Original Fazer Thou - any opinions?

motto · May 24, 2015, 08:14:57 PM

So this afternoon I took a test ride on a 2003 Fazer 1000. And I thought it was pretty awesome to be honest

Consensus seems to be they're pretty bulletproof too. Just wondered if anyone here had any opinion on them, or suggestion of what else I should consider?

Basically I want something that I could ride down to the south of france with my girlfriend on the back, but is still fun enough that I'll want to take it out on a sunny Sunday, and could cope with the odd trackday. For less than £3k. Seems like a lot to ask! Not sure what else fits the bill - later model ZX9 maybe?

Ta muchly!

Manic636 · May 24, 2015, 08:39:21 PM

ZX9 would certainly fit the bill, can't comment on the fazed, have ridden them and generally capable but not got the feel on a Sunday ride that the 9 would have for me..

Dom1 · May 24, 2015, 09:11:29 PM

Used to have an original 600 Fazer and fell in with the www.foc-u.co.uk lot.

They are a decent bunch and should be able to advise you well.

As I recall they are an ace bike - R1 engine, blue spot calipers, lots of good stuff which made the Fazer thou quite expensive when I came out rather than corners cut.

Carbon_ZX6R · May 24, 2015, 09:25:42 PM

Quote from: Dom1 on May 24, 2015, 09:11:29 PM
Used to have an original 600 Fazer and fell in with the www.foc-u.co.uk lot.

They are a decent bunch and should be able to advise you well.

As I recall they are an ace bike - R1 engine, blue spot calipers, lots of good stuff which made the Fazer thou quite expensive when I came out rather than corners cut.

Heavily detuned r1 engine as I used to remind my old mate when he wanted to drag race me.....

Farmer Giles · May 25, 2015, 11:41:01 AM

as Dom1 says.. get yourself on the FOC-U site..

loads of advice and plenty of relatively cheap and well documented upgrades you can make to dramatically improve these bikes..

Maybe not as busy as this site but still good IMO.. I reg'd on there when I got my fz8 and had some good advice.

2p

Dom1 · May 25, 2015, 11:58:14 AM

There is also FOC-U2 on Facebook

motto · May 25, 2015, 01:00:14 PM

Thanks guys. Checking out the FOC site now.

Only thing I wasn't convinced about with the Fazer I rode was the front end didn't feel quite right. But then I checked the bike after riding it and noticed the fork seals were weeping, so I doubt that helped! I'll try to find a decent one to test, and a ZX9 too for comparison. Anything else you can think of which maybe I should be considering?

Quote from: Carbon_ZX6R on May 24, 2015, 09:25:42 PM
Quote from: Dom1 on May 24, 2015, 09:11:29 PM
Used to have an original 600 Fazer and fell in with the www.foc-u.co.uk lot.

They are a decent bunch and should be able to advise you well.

As I recall they are an ace bike - R1 engine, blue spot calipers, lots of good stuff which made the Fazer thou quite expensive when I came out rather than corners cut.
Heavily detuned r1 engine as I used to remind my old mate when he wanted to drag race me.....

Ha! Well my current bike is a 2003 R1 which I rode back-to-back with the Fazer. Admittedly the roads were slightly damp so I wasn't giving it full beans, but honestly I would have been pushed to tell the difference between them engine-wise. Comfort-wise however... night and day!

Farmer Giles · May 25, 2015, 01:21:57 PM

if it's a 2003 model then the suspension will need a re-fresh anyway so budget it into your negotiations if you go that far.. Use the site for tips on the fork re-build options and one of the popular mods on this bike is fitting a re-sprung R6 shock and along with the fork rebuild should see you right on the handling front...

Farmer Giles · May 25, 2015, 01:56:16 PM

tidy 2004 model for sale on the FOC site..

great colour too IMO..

http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,17063.0.html

Alzo · May 25, 2015, 06:00:30 PM

Quote from: Carbon_ZX6R on May 24, 2015, 09:25:42 PM
Quote from: Dom1 on May 24, 2015, 09:11:29 PM
Used to have an original 600 Fazer and fell in with the www.foc-u.co.uk lot.

They are a decent bunch and should be able to advise you well.

As I recall they are an ace bike - R1 engine, blue spot calipers, lots of good stuff which made the Fazer thou quite expensive when I came out rather than corners cut.
Heavily detuned r1 engine as I used to remind my old mate when he wanted to drag race me.....

Heavily...too strong of a word...it was Re- tuned for more midrange to suit the Fazer...it could go some then and still can today...solid engineering....still look great. A lot to like.

motto · June 15, 2015, 01:19:51 PM

Well, 3 weeks later I'm now the proud owner of this. Spent a couple of hours on it yesterday and very happy with it

I'm not sure if colour-matched tinted screens are approved of around here, but luckily it came with the original too

Carbon_ZX6R · June 15, 2015, 01:29:36 PM

it could look worse! hope you enjoy her

Dom1 · June 15, 2015, 04:27:02 PM

Very nice.

Did you find the FOC-U forum? There may be one or two still there who remember me.

motto · June 15, 2015, 04:46:39 PM

Quote from: Dom1 on June 15, 2015, 04:27:02 PM
Very nice.

Did you find the FOC-U forum? There may be one or two still there who remember me.

Thanks! Found it in the MCN classifieds, I'd been looking on the foc-u site but no luck - the one Farmer G posted looked perfect but Glasgow is a bit far to travel for me!