2018 Yamaha FZ25 long term review, second report

 As Ruman told you in the first report, the FZ25 was his workhorse and, for the first couple of months, he did a daily round trip of 90km. He also stated that the bike sat idle all through December 2017 and January 2018, since he got busy riding many faster and more exciting bikes. Fast forward a couple of weeks and that is where I come in, with the FZ becoming my first long-termer as a replacement for the scooter I was previously using.

 One would think an automatic scooter, which requires little to no effort to ride, would make a better commuter. Well, it would for many, but for a young enthusiast like me, an involving motorcycle with decent grunt is ideal. What about fuel bills? Unlike Ruman’s intercity commute, mine is a mere 4km round trip, and even at the FZ’s worst (I’ve seen an indicated 22kpl on the readout), I could easily pull off a week on just a litre of fuel. While it may seem like the FZ25 is a bit of an overkill for my usage, that’s not the case. The bike starts right up, putters around in traffic without any hiccups, stays cool and it even sounds better at lower revs than the mid-range. The engine has a nice rumble up to around 4,000rpm, but makes a rather unrefined, rough sound between 4,000rpm and 6,000rpm that I have started to dislike. Thankfully, the sound smoothens out after 6,000rpm and becomes likable again.

I have had a great time looking cool at traffic signals and making quick getaways when the light turned green, but the bike did have a few issues. Firstly, I faced a problem with the rear tyre. It would lose air every week, which would see me trying to get it fixed at a local tyre shop, where they would end up opening it and refitting it with a ‘special solution’. Unsurprisingly, those sealants never worked and one shop finally told me that the tyre itself was defective; it had an uneven bead which released air slowly but continuously. Multiple tyre sealants later, I am now looking at a tyre replacement.

Prior to its first service, the FZ25 also suffered from a surprisingly sticky gearbox that refused to shift into first gear at times. Well, post service, the shifts did become a lot nicer and it’s been problem-free since. It will be interesting to see how long things stay this way. For the period I have had it, the FZ25 has managed to be a well-behaved commuter while staying exciting as the speeds rise. More on that in the next report.

Also see:

2018 Yamaha FZ25 long term review, first report