Test drive report on Yamaha FZ16

1) Yamaha FZ16: Billed as a ’street’ tool in Yamaha’s line-up, as opposed to the R15′’s ’sports’ tag, the FZ16 is presumably designed largely for posing around town on. FZ16 looks so mean and purposeful and the potential owners will doubtless be hoping some of that rubs off on them.

Styled by iconic designers of GK Dynamics, this new bike also takes the credit of being the second bike after R15 to use wind tunnel for better aerodynamics. Take a close look at the headlamp, front fender and strip over the engine there are plenty of angular curves and cuts to redirects the air to the engine. In addition these distinct shapes increases the aesthetic sense of the bike. The designers have efficiently used the steel bolts all over the frontal part to give a rugged look which the potential owners would like.




















2) Yamaha FZ16: The large 12 litre fuel tank is cleverly sculpted with shrouds on both sides. The tank pretends to be large but actually it is not. – metallic tank is enclosed by a plastic tank. Be careful while riding, if you bump the bike then ready to shell out more. The aircraft type tank lid and black stripe on the tank increases the FZ16’s style quotient. But take a closer look, apache flashes in your mind. Elongated neck and large head tank design is already popular feature of apache. The tail lamp is purposefully mounted on the rear fender rather on the rear cowl. Bull the horn like grab rail with rubber mouldings would deter the follower




3) Yamaha FZ16: Engine which is a stressed member on the diamond frame is not a sci-fi one, It is neither fuel injected nor oil cooled. Similar to any other machine available in the market, this 153cc mill produces peak power of 14PS. But remember the spec sheet doesn’t say all. Vroom the engine you would feel the difference, the enormous torque (13.6Nm) which pulls you from the word ‘go’ and will make you nostalgic. Yes, you are right, legendary RX100 comes to our mind. The engine is responsive till it touches the 9000rpm (redline). The low end and mid range performance of FZ16 speaks for itself. FZ16 zooms past 60kmph in just 6 seconds and the roll on time between 30-70 is pretty low. However the top whack is just under 120kmph. Remember this is a street fighter,absence of full fairing leads to greater wind resistance at high speeds.



4) Yamaha FZ16: These figures and solid performance are achieved through intelligent engineering, though the engine seems to be conventional. Yamaha adapts internationally proven technologies like MidShip muffler to dig out the best. While the expansion box beneath the mono cross ensures excellent exhaust efficiency, concentration of mass, and aerodynamic characteristics, the two layer expansion muffler emits an attractive exhaust note.

But the one thing FZ16 owner cannot boast about is its mileage or fuel efficiency figure. Fattest rear tyre and torque tuned engine is taking toll on FZ16’s fuel economy figure. FZ16 returns just 36kmpl in our combined test drive.



5) Yamaha FZ16: Whatever the kind of wheelie you wish, you can try in this bike. The 41mm rebounding front forks and 140/60-R17 at the rear makes the perfect menu for all wheelies. Similar to the Honda’s Unicorn, FZ16 sports a mono-cross suspension (Mono Cross is the name of a Cantilever mono suspension for the Yamaha CROSSERS) plus a beefed up rear swingarm. The suspension allows 120mm of wheel travel to comfort you on potholes. But the ride turns bumpy when you hit rough roads and it lose feedback and control on bumpy roads The pillion seat is so small that even an average size adult could find it tough. For the fair sex it’s strict no-no.



6) Yamaha FZ16: Forget the uncomfortable “crouched” position of R15, this new FZ16 is a street fighter and it offers comfortable upright riding position. Good ergonomics is because of wide handle bars, low set foot pegs and flat seats. FZ16 is hard to fault, though it appears to be massive, it flicks with ease, the rakish steering angle takes the credit.While getting around corners more front-biased weight distribution is noticeable to FZ16’s rider. But as the speed raises responsiveness hits the downroad.



7) Yamaha FZ16: The clocks are clear enough. The yellow back lit LCD console houses digital speedometer, odometer and an analogue tacho. Trip meter,fuel gauge and other indicators.are laid out legibly around it. A special engine starting signal is a nice touch. The switchgear quality are on par with its peers.

You would find a strange center stand for this bike. Unlike the R15, centre stand is a standard fitment in FZ16 but there is no kick starter.But again you would occasionally foul the center and side stand with the bike’s toe only gear shift knob



Yamaha FZ16: FZ16 available in three colours – Flaming Orange, Midnight Black and Lava Red.



Verdict: After the exotic R15, Yamaha has come up with an affordable yet powerful bike. Though its not as hi-fi as R15, it also takes for being the is the first bike in India to feature Radial and fattest rear tyre. Also the most difference between the siblings is the price. Unlike the R15, its a true 150cc bike that means it is priced on par with its competetiors. The peers of FZ16 are not karizma’s and pulsar 220cc’s. It has pull away the pulsar,unicorn,Hunks and apachians. We believe FZ16’s trendy styling and responsive engine will do that. Truly, FZ16 has raised the standards of 150cc bike yet it is priced very sensibly. You won’t get this much for Rs65000. Having said FZ16 still leaves room for other players to challenge the crown. We would love to see a better bike with much better driving dynamics and mileage. Till then FZ16 rulesssssss.