TnT

You know, there was a time when I was a non-xBhpian, and thinking from that perspective.. I think this new bike would have grabbed me by the b****. Suppose I'm a prospective 150cc buyer, going to college, am bored of all the usual 150s on the road. I do have my budget, but I would definitely beg/borrow/steal to make up for the premium price tag of the Fazer. Just cause I want the unique, fresh look, thats MILES ahead of the current competition. Big tyre would have weighed in its favour too. (pun unintended)

And then there's the advertisement. Touring spirit.. what would uninformed ppl really know? I mean we are discussing how apt the title is and all, because we know what makes a good tourer, and what doesn't. But the majority of the populace dont know anything about it. Agreed, they will know quite soon that the Fazer is just a modded FZ16, but for many, the fairing will give the necessary push into Yamaha's waiting arms.

Yamaha is aiming at a certain target demographic.. and I think they are going to be successful. Apart from the price tag, there are no other qualms about the bike. Its good, looks good, is a Yam (for those whom this matters)..

just my opinion.

soulstation

eyerybody knows you can't tour on the FAZER. no hard saddlebags, tankbags, carriers, etc etc. supported. the halfarse fairing does not add as wind protection nor better aerodynamics, it just adds weight and looks aweful with the integration between the tank and the fake radiator extensions.

Yamaha Japan: do not approve models on the basis of subject that reads: "this will bring us lots of hard cash: approval required"

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satyenpoojary

Have you rode one to comment like that ?


I rode one today a spanking blue Fazer.... courtesy a friendly SVC guy :P
The bike is very nice and relaxed lazy ride... infact I would call perfect tool for those lazy weekend rides!

I didnt like that cause I am more of an attacking rider :P but this would be good for one of those days!

no hard saddlebags - Why?
tankbags - +1 but there are velcro based secure straps bag out there... so ?,
carriers -Why?
the halfarse fairing does not add as wind protection nor better aerodynamics - ROFLMAO! It did to me atleast.... may be you are too big for the bike!

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TnT

chill pill time! :P

soulstation

touring: is not arguably defined as take it for a spin for couple of minutes. did you test ride it for 100+ Km ? i don't blame the Look "Aawwee/ wow" factor kicking in to describe something. so don't say "have you rode one" the last tourer i rode on the Highway was awarded the best bike in 2008 by MCN for best all rounder.

the fairing job is no better than the ones i have seen on Indian rodes custom made for indian motorcycles. and that too that integrate much better than the FAZER. the FAZER was sent out in hurry. to capatalize on the popularity of the FZ. remember auto expo when yamaha had showcased the fazer 250 and the spy shot of the fazer with fairing got some serious hits.. this is mix job of both. it does look good. but the tank/side skirt ext. integration is very sloopy. the FZ as we all or most agree is a beautiful looking motorcycle. they could have done better.

FZ is a city bike. as stated by yamaha now they state its for touring. even though i like yam's and have been a fan since years. i am not backing them for fake marketing. misleading people.

when the bike hits the roads and people bring out the negatives. what happens then. they bring out a new bike and state "its for Offroding" .please.

about touring accessories. yes most OEM's in the 'touring' segment. provide or support touring features such as saddlebags, hard or soft. carriers: for single tail bag, Cramster for eg. don't support the FZ tank. not all can be fitted without hassling around with welders and cobblers. not easy for everyone.

the fairing is what i call marketing/selling. even though the idea of having one as an option is good. it will please some it wont to the others. if it looks good. it will sell.

so don't try to justify wind protection at upright position with me. irrespective of people's built.

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satyenpoojary

Listen dude, chillax, going by your logic there is NO Indian bike which provides OEM for touring.... as far as support is concerned isnt that a matter of time? PS: There are velcro based strap on tank bags out there ... here is a short link here....

Oh and if you care to cool your head a bit then that 'Why?' wasnt an argument - it was a question... as in
Why do you say: no hard saddlebags

"tankbags - +1 but there are velcro based secure straps bag out there... so ?,"

Why do you say no carriers?

I do agree on the 100KM ride bit, but I made it clear that I just got a small test ride and its like a nice relaxed lazy bike! and PS: I have ridden the FZ a lot.... and a lot of it is 100+ KMs (If you knew anything about me, you would have known my average daily ride itself is 100+KM ) and the two main things I hated in it were
1) The wind drag
2) The lack of power in higher RPMs....

Atleast they fixed one bit.... and heck people tour on what not.... !

Chill man!

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speedaholica

Good point there. Actually this would be the strategy for any two wheeler company selling in the country, Indian and Non Indian especially. Its pure economics. If you look at the Indian motorcycling scenario, performance motorcycles class if i can put it that way, it was the good ol CBZ, Pulsar and Karizma who take the cake. The rest just followed Indian youth's 'quest for power bikes' inspired by those big bad blink and you miss bikes which were then mostly found on walls rather than in garages of commoners.

The Fazer you talked about first was meant to be a possible entry to Indian motorcycling market to introduce International class bikes to the passionate mortals rather than the commuter segment. They did have the aging enticer and the Gladiator then for the common man. While they thought of introducing motorcycles as a lifestyle for Indians, the way it is for people outside the country, they totally missed the boat due to the commuter, 'count the cash before the bhp' nature of Indians. Having said that may be they did, hence that Fazer never saw the light of the day in this country.

Lets 'throttle' ahead to 2007-2008. Most of these Jap companies would be looking at India as emerging market. Most MNCs today do look at India as an yet to be tapped emerging market. China dint seem so enticing due to its 'give me the original i'll give u a cheaper alternative' mechanism. Plus the commuter driven focus of the Indian market was apt for some mass level unit selling.

Honda discovered this with the unicorn, Yamaha observed and came in with the R15 and FZ with the latest entry from Suzuki. Almost at the same time the world was hit by an economic slowdown or recession. Some of these companies shut down their production units in US and may be UK while others saved up by pulling out of supersports such as Motogp. If you see the amount of cars sold in European countries or US of A they are far more than any performance bike sold by any manufacturer. So motorcyles are not a commodity there, they are in a way a lifestyle product.

India is the commodity market for motorcyle. To the common Indian whose unlike us, Looks like Rossi's bike matters more than Runs like Rossi's bike. And it should economical enough to be called fuel efficient. They're just banking on this. And they will continue to do so. So is the company's strategy wrong? Unlikely. Why do you see most iterations coming between the 100 to 250 cc class. The law says we cant import anything over that till a certain CC. It does not say anything against manufacturing it. Not in my knowledge. This class sells due to the brownie points it earns on the fuel efficiency part. Who do you think wants to commute to office on a R6. In India motorcycle for most is still point A to B with 5 litres still left in the tank rather than point A to B under 5 seconds.

Its this class which is sending the cash registers ringing for these companies. Under a condition where they are healing from the slowdown, they could really use the few extra million bucks right now the market here is offering. Here's hoping that its us Indians who move away from the mindset of having a bike not because its fuel efficient when compared to a car but because its a bike. The average Indian's spending capacity on such bikes also needs to reach a practical stage where driving a car is as affordable as riding a superbike. Economy again. Can we ask for better pay packets to buy an R1 till then? We creat the need. And these companies will then tune into customer demands accordingly.

satyenpoojary

^+1 Very well written ... 100% agreed....
But I would love to ride to office on a R6... damn! If only some one could make a nice 250-400CC bike (I said Bike... not a bullet) and price it with sanity!

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#Be kind in your choice of words, you never know who would make you gulp em
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rennycornelius

the way u enjoy ur daily ride of almost 150 kms on RTR...
i know u'll never like FAZER for it's relaxed riding stance and comparitively low state of tune engine.....

i know anyday you'll prefer R1 or R6 as "your" long ride "commuters"....

well i stand in that queue too......

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vipin_s

1. I really don't understand whatz the problem with the new Fazer, there plenty of people who didn't like the nakesness of FZ. Yamaha has probably acted as per feedback and has taken lead in designing on par with bigger Yamaha models. The Fazer really looks stunning, even if we go by the poll here on XHBP, the voting is close to 75% compared to 25% for Pulsar220.

2. Same passion coming again and again ? Why ? There's no competition to it from any quarters, competition has used more than dozen models to take a piece from Splendor/Passion market share, no one has succeeded so far. There are 1000's who don't like Splendor/Passion, but there are millions who 'love' them, and HH knows where profits lie !! I personally feel painting/stickering is better than senseless upgrades.

3. Respect/envy? A150-big time flop, RTR160- flop, RTR-R -flop, RTR-Fi -flop, RTR-180 - a new launch. In comparision, Uni was launched in 2004, almost same Uni is sold even today without any upgrade but sells hot (has waiting period as well). The only envy/respect part is all Apaches together have won a dozen awards, Uni has not won anything.