@imjoshee: NANO has summed up most of these bikes pretty well. Having an R15, I still love my Fiero F2.
I felt the GS is more of a Fiero F2 with modern gadgetry (but minus the reliability, hehehe!)
Anyways, you have had your time with that bike.
I would say, go for a bike which is very different from your Fiero, have it tech laden, possibly with Fi, etc.so that you can enjoy the best of both worlds-modern&old school.
I don't prefer Bajaj due to reliability issues. ZMA is a workhorse that will go on&on, but spare prices are sky high.
Maybe you can go for the RTR180-I felt it is a fine bike (the RTR Fi was my choice before the R15).
I guess we can take this discussion offline, since it is not really about Fieros as such. PM me for my no., I'll be glad if I can be of any help!

@gixxer: Thanks, I'll get a thorough checkup done&update at next service.

Short stroke engines have less piston speed for any given rpm in comparison to a longer stroke one.So more the piston speed ,more wear and tear.Resulting in short engine life.
RTR 160 has a stroke of 52 mm and a bore of 62mm ,which is excellent for performance and engine life.
The karizma/zmr have the longest stroke of all the bikes barring bullets
Bore 65.5 & Stroke = 66.2mm
Making it prone to more wear and tear than any other bike.
The prob in buying a zma or zmr is that honda is getting out of the JV and the PGMFI of the zmr is imported from japan ,which after the break up will become difficult to source.As it is zma and zmr parts are EXPENSIVE and hard to sourceSo think very hard about it!
My advise would be to go for the RTR180 with your eyes closed.

had a crash today..
was a silly one for me.
it was completely MY MISTAKE.

i am posting it here since i want to aware everyone else, as how stupid things can smash you up.
the good news is that NOTHING happened to me, thanks to the very new full LEATHER tribal jacket (official Yamaha merchandise) and the DSG Primal gloves that i was wearing apart from my Vega Boolean Helmet, gosh it was my first ever ride with the jacket.

what happened exactly was as follows...

i crosses a signal, i was doing a fast run, started from zero and reached 80 as fast as i could.
it was a highway and was completely empty, hence i did so.
it had rained so the road was wet, but was slippery as it was dusty initially.
there was a honda accord pretty far, great braking area was left in between but suddenly that guy decided to take a U turn at a section.
his ABS laden car stopped instantly.
i tried to brake hard, very hard.
lost the front.
slightly left the brake to regain the front, but by this time i was completely aware that I'll bang that car.
all i did was try to make it smoother.
since i was on the right of the car and the car had already tilted towards the right, i banged on his right rear door.
and then touched the ground.

the driver came out, looked at me dressed in full leathers and everyone else at the signal still long way behind, realized that i belonged to so called Senseless rider's breed.

a group of people gathered there, but i was busy getting up and checking weather my bike is fine or not, specially the headlight dome and switches.
then came the part of argument.
i was mostly embarrassed as initial look was the i was a racer breed who don't ride sensibly.
i spilled some fuel on the ground, due to the rusty tank cap edge and some oil too, i dunno from where.

people started yelling at the car driver as his vehicle was bigger, i do agree, he could have been a bit smoother, but i know my mistake was comparatively bigger.
i tried to avoid more arguments and kicked started the bike.
it started and off i went.

Damage:-

when i picked the bike up, it refused to move when i tried to push.
i thought the disk might have bended initially but as soon as i hit first gear and rode, it was not the case, it rode same as before.
the left leg guard had been bent due to the slam on the car's door.
the right leg guard was also bent due to the slam on the ground.
the right foot-peg is also bent slightly
EVERYTHING ELSE IS PERFECT physically.
i triple checked.

the bike behaves strange after that, it feels something as if chain slipping (from the front sprocket) whenever i downshift, or hold the clutch to decrease speed.
it doesn't feel like that while accelerating but does while braking and downshifting.
bike is proper, chassis haven't been bent, handlebar is okay, RVMs are fine too, this thing is bothering me as the feedback noise is directly inside my toe shifter (downshift one).
i wonder what could be the problem.. help me here.

IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNT :-

Leather Riding gear is the best.
though my jacket didn't have any protectors, i don't have a single scratch, before today i always wore a cotton jacket and tore then once at a crash when i was a pillion.
riding gear is fine, i am fine too, bike seems to be away from major damage..
i wish we had a race track nearby so that i could experiment such a stuff there more safely.
i am ashamed to try to ride hard on the roads, let it be highways, i will strictly not do it again and wouldn't ever touch the road again without this jacket and gloves with helmet and in the TO BUY list is knee pads...

@NANOtechnology: Sorry to hear about the crash, but good that you are unscathed.
Yeah, our people are really unpredictable, no matter how big or small the vehicle is.
We can only be safe if we expect the unexpected!
Btw, I have PMed you about riding gear.

Good to hear your absolutely fine & safe.Damages to the bike can be taken care of.

This got into my mind long time back, when I had my 2nd bad crash & that is when I thought of investing in good riding gear & I ordered a riding jacket with protectors & got gloves & knee pads from here itself.

No matter how safe we ride, others just dont care about anyone on the roads & ride/drive like there is no tomorrow & it happens many a times.

Anyways ride safe, ride defensive & stay alert.

Vishal

@NANOtech

First it was vishal , then i ran off the road and down a steep slope while trying to avoid hitting someone.Now you.This just reflects the life on the road for a biker.
The thing is ,we can do whatever that's possible from our side and pray for the best to return in one piece.Yes making mistakes can be avoided,but the thing is when you are on 2 wheels ,how our fellow road users behave has a direct affect on us.So no matter how safe you are ,or how skilled one might be ,to survive in our traffic conditions we need luck and divine intervention .Every day i experience at least 2 to 4 close shaves.If nothing happens we move on and forget about it,but most of the time,the scary thing is, its as close as a few inches and if its not due to our favorite goddess/gods intervention or our day we end up on the tarmac.

yes i agree with everyone..
luck and skill are very much needed for a biker...
trusty fiero is difficult to ride than other machines, specially in the braking area..
not easy on lean angles too.
definitely one of the Worst bike for stunting..

but if one can master this machine, everything else is a piece of cake, isn't it ??

but guys, help me with the problem that I'm facing !!!

Dude sorry to hear about the accident... anyways ride safe...

thanks everyone for your support of being sorry for my crash,
but WHEN WILL SOMEONE ANSWER MY QUERY???

the chain problem, what could be it?
i checked, the chain isn't loose, it makes that noise when i hit the clutch..
from inside the front chain sprocket..

Let me get this straight,the bike hesitates before engaging the gear and that too only when down shifting.That is from 4to3 etc?
The chain has a direct affect on the gear shifts ,if the chain is slack ,then gear shifts will be harder.But you have checked the chain and it is not slack.
Now, the gear lever wasn't banged when the bike fell and its not deformed?
That leaves the clutch and the gear shift drum as the suspects.I am guessing here,when the bike fell ,maybe your foot hit the gear lever and changed the gear without the clutch ,or maybe due to sudden engine stalling something went wrong with the shifter pawl.
I think the shifter pawl lock-nut for down-shifting needs adjustment or maybe the return spring of the pawl is gone,which seems unlikely as up-shifts are fine. If either is the case then gear box has to be opened up.

hmm..
as vishal's mech was busy this Saturday so i had to postpone my 180cc stuff to next Saturday.
i will get it sorted there..
FYI my gear shifter didn't touch any where.
hence its not deformed, as i had mentioned earlier that my left leg guard hit the car, thus my bike fell on the right side, so only deformations were left and right leg guard with a very slight bend to the right foot-peg...
i hope its not a big problem..
is it because my sprocket set needs replacing??
its damaged, but i believe it can be good to go for next 2000 kms..
feels as if the chain is slipping, from the front only..
could be that when i hit the clutch, to downshift, possibly as the speed is decreasing, the pressure of the chain is towards the front sprocket.
as i change, rpm's are a big jerky as they increase than before..
as the set might be damaged, the chain could tend to almost come out..
thus it might be making such a sound ???

isn't it possible, as the sound really seems not to come from somewhere inside, AFAIK gearbox almost NEVER gets damaged...

@ NANOtech
Dude I’m sorry to hear about your crash… guess shit happens even to the very best of the riders. We just got to be more careful. The streets have become very dangerous these days. Minor mishaps happen everyday all around us. I too had a small fall the other day. Had to brake hard suddenly in a very wet road with a thin layer of slippery wet clay in order to avoid another bike parked in the road. Nothing happened… just a slightly bent leg guard and the hand brake lost it’s round tip end to the road. Got to replace that one. Learning to become a better biker everyday… I guess the lesson will continue till as long as I ride.

An Update
I gave my bike for servicing yesterday. The mech said there was no need to change the clutch plates just yet. He changed the chain sprockets. Adjusted the tappets, changed the engine oil, got a new throttle cable and other small adjustments. Now the bike feels much more responsive and especially the pick-up has increased. I guess the bike had been demanding a new set of sprockets for a long time now. The mech said the spark plug was doing just fine as it was nice and reddish brown (rusty color). I have only done about 15 km after the change so I guess I will wait for a week or so and then go for minor adjustments if required. But for now I can enjoy the low end pickup that I’ve been missing for quite some time.

@Imjoshee.
Brother, when it comes to choosing a bike, it really gets very difficult. Specially now that we have become used to riding a strong, reliable no nonsense bike since a long time. I guess Fiero Factor has grown in us and made us extremely picky when it comes to choosing a new bike for ourselves. Probably more difficult than choosing a life partner. My advice… you have the choices laid out before you… do what your heart says with a little help from the head. I too had been on the lookout for a new bike… but ended up supporting my fiero, to give her aging body a new life. I might just go on riding her for a few more years.

Yes the 180 conversion seems like a very good plan…. Go ahead Nano!!! And let us know how it feels.

@NAnotech

Describe exactly what's wrong and maybe then we could help you better with a solution.Firstly forget the gb(front)sprocket getting damaged because of a fall .Yes,worn out chain and sprockets do cause problems ,but it wouldn't suddenly start feeling different because of a fall.

@chief ashman
The color of the spark plug is fine ,it means engine is in good state of tune.So don't go around messing with the carb.A lean carb setting will blow your engine out.Its as simple as that.Don't fiddle around with the carb setting.

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Gixxer Bro... the good state of the carb that you mentioned is the result of my messing around with the carb... now that it is fine... I'm not gonna let even the mech fool around with it. It is tuned to 2.75 revolutions anticlockwise from closure (the leanest point).

On Saturday i rode a Apache 150 which was converted to an 180.That is ,it had 180 bore .Man!! the bike felt wild !!! like a fiero on steroids !!.The bike belongs to ZEN TVS and everything else was stock.There weren't any vibes worth mentioning and the bike in power mode was pulling like crazy!!It has a lighter crank in comparison to a Fiero's ,so initial pick up was expected to be more than that of my bike.But it was definitely a different animal ,it was begging me to unleash it's power on the crowded and unsuspecting road users.