Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
The Yamaha FZ750 debuted in 1985 and had a number of innovations that made it a stand out bike for it’s time and set the foundation for the 2nd generation of Japanese motorcycles. Exclusive to Yamaha, 5 valves per cylinder and a hemi head allowed 11.2 to 1 compression which would even run on regular gas with no knocking! The canted forward cylinders with downdraft carbs and straighter exhaust pipes allowed less resistance to get the fuel/air in and exhaust out of the engine. Because of the low cylinder angle, Yamaha fit the airbox where the fuel normally would be, relocating the fuel more rearward and lower behind the downdraft carbs. Mass weight centralization was the theme and made the bike feel lighter and handle better. The stacked 6 speed gearbox with narrow cases were new too. Finally, the perimeter frame was rigid and flex free. The bike was scary fast for it's day! The valves only had to be adjusted every 26,500 miles which was great! I owned 4 of these bikes, one 85 and three 86 models over about 10 years, then finally bounced to Honda's CBR900RR for a season before jumping back to Yamaha's R1 and R6 bikes. Things evolved so fast it didn’t take long for the FZ to feel dated, mainly the suspension.
Pay no attention to the 82 Kawasaki GPZ750 in the background !
Thanks for watching, this was filmed with an old school video camera that was about as big as a cinder block and about as heavy.
The Yamaha FZ750 debuted in 1985 and had a number of innovations that made it a stand out bike for it’s time and set the foundation for the 2nd generation of Japanese motorcycles. Exclusive to Yamaha, 5 valves per cylinder and a hemi head allowed 11.2 to 1 compression which would even run on regular gas with no knocking! The canted forward cylinders with downdraft carbs and straighter exhaust pipes allowed less resistance to get the fuel/air in and exhaust out of the engine. Because of the low cylinder angle, Yamaha fit the airbox where the fuel normally would be, relocating the fuel more rearward and lower behind the downdraft carbs. Mass weight centralization was the theme and made the bike feel lighter and handle better. The stacked 6 speed gearbox with narrow cases were new too. Finally, the perimeter frame was rigid and flex free. The bike was scary fast for it's day! The valves only had to be adjusted every 26,500 miles which was great! I owned 4 of these bikes, one 85 and three 86 models over about 10 years, then finally bounced to Honda's CBR900RR for a season before jumping back to Yamaha's R1 and R6 bikes. Things evolved so fast it didn’t take long for the FZ to feel dated, mainly the suspension.
Pay no attention to the 82 Kawasaki GPZ750 in the background !
Thanks for watching, this was filmed with an old school video camera that was about as big as a cinder block and about as heavy.
