YAMAHA FZS600 FAZER

Andy Bolas on this ‘coming classic’ middleweight naked.

It is 1998 and Yamaha has set Fazers to stun (s ry couldn’t resist) and unleashed its new middleweight naked on the unsuspecting public. Like most naked middleweights of the time, the Fazer was a real parts bin special as it featured the same calipers used on the R1 (single piece Sumitomo also known as ‘blue spots’) and a retuned for torque motor from the company’s Thundercat supersport offering. The Cat’s engine was also modified externally for the Fazer to make it look as though it was air-cooled which added to the retro look of the now naked motor. The rest of the bike was your typical naked Jap machine. The frame was a steel perimeter with cool rubber stops for the tank, so it looked the retro part, and right-way-up forks and a box-section swinger didn’t hint at the performance lurking underneath the quirky looks. I remember those looks well, because at the time I was in the market for a new bike and the Fazer won me over in a way the Hornet and Bandit 1200 I was looking at never did. Being the first four-stroke I’d ever owned at the time it seemed a little dull while running it in. This all changed when I had hit the 600 mile mark and I could use the motor to the end of its rev-range. Suddenly this humble little bike turned into a great laugh. Talk about being greater than the sum of its parts! Okay so it’s a budget all-rounder (good pillion, mirrors, tank range) but this is a bike that will scratch, tour and commute. Getting a good one is tricky, as Yamaha’s build quality wasn’t the best, so while there are lots of bikes about you will have to take your time to find a really good example as they suffer terribly from corrosion and owner neglect. The good news is still price: I recently sold my 1999 bike which was about as good an example as you could wish to find (with just 3000 miles on it) for £2000. My 1998 bike only cost me £1400 and is also a very good example but I had to look at so many before I found either of them. I would say that – today – if you paid anything over £2200 for one it would have to be absolutely stunning! Finding a standard one isn’t too difficult either, although some will have end-cans or bits to make the bike more suitable to the owner, such as top-boxes, heated grips or crash bars. Prices of the better bikes will get stronger, so do some research (Scoop’s in-depth Buyer’s Guide is on page 110) get a good one and enjoy!