Yamaha FZ16, a 45000 Kms Review

Yes!!, I have decided to write a review for my beast Yamaha FZ 16 after the completion of 18000 Kms in 1.3 years.

When I was planning to purchase a bike for my daily use, I was too much confused about selecting the right bike as I know it will be my companion with whom I'm going to travel a lot in my life. I wanted good looks, performance, safety and also mileage to be considered. Within the range of 80k to 1L I have selected two,

1. Bajaj Pulsar 180
2. Yamaha FZ 16 

As an economical view, I was initially impressed with pulsar since we get good mileage, cheap parts and low cost maintenance. However my concern was, Pulsar became too common by start of 2014, also my brother owns a Bajaj Pulsar 150, So I had a second thought. Yamaha FZ came to my mind, but I was not that satisfied with the looks of FZ-S and old model FZ. Might be due to some color or design related tastes of mine, also I heard that FZ wont give mileage at all:(

However, I started noticing FZ's on road. One fine day, I have seen FZ16 naked model which came late in 2013, with wine red color and the name written in black color in tank. In the first look itself, I was impressed and decided I'm going for FZ16 which was the closest replica of FZ1 by looks. I have also read that FZ16 received best bike awards and those impressing stuffs.

Then I started checking all possible reviews, performance and milage details online. Even though mileage reviews were not satisfying, I liked the looks, muscular naked design and giant petrol tank etc.. So at last, I have booked the bike and after 15 days they have done all registration works and delivered my beast to me (at Chennai).

Now, let me tell you the current status of my FZ and few maintenance suggestions for those who always give bad reviews about FZ.

Yamaha FZ 16 Red- 153cc Engine
Kms covered : 18000
6 Free Services and 1 paid Service done (On Time)
Maximum Speed Achieved : 117 Kmph (It was possible beyond that but road didn't support then)
Average riding speed: 65-70 Kmph
Riding Environment: 90% City Ride
Engine/Performance Issues so far : None
Other Issues: Rear Tyre puncture due to nails and metal hit - 3 times (MRF Tyre)
Accidents or bike drop: 1 ( not major)
Tyre Change: None
Current Mileage : 40 - 42 Kmpl

The above history of a bike in Indian road can be considered as a good one I believe, also this is more than my expectation when I bought bike in Chennai.

Now, let me share some important tips and tricks to maintain your bike (especially Yamaha FZ):
1. Do not ride your bike above a speed of 55kmph before crossing 1000kms. This is the time window you give for your engine to be ready for future miles.
2. Do your Services on-time (especially first three services) at authorized service centers.
3. After every engine oil change, ride in a minimal speed for next 100kms so that engine oil will set to the bike and give better performance.
4. Use Nitrogen air in the tires if possible, else normal air would be fine but make sure you check the tyre pressure after every 200kms. better check whenever you fill petrol.Recommended tyre pressure will be written near the reah wheel.
5. Do not mix nitrogen air with normal air. So if there is any such case, release complete air and then fill it.
6. Use choke and kick start whenever you start bike in the morning. Make sure that you use Choke periodically, otherwise it will be jammed and that affects the fuel movement to carburetor. This will REDUCE THE MILEAGE and affect performance too.
7. Turn off the engine using the switch always and then turn off key. (make sure you turn off head lamps before you turn off key, that helps in longer battery life and lamp life)
8. Fill petrol from same brand/company always.
9. IMPORTANT: Gear shifting pattern and method:
Gear Down between 2500rpm - 2000 rpm ( while coming down from 5-4-3-2-1)
Gear Up between 4000rpm - 4500 rpm ( while going up from 1-2-3-4-5)
10. Turn off petrol when bike is not in use.
11. Use center stand whenever you park your bike for more than 1 hour. This helps to maintain tyre pressure.
12. Avoid parking bike in over sun and over rain.
13. Whenever you go for long rides, make sure you are not taking over speed and also give rest for the bike at every 150-200 kms.

If you are taking care of at-least 70% of my above recommendations, you can definitely own a best performance bike. You may go as fast as possible when needed and you can still have the same performance maintained. Note that,
Mileage will not be affected much if you ride in right gear at right speed.

So never blame FZ just because of mileage, because it is one of the best controllable and safe ride bikes in India. Ultimate breaking, decent mileage and perfect looks is Yamaha FZ. Keep loving the bike but always remember to love your bike and take care of its health too.

Edit 1: 08/12/2019

It’s great to continue writing about my love. I’m not at 45,000 Kms with my FZ16. Still the same performance and beauty.

• No major replacements till 45000 kms
• Road conditions are good in Chennai, so tyre maintained well and I changed only rear tyre once at 35000 Kms and still running with the front tyre (both MRF)
• Proper tyre pressure will give better life for your bike tyres and it’s proved again with my FZ.
• From 18000 to 45000 kms run, the only issue I faced is leakage of disk oil box (placed above the right handle). I had to change the oil to make it fine. A 100 rupees work.

Hope the above tips and tricks help you.