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Small. Small is the word that pops into your mind when confronted with an FZR400. Perfectly formed, but small. A three-quarter scale model of a proper bike, but with racer style attention to detail and minimalism. The suspension sags noticeably under your weight (well, under my weight it did) as if designed for a three-quarter scale rider, but has an almost frictionless feel to it. This is one of the qualities that comes with the ‘SP’ tag (SP: Sports Production or Small Person?), it’s value depending on where and how you ride. Another SP feature is the close ratio gearbox, which makes its presence known as you pull away for the first time. Or rather the third time if you stall twice trying to ease gently away. The high first gear and low bottom-end power demand a ‘Joey Dunlop on Glencrutchery Road’ starting technique which adds to the racer-on-the-road feel. The initial feeling of smallness is confirmed as you wobble round the first few corners. Everything needs less effort, and bit of mental recalibration is necessary before it all clicks into place. Suddenly you don’t notice that your elbows are almost grazing your knees, that your head is directly above the top yoke, and that your heels are inches below your thighs. Your body folds into the crouch that the bike demands and you start to feel what the track is doing to the bike, not what the bike is doing to your body. The FZR’s light weight and small size become an asset from here on. The suspension that was too soft becomes supple, the close-ratio gearbox has a choice for every corner. The combination of sticky tyres and grippy racetrack allow you to corner harder and later while still being able to feel what is going on. The fact that all the power is stacked above nine thousand rpm doesn’t matter if you keep the engine spinning over ten. This is what the bike was designed for. There are still two traps for the unwary, though. Touching the ludicrously powerful front brake while cornering picks the bike up and sends you heading straight for the kerb, and the rev-limiter (set slightly low to prolong the engine’s life in the hands of would be Jamie Whitams) cuts in without warning and before the top end power has tapered off. Once you know it’s going to happen you can ride around the ‘braking in a corner’ problem and it could probably be adjusted out (more preload and stiffer compression damping?) altogether. The rev-limiter is only a problem because the engine is so smooth and willing; if you’d paid for the bike with your own money you’d be more careful. The FZR is in its element on the track, and for a race school its forgiving handling is ideal. On a wet Monday morning the combination of full-on riding position, tall first gear and rev-hungry engine would have you reaching for the bus pass or the car keys. Those same qualities, however, are the ones that will have you finding lame excuses to go for a ride on warm summer evenings. If your everyday transport is practical, comfortable and sensible, the Yamaha could be the perfect antidote. Back to the index... |
© 1998 Martin Gelder