By Neo on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 08:56 am:

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice on the Falco...

I currently have a fazer600, which has had the Sports can and K&N treatment... and shifts along pretty nicely.

I'm interested in changing to a Falco, but am a bit unsure as i've not ridden a twin before. I do quite a bit of 2 up riding, and track days so am after somthing that can do both. Whats the performance of the Falco like compared with a 600 inline 4?

Any advice would be gratefully recieved!  

By Crmc33 on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 09:33 am:

Daz is your man

...Daz?

...anyone? 

By Prilliant on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 01:11 pm:

Yeah you've gotta do it!! I'm not going to knock the Fazer as I know too many people who love them to bits. But the difference you'll feel in the performance of a good V twin, not to mention the noise, will make you grin every time you go for a spin. A lot of people on this site seem to have had fun embarassing so called sports bikes at track days.
As for comfort, it's fine IMHO. I've just ridden mine from Belfast to Barcelona and back without a worry. Oh, and my 64 year old mother reckons the pillion seat is better than my dad's VFR 800.

Let us know how you get on.

More falconeers always welcom 

By Oldgit on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 01:21 pm:

Test RIDE IT buy It  

By Daz on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 01:55 pm:

Neo, I've just gone the other way!

The falco has 10 times the grunt (maybe not, but you get the point) and is a down right rude bike to ride when you give it some!! In busy traffic it's much less enjoyable to ride than the Fazer as the Falco has a heavy clutch and the throttle snatch means you have to use the clutch lots...

If you go to www.foc-u.co.uk and do a search for falco you will hopefully find a thread where this was discussed last week. I basically said that the Fazer for me is the better road bike as it's (for me) far more compfy, has no throttle snatch and is (for an average rider like me) easier to throw around (yes maybe easier to throw down) than the Falco.

My fiance finds the pillon seat much better than on the falco (she kept sliding forward on the falco and the pillon pegs are lower on the fazer too). Having said that she says the falco pillion seat is much better than the R6 one.

BenW has also ridden the Fazer 6 and has a falco so he might be along in a bit (he's a professional biker journo too!).

Having said all that I should have just wrote:

Yeah, what Oldgit said!!

Daz

ps take a look at http://www.twowheelracing.co.uk/falco/ for more info on the falco.  

By Benw on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 03:08 am:

Neo,

I've ridden the 2002 Fazer6 a fair bit recently and it's a great bike (shut up you lot... ). The Falco is a far more demanding bike to ride - by that I mean that you are in more of a racy position and you need to be careful with the throttle at times. There's loads of grunt on tap from 4,000rpm onwards, even on a standard bike.

The Fazer is far more suited to those that can't or don't want to get the most from their bike (sorry Daz...). The Fazer is more relaxed and lets you get away with far more. Riding the Falco and the Fazer back to back, the Falco feels very responsive, letting you know exactly what's going on beneath the wheels.

In conclusion:

The Fazer is a comfy bike that'll do most things but is best for zapping to work or down to the shops.

The Falco is a punchy Italian roadster/sportster that can hang with anything but pottering to the shops can be a bit of a pain. Long runs aren't a problem though - I came back from Italy to Amsterdam in one hit. Over 700 miles loaded with luggage, without a problem.

Test ride one and see what you think.

Oh, yes, it wheelies far better than the Fazer too...

B 

By Daz on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 03:59 am:

No problems Ben! Good words! Been seeing that there Nakano rep helmet in RiDE a lot lately!  

By Neo on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 04:30 am:

Cheers Guys,

Looks like a i'll need to book a test drive... and i've a funny feeling it might end up with me giving them a large cheque!

Let you know how i get on!

-Neo  

By Befbever on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 07:09 am:

Dang...I think I'll get meself a Fazer then.
 

By Racerxlilbro on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 08:35 am:

Great bikes, those Fazers...just be sure to disconnect the front brakes... 

By Oldgit on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 08:49 am:

Get best of both worlds, get a falco street fighter kit.  

By Daz on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 12:08 pm:

lilbro - damn right, after all we don't want to waste the rear brake eh? (works on the Fazer, lol!)

Oldgit - how much does the kit cost? Did it cross your mind after the accident? 

By Racerxlilbro on Thursday, August 01, 2002 - 06:27 am:

Daz,



I forgot to order the rear brake option on my Falco...I have the dummy foot rest on the right side of mine! 

By Crmc33 on Thursday, August 01, 2002 - 06:40 am:

plastic moulded dummy or inflatable dummy?

Any info would be useful

...and used against you in the future 

By Racerxlilbro on Thursday, August 01, 2002 - 08:48 am:

***inflatable dummy?*** Hey, that's my wife you're talking about!
 

By Oldgit on Thursday, August 01, 2002 - 09:34 am:

Daz, I read somwhere the kit is 2k but if you bought a cheap damaged falco, it may be a good idea.
I have always preferrd a more upright position but I was happy with the falco after some miles, to be honest I have only seen the street fighter in pictures,(forgoten what Aprilia calls it) all that fake chrome turns me off.