Cool bike. Rode great, real smooth and fast. The none fork front end was odd at fist, does not seem to want to self center but once you get used to it is is amazing. Ignores all rod irregularities, sucks up rough pavement at speed EZ, is EZ to make mid corner corrections even when off camber and seemed like endless front end traction. Impressive to say the least. The motor was good, lots of low end and mid. EFI was spotless. There are three modes which control the suspension and motor. Comfort/Normal/Sport. Comfort made the bike turn slower, super plush and slower to respond. Was nice in town and over rough pavement at slower speed. Normal was a great balance and worked well everywhere. Sport was stiff and throttle was abrupt. I did not use that setting much. Overall a great bike, super fun to ride and amazing front end. Oh, the single sided shaft drive was very smooth, did not jack around at all and sucked up road trash nicely. That and the EFI being very smooth there was little to no harshness and the drive-line looseness. Feels real tight. Had my FZ1 along, simple in line 4, carbed bike. Has a little less bottom but seemed to hang right with the 1300 in the mid and top. The FZ is more comfortable with it's more upright seating position and better seat. K1300 ignores road irregularities much better and handles a good bit better feeling like traction goes on forever and no scared of running into a rough corner at speed. Brakes on the K are crazy strong and the front, because of the amazing front end can be hammered hard. My FZ is a real good all around bike and for my needs and at half the price it is as good as the K1300 for the putting around I do. If i rode street a lot and was into going fast the K1300 would be hard to beat. Fun stuff.
Nice review. A few years ago I had the pleasure of trying the FJ1300(?). I found it heavy at low speeds but nice and comfy on highway cruises. I own a 2003 SV1000 and think that's a pretty good street machine. I'm not much of a street rider these past few years, but appreciate honest reviews when they come up.
Cool review on the BMW and I have to say that I just love the FZ1 lines, one of the better looking bikes in my opinion
yeah, the FZ1 is a simple do it all bike. I had my FJ1200 all decked out and liking it and this popped up for a good trade (my WR360 and some cash) and I jumped on it. After i realised it was all i was trying to make my FJ be I sold the FJ and rode off into the sunset. I spent a lot of time looking for a super clean FJ1200, found it rode it for a year and upgraded it some and then found the deal on the FZ1 and there is just no substitute for technology and moving forward sometimes...
Indeed, there was a very clean FZ1 up for sale in my area so I started reading what I could on it on the net, and from what i remember something in the first two years was not "right" with the way the bike handled or something in the engine... ..I can't remember what it was but I passed on that one, I still think it's an awesome looking bike
I had the last year of the steel frame version. A good twelve horse mod for a few bucks can be had from these guys at http://www.holeshot.com/fz1/fz1_stage1mod.shtml . Loved this bike, but thought the gear box was akin to a box of rocks. False neutrals were commonplace, installed a R1 Shift arm which helped.
Thanks for the info. Mine shifts nice but then again I am no canyon racer, i try to keep it semi sane on the street. As for more power, no thank you, plenty as is and runs perfect.
