My family has always been a yamaha oriented. More than 10 years ago on 22 feb 2009 i bought my first bike yamaha fz 16 midnight black edition. I still remember when i got a call from the showroom around 9pm that my bike has arrived, i could not wait till the morning, i had to go see it. There she stood in the dark, all black , yes love at first sight do happens!Till now i have rode the bike more than 150k + kilometers. From riding between traffics, to completely modifying it into a stunt machine, taking it for long interstate rides from visakhapantam to kolkata 900km within 13 hours over night, every weekend rides to araku valley for almost two years and withstanding the hudhud cyclone in vizag it has never given up on me. Riding experience Due to its small wheelbase and upright sitting position the bike is very nimble and easy to ride in city conditions.When it comes to highway rides it was lacking in cruising speed, i solved the problem by replacing my front sprocket with a bigger one. It helped me cruise at 90+ without much strain on the engine. We all know how good fz is when it comes to stunting. During my amateur days, installed a wheelie bar, cut down some extra weights from the bike and it was good to go. With bigger front forks it gave good front feel and stability under hard braking and long rolling stoppies. Truly it was an all rounder machine.I modified my fz loads of time. One of the most craziest was from race concepts bangaluru (joel joseph). Initially i just installed simota air filter and a customer made exhaust. That itself have me boost to keep with much higher cubic capacity bikes. Post that after installing a bigger 180cc bore with cam shaft, cdi and bigger carb. The bike accelerated so fast that with a proper launch and perfect shift i once stayed side by side till 4th gear with a cbr 250 in a drag race. But everything comes with a price. "with more power comes more responsibility" we all know. Hence the bike could only manage to run 15k km at its full potential considering the first 3k km is used for running in and setting up the engine. But that 15k feeling is worth every bit.Me and my friends used to ride to araku valley 220 km from vizag city every weekend. The ghat roads was loved by the fz. It loved to be cornered. It loved to be braked in. Instead of owning a 390 cc bike now i am considering to that the fz to leh. So hence it says it all with regards to fz and its love for twisty roads. Servicing and maintenance I think just because i have taken good care of the bike in its initial days, the bike has not problem what so ever and still serving my needs after more than 10 years, serving more than 150k +km.Every machine has a heart and we should take care of it. All my life i never remember not changing my engine oil on time. With regards to cost the bike is not of the best pocket friendly machine. After 10 years of use, sprocket price is 1400 , brake pads under 400, engine oil under 400. Just right. Pros Easy to lean riding - machine.Stability Braking Corner stability Reliability Cons Lack of abs Fuel efficiency - which they rectified after introducing fi engine.
Visual Appeal
Reliability
Comfort
Service Experience
Value for Money
