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Yamaha FZR 600

There are two types of FZR600's, pre and post Dec '93. They're completely different animals.

Launched in Feb 89', the Genesis had the slanted engine of the FZ750 and thou Genesis, but with four valves, not five. It had a Deltabox frame, 38mm forks, monoshock, 2-pot calipers, naff-all weight and killer steering.

For five years FZR's were unchanged. By 93' it was underpowered, under-suspended, under-braked and under tired. Still a hoot...

The '94 FZR (called the YZF600 in the USA) got new frame, wheels (tires), bodywork, engine & suspension. The only similarities to the old FZR were the name and the motor's angle. The new FZR lacked the old bike's sparkling naughtiness and though it put Yamaha back at the top, it was only temporary. The ZX-6 and re-vamped CBR6 saw to that.

Two years later the FZR finally bowed out, superceded by the YZF600 Thundercat.

The FZR was considered by many to be the best 600 available when it was introduced in 1989. There have been no major revisions to the FZR's design with the exception of substituting a single headlight in the '91 and '92 years and adding 4 pot brake calipers, a spin on type oil filter and a bit wider rear tire after '89.

The key features of the FZR600 is the Deltabox frame. Although made of heavy steel, it is a frame design that evenly distributes the weight of the bike giving it incredible handling characteristics, now heavily copied by every other sportbike manufacturer. Some FZR600's, and all those sold in California, USA, have an EXUP valve. The EXUP maintains high back pressure at low RPM's and opens fully at high RPM's yielding excellent midrange and no loss of top end, most exhaust tuners find the Yamaha EXUP valve design "hard to beat." Therefor it is recommended to only add a full exhaust system on a 49 state FZR600 as it requires you to lose the EXUP valve (just get a good slip-on).

The only problem with the stock FZR for performance riding is the under dampened rear shock and soft fork springs. Öhlins and FOX both make replacements for the rear that make a world of difference and Race Tech springs for the front are the preferred choice. 

 The FZR is an excellent machine that will run circles around inexpensive Ninja's, Katana's, and the like. The popularity of this bike makes it easy to find parts and used ones between $2000-$4000. Reliablity is excellent under normal riding, but the weak Yamaha clutch and tranny does not take kindly to abuse, repair work should you destroy yours is aprox. $1000.

Source The FZR Archives