The Blue Cockroach

How the hell did I get myself into this? I swerved hard left to avoid the idiot in the Camry who jumped into my lane (without signaling, of course), and the whine of the motor sounded…strange. Like there were two extra cylinders. And I was on a freeway…going to work. Even more strange. I guess I haven't reconciled with the idea that I, champion of walking whenever I can, would end up…commuting to work. On a Japanese bike. With four cylinders. Was this a nightmare?

In my rush to middle age, I've realized that I'm a V-twin kind of guy. Wait a second…make that an L-twin kind of guy. This blue & gold Cal Bear actually bleeds red. Not the wimpy cardinal red sported at that social club university in Palo Alto, but Bologna red…the kind that evokes the passion and love of the open road we've all come to know…the passion that comes from owning a Ducati. Or multiple Ducatis. So when I got this new job and found out that I had to be in San Mateo several days each week my first thought was how fun it would be to rock the Supersport down there every day. But that had some downsides. Another valve job every year? Having to extract the bike from the garage every morning? Rolling the bike down the street to start it without pissing off my neighbors? Going through 2 more sets of Pilot 2CTs every year? All of this led me to start looking for a commuter. A Japanese commuter, with bonus points for something I could take on extended trips, maybe 2-up. That led me to start looking at the FZ1.

Yamaha started making this beast in 2001, mating its carbureted 5-valve R1 motor to a standard with conventional front forks with straight bars. Over the years they've developed a reputation as a rock-solid, reliable bike that's great for long trips yet still shines in the curves. Yamaha revised the FZ1 in 2006, giving the mount a new chassis and updated motor. A few weeks of searching Craigslist led to my purchase of a well-cared-for 2004 model yesterday. I was tempted to fly to LA and look for a Generation II model, but Joe at Motojava swears by his carbureted model (he commutes in from Vallejo on it) so I took the plunge. This beast has 14k on the clock, and has been immaculately cared-for. Walking around the Yammy, I was struck by how the blacked-out engine and frame set off the blue paint scheme. I've been going for that kind of look on my Monster, and it was part of what attracted me to this particular Fazer. But the overall styling reminded me of an insect. This thing has evil-eye headlights, and a beak-like front fairing. Combine that with the stinger-looking tail and this thing looks like it could survive a nuclear winter or two. I've started calling it the cockroach. And several tasty aftermarket bits rounded out the picture: Sato rearsets, aftermarket bars, a fender eliminator, and the best part: a Throttlemeister. Someone really cared about this bike.

The test ride started off mellow enough. Seating position is slightly less hunched over than my Monster, and is generally comfortable. Reach to the aftermarket bars was a bit long, due largely to the aftermarket bars. I'll have to futz around with that and get it working well. A few curves in a residential neighborhood revealed that the bike is nimble for a standard, and you could tell the power was definitely lurking, waiting to hit the open road. The 998cc DOHC motor spins up to freeway speed quickly…and can get to those speeds in first gear. Welcome to the world of inline 4's…now hold on! I had to remind myself to shift UP instead of DOWN…I ride GP Shift, and the brain works overtime when I switch back for a test ride. The transmission is butter smooth, and downshifts require almost no blipping of the throttle. 70mph came quickly, and it came time to pass some cages. This is where the bike shines. No shifting gears, just twist the damn thing and wait for it to wake up…warp factor 10 comes quickly. 10 minutes into the freeway ride I knew this bike would be perfect as a traffic mule. It splits nicely, wind protection from the fairing is good, and the only real noise at speed is the air rushing over your head. I brought the bike back, ponied up my cash, did the paperwork and I was on my way, stock bits and free saddlebags in tow.

Ergonomics is one of the main reasons I settled on the FZ1. Sitting upright on the excellent seat will make this bike comfortable over the long haul…I see a trip or two to Southern California in this bike's future. Suspension is a bit soft on this machine…not surprising, given my weight. I'll probably have to respring the front someday. But for commuting it's pure butter. Soft, warm, melty butter. The 45 minute ride home was the perfect getting-to-know-you session, dodging cars, splitting lanes, and hitting the bay bridge in post-rush-hour traffic. The conventional steam gauges are quite easy to read, even in the dark. But after a few minutes my attention was drawn to a strange-looking gadget on the right side of the dash. Yes, friends, that's a gas gauge. A real, honest-to-goodness gas gauge. Like, Empty to Full. No more in-the-head calculations on when I'll need gas. No more lights-on, lights-off panicked runs to the nearest service station. This thing's bringing me into the big time…maybe this time next year the bike will have a second airbag. For the immediate future, I've got a Coocase S48 Topcase on order. That'll keep the rain off of my laptop bag, and the laptop bag off my back. And I can probably remodel the inside to put an extra bathroom in.

But back to the aforementioned Camry. After the swerve, I popped my foot down to downshift and found…nothing. No gearshift lever. At 65mph. On 101 South. Calmly…very calmly…I let off the throttle and looked down. The shift linkage had come off the eye bolt, and was hanging there from the now-spinning shift lever. Signaling, I quickly made my way to the right lane and took the first exit. Luckily, there was no stop sign and there was a nice curb I could pull up to. In case you haven't noticed, 1000cc inline fours don't like to be lugged around city streets in 4th gear. Looking at the linkage, I saw that I had forgotten to tighten the friction nut on the eyelet…and that's why this thing vibrated loose and left me without a shifter on the freeway. And this is where the FZ1 began to shine. Under the seat, inside the ample storage space, is an excellent toolkit. I found the right 10mm wrench to reattach the linkage. 5 minutes later I was back on the road. This bike kind of makes sense…almost.