I know lots of people have talked about the rivalry between these bikes and I got a chance to ride an older one which was fairly unimpressive, but this past weekend I traded bikes for over an hour with my friend Joe who recently got a Green 2012 Ninja 650. I can now fully weigh in on the pros and cons of each. (His bike is stock except for sport bars, front is at stock height).
You may agree or disagree, but here are my two cents. You can chime in and add your thoughts to the conversation.
First, the 2012 revision is light years ahead of the older Ninja 650s. The brakes stock-for-stock are much better on the Ninja over the Yamaha. However, most other things are lacking. When going from off throttle to on throttle there is a harsh bump. I was slowing down for a fairly tight turn in city-ish traffic, began rolling through the turn as I was rolling on the throttle, started leaning before throttle came on, it hit and I feared the rear would step out. That's how hard it hits. The engine is alright. It makes so much torque and is so rough with that sudden bump in power I was slipping the clutch a lot taking off. Maybe I'm just spoiled with the FZ6R and how smooth the motor and clutch are. That bump going on and off throttle made me very wary of the throttle.
The one thing I loved about the bike was the weight. Yeah, it's about the same as ours, but it felt about 100 pounds lighter. Side by side the two bikes look almost identical but the Ninja felt so light and so narrow. It felt more like my wife's 250 on steroids than an FZ6R competitor. It handled amazingly and inspired immediate confidence. If the FZ6R felt and handled like this, Yamaha would not be able to keep these bikes on the showroom floor. That's the only complaint I've ever had about my FZ6R, it feels so big and heavy. Everything else about the bike seemed cheap. Yes the sparkly green paint job is amazing, but the plastics rattle and feel cheap, some like they could rip off if you brush up against them.
Hands down I love my FZ6R. The looks, sound, fit and finish, everything is great. However, I've felt is was heavy from the beginning. Looks like Mistah T is going to be lowering the front of his bike.
You may agree or disagree, but here are my two cents. You can chime in and add your thoughts to the conversation.
First, the 2012 revision is light years ahead of the older Ninja 650s. The brakes stock-for-stock are much better on the Ninja over the Yamaha. However, most other things are lacking. When going from off throttle to on throttle there is a harsh bump. I was slowing down for a fairly tight turn in city-ish traffic, began rolling through the turn as I was rolling on the throttle, started leaning before throttle came on, it hit and I feared the rear would step out. That's how hard it hits. The engine is alright. It makes so much torque and is so rough with that sudden bump in power I was slipping the clutch a lot taking off. Maybe I'm just spoiled with the FZ6R and how smooth the motor and clutch are. That bump going on and off throttle made me very wary of the throttle.
The one thing I loved about the bike was the weight. Yeah, it's about the same as ours, but it felt about 100 pounds lighter. Side by side the two bikes look almost identical but the Ninja felt so light and so narrow. It felt more like my wife's 250 on steroids than an FZ6R competitor. It handled amazingly and inspired immediate confidence. If the FZ6R felt and handled like this, Yamaha would not be able to keep these bikes on the showroom floor. That's the only complaint I've ever had about my FZ6R, it feels so big and heavy. Everything else about the bike seemed cheap. Yes the sparkly green paint job is amazing, but the plastics rattle and feel cheap, some like they could rip off if you brush up against them.
Hands down I love my FZ6R. The looks, sound, fit and finish, everything is great. However, I've felt is was heavy from the beginning. Looks like Mistah T is going to be lowering the front of his bike.
Last edited:
