Review-FZ-16. Review on Yamaha FZ16

Hi,

I would like to mention here that this is my first review about a bike on any website.

Well I've been driving bikes for the past 10yrs or so(decent experience) and now I own a Hero Honda Hunk.

I've rode all the bikes in the 150 cc segment and once again arises the burning question of which is best in class?.surely it's a very tough question to answer as each individual has their own taste and requirements and I feel if there was only one best bike among all these there wouldn't have been so many companies launching different bikes:-).

So let's go with the general requirements which almost everybody has:

1.Good looks

2.Good Pick up

3.Good Mileage

4.Good Braking

5.Handling

6.Ride quality

7.Riding positon etc etc etc etc and last but not the least it's price tag.Although some terms are synonymous they have their unque meaning.

Let's  come back to business well well well Yamaha FZ16 is a real killer these days surpassing every bike on the roads(even our own Pulsar).About it's looks, u can say that it is really macho and does live up to it's name of "Lord of the Street".The fuel tank is really beautifully designed and the front headlamp, the handlebar and the electronic cluster on it looks really neat.the only concern for me was it's digital speedometer, it's unusually small and the tail lamp is also very tiny(it reminded me of a luna tail lamp), and the huge mono shock looks really ugly from behind.Well these are very tiny little things which can be really forgettable.

Coming to the performance, the engine is really peppy and u would hear an entirely different sound of an engine, thanks to it's big fat and stubby silencer also.The pick up is decent(don't expect the old pulsar roar).Personally I would've expected a bit more power than 14bhp on this engine as it was a Yamaha engine but it's lower gear shifts does manage does manage well to keep the bike firing through the roads.The most exceptional part of this bike is it's handling u can really manouvre a hair pin bend also @50-60 km/hr(provided u r a good driver) and this was possible only because of it's huge rear flat radial tyre.I've never seen a one on any bike before.It's disc is very large and the braking is also very good and the mileage don't expect more than 40.The suspension is okay, not so bad should have been gas charged I feel. So, all this comes for hefty price also it costs about 72-74K on road depending on ur city.

Although this bike is fitted with a good battery, but think of the time when ur battery goes down and u r stuck in middle of the traffic, no kick start.WOW.

So, that's about the new FZ16 then what about the rest of the bikes?

We have in contention

1.Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTS-i

2.Unicorn

3.HH Hunk

4.HH CBZ-Xtreme

5.Apache RTR-160

6.Suzuki GS-150

7.Yamaha-FZS

8.Yamaha-Fazer

I'm omitting FZS and Fazer because they only differ by frontal looks with FZ-16 or else everything else is same.The all new Pulsar has come a long way but Bajaj is losing continuosly on it's quality side ever since it launched it's 3rd Gen Pulsar.I was a hugeeeeeeeeeee fan of 1st and 2nd Gen Pulsars but that same quality is not being maintained these days as it has so many problems with it's engine, clutch and gear box.The digiatl speedo and lifeless LEDs make it one of the most talked bikes with severe peoblems.

Coming to Unicorn, it's looks doesn't appeal much to our generation but the engine refinement and ride quality is so nice that once u ride the bike u'll not feel like driving another.

Hunk and Xtreme has same specs but their air flow into the engine is modified and making some minor tweaks to Hunk's Engine thus making it more smooth.The selection between hunk and xtreme is very difficult because both offer almost same features but Hunk has Gas charged suspension which makes it a 2% more than Xtreme.if u r going fr reliability and low maintainence then surely go for HH bikes.After all u r investing about 65-68K on a bike and u don't want to put 1000rs for maintainence every month which is the case of Bajaj bikes and also Yamaha bikes(My Personal choice is Hunk).

Coming to GS-150 and RTR 160, I didn't like both the bikes personally may be it was because of the very small size of RTR and outdated design of GS-150.The engine response is really awesome of RTR but it is not carried through all the gears, it is seen only in first gear and the pick up is also not carried forward through.The GS-150 does everything which a bike has to do but nothing out of the box.I know RTR is in 2nd place now after FZ-16 in sales but personally I didn't like the bike.

So the verdict-No confusion here! the winners of this test are every bike enthusiast who pushed these makers to come out with bikes of international standard. The Hunks, Xtreme’s, Apaches feature equally competetive design, although they are completely Indian.It's upto u to decide what features you want and please do a test drive not once atleast 20times before u buy a bike.

Cheers,

Vishal