from www.advrider.com forum:

I've owned the first gen FZ1 and ridden the same period Bandit.

Both very similar but the FZ1 got my vote for one to actually put in the stable. It's been a few years so I'm not sure I could articulate why particularly well but the FZ1 seemed to have it all. Plenty of beans down low and up top; with an aftermarket seat and a zooty pipe it was very comfortable long distance and sounded really nice. It also had a quality about it that just made the bike more of an extension of my own riding style whereas the Bandit was an excelent bike but it wasn't a bike I became a part of once I tossed a leg over.

That difference is hard to articulate but easy to feel.

The downside was that the FZ1 also came with a devil that would hop up on my shoulder every time I climbed on and that devil really REALLY liked to fly. I remember a roughly 350 mile ride to a town north of where I live. It's a highway that doesn't have a lot of traffic on it. Speeds are generally somewhere around 70-75 for normal traffic. I stopped to get fuel about the half way mark and while scarfing a candy bar outside the store a few minutes later a man and woman pulled up to the pump and got out… both giving me the stare as they walked passed me into the store.

When they walked out a few minutes later the woman kept heading for their truck but the man stopped in his tracks and walked toward me. I was 100% certain it was about to get bad. When he got to me he said all sorts of chattery stuff but nothing like I was expecting. Walking off he stopped again, turned around and said “by the way, nice wheel stand when you passed us back there”.

It was a hard 2nd to 3rd shift at somewhere north of 80mph and just felt right at the time. The reality for me though was that it's a bike for a man with some serious throttle discipline and not all of us can be that guy. Many many times I dismounted in the garage and thought 'damn… made it again'.

Cool bike. I tossed a Ventura rack on mine for a while and it was an outstanding sport tourer. Watch the right hand.

Like typical Yamaha's it was dependable, cheap, etc. Sometimes maybe a little too much fun.

legion, Aug 16, 2010