Bikes

Yamaha FZ25 long term report

Abhishek Wairagade

After spending a weekend at the California Superbike School, I had been practicing a lot of acquired skills on the FZ25. Since then, every following weekend has been spent at Lavasa, honing either the knee to knee lessons or hook turns. The FZ25 isn’t the best teacher as the its soft setup hampers its mid-corner stability. At high speeds, even the smallest of bumps make life difficult for the rider. I also found that the large 46T sprocket limits its top-end propensity. To sort out the issues, I’m contemplating getting a high viscosity fluid for the forks and a smaller sprocket.

However, after my Triumph Tiger 800 ride in Marrakesh, the off-road bug has bitten me hard. While Saturdays are meant for CSS, Sunday afternoons are spent getting down and dirty. And this is where the FZ25 feels at home, with large chunks of low-down torque and that soft setup, helping me climb hillocks without breaking my spine. But that has lead to larger problems in life – to go for the fork oil or get the Yamaha a pair of knobbly tyres?

Date acquired:                                            September 2017
Duration of test:                                         9 months
Total mileage:                                               6678km
Mileage this month:                                  766km
Overall kmpl:                                                31kmpl
Costs this month:                                       Nil