Dwavey

Just saw the 07 FZ6 at the Vancouver M/C show, no difference between it and the 06, seems only the paint scheme is different from the 04 I used to have. If you can get a good deal on a non-current, I'd go for it, the FZ6 is a nice ride.

I had an 04; put SHAD SH43 side bags on. Worked great, I was able to put my whole backpack in one. Skip the chin fairing, not that great. If I had it to do again I'd opt for the guard and try to farkle highway pegs onto it.

Then you'd love Vancouver Island, British Columbia (or as we like to say here, Beside Canada). The Island is a temperate rain forest. Temperature rarely gets below 0C or above 30C; the mean annual temp in my little town 60km north of Victoria is 4C. Snow is extremely rare, motorcycle season runs from just after New Year's Day to just before New Year's Eve (no drinking and riding, eh) but be prepared to use your rain gear from early November to mid April. The name of that trans-Canada highway? How about Trans-Canada Highway? We like to keep things simple, eh? Talking about keeping things - our PM is in England meeting your PM, do you think you could keep him? You could have your own Mini-Bush.

I just traded my 04 FZ6 in for an 06 FJR. Fuel consumption for the FZ6 was very good. I averaged around 5.5l/100km combined on country roads with some steep grades - near sea level to 350m in only a couple of km - and speed limits of 90km/h (read 110-120), to city roads and traffic jams. Only down side is that the tank is a bit undersized; a one-way commute for me was 65km so I was fueling every other day on the way in to make sure I had enough to putter around town and get home. I had mine equipped with a pair of Shad SH43 side cases, which gave plenty of room for gear, and strapping down a briefcase across the rear seat wasn't a problem. Handling in traffic was very good - very flickable machine with lots of power to accelerate out of the way of cagers on cellphones, writing notes, reading their papers, and all the other stupid stuff they do when commuting. I have no problem recommending it as a commuter bike at all. As for a beginner's bike, I have to agree with bstr13 that this is not one for a novice. Even Yamaha doesn't recommend it for novices. IMHO it has too much power and torque for a newbie. And it's desire to cut through the curves at speed is just too tempting - sure recipe for a newbie to end up with road rash or worse. Certainly the GS500, Vulcan 500 Ltd or one of the small 250cc cruisers is enough bike for a newbie. Maybe even a good used Radian if you can find one. My two cents worth.