Stafford Yamaha FZ1 January 2002

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Jos J. Heiloo
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Stafford Yamaha FZ1 January 2002

Bericht door Jos J. Heiloo »

Bron http://bikepoint.ninemsn.com.au/portal/ ... fault.aspx


Raw Muscle

Story: Rod Chapman
Photos: Stuart Grant


What's better than a Yamaha FZ1? An Over, Ohlins, Eibach and Factory-kitted FZ1 kicking out damn near 150 ponies at the rear wheel, that's what!

It takes a certain breed to truly have a passion for sports motorcycles. It takes a person who - although a perfectionist when it comes to the pursuit of performance - knows that they'll never be completely happy with their bike, as there's always room for improvement.

Don Stafford, owner of Melbourne-based bike shop Stafford Motorcycles, is a valid case in point. Don's a tinkerer. And he loves a bit of performance when it comes to his motorcycles.

Well, that's a bit understated really - more specifically, he likes taking a bloody good stock bike and tuning the nuts off it until it's pumping out enough horses to keep several medium-sized rubber plantations in business.

He did it in 2000 with an R1 (Vol 49 No 17), and the end result was a 162ps firebreathing neck-snapper, with all the suspension upgrades necessary to get all that power to the ground.

BLANK CANVAS
And now he's been at it again, with the blank canvas in question being Yamaha's FZ1. Now the stock FZ1's a bloody good machine in its own right, winning universal acclaim the world over when launched early last year. It even clinched second in the coveted International Bike of the Year Awards, and took out our Dumb & Dumber nakedbike comparo through the Snowies, last June.With over 127ps at the rear wheel, the FZ1 was already head and shoulders above the rest in the horsepower stakes, a clear 13ps ahead of its nearest rival, Kawasaki's ZRX1200S. But did all this stop Don from pulling out the toolbox? From the looks of the dyno charts accompanying this test, obviously not...

On the cosmetic front, the standard pegs have been junked in favour of some super-tasty Over rearsets, complete with brackets and linkages. They really look a million bucks, which fortunately they're not, although at $795 the pair you you'll want to have a finely-developed appreciation of precision engineering to justify the upgrade.

The $235 Canyon Carbon carbonfibre tank guard adds a stylish touch, and its broad, wrap-around nature truly gives the paintwork top protection from buckles and zips.

Finally, that full titanium Over exhaust system also rates pretty highly in the looks department, that striking blue heat discolouration running from the tops of the headers all the way to its classy muffler.

No doubt it sheds some weight from the stock system, and does its fair share in the horsepower department too.


TIME FOR A TWEAK
Speaking of which, that R1-derived in-line four powerplant has been on the receiving end of more than a few tweaks, with the cylinder head being ported and flowed by Dyno Development's Kev Marshall. He also happens to be the man behind reigning Formula Xtreme champion Robbie Baird's tuning work.

Add to this Over racekit cams and a Factory brand needle and jet carb kit - the main jet's a few sizes up on standard, the pilot jet's one larger than standard and the air pilot screw's around one turn richer - and voila: you've got damn close on 150ps doing its best to shred that rear RR Dunlop.

Of course, that Over exhaust system lets everything breathe a little easier, not just because of the pipe itself, but the airbox kit which comes with it. The standard airbox filter element has been retained (for the time being), but the airbox inlet is now appreciably bigger.

Then there's the flow-on mods needed to keep the whole plot useable on the road or track - enter Muddy's Shock Service of Lilydale (Vic), which re-valved the forks and threw in some heavier springs.

An Ohlins shock replaced the standard rear monoshock, while an Ohlins steering damper was fitted to ward off any 'slappers, should any rear their ugly head.

SPRINGS AND SUSPENDERS
And what's it like to ride? Phaarkin' awesome - and thoroughly addictive. As the accompanying horsepower dyno chart shows, Don's demon is actually a tad weaker than a stocker below 5000rpm, marginally stronger most of the way from there to 8500rpm, but then shut the hell up and hang on - to the 11,500rpm redline it's one insane rush of power as you attempt to hold on and stop your eyes from becoming poached eggs squashed against the back of your skull.

Experiencing that top-end rush is truly mind-bending, and once you've felt its touch there's a permanent devil on your shoulders goading you to return.

Just as impressively, the steel double-cradle frame and uprated suspension is thoroughly up to the task, delivering a quality ride on the road, despite its firmer settings. Steve Mudford from Muddy's Shock Service replaced the standard fork springs with stiffer Eibach springs. The preload and oil height were then recalibrated, while the forks were re-valved by Mudford himself - a cheaper option to slipping in MX-Tech valves. The end result is a stable front end which handles itself nicely under hard braking, while still remaining compliant enough to soak up the challenges of your average Aussie road.

Throw in that Ohlins rear monoshock, and you've got an increase in ride quality which allows the potential of that stonking top end to be realised on the track.

IT'S A FLIPPIN' DEMON
Of course around town you're not going to reach those stratospheric heights of this FZ1's upper rev range, at least not unless you're hell-bent on becoming acquainted with Bubba in the Big House. Luckily there's still plenty of mumbo to go around everywhere in the rev-range, making this machine a pleasure to wind on during the urban commute.

The power and torque dip below 4000rpm makes itself felt during takes offs, and should be ironed out by further tweaking of the bike's carburation and fuel mixture - perhaps by adding heavier slide springs.

But you can ride around it to a large extent, content in the knowledge a smooth, linear spread of power awaits you over the next 7000rpm.

Showponies will love the fact this thing jumps up quicker than a kid on Christmas morning, and those R1-derived stoppers put the thing on its ear with ease - after all, this is one naked bike/sportstourer with a true sportsbike pedigree.

Don's FZ1 has been a thrill to ride, every ride - whether it's been out in the hills or battling traffic on the way to work. Nearly 150ps does that for a bike, but I'll be handing back the keys with the same bittersweet emotions which saw me bid farewell to Don's R1 two years ago - sorry to see it go, happy to have my licence intact.

But of course when it comes to motorcycle tuning the pursuit of performance never ends, which is where I'll hand it over to Don for his parting words: "Yeah, I still think I can get more out it, and I'd really like to too...".
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