1998 Yamaha FZS600 Fazer review from United Kingdom

The speedometer sender unit failed at about 30,000 miles, but the replacement has worked fine since then.

The thread for the front sprocket nut is too fine and strips occasionally, this allows the sprocket to move about enough to cause damage to the chain if you don't notice the problem immediately. I've taken to welding the nut on, but Yamaha have acknowledged the problem and will replace the shaft free of charge if the thread is badly damaged.

I did have a front brake disc warp at 35,000 miles, but it was pretty close to the wear limit anyway.

This has proved to be the ideal bike for my purposes. It's comfortable and reliable with confidence inspiring handling and, if you're prepared to keep the revs over 8000rpm, it's extremely quick.

The only downside I've found is that the headlights are not very good. After a minor wiring alteration, so that both beams come on when in dipped mode, the results are a lot better, The Fazer Owners Club (Unofficial) has a page on their site to show how to do this mod.

Cosmetically, the bike is looking reasonable, despite being well into a ninth winter of rain and road salt. The alloy of the fork lowers is looking rather scabby, but other than that, the finish has held up well.

The reliability of the machine has been a revelation, previous bikes I've owned have all suffered from electrical problems in the ignition systems... the Fazer has done nothing worse than exhibit an occasional misfire in the heaviest rain.

Most of all though, the bike has just been fun. Acceleration, cornering and braking are all simply brilliant, the times when I've fancied a bit more power are few and outweighed by the number of times I've been glad of it's gentle power delivery at lower revs when on wet, greasy roads.