The Yamaha FZ1 - It's All About the Numbers

It doesn't matter how good your motorcycle is, doesn't matter how fast you actually ride. Because most riders are men, it's all about the numbers. Has to be – us males are programmed to be easily impressed, how else do you explain most things we do?

In todays 1000cc all-round line-up lots of the motorcycles don't have the numbers, for example a Honda CBF1000 has 100 horsepower... some older 600cc sportsbikes made that. BMW surely has the numbers, big numbers by the way, but lots of numbers and zero's in the purchase price are not what most males buyers are looking for.

The Yamaha FZ1 makes an honest 132 horsepower at the wheel and weighs less than most of the opposition. That makes the Yamaha FZ1 fast. Fast enough to have just done the last 306 kilometers of the last trip in 170 minutes, average speed 108km/h. Impressive.

A friend of us, who rode a Yamaha FZ1 for a year, described it as a ground attack vehicle. He's right. Stunningly fast, but not aggressive. A calm kind of speed, the polar opposite of a Yamaha YZF-R1. There's always the time and visibility to give you an option. And unlike the Yamaha YZF-R1 race replicas, the Yamaha FZ1 lets you ride like this for hundreds of kilometers because it's really comfy too.

Down at the track the numbers for the Yamaha FZ1 are okay, but not in-line with any 1000cc sportsbike. 253Km/h flat out and a 11.612 standing 400meters. But that's on a race track. Our test rider is lighting fast round the track. Tell me about the roads. On the streets of Thailand the Yamaha FZ1 feels completely in its element, it's a excellent machine for exploring Thailand while keeping you male search for the perfect numbers satisfied.