2002 FXR150

**FROSTY:Me** · 24th May 2004, 21:44

My initial reaction to the FXR was "It aint a real bike" But the last couple of weeks commuting has proven me wrong.
If you dont know about these bikes they're a sporty looking single cylinder four stroke. They have both an electric boot and a kick starter.
12 volt electrics make for decent lights and a disk at each end makes it stop pretty darn quickly.
My FXR has a reasonably sticky pirelli tyre at the back but still has the standard rim protector on the front.
Kicking it to life with a bit of choke and the lekkie boot she fired up no problems.settling down to a quiet idle witha somewhat gn250 type engine noise.
Taking off up my driveway diddn't exactly get my blood stirring with the bike seeming to struggle to get up. Looking at the digital rev counter I realised I was using less than a third of the 12000 rpm the little beast had available to me. A harder twist on the throttle and HELLO there might be hope yet.
With the motor spinning nicely .at 9000 she buzzed op my fairly steep road easily.
Slipping through the 50km/h traffic was effortless and the great brakes washed off speed with no panic on my part.
The trick digital speedo and gear position indicator make for easy speed checks as I go past what seems like 50 speed cameras on my way to work.
I arrive at work with a huge grin on my face.
On my way home via the Nor western motorway I get another surprise
100km/h commuting is a breeze. Sure she doesn't have a heap left to outrun the faster tintops but she makes it up by being super nimble.Only problenm is the factory mirrors--great views of my elbows is not what i need.
I discovered the limits of the factory rim protectors on a slippery bit of road and I must say I wasn't very impressed.
If you are buying one of these from a bike shop I'd strongly suggest getting them to fit stickier tyres.
Although they give plenty of warning theyre gonna let go their limits are way before the rest of the bike. The rest of the bike handles pretty darn nicely If I do say so myself.
All in all a nice balanced package and I would suggest one for a second bike owner. My only reservations would be the great brakes combined with the factory tyres are a bit too good for a learner.
Pros-light neutral handling
fantastic brakes front and rear.
easy maintained single cylinder motor.
mind blowing fuel economy.
huuge fun
Cons - Lousy factory tyres.
badly positioned mirrors.

**Antallica** · 24th May 2004, 21:56

Hehe good on ya mate!

**Indiana_Jones** · 26th May 2004, 18:56

Yeah, the tyres do blow abit

But I can't afford better ones so I guess I'll just have to deal with them

-Indy

**Sk8r_Boi_** · 27th May 2004, 09:40

Yeah i had a ride on an fxr150 they are fun but not as fun as the rg150 ha ha SORRY

**jrandom** · 27th May 2004, 09:48

Nice to see a review from someone with a bit of riding experience. Have held back from posting one myself, because I don't think a bike review from someone who's never ridden anything else to speak of has much validity.

I'm glad you confirmed my impressions.

The factory tyres are indeed worth discarding immediately if you can afford to do so.

And since dropping the bike, exploding my RH mirror and replacing it with a cheaper, bigger, stickery-outer-er aftermarket one (the packet said that it was meant for a GSXR750, IIRC) I got from Colemans, I'm thinking of swapping the other mirror too. Bigger mirrors make a world of difference.

**jrandom** · 27th May 2004, 09:55

Originally Posted by Sk8r_Boi_

Yeah i had a ride on an fxr150 they are fun but not as fun as the rg150 ha ha SORRY

Yer right there. But they're probably a better choice as a daily commuter. After 16,000km I can't fault the FXR for reliability, never missed a beat or required any special attention. Good little transport appliance. Oh, and did I mention that it wheelies real good?

Of course if I wanted a one fiddy for track use or general mucking around I'd have an RG, for sure.

**jrandom** · 27th May 2004, 09:58

Oh yeah. Might as well note the actual fuel economy - I get 25km/litre while commuting in heavy traffic.

**Sk8r_Boi_** · 27th May 2004, 10:04

Yeah FXR150 are good for cruising i would buy one any day, but outta my price range for a 150, cause my first bike was an RG150 which was below the $2000 price...........but now i have a kawasaki zxr250 and its great......fun to ride

**Sk8r_Boi_** · 27th May 2004, 10:06

Yeah FXR150 are good for cruising i would buy one any day, but outta my price range for a 150, cause my first bike was an RG150 which was below the $2000 price...........but now i have a kawasaki zxr250 and its great......fun to ride

**FROSTY:Me** · 27th May 2004, 10:39

Originally Posted by jrandom

Nice to see a review from someone with a bit of riding experience. Have held back from posting one myself, because I don't think a bike review from someone who's never ridden anything else to speak of has much validity.

I'm glad you confirmed my impressions.

The factory tyres are indeed worth discarding immediately if you can afford to do so.

And since dropping the bike, exploding my RH mirror and replacing it with a cheaper, bigger, stickery-outer-er aftermarket one (the packet said that it was meant for a GSXR750, IIRC) I got from Colemans, I'm thinking of swapping the other mirror too. Bigger mirrors make a world of difference.

Funny you should mention that--I've fitted an after market mirror off of a kawasaki zxr400--go figure and yep much better visibility

**Antallica** · 27th May 2004, 10:46

I'd do the same to my mirrors, but it looks so damn ugly with those huge mirrors on.

**FROSTY:Me** · 27th May 2004, 10:58

Originally Posted by Antallica

I'd do the same to my mirrors, but it looks so damn ugly with those huge mirrors on.

Im thinking maybee the factory mirrors could be stepped out a bit to give better visibility

**Antallica** · 27th May 2004, 11:08

Yeah that and also a retractable hinge for the times when you hit the deck. $90 a mirror isn't exactly fun.

**Sk8r_Boi_** · 27th May 2004, 11:20

Yeah It Was Like When I Had My RG150 You Cant See S#it All With The Mirrors That Are On There All You Can See Is Shoulder And Albows So So Annoying Man, When I Had It I Had To Leen To One Side Just To See What Was Behind Me I Hated It....