Yamaha FZ25 Long Term Touring Report
After living with the FZ25 within the city limits for a few months, it was time to take this Yamaha for a long journey. The 2018 BikeWale Track Day made this happen. While the car team planned to drive down, obviously, Ranjan, Omkar and I decided to ride down. But the plan was to go for a short vacation after getting baked at MMRT, Chennai. We were to head from the east coast India to the western coast, Mangalore. I was excited about this route as this detour was long enough to decode the FZ25’s touring capabilities.
Can it carry luggage?
With ease! I had a Rynox expedition trail bag mounted on the rear seat. This luggage bag has four hooks to tie this bag down, and these hooks need to be tied on to the motorcycle. While the grab rails used the two hooks, the rest were tied on the space between the pillion foot pegs hangar. The large and wide pillion accommodated the fully loaded bag without much fuss. But mounting a tank bag might pose some problems as the tank cover is fibre and not a metal one. Also, there is enough space on the handlebar for a phone mount and a USB charger.
3000kms test!
In the last report, we did talk about the city friendly characteristics of the FZ25. But I was astounded by its highway capabilities. The strong mid-range blew me away. I’m slightly on the heavier side, and with the extra luggage, the FZ25 didn’t show any signs of stress. Quick overtakes, even at 90kmph were possible on this Yamaha. Most of the time I spent cruising at 100kmph as that range attracted the least buzz, and also churned out the best efficiency. There are vibes on the bar and pegs, but for that, the FZ25 needs to be ridden north of 100kmph. Unlike the city riding, the gearbox performed flawlessly, thanks to the oil change. The shifts were smooth and appreciable.
However, I do wish Yamaha equipped the FZ25 with a better LED unit. It delivers well aesthetically, but practically, it’s a big disappointment. It was getting real uncomfortable to maintain good speeds at night. Being a naked motorcycle, the FZ25 misses out on a proper windscreen and that’s a big problem while touring. The clouds of windblast resulted in me returning home with a sore body.
Is it wallet friendly?
Well, it depends on which state you belong to. I rode through four different states that had astonishingly diverse fuel pricing. Petrol was most expensive in Maharashtra, and the cheapest in Goa. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were moderately expensive. So the FZ25 had a running cost between Rs 2/litre and Rs 3/litre, overall. The FZ25 was most fuel-efficient at a constant speed of 100kmph where it delivered an efficiency figure of 35.84kmpl. On the other hand, cruising continuously at 120kmph gave its least fuel efficient figure of 24.39kmpl.
Bike stats
Odometer: 8021
Kilometres ridden: 3921
Fuel efficiency: 33kmpl
Gallery
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Yamaha FZ25 long term
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