FZ-09: Tip of the Iceberg

[ksanbon]

The prospects are exciting.....





It has been a long time since I heard anything remotely resembling market optimism from a motorcycle manufacturer at a press introduction here in the United States, particularly when it comes to high performance motorcycles, rather than budget models. That changed at the press unveiling of the Yamaha FZ-09 a few weeks ago at a posh resort in Huntington Beach, California.
Yamaha representatives told the assembled journalists, who were subject to an embargo agreement concerning the then-secret FZ-09, that the Japanese manufacturer felt the U.S. market, in particular, was beginning to “turn around”. In the past few years, Yamaha seemed to be sitting quietly on the sidelines as Kawasaki grabbed larger pieces of market share, and Honda began to unveil a plethora of practical, budget priced models. This will apparently change … quite quickly and dramatically, according to Yamaha.


Yamaha Says FZ-09 is ?Tip of the Iceberg? « MotorcycleDaily.com ? Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews

 

[Rabbitman109]

Great article. I think most people feel this way. The aggressive pricing on the FZ-09 shows that Yamaha really wants to get back in there, and take it to the top. I have always loved their product, will be great to see what they do next.

 

[JSP]

Hey ksanbon!!! Glad to see ya over here. Thanks for the article.

 

[ksanbon]

Thanks, J. It's good to be here!

 

[strata12123]

Great article! Very detailed and insightful.

 

[Brock Kickass]

I was speaking with a nameless Yamaha insider yesterday and he told me there will be as many new models based on the direction the FZ/MT-09 as the market will bear. Expect the next version of all your favorite Yamaha sport models to be a variant of the 3-cyl format the FZ/MT-09 uses. His words, not mine.