FZ1N vs 900 Hornet

[carver]

the old hornet felt like you were riding a bison.
heavy
soft
slow

the old FZ1 felt like well....

soft
faster
not too heavy, but not that light

[Hitcher]

FZ1, no question. It will two-up and long haul with the best. Best of all, it's a Yamaha.

[Zapf]

CB900 will never be a CBR1000RR turned naked bike. So it is not a out and out sports bike. But if you are buying a naked bike, you are not really planning on going that quick anyway.

So. CB900 can be a very good sporty ride if you do the rear ohlins, add MX bars. Stick a set of pipes up its rear end. And perhaps enhance its brains with a power commander & dyno tune.

You can have all that, and also have a bike that can carry 2 up nicely. Carry 2 hard panniers and 1 top box. 19L tank range for 240km before reserve. And also it will be reliable to a fault.

So there you go for my 2 sec thought.

Oh and its faster than a certian ZX10 from 0~60km/h.

[Farab]

So. CB900 can be a very good sporty ride if you do the rear ohlins, add MX bars. Stick a set of pipes up its rear end. And perhaps enhance its brains with a power commander & dyno tune.

Already replaced the horrid OEM bars with Renthal Ultra Lows. If I'm keeping it, the rear suspension will also have to be done.

[AllanB]

Weird how they take a engine everyone loves CBR900, 929 then 'retune' it for the nakeds. I fail to see why a naked can't have a arse kicking spot in the engine. Are they worried we'd get thrown off without a pussy wee screen?

Same for the Predator and just about every 'naked' bike.

Ducatis new Streetfighter may alter this for future nakeds.

That specked out Yamaha at $15 sounds the bomb. Mind you at that about I'd sneak a look at a Street triple.......and talk them into a severely discounted set of pipes.....

[Zapf]

Already replaced the horrid OEM bars with Renthal Ultra Lows. If I'm keeping it, the rear suspension will also have to be done.

rear suspension WILL have to be done. It transform the bike very much indeed. And also its the cheapest part of the OEM parts bin.

[The Stranger:Me]

That specked out Yamaha at $15 sounds the bomb.

Doh! fuck sorry, no it's not specked like that, I was musing what you could do with the extra 5k saving on the predator. My mistake, will amend it now.

[AllanB]

Doh! fuck sorry, no it's not specked like that, I was musing what you could do with the extra 5k saving on the predator. My mistake, will amend it now.

Good point though - then again $2k on the existing Horny and he's probably saved $5k from changing bikes.


Glad I'm not deciding............

[Farab]

Weird how they take a engine everyone loves CBR900, 929 then 'retune' it for the nakeds. I fail to see why a naked can't have a arse kicking spot in the engine. Are they worried we'd get thrown off without a pussy wee screen?

Same for the Predator and just about every 'naked' bike.

Couldn't agree more!

[The Stranger:Me]

Weird how they take a engine everyone loves CBR900, 929 then 'retune' it for the nakeds. I fail to see why a naked can't have a arse kicking spot in the engine. Are they worried we'd get thrown off without a pussy wee screen?

You can't be serious - no one wants a bike like that!
The Fazer is a tilt in that direction.
It is the 5 valve R1 engine with a heavier crank, different cams, head gasket ECU and no ram air.
It has been roundly slammed in the press for 2 things.
1) The throttle snatch in the first version - fair enough too, though easily corrected.
2) The lack of power down low and rush at the top. Apparently no one wants this in a naked. I know I did.
One needs to remember too that the Fazer engine will out perform the std R1 engine up to about 11,000 RPM, so it hasn't been crippled down low, only up top. So the message to manufacturers is clear - don't make full power nakeds.

Incidentally, the Fazer is easily de-crippled and made to produce more power than a stock R1 of the same engine model.

[Farab]

I think what he meant, well I do anyway, is that some of the nakeds could pack more punch at the top end, a bit more character. The FZ1N seems to have this "character".

At least the Hornet boogies somewhat after 6000rpm, the Predator - zilch - linear all the way to the top. Also as I said before, the Predator develops about 123hp, but it's about 20kg heavier (roughly), so in terms of acceleration, feels similar to the H9, well for me anyway, so bit disappointing as the looks tell you to approach with caution. I did like the handling though, very flick-able.

[Gremlin]

The CB1000R is definitely tilted more towards a sportsbike than the CB900 was. Accelerates quicker, quicker handling, sharper brakes (the CB900 could do with sharper brakes). That said, the CB900 is not slow in the country and even two up, you can be scraping the pegs and having heaps of fun. The limit is just a bit more achievable than say a sportsbike.

Sure, the CB900 is detuned, but it pulls from 1500rpm all the way up in very very smooth fashion. Then again, I don't use it for rides in the country, finding it a bit out of breath around 100-120kph. Best bike around town I have come across tho.

[skidMark]

Weird how they take a engine everyone loves CBR900, 929 then 'retune' it for the nakeds. I fail to see why a naked can't have a arse kicking spot in the engine. Are they worried we'd get thrown off without a pussy wee screen?

Same for the Predator and just about every 'naked' bike.

Ducatis new Streetfighter may alter this for future nakeds.

That specked out Yamaha at $15 sounds the bomb. Mind you at that about I'd sneak a look at a Street triple.......and talk them into a severely discounted set of pipes.....

It's not spec'd out he was saying for the 5k you save over buying a predator you spend it on modding the fz1...


i like the hornet 900.... been pillion on one and it was very comfy very stable...

and plenty quick enough.

[nallac]

i like the hornet 900.... been pillion on one and it was very comfy very stable...

and plenty quick enough.

more fun riding em than being bitch....

needs more wow factor, and better brakes as mentioned..
more power aswell...

fun bike just a little to plain......

[Farab]

What do you guys reckon about the Predator's looks? I know it looks hot now, but do you think that it's something that will stand the test of time? Will we look back in 5 years + and wonder what the hell was Honda thinking? If I look at the new Ducati Streetfighter, I just know it 's still going to look attractive in e few years time.