MJB, you now have the perfect excuse for dropping 350k on a motorcycle. How could the wife possibly object after hearing a story like that? You owe plasmatron a beer I think. 
If I had money to burn, i would not mind 2 nearly identical cars, say a racing green MGF for Saturdays, and a red Ferrari for Sundays.
Or, a Black Merc 600S for picking up guests, and a metallic grey one for driving around in when not feeling āblack tieā.
The first thing that attracted me to the FZ6 was the pricepoint. Iāve done a little more research now, and have read of the bikes midrange flat spotā¦But remember please Iām currently riding a 15 year old 22hp two-stroke and havenāt used a large displacement bike as daily transport for almost 20 years.
Iāve been riding since I was 9, but surely even a flat spotted midrange FZ6 would be a rocket compared to what Iām riding now.
I also like the āreal worldā usability of a V-twin, but the ones Iāve seen are a little out of my price rangeā¦I canāt really go too far above 300,000NT, even that is a stretch now
OK, since we are now discussing your mode of transport, I think it would be a good idea to tell us what you would use it for.
Back and forth between your home and the places you work? (Advice, get a scooter)
Jaunts up in the mountains? (Not an expert, but something fairly light may be good)
Longer trips with luggage and your SO or daughter riding with you? (something bigger might be better, I assume)
Speeding up and down route 66? (As long as it is very fast, you should be OK).
Also is ease of maintenance, price, reliability etc important to you or would you rather have very good driving machine, which would cost a fortune to maintain and would break down on a daily basis?
Andā¦ what haoppened to your bike? It stood at the bottom of the hill for 2? days? Repairable? If so, then since you enjoyed riding it in the past, whatās wrong with enjoying it now?
we are getting fairly :offtopic: hereā¦ we should really get back to helping MJB decide whatās right for him bike wise, and Iāll try in a minuteā¦ maybe we need all this quick vs. fast discussion put into itās own threadā¦
Mordeth I donāt know what to say, I really do think I could pilot the GS around a go-kart track fairly quicklyā¦ quicker than a scooter, I think soā¦ but to my mind what would be more interesting and perhaps more relevant is whether after a few practice laps I could do a quicker lap time on scooter X, than I could on the GSā¦ I doubt itād happenā¦ perhaps one of these nice Autumn days weāll have to go and see somewhereā¦
BACK ONTO THE TOPIC:
MJB I donāt think youād go too far wrong with the FZ6ā¦ it is after all a proper modern bike and it will be one monumental step up from your 15 year old strokerā¦ viewed in isolation Iād guess you wouldnāt be able to fault it much, itās just that compared to similar bikes in itās class it just fails to deliverā¦ they are a very good looking entry level bike at a hell of a price, so Iām sure Yamaha is kicking themselves for getting the engine so wrongā¦ and it makes me nervous that even in Taiwan there are a LOT of them aroundā¦ just take a look at a few of these yahoo linksā¦
tw.f2.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/b21510331
tw.f2.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/b21508982
tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d13939950
tw.f4.page.bid.yahoo.com/tw/auction/d13462310
I think the bike for you if you like V-twins, is the SV650ā¦ if you want sporty get the faired version and if you want practicality and a retro headlight get the naked versionā¦ itās a great bike and the engine is much better suited to what will be asked of it in Taiwanā¦ like I said they have the identical MSRP so they should cost the same as the FZ6ā¦ check the dealersā¦
MJB, you really must get the September 2005 copy of BIKE magazine from the UK, you can find it at Sogo or Chung-Yo book stores, in Taichung anywayā¦ It is a must read for youā¦ this monthās BIKE 400 test is a middle weight show down, featuring the Suzuki SV650S, Suzuki 650 Bandit, Yamaha FZ6 Fazer and Kawasaki Z750Sā¦ exactly the bikes you are looking at and it is the most comprehensive, straight shooting test in motorcycle journalism bar noneā¦ they test all 4 bikes over the 440mile road test route, thrash them around urban London, commute for 2 weeks in all weather, strip them down in the workshop, dyno them, stunt them about a bit taking photos and then compare all theyāve found out aobut the bikes to cost price, depreciation, maintainence etcā¦ what BIKE say about bikes that theyāve put through the 440 test is gospelā¦ (and what they say about the FZ6 is less than flattering, Yamaha wonāt be pleased)
anyway, Iād check the bookshops now as they usually get them in before the start of the actual monthā¦ If you canāt find a copy youāre welcome to borrow mine, for man in your shoes itās essential readingā¦
[quote=āplasmatronā]we are getting fairly :offtopic: hereā¦
Was splitting off as you typedā¦You just beat me to the āsubmit/splitā button by 15 seconds.
I love the look of the SV650, but not as impressed with the passenger seat. I canāt see my significant other sitting on that elevated beast for hours on end. I expect this motor would fit Taiwan twisty roads like a glove, and would chew up a lot of bigger bikes with itās meaty midrange powerband. Iāll be spending (as always) alot of time there.
Iāll take your advice on the magazine and see if I can track it downā¦Thanks for the heads up.
Sorry, the info I gave was wrong. The Suzuki dealership on Wenxin South DONāT sell the SV650; only the 1000. They said that they only sell the 1000 because the price difference between the two sizes is not that great, but the 1000 has a lot more power. They also said that the 650 didnāt pass emissions tests. Not sure why the 1000 would be better in this regard though. Perhaps they meant it wasnāt worth going through the hoops & reducing emissions for a bike they wouldnāt sell many of anyway.
[quote=ājoesaxā]They also said that the 650 didnāt pass emissions tests. Not sure why the 1000 would be better in this regard though. Perhaps they meant it wasnāt worth going through the hoops & reducing emissions for a bike they wouldnāt sell many of anyway.[/quote]Probably a flat-out lie. āDonāt keep asking about products I donāt have, JUST BUY WHATāS IN STOCK!ā
Agreed, it has nothing to do with emissions tests. Itās simple why they do not sell the 650 version here, riders here have big egos! Most Taiwanese given the choice to buy a 650 vs a 1000 version of the same bike, with a small price difference, most (read all) would buy the 1000 model. Even though the 650 version would be more practical in Taiwan. But who am I to judge, I ride a 1000cc crotch rocket 
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