha Reviews from Men & Motors! - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

Explore the thrilling world of Yamaha with Men & Motors!  Join us as we bring you 'The Best Of Yamaha Reviews' featuring the most iconic bikes and exhilarating rides. From powerful engines to cutting-edge designs, our experts at Men & Motors provide insightful reviews that capture the essence of Yamaha's two-wheeled wonders.  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!   ----- Social Media -----  Follow us on social media by clicking the link below to elevate your social media experience by connecting with us! https://menandmotors.start.page  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2024

Transcript

00:00So, you fancy a bit of muscle, do you? Well, don't look at me. No, seriously, I'm talking

00:11about bikes. What could you suggest? Maybe a Honda CB1000, perhaps a Yamaha XJR or even

00:17a Kawasaki ZRX or a 1200 Bandit. No, no, no, no, forget them. I'm talking about real muscle.

00:24How about a Yamaha 1200 V-Max? Now, the V-Max really seems to have that nasty boy image

00:31and once you climb aboard, you really do get the feeling that nothing's going to come even

00:34close in the old traffic light Grand Prix. The V-Max was born way back in 1984 but it

00:42wasn't officially available in the UK until 1991 when it arrived with its 1198cc of stonking

00:50liquid-cooled V4 performance. It does in fact come in two versions. There's one like

00:56this, which is a restricted one, 95bhp and it'll do 133mph. Doesn't sound that restricted

01:03to me. And then in 1996, the UK officially got the full power version, which will produce

01:10121bhp and that'll do 156mph. But don't even think about riding any V-Max flat out unless

01:19you're wearing a very strong neck brace and you've got some way of securing your hands

01:23to the bars and your arms to your shoulders. The V-Max certainly is different, doesn't

01:29look much like any other machine. The dashboard, for example, is kind of split in two. You've

01:34got the speedo up here on its own mounted on the bars and down here, the rev counter,

01:39temperature gauge and warning lamps are on a kind of little console at the front of this

01:43tank. Tank, I said. It's not really a tank, it's a dummy tank. There is a storage box

01:48under there but it's not very big. If you want to put petrol in your V-Max, you have

01:52to do this. A couple of catches there, just behind the back twin shocks, flick them and

01:57up it pops. Petrol filler cap there and the tank is actually underneath the seat which

02:01helps to keep the weight down and this is quite a heavy beast. The tank actually only

02:06holds 15 litres of fuel, which if you ride it fairly hard will take you just a touch

02:11over 100 miles before you have to switch to reserve. Not very far I know, but believe

02:16me, 100 miles hard riding on one of these and you'll be well glad of the rest.

02:26It really is built to go very fast in straight lines. It's absolutely crap at going round

02:32corners to be quite honest with you, but one thing it does do very, very well is stop,

02:37thank goodness, because at the front we've got twin 282mm discs being squeezed by twin

02:43four piston calipers and at the back a 290mm disc with a single twin piston caliper and

02:49they bring everything to a very, very rapid halt. It really is incredible in a straight

03:02line. Not so clever going round the corners, perhaps the weight's got something to do that.

03:06It's a heavy beast, 262kg which is £576 in old money. It certainly takes a bit of

03:13shifting around. Anyway, by the time I get to the twisty bits, I'll be that far in front,

03:18I can slow down and let you all catch up. The full power version gets most of its performance

03:27from the V-Boost system, which very cleverly controls the fuel supply to the front and

03:32rear cylinders and it adds extra fuel to the one that's firing and believe me, when that

03:38starts to happen, you will know about it. The V-Max is a great bike. It makes you smile when

03:58you ride it, there's something good in that and one thing that has surprised me is the price. I

04:02always thought V-Max is a kind of luxury item, not so really. The price for this particular bike,

04:08which is a 1998 import version and it's restricted but don't let that put you off,

04:13still a lot of fun. This on the road is less than £6,000 and if you do want to splash out and buy

04:19a UK model, unrestricted, full power version, that will cost you about £9,300 on the road.

04:25So there's the V-Max, all I need now is a new rear tyre. Well he did tell me that he's got

04:33something for me to road test that is black and red. It's not this. He thinks he's got one up

04:39on me that Paul Johnston fellow, well I can tell you he hasn't. What he's done, he's obviously gone

04:44into a motorcycle showroom and chosen the biggest bike he could find. On the idea that it's too big

04:50for me to ride and do a road test on. Well he's found this and understandably I can see what he

04:56means. It's a muscle bike, it's 1,300cc and you think it'd be too big for me. Well, it isn't. In

05:03fact, it's perfect. My feet reach the floor. So I've got me a road test and he's waiting for me

05:12to turn up on it. He's got a long way.

05:20Oh, look at this. Here's Wayne.

05:51Wayne the motorcycle tourer. I think he's been on a world cruise or something. A week I've been

05:56waiting. A week? I've had two shaves, three showers. Do you know, it just felt like an hour or so, that's all.

06:02Well, where have you been? I've been for a good ride and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself. And have you

06:06learned anything about the bike in the week? Can you tell us anything, inform us? Oh yeah, yeah.

06:11It's red. It's a Yamaha and it's 1,300cc. It is. I really enjoyed it. Can you sort me out with

06:19something else? Oh, and by the way, it's run out of petrol. That's very informative, isn't it? Now

06:28you know why we don't let him get involved with road tests. Looks like it's down to me again.

06:32So what can I tell you about this XJR 1300 that Wayne hasn't already told you? Well,

06:39probably loads and loads. It is indeed 1,300cc. It's a Yamaha. It's big and it's red. There's a

06:46bit more to it than that. It's a proper true retro machine, true retro muscle bike. Retro

06:52right from the front to the back. So many bikes these days call themselves retro, but they're not

06:56really. They've got a big chrome headlamp and that's really where the retro theme ends, because

07:01they've got monoshocks at the back. Whoever said a monoshock was retro? I don't think so. This one,

07:05we're back to the old twin shocks. And even the engine looks retro. Look at that. It's air-cooled.

07:10In fact, if you took a picture of that there and said, name the year, you'd probably say 1970

07:16something or 1980 something, because it really, really does look the part. No fancy fuel injection,

07:22four McUnie CV carburettors. All works perfectly well. It's not rocket science, but it's perfect

07:27for this kind of machine. Big oil cooler on the front there. And a five-speed gearbox in this,

07:32as opposed to the more normal, or should we say more conventional six-speed. And I'm led

07:37to believe it works perfectly well. Although talking to Wayne, I would never know that. So

07:41looks like I'll have to find out for myself. The first thing you'll find out when you climb

07:52aboard the XTR 1300 is that it has to be one of the most comfortable bikes to ride. An excellent

07:58padded seat and well-placed bars. In fact, the whole machine feels perfectly balanced. There's

08:04plenty enough power, and if you really want to, you can have a go at mixing it with the boy racers.

08:09It's nowhere near as fast as some of your more dedicated sports bikes, but with no protection

08:18on this naked machine, you really don't want to be hurtling along at ridiculous speeds. It's far

08:24more suited to high-speed cruising around the country lanes. It's physically a large machine,

08:31you will get noticed on this bike. But having said that, it's not daunting. It's very,

08:37very user-friendly. You may have noticed, you should have noticed that this is a little bit

08:43different to your standard XTR 1300. This, of course, is the SPS version. Now they all do SPS

08:50versions and fancy limited edition versions. Honda do them, Aprilia, Ducati do them with the 996s

08:55and all that. So why not have an SPS retro machine like this? Nothing wrong with that.

08:59Two main differences between this and your standard model. One, perhaps the most obvious,

09:04is the paint job. Look at that. Yamaha speed blocks, a proper retro paint job if ever I've

09:09seen one. Straight off an RD out of the 1970s, that, isn't it? Very smart on the tank and, of

09:14course, on the tail unit there as well. And you've probably not failed to mention, the shocks on this

09:19are different to your standard. Lots of people use different types of suspension these days.

09:23You've got your White Power, your Piola, your Shower, all them. On this SPS, we're on Ohlins

09:28shocks, which are used throughout the world on all the top super bikes. Of course, they're fully

09:32adjustable. You can tweak them and tune them and set the bike up exactly the way you want it to

09:37feel. Look at that for a nice seat. Not only is it a nice, comfy stepped seat, but it's got all this

09:42nice quilting in it, these nice little quilted sections here. Again, perfectly in keeping with

09:47this style of machine. Not really much to show you under the seat, but we'll pop it off and have

09:51a look. Little compartment there, a couple of bits in there. Tool kit there, C-spanners there,

09:56so you can have a play with your rear suspension, but nothing very exciting to tell you about under

10:01there. But it has got this bike two things that I think are really important, that are important to

10:06me when I'm looking at a bike. One is up there, a fuel gauge. I think every bike should have a fuel

10:11gauge. I keep saying it. And the second thing is there. Can you see it? A main stand. Perfect. Makes

10:18life a lot, lot easier. So if you are a fan of the retro scene and you're impressed by size,

10:27then this could be right up your street.

10:32If big really is beautiful, then this is about as good looking as things get.

10:39So this is the SPS version, therefore it's much more expensive. Well, no, it's not really that

10:44much more expensive. The standard machine XJR 1300 will cost you £5,800 to put on the road.

10:52This SPS model will cost you £6,200, so only just about £400 more, and for your £400, you get a

10:59nice paint job and fancy rear suspension. I don't think that's bad because if you bought the standard

11:03bike, you had it painted yourself and you treated yourself to some fancy new shocks, I think you

11:08could be looking at the best part of £1,000. So in today's day and age, I don't think that's bad

11:12value for money. Now, what other thing we must do? Wait, no. Wait, no. One sec. I need you to do me a

11:19favour. Just, there's the key. Take it back. Apologise that you've had it for so long. Tell

11:25me you won't do it again. I want to put some more petrol in it. The Kawasaki LTD 750, it was amongst

11:33the first of the Japanese factory-built custom bikes to come into this country. And if you'd

11:39been brought up like me on a diet of 750 kettles and the like, well, it had a bit of an impact.

11:44Whether or not you liked it or cruisers was another matter. But the thing feels tiny now,

11:49looking at it. It's so narrow and little and ditty. And of course, as we all know,

11:53the Japanese cruiser market has gone berserk since then.

11:59As the new boy on the programme, I thought myself very lucky indeed when Paul said,

12:03here Rich, take out a mid-weight for the day. Hmm, thought I, CBR 600, R6 maybe. No, I get this,

12:10the Yamaha Dragstar 650.

12:18The Yamaha 650 Dragstar. It's a growing class, this, cruisers from Japan. It seems that we like

12:25them quite a lot. And most of them have really butch names. There's the Drifter that we looked

12:29at the other week. There's the Marauder and even the little baby 125 Rebel. But we get this,

12:34the Dragstar, which sounds more like it has something to do with Lily Savage than any bike I know.

12:47This is the classic version of the Dragstar. So we get a few extra bits and pieces,

12:51fared-in mudguards, these fender-style front and rear, an extra lamp or two,

12:55and these highway ports as well. More of those later on. Not all good. It might be modern,

13:01but it's not exactly super sophisticated. There's a little V-twin here, and I say little 650cc,

13:07and it puts out a mighty 40bhp. My alarm clock's got more power than this bike, if I'm honest.

13:13It's shaft drive, which is nice. You're not messing about with the chain, and it doesn't

13:16go slack or need oiling either, which is good news. Braking is nothing special. Single disc

13:20front and rear. And that's about it. We've got one single dial on the tank to tell us how fast

13:25we're struggling to go, and it won't be good news, and how many miles we've done, and a little

13:30tiny fuel filler. And that's it. Other than that, fairly simple layout. This one has a screen,

13:34another optional extra, and it says, quite bizarrely on the back, made in USA. About the

13:40only bit of this Harley clone that was, I suspect, made in the USA. So, 40bhp in a bike that weighs,

13:48well, let's remind ourselves, over 230 kilos. Think that a lightweight R6 or something like

13:54that is probably 160, 170 maybe max, with two or even three times the power output,

14:00and you get an idea that this is not going to be fast. And it isn't fast, which is just as well,

14:06because those highway boards. Try cornering at anything like a respectable speed, and the big,

14:13soggy, long travel suspension just compresses, and those highway pegs touch down immediately,

14:18rewarding you with a noise like no other. Stopping isn't exactly an easy process either,

14:23and certainly not accurate. It's very easy to lock up a front or rear wheel.

14:29If you've got to have more power, there is a bigger engine version available,

14:32though personally, the idea terrifies me. I think 40bhp is just about enough for this entire

14:38chassis and suspension and steering setup. Perhaps the most revealing thing about the

14:42Dragstar was when I first got on it, these tiny mirrors, I noticed, were both angled inwards,

14:47so that all I got was a perfect view of me, which says quite a lot, I suspect, about anybody who's

14:52going to buy one of these things, but I'm not criticising, it's just a fact. Perhaps they should

14:56do a classic GX version, which features little lights all the way around the mirror, just to

15:02show you in your best light. But let's not forget, to criticise this bike on its ride and handling

15:10is to miss the point entirely. It's more to do with how you look reflected in shop windows,

15:14and well, it does a respectable job. There's no shortage of chrome to see yourself in,

15:18certainly, and it does have the right kind of laid-back cruiser look and feel,

15:22and that's the key to it. Reminding yourself all the time, don't even think of trying to push it.

15:28The best technique I've found is to just hum quietly to yourself, the Steve Miller band,

15:32the Joker, you know, just do that, lean back, and that's about the right way of riding it.

15:41Of course, another important difference between sports and cruiser bikes is the price. Cruisers

15:45are not exactly expensive. You'll pay well under five grand for this very recent R-Plate with only

15:509,000 miles on, and that's a pretty typical price. So, one good thing, they don't necessarily break

15:55the bank. Welcome back to BikeFile, where this week we're looking at muscle bikes. Currently

16:01in joint first place, we have Suzuki's GSX-1400 and Honda's CB1300, but Wazza is ready now for

16:08his next test ride, which is Yamaha's muscle bike, isn't it? Indeed it is. It's the XJR1300. Now,

16:13it used to come in two versions. You had the standard one, and you had the SP, which was a

16:17bit tricker. Now, they've just made the SP the standard model, so you get the great paint job,

16:21and you get those Ohlins basic shocks at the back. I think they've done a good job. It looks well,

16:25doesn't it? It looks spot on. I've always had a soft spot for these, so I don't think they've

16:30changed anything. Hopefully, it'll be as good as it ever was. Well, get your gear on. Let us know

16:34what you think. Yamaha's XJR is the oldest motorcycle on this test, and it's still one of

16:46the best looking. I could probably save us all a lot of time and effort here by condensing this

17:01test to just one word, whoosh. Sadly, that's unlikely to make very good telly, so I'm afraid

17:09you're going to have to put up with my ramblings about this here XJR a little longer. Anyone who's

17:16ever ridden one will know exactly what I meant when I said whoosh, but for the uninitiated,

17:22it's all about that engine, as any good muscle bike should be.

17:26But enough about the motor. What about the rest of the bike? Well, the seat is palatial,

17:32and the riding position is also very relaxed. If I were griping, however, I might pick on the fact

17:37that the bars are just a touch too narrow for when you're really hustling the bike down the

17:42tight and twisty stuff. And it is big. At 248 kilos, this is a lot of motorbike, but despite

17:52that, it can still happily grind its pegs, and then its exhausts, and even its frame,

17:59if you're really vigorous, in a surprisingly controlled, if slightly wobbly manner.

18:06In fact, the only real moan I've got with this bike is the mirrors. They're great when they're

18:12new, but once you've adjusted them a few times, things start to work loose, and they tend to

18:16become useless. Getting them back into that original position will be next to impossible.

18:22But apart from this, this motorcycle is pure whoosh. So how's the XJR fared on the scoreboard?

18:31Styling, seven out of ten. She's a good looker, especially in these colours. Performance,

18:37eight out of ten. Not only is that motor creamy smooth, but it's got quite enough guts to make

18:42this bike a lot of fun. Practicality, eight out of ten. Really comfortable riding position,

18:49great pillion seat, and a centre stand. What more could you want? Well, perhaps a fairing,

18:53although that would spoil the looks. Value, well-priced at six and a half grand, it's seven

18:58out of ten. So it's all about the engine then, isn't it, was it, on this? It is. It's just so

19:04whoosh. You know what I mean, don't you? I know what you mean, yeah. That's your word of the day,

19:08isn't it? Whoosh. It suits me down to the ground. It's simple, and it's just what this bike's all

19:11about. It is, but the power's there from wherever you want, really. From nowhere, yeah. So smooth.

19:16Any gear, just pick a gear and go, isn't it? Yeah. I love it. What's this about the mirrors

19:20that you're complaining about? Don't get me started again. Those are Satan's own work,

19:24those mirrors. There's nothing wrong with the mirrors. You should leave them alone. As soon

19:26as you touch them, that's it. They're gone. Well, don't fiddle with them. Leave them alone.

19:30But you enjoyed this, didn't you? Immensely. Absolutely loved it. Had a soft spot for it

19:33before. Still got a big soft spot for it now. Good. Great bike, but it still only scored 30

19:38points, so it's tied. Yeah, they are level. It's a strange thing where this has strengths,

19:42some of the others have weaknesses, and vice versa, which means we've got three bikes,

19:45all level pegging on 30 points. We have indeed. Well, we've had three of the four big Japanese

19:50manufacturers, which means we've got one left, and I bet it's green. Now, this is one bike I've

19:55really been looking forward to riding. Yamaha's original TDM 850 was a great bike, but was largely

20:01overlooked in the showrooms as the punters stampeded past it to get to the multicoloured

20:05gixxers and blades. But those in the north soon learned to appreciate the bike's fine handling

20:11and lusty big twin engine, and slowly the TDM began to gain cult status. Moto, the TDM exists

20:19in its own mini category in the Yamaha catalogue, alongside other difficult to classify bikes like

20:23the Fazer and V-Max. The space-age swoopy styling predates rivals like Suzuki's V-Strom,

20:30but still manages to look years in advance of anything else. But underneath the styling lies

20:36a big, solid motorcycle capable of dealing with just about every task you could throw at it.

20:42At the heart of the beast lies this 897cc parallel twin four-stroke engine, which now produces 85

20:49brake horsepower and a stump-pulling 65 foot-pounds of torque. With fuel injection new for this year,

20:56the already big and lusty engine is now even bigger and lustier. With sports bike sales on

21:02the wing, the TDM's time has finally come, and Yamaha have chosen exactly the right moment to

21:07revamp the bike with this new all-aluminium beam frame and an increase in capacity to 900cc.

21:14It's a shame this bike's called the TDM, because TDS, it ain't. The TDM is Yamaha's secret weapon

21:22that has finally come out of the closet, and it's turning into one of this year's surprise big sellers.

21:27If you can only afford one bike and you need to commute, have some back lane fun on Sunday mornings

21:33and pop down to the south of France for the weekend, check it out. It'll even be kind to your piggy bank.

21:42And at last the TDM has graduated to an alloy beam frame, both lighter and stronger than the

21:47original steel frame on the old 850. Brakes are from the R1 stable, which means the bike not only

21:53stops competently, but you can pull massive stoppies on it if you have the bottle. The big fat

21:58sticky tyres let you explore lean angles, and the suspension is fully adjustable for setup.

22:05On the road it's torquey and tractable. This new frame and suspension holds everything together

22:10admirably. The bike feels light and taut. At only 190kg, the bike weighs substantially less than

22:17much of the opposition, and it can be flung around with flair if you want to go Sunday morning

22:22scratching. For comfort? Well, none of your chin flat on the pancakes and panes here. This is a bike

22:32you can ride all day without requiring the attentions of a consultant chiropractor afterwards.

22:38I'm going to give it 8 out of 10 for comfort. Performance wise, the TDM delivers more thrills

22:44per mile than you could reasonably expect for this kind of money. It's torquey in town, but wind it on

22:50and it picks up its heels with determination. Ride it with spirit, and you'll find yourself

22:55capable of surprising a good few sports bike riders. And this year's model has the suspension

23:01and brakes to match. If crossing continents is your bag, the huge 20 litre fuel tank gives a

23:07usable range of almost 200 miles between fill-ups. In fact, there's very little that this bike can't

23:13do well. I'm going to give it 8 out of 10 for performance. Value for money now? Well, by my

23:21reckoning, the TDM has to be one of the best buys on the market at the moment. At only £6,799 on

23:27the road, it significantly undercuts much of the opposition. It may not have quite the poke of the

23:33V-Strom, or the street presence of the R1150GS, but it won't embarrass you in the company of either.

23:40There will be some depreciation, of course, but in terms of smiles per mile and bangs per buck,

23:46I reckon it's well worth a look. I'm going to give it 9 out of 10 for value.

23:52Build quality? Well, Yamaha have enough experience to know how to put their bikes together properly.

23:58The TDM uses a good, solid design that has had the bugs worked out of it over three generations

24:03of model changes, and it's engineered and assembled to the standards you'd expect.

24:08Paintwork and finish is good, and owners of older TDMs will be pleased to hear that the seat is no

24:14longer held on with Velcro. However, that shorty front mudguard will ensure a continuous salt spray

24:21onto the engine in the winter months, and regular cleaning will be required to keep the bike looking

24:26smart. Service it and clean it regularly, and the TDM won't let you down. 7 out of 10 for build

24:34quality. For street cred, 7 out of 10. The TDM is distinctive enough to stand out in the crowd,

24:43and has a certain cult status to those in the know. Many see it as the smart option if you're

24:48not committed to owning a sports bike. It's great value for money, and makes a stylish, practical,

24:54and fun all-rounder. And that space-age styling is simply delicious, and quite unique.

25:01Yamaha are the first of the big Japanese manufacturers to leap into the Supermoto

25:25fray by tarting up their old Enduro XT660, and bringing it kicking and screaming into the modern

25:31day to make this Supermoto-style XT660X. Where Supermotos like KTM's LC4 represent the lunatic

25:48fringe of the market, Yamaha's XT660X is Captain Sensible. Sure it looks the part with its chunky,

25:58funky bodywork, aggressive pointy beak, and upswept tail, but underneath it all,

26:04this bike is an XT660, Yamaha's venerable bulletproof trailie that's been around since

26:10Noah was a lad. If you want a stylish, fun plaything that'll give you minimum grief,

26:17but still has the capacity to raise the odd smile, then step this way.

26:22Because beneath all the XTX's bad-boy styling lies a very handy motorcycle. It's actually

26:29comfortable enough to ride around on all day, and can even handle the odd motorway stretch

26:33every now and again. It's also as tough as a hammer, and as simple as forest gum,

26:38so don't expect any reliability hassle. That single-cylinder motor does vibrate,

26:44but not enough to send you to the dentist for new fillings as some of the other bikes here might,

26:48and it'll happily punt you up to 90mph in pretty short order. The handling is soft and the bike

26:54is heavy compared to the competition here, but there's still enough control to the whole plot

26:59to let you chuck it all about with plenty of fun. You'll probably be faster on one of the Huskies,

27:06but you'll be having just as much fun on the Yamaha, which is where it scores big points.

27:12It may be the friendly Labrador of this pack, but it still looks like a Rottweiler.

27:19Styling, 7 out of 10. Looks the part, I reckon. Performance, 6 out of 10. Probably the most

27:27capable all-rounder here, but not always the most exciting. Practicality, 8 out of 10. You

27:34could live with this every day, and you know it'll start every morning too. Value, 7 out of 10.

27:40It's the cheapest bike here. Back in the 1980s, if you wanted to ride the top sports bike,

27:47you'd have needed to own a Yamaha FZR1000 X-UP. But the X-UP ruled only until 1992,

27:55when Honda released their now world-famous CBR900, the Fireblade. The Blade broke the

28:01mould for sports bikes. Huge amounts of power, with handling to match. Poor old Yamaha had no

28:08answer to this. But in 1996, they launched the Thunder Ace. And although it had massive power,

28:14it never really cut the mustard in the looks or the handling department. And today,

28:19it's become known more as a sports tourer. So the Blade lived on. But all that was about to change

28:27in 1998, because then came Yamaha's YZF-R1. A sports bike with sharp styling, fantastic handling,

28:35and superb braking to cope with its 150bhp. The R1 has sold in huge numbers, and today,

28:44it just gets better and better. The latest 2001 model has had more than 150 changes made to it.

28:53Many of these are minor ones, perhaps a few nuts, bolts and washes here and there, but some have

28:59been quite significant. Big changes have taken place in the gearbox. The early models, although

29:05great fun, did have a tendency to send the front wheel skywards in 1st and 2nd gear. The gearing

29:12now has been changed. 1st and 2nd gears are now longer, in an attempt to keep the front end down,

29:18and to make the bike more rideable. Thankfully though, it hasn't taken away any of the fun,

29:24and thrashing an R1 still produces a huge grain factor. Now if you're very observant,

29:30you may have noticed that this particular machine that I'm riding is not the 2001 model,

29:35it's the 2000 model. Well, how do you know the difference? Well, it's dead easy, certainly with

29:39the red example, it's dead easy to tell, because the 2001 model that you can buy today in the

29:43showroom has got a carbon front fender. This one hasn't, it's got the red plastic sort of

29:48colour matched one. There's a carbon front fender on the 2001. Also, on the latest model,

29:54the graphic on the side here is slightly different. Only slightly, you can notice it more on the tank

29:59actually, on this bit here. If you look at the 2001, this little transfer here is a bit more

30:04fancy, it's got bits of black in it, but really that's the only changes between the last year's

30:09and this year's model. As I said before, loads of changes, massive amount of changes to the R1,

30:13since it first came out back in 98. I've already mentioned the gearbox, that's different, a bit

30:18more rideable, but there are some obvious changes. The shape is slightly different, it's kind of still

30:24the same sort of thing really, but it is slightly different. The fairing that has been revised,

30:28that's the word they like to use these days, and Yamaha like to say that the fairing now is

30:33slippier. It's a slippier bike, what on earth does that mean? Well, what they actually mean is it's

30:38actually more aerodynamic, it's got a better drag coefficient and all technical things like that,

30:43I don't understand it myself, but slightly different shape but still looks dead smart.

30:47Engine, more or less the same, loads and loads of changes as I say, different nuts, bolts,

30:51washers, all that like I said before, but more or less the same sort of thing, 150bhp that thing

30:56develops there, inline four cylinder. Very, very short the engine on the R1, and that's really the

31:01key to its success, its handling. Very, very short, we've also got magnesium engine covers now, which

31:08help to save weight down to just over 170kg with this, which puts it in the same ballpark

31:13as a 600cc bike more or less, so astonishing power to weight ratio. But very, very short engine,

31:19which means we've got a very, very long swingarm, massive long swingarm, pivot point is right up

31:25there, right on the back of the engine, very, very far forward, all heavily braced GP style swingarm,

31:30that's what they call these now, with this nice fancy little hugger on the back to stop all the

31:34muck going under your seat. Suspension, that's been, well I was going to say changed, it's not been

31:40changed, it's the same sort of thing really, but it's been revised, the settings are now different

31:43and the whole thing feels better, it handles better, and that's what they've tried to do with this,

31:48they've tried to make the bike a little bit more user-friendly, a little bit more, a little bit

31:53easier to ride if you like, but what they've not done, and I think what Honda in many people's

31:57eyes have been guilty of over the years, they've killed off the Fireblade a little bit, they've

32:02made it very, very tame, very, very user-friendly and kind of killed it, taken the edge off it,

32:08the early Fireblades you'll remember, they were an animal, you couldn't ride them, they were all

32:11over the place, but they were great fun. They've tried to do a little bit of that with the R1,

32:15but I'm glad to say they've kept loads of the fun and in no way have they killed any of the

32:20excitement out of the R1. This bike can be as mad as you like, but remember the throttle works both

32:27ways. It's quite happy to plod through a village at 30 miles an hour. I'll agree, not much fun on

32:33a 1,000cc superbike, but nevertheless it can be done. It's out on the road though that the R1

32:39really comes into its own. Massive amounts of power with a tremendous rush from around about

32:448,000 all the way to the red line at just below 12,000. Sharp handling, fantastic brakes, and the

32:51flickiest machine you could ever wish for. Well if all that's tickled your fancy and you would like

32:57to purchase one of these, it will cost you £8,800. That's the list price, but forget list

33:03prices because today it's very difficult for any dealer to sell a bike at the list price, and I

33:08think it's fair to say that you could probably take one of these brand new out of a showroom

33:12for just over seven grand. Seven grand for all that performance, all that style, and huge amounts of

33:18street cred. Small ones are more juicy, seem to become a kind of unofficial theme for my summer

33:24riding as we continue to look at the fun of sizzling little 400 sports bikes. Now we've

33:28already done the two best sellers both from Honda, the CBR and the VFR. This week it's Yamaha and the

33:34FZR, and it might not be the best of sellers, in practice probably amongst the worst of sellers,

33:39but it does have some little charms all of its own, and there are some very good reasons for

33:42looking at one. First and foremost being that of all of the 400s it's probably the most flexible.

33:47You can actually squeeze an extra few bhp, you can raise it from about 63 to the best part of 70.

33:52You can actually get some surprisingly good results just by changing the cam, which has

33:56already happened on this one, and dyno jetting it. The result is, well, quite a nippy thing.

34:00Don't forget when you've only got a few bhp to play with, every extra one makes a big difference.

34:07It's often been said that if you were going to race a 400, then okay the CBRs and VFRs of this

34:11world are very good, but an FZR with its extra flexibility and tunability is certainly worth a

34:16shout. There's no doubt about it that with its incredibly fast turn, and its nimble agility,

34:21and surprising turn of speed at the high revs, a well-ridden 400 will just absolutely show a

34:27clean pair of heels to any good mid-range 600, which is good news for the growing number of

34:31people who are going for them. And it's not just the fun of running inside a much larger,

34:36more powerful bike either that's in their favour, because there's expense. This G-plate,

34:41in pretty decent nick, is up for grabs at about £2,250, something like that. They may not be

34:45the cheapest little bikes to get into, but once you've bought it there's one massive saving to

34:49be made, particularly by younger riders. Insurance, possibly down to as little as half what you'll pay

34:55for a 600, which can mean a massive difference. It might mean a few extra quid to spend on getting

35:00that nice little race camp, getting it dyno-jetted, and making sure you do beat the 600s.

35:05Hey, what a surprise, it's another 400 that turns in quicker than you can possibly think about it.

35:10Actually, I found the riding position somehow even more cramped than the others. It is slightly

35:14different, but when you're this squashed up, the slightest change in angle does make a big

35:18difference to your comfort. Once you've settled in though, it is again superb. All the power is

35:22right up at the top of the rev range, it sounds glorious and it goes like fury. Perhaps the mid

35:29range can do with a bit of a boost, but then this is, as we've said, the most flexible of the 400s

35:33and I'm sure you can tune your way around that with a bit of work. The handlebars are low, very,

35:38very low. The yoke itself dips down and they're clipped on below that onto the fork stanchions,

35:42which means you really are hunched over this thing. Do you know I'm really falling for this

35:45whole 400 thing? I'm actually falling in love with the whole idea of them and I think apart

35:49from the performance, it's partly because the smaller the bikes get, the more toy-like they are,

35:54the more there's something you really feel you can own, possibly even stick it under your arm and

35:57take it home with you if it's going to get wet outside. Also, the smaller they get, the nicer

36:01the details, the finishing on little bits and pieces. This FZR might look a bit sharp, a bit

36:07brutal, but as you look closer, it's really quite delicate. Mind you, this exposed part of the frame

36:12looks extremely sturdy. It's a real tactile thing with its rough finish on it. You really feel it's

36:16holding the bike together and pinning it in at this little waspy waist here.

36:20Massive, massive swing arm for such a small wee beastie. Tiny little disc on the back, but up front

36:25the brakes are fearsome. I really did have myself risking some nasty damage on the back of the tank

36:31first time I tried using those two twin pot calipers. Make absolutely sure that for a bike

36:35wearing about as much as a box of matches, you're going to stop very quickly indeed.

36:39Nicely shaped little rear indicators as well, tapering back. Surprisingly, don't forget this

36:43is a 10-year-old bike. Just looking at it, it really hasn't aged. I really like the FZR. It

36:49might be the less popular of the 400s and it's certainly going to be cheaper than many of the

36:53others that we've looked at in the past, but that extra flexibility is the key to it for me. The

36:57thing feels race ready. It sits there and says, right, what are you going to do to make me faster?

37:02It wouldn't take much to make absolutely sure that on a good country lane, in the hands of even a

37:06reasonably competent rider, this little FZR 400 will be whipping any 600.

37:30Three sisters it says up there. Not, unfortunately, the well-known racetrack in Lancashire,

37:34but a lesser known pub in Yorkshire. But the word race, why did I mention that? Because

37:39we're talking about what is without doubt the ultimate in race bike performance

37:43on a production bike. This is it, Yamaha's YZF-R1.

37:56When they designed the R1, Yamaha had three main objectives. It had to be the most powerful

38:02super sports bike. It had to be lighter than all of the competition and it had to be the most

38:07compact in size in its class. So, number one, the most powerful. Yes, it is. Honda's Fireblade will

38:14produce 126 brake horsepower. Kawasaki's ZX-9R, about 123 brake horsepower. This R1 can claim,

38:23wait for it, 150 brake horsepower. So how on earth does it manage that? Well, this 998cc in-line

38:33four-cylinder is totally new for the R1, a brand new engine, and it's packed with sophisticated

38:38technology. There's a fancy new electroplating system on the bores, new forged pistons and a

38:45super intelligent X-up system, which monitors throttle position. Not only that, but it recognizes

38:51the speed at which the throttle is opened and that's connected to a gear position sensor. All

38:56sounds very high tech. The whole system is programmed to give a massive boost to the mid-range

39:01torque between 5,000 and about 7,500 revs. It's all very, very clever stuff. It's not until you

39:10hit the open road that you start to realize just how clever it is. The motor is gorgeous at any

39:16revs, but really comes to life about 7,000. And from then on, it's hold on tight for some eye-popping

39:22arm-wrenching acceleration, which will see you topping 170 miles per hour. So objective number

39:29one, the most powerful sports bike, not only achieved, well and truly smashed. On then to

39:37objective number two, to make a bike that's lighter than all of the competition. Well, how have they

39:42done that? We're back to the engine once again. This four-cylinder is both narrower and shorter

39:48than anything else of a similar capacity. In fact, it's 81 millimeters shorter from front to back

39:54than a Thunder Race engine. And the cylinders and crankcase, which you can't see because they're

39:59behind this gorgeous fairing, are a single one-piece unit. Helps to keep the weight down, also helps to

40:05keep things a little bit smaller. The gearbox lives in a different place to where you would

40:09normally find it. It's been pushed up and forward, and it's behind the cylinders, whereas normally it

40:14would live down and behind the crank. Helps, again, to keep the engine short. The swing arm is actually

40:22very long on this. The pivot point is well forward, in fact, forward of the seat, right up behind the

40:28engine. And what that does is it allows the change torque reaction to create a downward force on the

40:33back wheel, and so supposedly improve traction. Shorter engine means shorter wheelbase. 1,395

40:41millimeters is the wheelbase of the R1, as short as anything else in this class. Shorter than most.

40:47Everything about the bike really is small, very compact. To look at, physically, it's only about

40:52the size of a 600. And once you climb aboard, it only feels like maybe a 400, with a bomb under the

40:59seat. And it explodes into life like nothing you've ever ridden. Its small physical size and

41:07lightweight help to make the R1 feel really manageable, and almost encourages you to push

41:12things perhaps a little further than you would normally. It's great fun trying to keep the front

41:17wheel in contact with the tarmac. The riding position has you stretched over the tank, reaching

41:23to the low bars in real racetrack style. The handling is faultless, sharp, precise, yet predictable

41:30with no nasty twitches or surprises, no matter how you ride it. Front and rear suspension is fully

41:36adjustable, although the factory settings are so good that there's absolutely no need for any fiddling

41:42in this department. Leave well alone, and just enjoy the ride. The six-speed gearbox is smooth

41:48and very positive, and working the motor hard as you flick through it, will see you attaining

41:53ridiculous speeds before you can say, fixed penalty. Fortunately, everything comes to a rapid halt,

42:00thanks to the excellent one-piece calipers up front, gripping the pair of 298mm discs.

42:07An R1 may not be for everyone, but in a list of biking things to do, a blast on one of these

42:13should definitely be in your top ten. You've no doubt noticed that I haven't said a single

42:19negative thing about this bike yet, but of course nothing's perfect. One very important thing when

42:24you go to choose your new dream machine, is to make sure that it actually fits you. This is a

42:31very, very high performance machine, capable of things far beyond the reach of 99% of the people

42:37who'll ever ride it. It could even become a status symbol. I've got an R1. Sounds very good,

42:43doesn't it? But there's absolutely no point in you spending £9,400 on all of this, if after every ride

42:51you get off it looking like some deformed wreck, aching from head to toe. It certainly is not the

42:56most comfortable of bikes. In fact, the riding position could really be described as a little

43:02cramped. Another very negative point is this pillion pad here. What is the point? You don't

43:08even think about taking anyone on the back of an R1 unless your pillion rider is a three-foot midget

43:13who's double jointed at the knees any more than a few hundred yards and becomes an absolute nightmare.

43:18Why? Because the pad, well it's too hard for a start, not comfortable, it's too small, the foot

43:24pegs are too high and it's too high up in relation to the riding position. Pillion head about there,

43:30rider's head about there, big wind blast in the face, lots of weight up in the air,

43:34no good, forget it. As for the other negative points, well the good news is there aren't any.

43:41It's absolutely incredibly fast, performs like nothing else you've ever ridden,

43:45handles superbly well and really does look the business. And those men from Yamaha say

43:52there's more where this came from. So then, when is it we're getting this new R6 then? Eh?

43:59Take Yamaha's R1, widely regarded as the world's top sports bike. Sharp handling,

44:05good looks and incredible performance. Then take the 600cc Fazer, a street bike with just about

44:13the right mix of style and naked aggression. Put the two together and what do you finish up with?

44:20Well you finish up with this, Yamaha's new FZS 1000cc Fazer. It's a machine with all the looks

44:27of a street bike, with this half fairing and these high handlebars, but it's got all the power

44:32of an R1 and it's fantastic. Yes it really is fantastic.

44:46It's very powerful, it's very fast, it's manoeuvrable, agile and it looks mean.

44:52Not much else left is there? It's actually very comfortable. It's got a nice one-piece seat which

44:57is well padded and at 820mm high it's just 5mm taller than an R1. Add to that nicely positioned

45:06bars, perfect for wheelies and they're high and they're wide enough to allow many hours in the

45:12saddle and I reckon you've got near enough the perfect bike. In fact the only disappointing

45:19thing on this test ride was the wonderful English weather.

45:29Well we're in Britain aren't we? We're riding in Britain. So guess what, it's raining again,

45:33so I've had to come inside to the garage and I must get this roof fixed, it keeps dripping

45:36down my neck but that's another story. Let me tell you all about this Fazer.

45:40It's a Fazer yeah, but it's not just a Fazer with an R1 engine stuck in it, no, no, no, don't think

45:44that, that wouldn't work. It'd probably blow up, it'd go bang and probably kill everybody that

45:48tried to ride it. So they've made a few changes, a few engineering changes. So if we just look down

45:53here at the frame, different frame to an R1 of course, look at the size of this. It's a double

45:57cradle style frame, sort of old-fashioned if you like, traditional style frame, but look at this,

46:02massive, huge big tubes there, 48mm they are, there's been a lot of work put into them.

46:09As big as anything I've ever seen and big and beefy by anyone's standards and of course in the

46:13hole there sits this, the R1 engine. Physically it's the same as an R1 engine but it's slightly

46:19different in the way it develops its power. They've kind of changed the power curve, that's what they

46:24like to say in all the blurb these days, they've changed the power curve on this engine so it

46:27delivers more power a bit lower in the rev range than an R1. You don't have to work it quite so hard

46:33to get the best out of it, it's more sort of torquey at lower revs but still a fantastic

46:37piece of kit but have you seen enough of that now, have you? Come up here. While we're on about

46:41the engine, don't be fooled into thinking that they've softened it too much, they certainly

46:45haven't. It's still, as I say, super smooth and it still kicks out a whopping 143 brake horsepower.

46:54And that much power is very hard to resist, this could definitely become known as the next

46:59nutter's bike, it's almost a ready-made stunt machine. It might not have the fancy graphics

47:04and the sleek bodywork of a racing bike but you'll never be last away from the traffic lights

47:09and you'd certainly leave a few sports bikes behind on the racetrack. The gearbox is very

47:14smooth, there's no nasty clunks or bangs and in fact the whole setup feels as good as anything

47:18I've ever ridden straight from the crate. So you say what's the point, all that power and an upright

47:24riding position? Well the point is that you don't need to use it, well not all of it anyway, because

47:29most of the fun on any bike happens from zero to about 80 miles an hour and believe me the new

47:35Fazer 1000 is huge fun. Well forget everything I've just said, forget all that about riding the

47:45bike because on a day like this in conditions like these you can't enjoy a machine like this,

47:50you're not going to find out what it's capable of when the roads are wet like this. So the best

47:53thing to do is just park it up, have a cup of tea and just sit and look at it because it looks nice

47:57doesn't it, just look, I think it's a beautiful thing. Now I remember last year at the NEC show

48:02which was the first time we got a really good look at this in this country, I remember saying

48:06that I thought this would be the top of the shopping list for lots of stunt riders because

48:11it's big, it's powerful, it's got that aggressive look that you need for a stunt show, please the

48:15crowd and all that business and I can tell you for a fact that I know that two of the top stunt

48:19riders in this country have ordered these for the forthcoming season, so that's a pretty good

48:24endorsement. So if you just have a closer look at the looks of it, one thing I like is back here

48:29at the back end, just take a look at these here, these grab rails, now these to me, what's so

48:35special about a grab rail, well they look like they've been designed to me to look part of the

48:38bike, not just stuck on like a couple of door handles that you get on some bikes or a big

48:42horrible thing on the back, nice and big there, plenty of room to get a big gloved hand underneath

48:47and a pillion could hang on there, hang on for dear life on a machine like this, but they're

48:51good, I like them, we like the grab handles, so 10 out of 10 for them. If we go up to the front end here,

48:57have a look at the dashboard, if I move that so you can see, we see it's a fairly sort of basic

49:01dashboard, speedo, rev counter, warning lamps, nothing special but look at this here, a fuel gauge,

49:07how many times have I said every bike should have a fuel gauge, every car has a fuel gauge so why

49:12can't every bike have one, well we've got one on this and a warning lamp as well there to cope with

49:16this 22 litre fuel tank, not bad eh, one other thing that I always say every bike should have

49:23as standard, every road bike anyway, track bikes accepted alright, but road bikes should have one

49:28of these, look at that, a centre stand eh, as standard, why can't everyone put a centre stand

49:34on a road bike, it makes it easy for your sort of maintenance, lubricate your chain, adjust your chain

49:39if you've got luggage on the back and get the bike up nice and straight and get your kit out and get

49:43your pans and pots and pans if you're camping whatever, so 10 out of 10 again, so we're doing

49:47very well aren't we, well not everything's perfect is it, I'll tell you something I don't like, that's

49:52these things, these wing mirrors, I just don't like them, I'll tell you why I don't like them, because

49:57they just look odd to me, they work alright, they're wide enough for you to see what's behind you but

50:02they look odd and the strange thing is they look more odd when you're sat on the bike riding it

50:07than when you're actually at the side just looking at the machine, they look like they sort of stuck

50:11out like a couple of antennae, you feel like you're riding a giant fly or something like that, a bit

50:16weird them but I don't know, I suppose everything else is pretty much spot on so we'll let them off

50:22with the wing mirrors eh, well if the only thing wrong with the new Fazer is the wing mirrors then

50:29put me down for one right away, if you'd like to put your name down for one then it'll cost you £7,700

50:36Now once upon a time Yamaha made a sports tourer, first there was the FJ 1100 that was in right about

50:461985, then came the FJ 1200 and then came the hub centre steered GTS 1000 but since 1996 they

50:55haven't really had anything in this class, until now that is, but this isn't a Blackbird ZZR type

51:01sports tourer, this is Yamaha's version, more of a touring sports, it's the FJR 1300

51:13In fact Yamaha themselves class the FJR as a performance tourer and I can see what they mean

51:19not performance as in R1 but a comfortable long distance machine but with a sharpness

51:24missing in big tourers and often compromised in sports tourers, so how have they done it?

51:32Well first up it's got a brand new engine 1300cc, uses a lot of the technology of the R1 but it is

51:41a new engine, it's got twin balancer shafts one behind one in front and it's also cast the block

51:47integral with the crankcase makes for a very rigid engine and saves a bit of weight, now that rigid

51:52engine allows Yamaha to use it as actually part of the frame structure, so if you see this perimeter

51:57beam frame or that's what it looks like at first glance here but it's cast aluminium right around

52:02there comes down there the engine just sort of hangs from it in free space bolted down at the

52:06bottom there but it makes for a rigid package and as I said saves a bit of weight, up the front end

52:12here on the front forks just look at the size of these stanchions 48 millimeter stanchions pretty

52:17hefty I think it's the same as the Thunder Ace but they're probably different forks because it's

52:21a heavier bike and perhaps one of the most distinctive things but you can't see that well

52:27down here the shaft drive now it's not as obvious as on a BMW they've actually slimmed it down and

52:32it actually looks like a conventional swinging arm until you get to the back and you get the

52:36old bevel box of course but that is a lightweight shaft drive unit and it saves on sprung weight

52:43and makes for better suspension travel same at the front end I should have mentioned up the front

52:48here going back here you'll recognize those calipers same as an R1 big discs 298 millimeter

52:54diameter but if you can see in these wheels if the camera can get in these are incredibly

52:59lightweight well I haven't felt the weight but I'm told they're very lightweight wheels and

53:02you can see why it's got loads of holes in like a piece of gorgonzola cheese

53:11cheesy or not the Big Yam has certainly got a lightweight feel to it

53:15it's not actually light of course at 237 kilos but it is compared to a Pan European at 293 kilos

53:22or BMW's K12 at 260 kilos but more than that it feels so much more lively the big torquey motor

53:30delivers its 145 brake horse at a lowly 8,500 revs with its maximum torque at just 6,000 revs

53:37so you can just leave it in top and fly by wire or you can play sports bikes with a pump free

53:43five-speed gearbox but don't get carried away because if you wind it up too much you'll hit

53:48the rev limiter gently reminding you that revs are unnecessary on this grand tourer

53:54the riding position took me some time to get used to because it's far more upright than on my own

53:58bikes and it has much lower pegs but once my brain was switched over it proved really comfortable

54:04with no aches or numb bum even after 180 mile non-stop run through France and you can see why

54:13first off big padded seat really comfortable this one and if I cut my leg over here it's also got

54:19these big bars as well these pull up from the top fork stanchion and you really are not sit up and

54:24beg but you're sitting pretty upright but the old piece de la resistance is this screen the lecky

54:29screen you've probably read all about it if I just switch on for tootling around town you can keep it

54:35low like that and on a very hot day you get plenty of fresh air but then depending on your mood

54:41crank it up a little bit and you can hear the different effect on it as it goes up the wind

54:46noise drops on your helmet perhaps use it mid position normally but if the weather gets really

54:51foul if it's really crappy crank it up to it's virtually vertical and the strange thing is you

54:57actually get a sort of a vacuum and you're drawn towards the screen and so you get turbulence

55:01behind you but you're drawn in there you're in a little bubble it's really pretty good

55:05so the screen is definitely not a gimmick and likewise the dashboard very simple but it's got

55:11a digital display here on the right you can see the time up there down here you've got two trip

55:17recorders you've got your fuel gauge running down the left there temperature in the center all very

55:22sensible stuff and easy to read in the middle here you've got your speedo which is where I

55:26think it should be on a touring bike it's still got the rev counter but that's over to the left

55:29and you've got a little row of idiot lights there including an oil level warning light which is

55:34useful and you've got some excellent mirrors on here some of the best mirrors I've come across

55:38they don't vibrate and you see far more than your elbows which is really good while we're up the

55:44front end the forks are fully adjustable you've got your compression damping rebound damping

55:49and also your preload and talking about suspension at the back here you've got a little lever so you

55:54can adjust the preload and because the bike's on its stand I can actually do it see that lever

55:58there when you're carrying a pillion passenger just move it over there we are that's stiffened

56:02up the rear suspension one last thing while I'm sitting aboard the petrol tank steel big

56:08one 25 litre and steel ideal for that magnetic tank bag get this onto the twisty stuff and it

56:17really shows its sporting side the suspension is softish but it's not squidgy and it turns

56:23really well it feels more like a Ducati ST4 a Triumph Sprint or a VFR than a big tourer

56:29so in such circumstances that's where the sports tourer comes in take it into town and it's an

56:36absolute pussycat trickling along in fifth gear at 20 miles an hour it proved incredibly flexible

56:42and easy to ride so there it is captain's sensible touring bike one minute sports bike the next

56:50neat if you can do it and I think Yamaha have

56:53for instance it's got a two-piece seat why you might say here we go there's the front part

57:00also got a back part here now I can only think that this has been designed for the utility

57:05purpose the working bikes you know the police paramedics the AA and all those sort of people

57:10a useful little feature and we're probably going to see these in service use down there it's got

57:15a complete stainless steel exhaust system and a catalytic converter tucked away underneath

57:20those are all the sort of sensible sides another thing on the sensible side you must have noticed

57:25these cases now these are an optional extra cost you 499 quid but there's no ugly frames on them

57:30you just put the old key in unlock it there snap open the catch there we are away and off you go

57:38into your hotel looking very smart and it completely changes the look of the bike as

57:42well you can see it looks far more trim and lightweight but dead easy with a bit of luck

57:47I'll be able to put these back on just look there down we go make sure that's underneath that's it

57:54clocked up and that's the panniers on and of course another favorite of Paul's and mine is a

57:59center stand and you need one on a touring bike when you're loading the thing up you're filling

58:04up your panniers you're putting your tank bag on what better than to have a center stand so what

58:09else can you have well you can have heated grips and of course you need them on a touring bike

58:13you can also get for this what they call foot shields I haven't actually seen them but I guess

58:17they fit in this sort of v-shaped wedge here click on there just to give you some protection

58:22around your boots but having said that the fairing has proved really really effective

58:27I did get wet horribly wet coming back from France but nevertheless very impressed with the fairing

58:33the FGR comes in black silver and gold and it's a very nice looking bike

58:38very impressed with the fairing the FGR comes in black silver and deep purple metallic

58:44and I reckon we're going to see a lot of these filling a gap in the market

58:48it's not cheap at £9,899 on the road but touring in the grand style never was

59:08you

The Best Of - Yamaha Reviews from Men & Motors!

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