Allofwhichismyusualwhinywayof
apologisingforradiosilenceontheFazerof
late.Whenwelastspoke,I’dgothertothe
pointofbeingreasonablyMoTready,with
newMetzelerSportecM 7 RRtyresand
Galferbrakediscs/pads,aspankingnew
BlackWidowexhaustsystem,afullclean
outofthegrottycarbsandfueltank,
andabitofaservice.Theenginewas
running,afterafashion,thoughtherewas
adefinitemisfireonnumberthreecylinder,
andwhileitcleareduparound 5 k,theidle
wasmorelikeabadlyracetunedtriple
thanasmoothroad-goingfour-cylinder.
Then,winterstruck,andIhadthe
buildersinforaloftconversion–sothe
Fazerwasactuallystuckroundthebackof
myhouse,behindaloadofscaffolding,
foracoupleofmonths,unabletomove.
Thingslookedbad.Butthenasthe
mercurybegantorise,thescaffolding
wentaway,andprojectFazerclickedinto
gearagain.
Whattodoaboutthemisfire?Partof
mesaid‘takethecarbsoffagainforyet
anotherclean-out’,butIcouldn’tfaceit.I
decidedthatitwasrunningwellenoughto
getridingforthemoment,sofilledthe
tankwithfreshfuel,hopingastheEsso
Supremeunleadedranthroughforafew
miles,thingswouldimprove.I’darranged
insuranceonamulti-bikepolicywithmy
Burgman 650 viathegoodfolksat
Bemotoinsurance,sowasabletorideto
thelocalMoTshoptoseehowwegoton.I
bookedanappointment,andgaveher
anotherquickcleanandpolishtogivethe
bestpossibleimpression.
TheMoTstation–OnslowMotorsin
WorcesterPark–isjustaroundthecorner
fromme,soitwasanextremelyshort
shakedownride.Nevertheless,thingsfelt
prettygood.IownedtwoFazer 600 sinthe
late 1990 s/early 2000 s,aswellasvarious
testbikes,andrememberlovingthemalot.
Thisoneisclearlytiredinplaces,and
modernbikeshavemovedoninseveral
vitalareas.Butthingslikeslow-speed
balance,ridingpositionandsteering
responseareallprettytimeless,andthe
littleFazerfeelsspotoninthoseareas.
TheverynicemanatOnslowMotorstells
methey’llbedoneinhalf-an-hour.SnapperJohnGoodmangivesmealiftbackhome
foracuppa,andIreturn 40 minuteslater
inaslightlynervousfunk.Howhasshe
done?“Passed”saysthevery,verynice
manatOnslowMotors!Therewasone
R-clipmissingfromabrakepadretaining
pin,whichhereplacedFOCforme,andI
gotanadvisoryforsomeminorexhaust
leakagefromtheBlackWidowheader-head
junction.Butwe’resafeandlegal,and
readytogo.Simple solutions:Bemethodicalwhenproblemsolving.
Al'sFazerinfullflight:theoverallfinishdoesn'tlooktoobadfromadistance.Ifyou
squint.Throughapairoftights.Thickones,mind...Fazerslovecornersevenwiththe 110 front:anFZR 400 RR 120 goesstraightin...
Coulddowithacosmetictouch-up!
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