Thenakedtruth
THENAK EDTRUTH
SUPER Standards
Part R1, part Z-1, the Super Standard comes of age
DAVID EDWARDS
WELL, SOMEBODY HAD TO DO IT. BRING THE STANDARD-STYLE motorcycle into the next millennium, that is. Introducing the new-for-2001 Yamaha Fazer 1000.
Missing link up until now has been horsepower, as even the best current neo-standards, Kawasaki's ZRX1100 and Suzuki's Bandit 1200S, are "retuned for torque" (read: "detuned") compared to their host models (ZX-11 and GSX-R1100), resulting in rear-wheel dyno readings of about 100 bhp. Certainly not scrawny, but it's as if product planners forgot that back in the day, those seminal standards the Honda CB750 Four and especially the Kawasaki Z-l were the hottest things going. For a little performance perspective, consider that Suzuki’s GS1 100ES of 1983 was a full second quicker at the dragstrip than the 2001 Bandit. Progress?
There should be no such complaints about the Fazer 1000. It borrows the shrink-wrapped, five-valveper-pot inline-Four from the supersport YZF-R1 in almost unadulterated form. Claimed “at the brochure” horsepower is 140, down just 10 from the Rl. That’s a crankshaft reading, by the way; in customers’ hands it should translate into a true 110-115 bhp making its way to the tarmac. Stout, especially in a package that, at a claimed 445 pounds dry, should scale 30 to 50 pounds lighter than the Bandit or ZRX.
“In focus groups, people told us what they wanted, unequivocally, was power,” a Yamaha type related. “People want performance.”
Biggest alteration from YZF-spec is in the carburetion. The Fazer inhales high-test though a quartet of 37mm Mikunis located conventionally behind the cylinder bank, as opposed to the 40mm downdraft arrangement of the Rl. While the Fazer’s setup no doubt knocks off that last bit of bhp, it also frees up space above the engine that can be used for additional fuel capacity-in this case, almost a full gallon more than the Rl’s 4.7.
Its powerplant may stick close to the YZF script, but the Fazer’s frame is a total departure. Because cost was a consideration, the Rl ’s alloy beams had to go, replaced by round steel tubes. Giving the perimeter-style structure a dash of style are decorative aluminum swingarm-pivot covers. You’ll also note one of those strange devices, a centerstand, hanging about beneath the bottom rails—all of us who change our own tires say thanks.
Rear suspension is via a fully adjustable piggyback-reservoir shock and an alloy, Rl-esque “long” swingarm-to minimize chain-induced squat under acceleration-but without the repli-racer’s external bracing and nifty little subfender. Rim size front and rear is 17 inches.
In another price-cutting move, the Rl’s upside-down front end gave way to a traditional fork sporting 43mm tubes and full adjustment. Front brakes, a pair of differential-bore four-piston jobbies clamping down on 298mm semi-floating rotors, are lifted straight from the YZF-Rl.
And there’s at least a familial resemblance in the Fazer’s vestigial bodywork. The quarter-fairing has the Rl’s “caf seye” headlight treatment and the tailsection is similar, if abbreviated. Taillight lenses themselves share an Rl parts number.
Other details? Well, there’s a good ol’ tubular handlebar, not a pair of cast attachments. Once on the endangeredspecies list but now making a comeback, tube-type bars are easy to change if you don’t like the bend and cheaper to replace in the event of a mishap. Creature features include a clock and fuel gauge in the instrument panel, and a beefy pair of passenger grabrails, useful for those two-up wheelstands.
So, what’s all this YZF-derived goodness gonna cost? Tough to say. Our info for this story comes out of Europe. In fact, Yamaha U.S. would neither confirm nor deny that the bike will even be sold stateside. All will be revealed after the upcoming Munich Show, apparently, but reading between the lines we’d bet the house on the Fazer coming here. Our best guess is that it will sell for under $9000, maybe as low as $8500, or about a grand more than the ZRX and Bandit. Fair enough given the Yamaha’s _ advanced spec.
There will be competition. You can read about the m ’01 Suzuki and Kawasaki, plus a fortified Ducati iMonster, on the following pages. Buell and Triumph have long been players in the nakedIsportbike sweepstakes. If our friends at France’s Moto Journal magazine are correct, there’s a 95 percent surety that Honda will have a VTRlOOO-based stripper on the books next year. Our own feelers suggest that Suzuki may do likewise with its TL1000 V-Twin. Cagiva’s own TL-powered Raptor is on its way. KTM’s V-Twin Duke III is in the wings, as is MV’s Brutale and maybe something from Aprilia.
They’ll have to go some to stick with this Fazer 1000, though. Think of it as an R1 for the real world. In what is fast becoming the Year of the Super Standard, you might just be looking at the Bike of the Year.
