[fuzzione]

I agree with most of the above comments. Your cryptic descriptions and emphasis on meaningless points have resulted in more questions from your audience than delivering what you should have...useful information.

What is it you exactly mean by:

1)"...the motor also features a 10-percent heavier crankshaft that's meant to provide smoother acceleration and, basically, lessen the vibes.."

Well? does it?

2)"Suspension is supposed to be more compliant"

Is it?

3)"We expected more, quite frankly"

What?

4)"we started to feel a bit of flex from the FZ-1's chassis"

More, same or less than the B-12 and ZRX?

5)"Sure this bike has power, but it just felt too sketchy"

Too what?



What about drive-lash? In-line 4 buzz at cruising speed? Wind protection compared to the Bandit? Seat comfort?



C'mon guys. Tell me the sun in Spain has not seared away a few of those brain cells destined to provide even adequate commentary!



Please clarify the above comments for all of us who are dying to know what this bike is really about. I'm about to drop the cash on a new UJM in the next month and I'm still no closer to a decision based on your ambiguous observations. This highly anticipated machine deserves more than what you've offered. Please correct this unfortunate situation.

 

[fuzzione]

OK, I'm sorry...

My slam against your literary content may indeed be undeserved considering the limited time spent with the FZ. It must be obvious by now I'm in that "40-ish" cranky-old-dude category. Starving for FZ details at that. Yes, I have a deposit on one albeit fully refundable if necessary.

I hope you accept my apology to the extent you can find it in yourselves to at least address points 1) - 5) above. I don't believe you need a full-blown test to simply clarify some of the statements already made in your article.

Thanks.

 

[fuzzione]

Cut Minime some slack? I do empathize with his limited time on the machine but it was obviously sufficient time to generate his opinions on several important points:



"Sure this bike has power, but it just felt too sketchy." What does that mean?



"It's still not a very slick-shifting tranny" (compared to what?)



"The vibes are noticeably less than what the R1 tends to dish out and make for a much more enjoyable and buzz-free ride."

(the R1 is notorious for very high vibration levels. Anything "noticeably" less may still be too much for some. I can appreciate that if the words chosen were "the R1 vibe levels are absent on the FZ1 making for a buzz-free ride..." then it would mean something. But how can "noticably less than the R1 co-exist with "buzz-free" in the same sentence, considering the vibe levels on the R1)?



Bladehandler, I asked for clarification several posts up on precisely these issues. Simply that Minime expand on what he's already said in a non-cryptic fashion. Unfortunately to this day my request has not been responded to other than "hey guys, this is not a full test." This response does not excuse journalism that on the one hand DOES offer opinion based on observation, only no one can really tell what the opinion really means. At least this non-professor can't.



Minime could have been far more informative, with fewer words, and with no more time spent on the FZ-1. And I agree with you, that all we expected is for this article to have imparted quality information, as with other excellent MO articles.