Location: Goshen, Indiana
Mileage: 32,169
Price: $3,700 BIN
So I even did a double take when I saw this bike. FZ 700? Huh? I’m familiar with the Yamaha line up and the 700 didn’t ring any bells. Seven fifty? No problem. Or say the 1000, 600 and 400? Sure. I thought the seller may have made a mistake. Well, no matter how much we know, there’s always more to learn.
So why the 700 cc’s? Well, apparently back in 1987, the government had a tariff on bikes over 700 cc’s. This made them more expensive, so how do you solve that? Go with 697cc’s instead. That gives you this, the FZ 700. The tariff would be lifted the following year and the displacement was bumped to the more common 750. So ’87 was the only year of the 700 in the U.S.
Here’s the seller’s information-
FOR SALE is a 1987 Yamaha FZ700 5-Valve Genesis bike. I am the second owner of this vehicle and have not even put 100 miles on it. The bike is immaculately clean and ORIGINAL!!! She has just over 30,000 miles on her but has never been dropped, crashed, or abused. It is 100% stock with all the OEM parts and equipment. Asking $3700 OBO (all offers are considered). Must see bike in person to really appreciate!! Email for questions or details. Thanks!!
NOTE* Buyer is responsible for pick up within 7 days of an accepting offer. The bike will be sold AS-IS with NO express or implied warranty.
And photos-
The bike is advertised as original and it sure looks that way. For it’s age it also looks to be in clean shape. The seller show some scratches that don’t look too severe. The bike has lots of miles so you’ll want to get a good idea of the service history and make sure it runs well. Otherwise, this thing looks solid.
So if you like Yamaha’s and want one that only existed for one model year, this is your bike. Sure, it’s got the smaller engine, but it should still be fun and a cool piece of sportbike evolution in the U.S. See what you think and make the jump!
-RN
See also Fazer 700, Honda VF700 Interceptor, … I was around for the whole tariff episode. It was actually sort of amusing to see H-D whine and plead with the US gov’t. to help them out by imposing said tariff. H-D just couldn’t compete with all the cruiser bikes the Japanese were rolling out of their factories, said the Japanese were ‘dumping’ their product.
FZ700…? Ok there is always something new to learn…
Wow, for 32,000 miles, that thing looks immaculate. That’s the 1st one I’ve seen for sale in about a decade. Love the way they made the hand-guards, and the Testarossa gils in the rear quarter faring. Sleeper for sure.
I also have a FZ700 Yamaha. Mine is also a 2 owner (including me) with only 8900mi. Look closely at these bike’s vin, supposedly 500 or so were all that were built. Yamaha was ready for the tariff to be lifted in 88 so only produced a low number. Mine is 000244 and I have seen 000248. So the story goes.