FZX250...an inquiry

[dhanvic08]

Hello friendly bikers!
I've been reading posts and have learned lots of things about Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" which I am eyeing for a month now.

I presently own a Honda CBR400RR, a sweet running bike. But I am afraid of its agressive response when I hit the throttle hard...hehehe!
Im not into racing, just wanna feel what's in it at more than 120kph, and what I felt is extremely loads of FUN and Excitement...

I love my bike so much, that I have collected details and haynes manual in CD from a good friend which I found on the internet (cbr250.com) and have saved every penny that I could for repairs and maintenance.

The fuel consumption of this sportsbike is quite expensive specially here in our country "Philippines" and I was thinking of buying a lower displacement (non-sports) sweet looking bike with realiability and parts are readily available.

My first choice is the Yamaha zeal, a naked bike sports touring/dual purpose (I guess) bike.

IS there anyone here who happen to ahve a copy of the haynes manual in CD?Or is there a website where I could download it for free...?

Its the first thing that I consider to have before the purchase. And also, kindly extend your help on giving comments and suggestion about this bike.

Your posts will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance and ride safe dudes!

[James Deuce]

The following link is the search results for everything posted about the FZX250 on Kiwibiker.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/search.php?searchid=255783

The following link is for everything posted with the word "zeal" in it.

I'd avoid it unless you're REALLY keen :)

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/search.php?searchid=255731

Regards

Jim2

[dhanvic08]

Thank you so much sir!
I've read some of them, and is still have lots of IE-windows open at the moment.

I was thinking if someone could direct me to a link where I could download a haynes manuala of the mighty ZeaL?

THANKS AGAIN!

[jrandom]

Since fuel consumption is a primary concern for you, I should note that my Zeal gets 19km per litre.

[jrandom]

I just checked the search pages at www.haynes.com, and they do not publish a manual for the FZX250. The closest bike they do a manual for is the FZR400, available from Haynes in the UK.

I suspect that with the FZX being a Japan-only model (apart from all the second-hand imports floating around Australasia and Southeast Asia) the only real technical documentation you will find will be in Japanese, and you'll have to get it from Yamaha in Japan.

[jrandom]

lots of IE-windows open...

Use Firefox instead of IE. You can download it at http://www.mozilla.org/.

[dhanvic08]

Thank you vcery much sir jrandom!

About your posts re: IE vs Firefox, I'll have to do the download/installation at home, Im in the office right now and I dont have administrative access for the installation. Thanks for the info!

About fuel consumption: My CBR400rr consumes Approx 22Km/liter...i wonder why FZX- being a naked 250 consumes more fuel than a 400...? how do that happen sir?

What about issues about FZX250 that you have encountered sir?kindly give me some details... like that of the old suzuki bandit having sensitive carbs and that of the Honda Superfour HperVtec which has very smooth engine and acceleration.

I really want to make sure that I'll make a right decision on the purchase coz I'll let go of my CBR400rr and get a '98 FZX250...

I'll read other posts Thanks again!

[jrandom]

About fuel consumption: My CBR400rr consumes Approx 22Km/liter...i wonder why FZX- being a naked 250 consumes more fuel than a 400...? how do that happen sir?

The Zeal is notoriously thirsty. Other Zeal and former Zeal owners here (Erik, Hitcher, Blakamin) will be able to confirm it.

That's just a problem you get when you tune a very small displacement engine for as much midrange and top-end power as you can wring out of it, which appears to be what's been done with the FZX. It drinks gas like nobody's business. Great fun to ride, but you pay in terms of fuel consumption.


What about issues about FZX250 that you have encountered sir?

I haven't had any mechanical problems with mine (well, the front brake rotor was warped when I got it, and still is, but don't imagine that there's any fault associated with the design of the bike there).

Naturally as with any four-cylinder motorcycle engine it pays to keep the carburetors balanced and the timing correct, or it runs like an arthritic dog. But you probably knew that already.

Also, the stock suspension (the forks and the twin rear shocks) is too soft. Comfortable to ride on the motorway, but too soft for fast riding on imperfectly-surfaced back roads. It's still quite a sweet-handling bike, but you will notice the boggy rear suspension in particular coming from a CBR400.

I still love my Zeal, though :love:

[dhunt]

Hello friendly bikers!
I've been reading posts and have learned lots of things about Yamaha FZX250 "Zeal" which I am eyeing for a month now.

I presently own a Honda CBR400RR, a sweet running bike. But I am afraid of its agressive response when I hit the throttle hard...hehehe!
Im not into racing, just wanna feel what's in it at more than 120kph, and what I felt is extremely loads of FUN and Excitement...

I love my bike so much, that I have collected details and haynes manual in CD from a good friend which I found on the internet (cbr250.com) and have saved every penny that I could for repairs and maintenance.

The fuel consumption of this sportsbike is quite expensive specially here in our country "Philippines" and I was thinking of buying a lower displacement (non-sports) sweet looking bike with realiability and parts are readily available.

My first choice is the Yamaha zeal, a naked bike sports touring/dual purpose (I guess) bike.

IS there anyone here who happen to ahve a copy of the haynes manual in CD?Or is there a website where I could download it for free...?

Its the first thing that I consider to have before the purchase. And also, kindly extend your help on giving comments and suggestion about this bike.

Your posts will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance and ride safe dudes!
Hey welcome to KB :2thumbsup What part of the philippines are you from?? I grew up down south in Mindanao. Used to ride trail bikes there as much more useful than road bikes.

[Hitcher]

Ahh. Zeals! Much fond nostalgia for a great bundle of fun that drinks like a fish. I miss dear old ULF.

I am surprised that jrandom gets economy as good as 19kml. I reckon I got about 16 (plus or minus) out of mine. That could be due to the relative boddy/bodddy size of the rider, I guess...

[dhanvic08]

Dhunt!

Dude are you a Filipino?Im from Luzon, Province of Rizal.
I sure know that dirtbikes are better to use in Mindanao areas specially on mountains (sa Bundok!) hehehe

HItchers&Jrandom,

Thanks for the inputs...Im now in doubt of getting the Zeal :confused: because of its fuel consumption...I just thought since its a 250, I will save a bit of gas...but unfortunately it seems that loosing my 400 is loosing a couple of displacement, and spending more money for fuel... :apint:

But what if i adjust or change the jettings of the carbs?My CBR400rr was rejetted a month ago and i noticed that it aint that thirsty no more...the range is 18-22km/liter depending on the way I make her screeeeeeem!hehehe!

pls help me decide... :doctor:

[erik]

I haven't had any mechanical problems with my Zeal either. Just the front suspension is too soft for a 95kg rider.
I'm not sure what kinda milage I get out of the Zeal, perhaps I should pay more attention next time between gas stops.
As far as I know, there isn't a manual available for it. I've been looking at the FZR400 manual when I've been working on it as much of the engine seems to be similar. Take a look in the online manuals thread in the Tips and Tricks forum, there is a link in the first post I think.

[erik]

Dhunt!

Dude are you a Filipino?Im from Luzon, Province of Rizal.
I sure know that dirtbikes are better to use in Mindanao areas specially on mountains (sa Bundok!) hehehe

HItchers&Jrandom,

Thanks for the inputs...Im now in doubt of getting the Zeal :confused: because of its fuel consumption...I just thought since its a 250, I will save a bit of gas...but unfortunately it seems that loosing my 400 is loosing a couple of displacement, and spending more money for fuel... :apint:

But what if i adjust or change the jettings of the carbs?My CBR400rr was rejetted a month ago and i noticed that it aint that thirsty no more...the range is 18-22km/liter depending on the way I make her screeeeeeem!hehehe!

pls help me decide... :doctor:
I've never ridden a cbr400rr before, but if you're just after gas savings, stay with your bike, or maybe take a look at an fxr150 which I think would use less gas (jrandom?).

If you're new to biking, stick with your cbr for a while, as far as bikes go, it's a relatively small bike and the throttle response/acceleration is probably at teh lower end of the spectrum. You'll get used to it.

[Coyote]

About fuel consumption: My CBR400rr consumes Approx 22Km/liter...i wonder why FZX- being a naked 250 consumes more fuel than a 400...? how do that happen sir?

I only seem to get about 17-18Km/L from my CBR250RR, and I don't run it that hard

[dhanvic08]

might be with your engine/carbs being tuned dude. My carbs was rejetted into a smaller one already, maybe that's why...and also I have the carbs balanced recently as well as the valve clearance and plugs were set nicely.

trust me guys...im now into hesitations of getting into a FZX250....

about the FXR150, i ahvent heard of that from here. What I know is the Kawasaki KRR150, and the famous CBR150R. but it cost much higher than my bike! Grrrrr!

OK, according to my brother, my bike's gas is depending on the way I get her on the road...I guess I gotta stick with my bike for a while...since a liter of 95+octane gas cost almost Php29.00 here.How much is it from your country?

......but, i really like the mighty zeal...:(

[Devil]

The Zeal is notoriously thirsty. Other Zeal and former Zeal owners here (Erik, Hitcher, Blakamin) will be able to confirm it.
Ahahahah. Lets swap bikes for a week and then see if you complain about it being thirsty :)

[dhanvic08]

hehehe!

Im willing to swap my bike with yours and lets see who's bike is thirsty...you could drop by our place and kindly bring your bike with you, you could take my bike with you in Auckland for a week or two...hehehehe! Just make sure you'll bring it back to me!hehehehe! Just joking sir!

No joke sir, how much liter does your bike consume KM/L?

[jrandom]

trust me guys...im now into hesitations of getting into a FZX250....

Fair enough, if your main concern is fuel efficiency. It's not too crash hot in that area.


about the FXR150, i ahvent heard of that from here.

It's a single-cylinder four-stroke Suzuki made in Malaysia. It puts out about 20hp, weighs 115kg or so, a neat wee bike. Quite a few were imported new into NZ from Malaysia, but I'm not sure if any made it into other countries.


I guess I gotta stick with my bike for a while...since a liter of 95+octane gas cost almost Php29.00 here.How much is it from your country?

At the current exchange rate (NZD:PHP at about 1:49.6, as far as I can make it), that's only a bit more than half the price we pay for 96 octane here, which is at about NZD1.30 a litre.

[Devil]

hehehe!

Im willing to swap my bike with yours and lets see who's bike is thirsty...you could drop by our place and kindly bring your bike with you, you could take my bike with you in Auckland for a week or two...hehehehe! Just make sure you'll bring it back to me!hehehehe! Just joking sir!

No joke sir, how much liter does your bike consume KM/L?
My ZR250 does about 13km/L. Its pretty bad heh.

[dhunt]

Dhunt!

Dude are you a Filipino?Im from Luzon, Province of Rizal.
I sure know that dirtbikes are better to use in Mindanao areas specially on mountains (sa Bundok!) hehehe

Nah mate, Born in New Zealand but lived in Bukidnon for 13 years so I guess I'm part Filipino :unsure: . Great place to go riding, really loved it there.

Regarding your petrol prices it's cheaper than here, Was about 30 peso's to a NZ dollar when I was there last. So current prices for 96 petrol here is about 1.26 or so which is about 37.8 pesos/litre.

[dhanvic08]

Nah mate, Born in New Zealand but lived in Bukidnon for 13 years so I guess I'm part Filipino :unsure: . Great place to go riding, really loved it there.

Regarding your petrol prices it's cheaper than here, Was about 30 peso's to a NZ dollar when I was there last. So current prices for 96 petrol here is about 1.26 or so which is about 37.8 pesos/litre.

pero marunong kang magtagalog?hehehe! Mura pa pala ang gas d2!...do you still know how to speak our language?

anyway, nice to see another Filipino here!aren't you planning to go home here in the Philippines!?

[dhunt]

pero marunong kang magtagalog?hehehe! Mura pa pala ang gas d2!...do you still know how to speak our language?

anyway, nice to see another Filipino here!aren't you planning to go home here in the Philippines!?
Unfortunetally I never learnt Tagalog, But do speak cebuen and a tribal language relatively well, all it's a bit hard to think them anymore :spudwhat: But I'm sure If I went back I'd pick it up within a week or two.

May be coming over for a visit later in the year, will see how the study/money situation goes.

[dhanvic08]

dili k pala nagpuli ng mtagal.... :confused:

hehehe!

Guys, i saw the mighty Zeal last night...i really am so confused...CBr...Zeal...CBR...Zeal... :spudwhat:

another point is like this: I have workshop manual in CD of the CBR, and have squeezed mysaelf into learning some of them. If im gonna get the mighty zeal, i should learn how to speak japaneeeeze :angry2: in order to learn all about zeal repairs, parts etc. etc...
:confused:

[moko]

At the current exchange rate (NZD:PHP at about 1:49.6, as far as I can make it), that's only a bit more than half the price we pay for 96 octane here, which is at about NZD1.30 a litre.

I pay 86 pence per litre in the U.k.,which is roughly $2.30,when I was in N.Z. i was like a pig in the proverbial over the petrol prices while the locals were all complaining.The difference is mainly in the amount of tax,luckily you`re not ruled by war criminals,mass murder costs.

[dhanvic08]

that's more than a hundred peso per liter from here!!!...I should be happy I am here in the Philippines...hehehe!

Btw, how do you confirm that an FZX250 is a 1998 model? The owner claims it is a 98..

My CBR is confirmed to be a 1988 model because of the guidelines I found on the net. There is a list of chasis and engine number which explains the year coverage of when it was manufactured/released by honda.

anyone?

What about stickers of the Zeal, I found out that the decal "Zeal" on the tank is not a sticker, its already an imitation designed using an airbrush. I was thinking of perhaps getting a real one or perhaps making a computer cut sticker from somewhere here but i don't know the size and its color(s)

I guess Im really into the mighty zeal right now. Though am with my CBR a minute ago, I just keep on thinking about the zeal...it's like two sexy looking ladies, but I gotta choose one...hehehe! I prefffffer the naked...hehehe!

[jrandom]

I guess Im really into the mighty zeal right now. Though am with my CBR a minute ago, I just keep on thinking about the zeal...it's like two sexy looking ladies, but I gotta choose one...hehehe! I prefffffer the naked...hehehe!

Have you ridden one?

It'll be significantly slower than a CBR400, you know.

If you start by contacting a local Yamaha dealer, you might be able to get the Zeal's engine number back to Yamaha in Japan and determine what year it would have been manufactured in.

[Blakamin]

hmmm... owned Zeal and then a cbr400..... they both used the same amount of fuel....

I liked the zeal tho... the cbr was... interesting... didn't ever clean it coz I didnt have to (fairings covered shit quite well)

if I had a choice, I'd get another zeal...
but if you want my real advice... buy a ducati :2thumbsup

[Maximus]

if I had a choice, I'd get another zeal...
but if you want my real advice... buy a ducati :2thumbsup

I say, sell the Honda, buy a gixxer, well that's what im planning anyway . . . . . . :niceone:

[White trash]

but if you want my real advice... buy a ducati :2thumbsup

What's that? Burn a Ducati? Gladly.......

[dhanvic08]

I'de gladly stick on Honda CBRF4i

I wont get a Duc nor a Gixxer...no offence but Duc's parts and services here in the Philippines are not good to find.

About the Gixxer, is it a kawasaki or the Suzuki GSXR? Im targetting of getting either Yamaha or stick with Honda...Their parts are readily available in the Philippine Market compared to other brands.

peace bro! and ride safe

[Maximus]

Suzuki GSXR, I have been converted! :wari:

[dhanvic08]

its a nice sweet looking and I love hearing its roar!!!

Dudes,

I was hoping someone here could help me find a way to verify the fzx250's year model.

3YX-046395 is the engine and chasis number. The owner claims its a '98 :confused: model

thanks!

[dhanvic08]

could the FZX250 be an offroader? :wari:
it has nice shocks both front and back!!!!

[dhanvic08]

dudes!

been thinking lately of modifying the rear shocks of my bike into a monoshock... :ride:

what monoshock would probably fit my swing-arm? :yes: