2007 Yamaha FZ6

[breakdirt916]

check boxes:
-cheap, reliable, low maintenance
-commuter/beach/canyons/250-400 mile day trips around SoCal
-spirted performance, when you want it. None of this "running out of steam" feeling that you find on an ADV twin
-planned mods: top case, touring windscreen, highway pegs on crash bars, dual headlight mod, quad lock, charger, heated jacket liner hookup. Optional: soft cases if overnight camping (rare). Unlikely: track day.

anything else I need to be schooled on?

[OneCheekRider]

Nice! I had the same year and color! I swapped the bars on mine, I didn't like the sweep of the OEM.

[boosten lebaron]

Do a bafflectomy on it if it's got stock pipes.

[xrocket21]

oooooo, its red!

congrats man!

[MattR302]

I found out that they are pretty easy to push start if you drain the battery with excessive heated gear; but I would swap the headlight bulbs to LED’s to save power if you do the dual headlight mod.
The FZ6 forum is 600riders.com - there’s a ton of searchable information on there on that bike.

If you find the sweep angle of the stock handlebars is too much (angled back too much) and irritates your wrist, the handlebar off the later FZ6R is a cheap direct swap and uses the stock bar end weights. It has the same rise but with a better sweep angle.
If you want a more aggressive leaning-forward riding position, the FZ1 bar has no rise but the better sweep angle and uses stock bar end weights.

[breakdirt916]

it's funny, I noticed that too

the left wrist gets slightly angled to the left in order to pull in the clutch; a straighter bend would be more ergonomic

Thanks for the tips, I'd likely do the FZ6R bar swap

went to top off gas and air up the tires, cruised past the first station, then filled up....40 miles away



street bikes are pretty neat for the "get up and go ride" experience.

Silky smooth and under stressed at 80mph, but adequately boogies above 10k rpm. Doesn't dance and wiggle over every pavement imperfection like any dual sport.

for $3,400, this is a pretty nice little bike



not sure I even want to futz with the headlight. Aside from an LED bulb, I may just leave it. It works.

Calsci still makes a windscreen for it! and a pleasure to ride on the freeway



not due for a valve check yet

[breakdirt916]

honestly, it does have “good” angles

That will soon be ruined by the CalSci XL windscreen on order

I hope to do a 400ish mile day loop in Sept, then maybe one overnight touring ride in September/October; so a windscreen and top case are two things I definitely want.

A $600 Givi top case setup also doesn’t seem worthwhile. I’ve tried an $80 Amazon top case on previous bikes and that should do. I will be be commuting 2-3 days a week starting December/January-ish.

Front brake light switch also not working. YouTube’s suggest it may be the brake light switch

Still unsure what I want to do with the headlight. The single/left headlight works, and puts down just enough light down evenly to be adequate, and the high beam only adds a marginal extra amount. It’s a budget bike, so spending a lot on accessories defeats the purpose.

I was thinking of a $65 Cyclops bulb in the low beam.

It will put down more intense light in the projected path, and hopefully it will help people to see me. Currently they don’t see me as much as I’d like.

Need some blank keys

Oil change at home on Thursday.

[OneCheekRider]

I think the dual headlight mod cost me $30 for a plug-n-play setup but it's really just an additional wire to get the other side to light up, so definitely a DIY possibility. I do remember it improved night time visibility. Then again, you can probably mount up some cheap aux lights and get 10x the output.

I just went all out on suspension for the Tiger so I'm planning a 500-700 mile overnighter soon if you're interested. There will prob be some gravel roads...

[breakdirt916]

hmm indeed, it's just a 16awg wire run from a harness under the tank to the unused pin on the bulb.

turning on the high beam using that connection turns off the low beam filament to keep from overloading the power

sounds good to me

I'll start there and see how it does

where ya headed and when? availability is my biggest restriction as I am working every other weekend (down from every weekend for the last 5 months ) starting in September

[MattR302]

The dual headlight wire can also be tapped into at the left handlebar, check my post #9 in this thread (lol and check the OP of this thread)
https://www.600riders.com/threads/mo...7/#post-579698
This was the previous owner's doing; it wasn't pretty, but it worked.

With the stock halogen bulbs, it added maybe an extra 10-20% usable light on low beam, since the reflector is optimized for high beam.
But it 100% eliminated the "you have a headlight out" comments.
I also added an in-line switch in that wire in case I needed to save the 55W for heated gear.

My DR650 came with an older model Cyclops H4 LED bulb; on my 919, SMT, and Z125, I've used a few different $20 H4 LED bulbs from Amazon. It's been a while since I've directly compared them, but IMO, the Cyclops doesn't work 3x better for 3x the price.

[Kurlon]

Turns out someone did a similar mod to my Buell. I was wondering WTF would cause someone to cut the headlight harness off, then rejoin but not match up the wires...

[whynot]

I've been upgrading with LEDs lately from
https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehi...ycle-led-bulbs

... always good stuff, with EZ returns if you order something you can't use.

[breakdirt916]

haha, so cool to see some familiar screen names years ago on the FZ6 forums

the headlight wire mod looks simple enough to DIY with a wire and a couple connectors.

Got my L-shaped spade terminal from O'reilly's; just need to follow BD43's guide to find/make the pin that goes into the harness

cheaper LED's than Cyclops sounds like a good budget option for a budget bike too

the top case options are interesting; Yamaha made an OEM rack that bolts to the rails, but that's unobtanium from international Yamaha distribution. Shad and Givi make top racks, but I hear the Shad sucks to intall, and both require $250-$300 top cases to pair with it. The $80 amazon top case won't mount without some sort of rack this time around. Maybe I can get the Givi rack and bolt the adapter plate from the Amazon top case on it? idk

[OneCheekRider]

What about Givi rack and a used Givi case: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/ws...652657039.html

I had Givi on my FZ6.

[MattR302]

Man I just sold JHawley’s FZ6 Sw-Motech rack a couple months ago

I’m surprised the Givi one is still available.
Givi PN 351FZ for the arms ($90-100 on Amazon and Dennis Kirk)
Givi PN M5 (Monokey) or PN M5M (Monolock) for the plate

Somebody on FB posted recently asking about using an Amazon top case on the Givi arms, but I measured the hole spacing for him and it wouldn’t fit - the amazon mounting rack wasn’t wide enough to bolt to the arms where the M5 plate would.

[breakdirt916]

I saw your FS thread that was just in 2022!! Ah fudge, story of my life. Day too late, dollar too short.

I dunno why I didn’t think to buy a used top case; I can 100% do that! Thanks Matt and Mike!

I am 2 weeks away from establishing that I will be commuting 2-3 days a week around SoCal, so an oil change, top case, CalSci, and rear tire (maybe brakes too?) got moved to the top of the list.

And I was lane splitting for a few miles with both headlights on (@onecheek - idk if you know where the 241 meets the 91) and I felt people were moving over far more than the single light. It could be in my head but people expect and recognize the dual lamps

[breakdirt916]

wind protection on the FZ6: stock windshield directs win to smash into your helmet (=loud).

CalSci: moves the air stream to the very top of my helmet (I'm 6'0). low pitch "thunder" from wind is gone; higher pitched wind noise still present (and louder, because the lower pitched sounds are gone?). If you froggy tuck behind the windscreen, the wind sounds disappear. It's so good you can hear your engine and chain . I wish that's how it felt while I was sitting; but that's as good it's going to be on a budget middleweight sport touring bike



it's nice spending $45 and changing my own oil again.

the 690 had something like 3 filters and usually paired with valve check at a dealer for a few hundred dollars...dumb.

Tools stay at the moto shed: 17mm socket/breaker bar/torque wrench for drain plug. Funnel, oil pan, cardboard to cover exhaust, and I should leave an oil filter wrench for tight/stuck filters.

----------------

EDIT: super bright LED's is actually more expensive than cyclops because you have to buy H7's as a pair. Planning on the Cyclops H7 and H4 because they've been good in the past.

351FZ side arm and M5 plate ordered, THANKS MATT!!!

The V46 dude is out of town this week, so it will likely still be available next week. Hopefully I will have the side arms and mounting plate installed by next week and I can ride out to pick it up. THANKS MIKE!!!

Next question: I will need a power lead for my phone mount - should I use the lead for the dual head lamp mod? or should I tap off somewhere else?

[breakdirt916]

first 260ish(?) mile day ride



it was much easier to do than the Ninja 500 or 690 Enduro!

a bike that has the power to cruise at speed/climb grades, upright riding position, and wind protection makes longer rides more comfortable!

Could have easily done another 150-200 miles today.

rode a san diego loop into the meadow/farmlands, to the desert, and back.



had to do an obligatory stop and see A13X at the world famous Quinn Knives!



yes, there is motogp playing in the background

turns out OneCheekRider was here yesterday too

[OneCheekRider]

Too funny! I popped in Sat on my solo ride. We had never met in person and I walk in saying “remember the forum NESR??”


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[OneCheekRider]

11 years ago I rode my FZ6 to TrickyMike’s for a tire swap. Thanks for the memory, FB


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