I’ve been doing some web based research of late and the FZ’s have really caught my eye. I prefer it to the FZR in terms of looks but are the two significantly different?
I’d also like to know whether the FZ differs much from the FZ2’s?? If so, what are some of the improvements made?
Hope someone can help me out on these points? Do any of you have one or have you owned one previously? Verdict??
Thanks!! 
Definitely take one for a ride before you decide. They look and sound nice but have terribly slow acceleration. The monoshock is nice, though. The Breeze (FZ) looks more comfortable, as the gas tank isn’t quite as sharp and doesn’t dig into your stomach during hard braking.
[quote=“teach_gc”]I’ve been doing some web based research of late and the FZ’s have really caught my eye. I prefer it to the FZR in terms of looks but are the two significantly different?
I’d also like to know whether the FZ differs much from the FZ2’s?? If so, what are some of the improvements made?
Hope someone can help me out on these points? Do any of you have one or have you owned one previously? Verdict??
Thanks!! :)[/quote]FZs have a more comfortable riding position than FZRs. But the stock saddle is still painful. FZRs are liquid cooled whereas FZs are aircooled. I suppose that that means that FZRs have slightly longer engine life but on the down side there’s more stuff to maintain. I believe that FZRs may be quicker steering bikes than the FZs because of the different handlebar position.
All the bikes are heavy. They are not that great in town due to the heavy steering and the general weight. While their acceleration is adequate to keep you out of trouble around town, you may find the performance frustrating after a while. They should be faster than the four-stroke 125s and 150s around at the moment, but nothing compared to the two-strokes. On the plus side, they have a very good frame and the suspension is pretty good as well. If you get decent saddles on then they are reasonably comfortable and safe bikes for touring, including with a passenger.
Don’t buy one thinking it will keep its value. It won’t. I have spent over 50,000 on mine, but if I sold it to a dealer I don’t think I’d get 20,000. I’d get a more reasonable amount through a private sale but still nothing like the money I’ve put into it. You’ll probably have to do a fair amount of maintenance and replacement of parts. Some parts are cheap. Others, such as a decent back shock absorber (5000NT) are not.
Sorry, I don’t know what the differences are between the FZ and the FZ2. Only minor differences I think. I have an FZ2 and it has a ‘Breeze’ logo on the side.
Joesax, are you sure the FZR is liquid cooled? The ones I’ve had apart weren’t. Maybe you’re thinking of the oil cooler the FZR had over the FZ?
FZ vs. FZR the main difference is the bodywork and riding position, and the brakes. The FZR got a full fairing and split level seat. It also got clip-on bars mounted under the fork yoke, so the riding position is pretty sporty. The FZR had a twin disk front and single disk rear against the FZ and it’s single disk front and drum rear. The FZ has no fairing, a conventional dual seat and clip-ons above the handlebar. It’s more comfortable around town, and it’s a little lighter. The rear drum brake can be very difficult to keep quiet (squealing noises). FZ only got a speedo, no tach.
The FZR’s plastic fairing is expensive, so it’s not a cheap bike to toss down the road.
The later Breeze is basically an updated FZ. It had revised bodywork, a regular handlebar, and finally a tachometer. It might have also gotten the FZR’s oil cooler, don’t remember now.
As Poagao writes, the performance is nothing to write home about. The engine started out as a 250 and was de-stroked for the Taiwan market. That does make it somewhat overbuilt, and very heavy. The chassis itself is quite light, it just needs more motor to push it with. It’s a stable platform that doesn’t get blown all over the place like the two-strokes. The FZR will probably feel cramped and give you sore wrists unless you’re riding the thing flat out. The FZ/Breeze will be more comfortable and more agile around town.
Any of these bikes will lose badly in traffic light drag racing to almost any other motorcycle out there due to poor power to weight ratio and the fact that all the power is well up in the rev range. The saving grace is that it’s much smoother and more comfortable on a longer ride than your typical single cylinder bike. They also have good lights that you can actually use to see in the dark, unlike most other motorcycles sold here.
Oh. It is possible to fit the SRV250 internals into the engine and get much improved torque. But, the chassis and motor mounts weren’t designed to absorb that much vibration and you’ll end up with a white, numb butt and extremities quite quickly.
Yes, must be that. Thought it was liquid cooled but obviously not. And no, the Breeze doesn’t have the oil cooler.
Really? The FZRs must weigh a ton then.
Fair enough but my bike feels (subjectively at least) the same weight as the Honda 400 I rented in Thailand. It’s also taller.
Yes – would not have liked to be on a two-stroke when I took my Mum around the north-east coast in February.
Comfortable yes, but more agile? Doesn’t the handlebar position on the FZRs make the steering quicker?
There’s an annoying hole in the torque from around 5000-5500 rpm – inconvenient in stop-start city riding. Don’t know whether they all have that or just mine. Still, the FZ is more powerful than all the other stock 125 and 150 four-strokes available here and even does OK at the lights with a bit of clutch slip.
Yes. Lights not bad, ride smooth.
[quote=“joesax”]
Really? The FZRs must weigh a ton then.
[/quote]The fairing is heavier, and the clipons are steel instead of alloy, plus the weight of the extra (and unneccesary) front disk…
[quote=“joesax”]
Fair enough but my bike feels (subjectively at least) the same weight as the Honda 400 I rented in Thailand. It’s also taller.
[/quote]Sorry if I was unclear. The chassis is quite light, the engine is a boat anchor for a 150 
I think it was Yamaha Taiwan’s #1 design goal to make the bike look like a 400… and sell for the same kind of price too. Full marks on both counts.
[quote=“joesax”]
Comfortable yes, but more agile? Doesn’t the handlebar position on the FZRs make the steering quicker?
[/quote]Yes, but the lock is very restricted and the leverage from the wider Breeze bars makes it much easier to chop through traffic.
[quote=“joesax”]
There’s an annoying hole in the torque from around 5000-5500 rpm – inconvenient in stop-start city riding. Don’t know whether they all have that or just mine. Still, the FZ is more powerful than all the other stock 125 and 150 four-strokes available here and even does OK at the lights with a bit of clutch slip.
[/quote]The gap in the midrange can be glossed over with a drop in overall gear ratio. (put a front tooth with one less tooth on, or a rear with two more). On paper the FZ/R motor makes 17ps, which is one more than say the old GS150 or I think the SR150… and then it’s got all that weight to deal with.
If you’re beating them light to light, it must be your riding skills
The FZR isn’t liquid cooled but uses a cooler as Hsiadogah mentioned. The slow speed agility in town of the FZ over the FZR is having the bars high over the triple clamps. I’ve tried spending the day in the saddle of an FZR in Taroko gorge, but was nursing my lower back after the first 30 minutes from the pseudo racing position. Also the question at the time was, where is the power? My god this thing is slow. There is no discernable powerband, just a looong pull through the gears.
They are smooth though, and I’m sure the weight will be a factor for wind stability. But the tradeoff in performance doesn’t seem to be worth it. If you are of standard foreigner size don’t even think about the FZR, you’ll not only be uncomfortable but dateless. The Breeze is a better option for anyone of size, and much more comfortable as well. Seats are too narrow for my liking, and it’s strange that my little 2-stroke has a much wider/ more supportive seat than it’s V-twin counterpart.
When I bought my RZR back in 1990, the FZR’s hadn’t come out yet. A couple of years later, I saw my first one, and wondered if I’d squandered my 62,000NT on an inferior machine. Then the light turned green, and both bikes took off full throttle. Within 100meters I had my answer… :twisted
My FZ rides OK. It’s like a proper bike with a really small engine. Which is basically what it is. It’s fast enough for the city if you screw the nuts off it.
If you want a bike with a narrow power band in which it goes like stink, but is useless in any other rev range, buy a 2-stroke. There is no comparison in speed. A 1979 Suzuki GP500/RG500GP (2-stroke single) is faster than any production bike made today. Those with Blades and R1s or whatever who don’t believe this go and look up Barry Sheene’s track data and then try one of these:
The FZ is still too physically small (all of them), has not enough grunt (to be expected on a 150 4-stroke), and kills your wrists (it’s made for kids). But there is no choice. A CB 400 is NT$375,000, and there are no second-hand bikes that are legal and not knackered. With its single shock, and decent steering geometry, the FZ is not bad for the money. Where is the 250 version!?
If you can find a Honda Hornet 250 they should go for 200-something-thousand new, and you don’t have to pay for extra insurance or a new license as they aren’t qualified as large bikes and are still more stable, have a monoshock and, it seems to me, just as fast if not faster than an NSR or RZR. If and when they allow “large bikes” on the expressways and freeways, however, I doubt they’ll let the 250’s on. I think 400’s will, though.
There’s a shop in Xindian off Zhongzheng Rd, just past the Burger King, that sells used CB400 super fours for around 200k. If you look hard you might be able to find one that’s not completely thrashed. They’re from Japan, they tell me.
What does that mean? Can you ‘re-stroke’ it back to what it should be, theoretically speaking of course?
What does that mean? Can you ‘re-stroke’ it back to what it should be, theoretically speaking of course?[/quote]Yes. The engine is a development out of the 250cc v-twin used in the XV250 and SRV250 (photo). The motor was designed to produce good torque at low rpm and for this reason it was given a long stroke and small bore. IIRC the XV version has a single carburettor, the SRV has twin carbs. Yamaha took the base engine and simply fitted it with a short-throw crankshaft and longer con rods. The cylinders, pistons and heads are if not identical, at least completely interchangeable.
Simply put, you can install the 250 crank and rods assembly into the 150 crankcases. The pistons, cylinders, heads, timing chains etc all bolt right up. The SRV and FZ carbs are the same model, but it would be best to get the SRV carb internals; jets, emulsion tubes, springs, slides and needles. But, I think most of the converted bikes here just get the carbs tweaked until they run ‘okay’.
The one stroked bike I used to work on was reliable and had much improved low rpm response. But, it buzzed like hell. Every part of your body that came into contact with the bike would be white and numb after a 20 minute ride. We figured out the 250’s had had rubber engine mounts to damp out the buzzing, but the 150 didn’t need it and didn’t get it. I was working on fitting the Breeze risers and handlebars and some rubber mounts for the footrests when the owner decided to sell the bike, so that never got finished. It should be possible to get the rubber mounts and modify the frame to accept them.
Hope this helps. 
