Monday 20 February 2017

Yamaha FZR1000 (1991) Colors, Specification, Vintage collection

Posted By: ygshhd 20:22 Leave a Reply

Yamaha FZR1000

The FZRIOOO was updated over the years while keeping its angled-forward 20-valve engine and twin- spar aluminium frame. This 1994 FZRIOOO has twin fox-eye ’ headlamps and six-piston front brake calipers from the YZF750 race-replica, plus front forks from Yamaha-owned Swedish specialist Ohlins.

FZR1000R EXUP was in most respects the world's finest production super-sports bike. It had a 1002cc, 20-valve, liquid-cooled engine that produced over 140bhp with heaps of mid-range, housed in a light, taut and superbly neutral-steering chassis. The Yamaha was lightning fast, handled superbly, looked good and was impeccably reliable.

Perhaps the only thing that the 1991-model FZR1000 lacked was the mean and nasty image that made its main rival, Suzuki’s GSX-R1100, so popular despite inferior power delivery and handling. For despite its top speed of more than 160mph (257km/h) and the ability to cover a quarter mile from a standing start in less than 11 seconds, the FZR was so flexible, easy to ride and generally well behaved that some riders found it lacking in character.

That was hard on the FZRIOOO. which had been updated to good effect since the model’s debut in 1987. The first FZR was developed from the FZ750. which two years earlier had introduced Yamaha’s 20-valve engine layout with its angled- forward cylinder block. The original FZRIOOO featured a 989cc engine that produced 125bhp, and a rigid twin-spar aluminium ‘Deltabox’ frame, based on that of Yamaha's Genesis factory racer.

Storming acceleration

The FZRIOOO was instantly competitive with the fastest and best sports bikes, and got better still in 1989. with a larger 1002cc engine that made 140bhp, and also benefited from an electronically operated exhaust valve whose acronym led to the FZR often being known as the ‘EXUP'. It was partly this valve that gave the Yamaha such storming mid-range acceleration.

That 1989-model EXUP. with its round twin headlamps, was a fine machine that was described by one tester as the closest thing yet to a perfect sportster. Yet Yamaha improved on it in 1991 with the FZR1000RU, which featured a new single-lens headlamp plus upside-down forks for the first time. Not everyone was convinced of the need to alter either the old FZR's look or its suspension, but one ride on the new bike was normally enough to change their mind.

There was no change to the breathtaking power delivery of the 140bhp motor, whose top-end rush of power was matched by smooth mid-range delivery of the kind for which the FZR had become known. But the new model, which was respectably light at 4611b (209kg). steered with even more precision and could be cornered even faster due to the extra control of its high quality chassis.

The FZR was the fastest, most agile super- sports machine of its day. though its reign was short-lived, because Honda's ultra light and compact FireBlade followed in 1992. Not that development of the FZR 1000 stood still. In 1994 it was uprated again, with twin 'fox-eye' light- in a new fairing, plus six-piston front brake caliper-. The result was even more of the style, speed and all-round high performance for which the FZR 1000 was rightly famous.

Faster Still: the Thunderace

When Yamaha uprated the FZR yet again in 1996, the new model incorporated so many changes that it was renamed the YZF1000R Thunderace. Its 1002cc engine produced 145bhp and was stronger than ever in the mid-range. A lighter, more rigid frame from the YZF750, plus new suspension and brakes, gave even better handling and stopping. And bodywork was more streamlined, taking top speed to 170mph (274km/h). The Ace was a wonderfully fast and capable bike, but it was less racy than Honda's FireBlade - and Yamaha knew it. Even as the Thunderace was being launched, development of the more radical YZF-R1 had begun.