My 09 arrived on Wednesday Oct 2nd. I just got back from a weekend of riding all through the twisties of West Virginia with a friend and his FZ1. Rode 270mi in one day, it was a blast.
Initial impressions. The Rapid Red is a much lighter shade than the Shift Red on my 05 R1. To my happy surprise, it is metallic, an almost candy metallic red. The riding position is great. You dont see the front wheel when you are sitting straight up and looking ahead, this unfortunately puts the gauge cluster out of normal vision but I dont pay attention to that much.
The engine is great, it pulls from any RPM. 3rd gear is awesome. The engine vibrates under acceleration but is smooth at steady speed. This must be because of the crank angles and cylinder timing. The engine is FUN. The weight and width is FUN. The shifter is not as crisp as the R1, it requires a deliberate movement into gear. This is also true for putting it into neutral. The brakes are fine, I will be switching to SS lines as this gives a huge improvement on brake feel and feedback. My bike came with the Dunlop sportmax D214. I cant find much info about these tires but after break-in they did ok, good enough that I will run them for a while. Wind isnt a problem if you sit up straight at speed and pretty mild below 70mph. I will still be getting a fly screen, maybe it will help keep my jacket clean too. The seat is angled forward some, so if you sit at the front of the seat you will be held upto the tank. You can also sit back on the seat. I found that switching between these 2 places gave me the options my butt needed for a long day of fun.
The suspension is harsh. On smooth pavement its fine. It is sketchy on transitions between different types of pavement and it is very harsh on bumps. I can feel my brain rattling in my skull on rough bumpy roads. I dont fault the bike for this, I knew it would not be to my liking going into the purchase and have planned an upgrade all along. At this price point, it doesnt bother me at all. I look forward to a suspension upgrade over the winter and the truth is that no matter how good of a suspension a bike comes from the factory with, it is most likely not going to be sprung for each individual's weight anyway, requiring some parts swapping to get the most out of it.
The throttle has room for improvement. I hope Yamaha comes out with an ECU firmware flash. I feel like it has too much slack before the throttle actually starts to open. This makes exiting a turn more interesting from a throttle control perspective. Dont get me wrong, I dont think that it is horrible and I still had a great time riding it. I am going to check into the throttle cables and see what can be adjusted. I rode in B mode almost the entire time. I dont need a snappy throttle (hint A mode), just a smooth one with predictable transition. The snap can always come from the wrist.
I had an extra frame slider and spool set from the R1, The spools fit fine and are already on. The slider looks like it will fit and I am going to check tomorrow. I also plan on taking some measurements of the R1 and FZ-09 suspension to see what the upgrade options are since I have both sitting next to each other right now.
I put a battery tender lead on the battery and attached a 12V socket to it for charging my phone. There is also an aux 12v behind the fake intake scoop that is switched with ignition. This will be good for a GPS. I also have a H4 HID kit from a previous DRZ400 that I think I will install.
Initial impressions. The Rapid Red is a much lighter shade than the Shift Red on my 05 R1. To my happy surprise, it is metallic, an almost candy metallic red. The riding position is great. You dont see the front wheel when you are sitting straight up and looking ahead, this unfortunately puts the gauge cluster out of normal vision but I dont pay attention to that much.
The engine is great, it pulls from any RPM. 3rd gear is awesome. The engine vibrates under acceleration but is smooth at steady speed. This must be because of the crank angles and cylinder timing. The engine is FUN. The weight and width is FUN. The shifter is not as crisp as the R1, it requires a deliberate movement into gear. This is also true for putting it into neutral. The brakes are fine, I will be switching to SS lines as this gives a huge improvement on brake feel and feedback. My bike came with the Dunlop sportmax D214. I cant find much info about these tires but after break-in they did ok, good enough that I will run them for a while. Wind isnt a problem if you sit up straight at speed and pretty mild below 70mph. I will still be getting a fly screen, maybe it will help keep my jacket clean too. The seat is angled forward some, so if you sit at the front of the seat you will be held upto the tank. You can also sit back on the seat. I found that switching between these 2 places gave me the options my butt needed for a long day of fun.
The suspension is harsh. On smooth pavement its fine. It is sketchy on transitions between different types of pavement and it is very harsh on bumps. I can feel my brain rattling in my skull on rough bumpy roads. I dont fault the bike for this, I knew it would not be to my liking going into the purchase and have planned an upgrade all along. At this price point, it doesnt bother me at all. I look forward to a suspension upgrade over the winter and the truth is that no matter how good of a suspension a bike comes from the factory with, it is most likely not going to be sprung for each individual's weight anyway, requiring some parts swapping to get the most out of it.
The throttle has room for improvement. I hope Yamaha comes out with an ECU firmware flash. I feel like it has too much slack before the throttle actually starts to open. This makes exiting a turn more interesting from a throttle control perspective. Dont get me wrong, I dont think that it is horrible and I still had a great time riding it. I am going to check into the throttle cables and see what can be adjusted. I rode in B mode almost the entire time. I dont need a snappy throttle (hint A mode), just a smooth one with predictable transition. The snap can always come from the wrist.
I had an extra frame slider and spool set from the R1, The spools fit fine and are already on. The slider looks like it will fit and I am going to check tomorrow. I also plan on taking some measurements of the R1 and FZ-09 suspension to see what the upgrade options are since I have both sitting next to each other right now.
I put a battery tender lead on the battery and attached a 12V socket to it for charging my phone. There is also an aux 12v behind the fake intake scoop that is switched with ignition. This will be good for a GPS. I also have a H4 HID kit from a previous DRZ400 that I think I will install.
