Test rode the 2006 Yamaha FZ1

Took advantage of the Yamaha test-fest to get a 70 minute ride on one of these.

The riding position felt like a cruiser after the SV, very upright, arms and legs well spaced out, loads of room. The seat and position is so comfy you could ride it for hours without any problems, very soft seat and legs/knees fit into the tank in a way the SV couldn't dream of.

The position felt much higher than on the SV but still easy for me to get my foot down and I'm only 5'8"

First impressions were very smooth, easy to use the power, sounds like a sewing machine but that's any 4 pot engine.

Amazing around town - just leave it in 2nd gear and it'll do everything from filtering (narrower and much more stable than the SV - after 10 mins I was filtering as good as I do on the SV and by the end of the ride I was doing stuff I wouldn't dream of on the SV). Just so easy to use and so comfy, it makes a great commuter bike for town work.

Out on the open road and at higher speeds, you can still ride it below 6000 rpm and it's like a big scooter, lovely, and so effortless and stress free.

Or you can go above 6k, in which case it's nuts...

It'll wheelie off the power alone in 1st gear and hit 90mph in first, 106mph in 2nd. On a private stretch of road I found it hit 125mph in 4th with loads more to come. Utterly brilliant. I was making overtakes that I wouldn't give a second thought on the SV - see it, open the throttle, do it - not even needing to change down a gear for most of them (though when I did it was frightening how fast it overtook).

I can happily say that today, in those 70 minutes, I stuck it to more car drivers than in my entire 4 year biking career. I mean that in a good, hooligan way instead of just random dangerous riding way - just having the ability to blast past anyone dawdling or leaving gaps big enough for me to pass them.

The thing leans brilliantly - you can climb all over it (the SV is too cramped to allow movement like that) and the wide bars make tightening or opening the line through the corner easily possible and there's always more lean available - I had it over way more than I've ever managed with the SV.

The brakes are miles better than the SV - one finger on the FZ1 does more than a big handful on the SV front brake lever, and without the diving forks.

I didn't want to give it back, it's utterly brilliant - all day comfy and will piddle all over any other bike/car on the road if you really feel like it.

Riding home the SV was gutless, uncomfortable, heavy, too low... I consoled myself that the SV sounded a fair bit better, but then remembered that I used earplugs on the FZ1 test ride and didn't use them to ride home on the SV, so not as good as it seemed.

It was the 2006 model and had the fuelling glitch - throttle seemed sticky at first - delays in rolling on and off for part of the turn of the throttle, but by the end I didn't notice it, and it's meant to be sorted on the new bikes.

£7200 for a brand new K7, but I'll be looking for a used older model for a lot less than that...

I have a friend called Borja who rides a 2006 FZ1. If anyone saw him ride they would never question either the ability of the bike or el piloto.

He was at Jerez just 2 weeks ago and apparently slayed everything on the track that day in the "fast" group.One fine machine the modern Fazer.

[Biker Biggles]

By all accounts it's a brilliant bike,but I have a problem with most of the current Yamaha range.Apart from the sports bikes does anyone else think Yams are pig ugly?