Needless to say how much I enjoyed all that attention I got from the fellow commuters and passersby, including a lot of women ( Guys are you listening? ) – the FZ16 caught the fancy of everyone. Just like the YZF-R15, once again this is the design genius of Yamaha’s consultant firm GK Dynamics. They have played a pivotal role in styling and designing most of the Yamaha motorcycles for all these years. And the FZ16 only bares testimony to the fact as to why Yamaha hands over most of its projects to the Tokyo-based firm.
The elegant yet sporty poi se of the FZ16 is largely attributed to its muscular and curvy tank with the plastic shrouds. Use of fibre made it easier for Yamaha to craft those curves and edges while the metal fuel tank remains hidden inside the plastics giving the bike a very clean and neat look. The black strip in the centre of the plastic fuel tank shroud reminds one of the similar design cue seen earlier on the TVS Apache RTR – nonetheless, it adds a lot of spunk to the FZ’s naked appeal. Keeping in mind the importance of style on the FZ16, the centre panels too have been carefully designed to look as a pseudo-twin spar frame and they sync perfectly with the sharp and edgy tail panels.
