YAMAHA FZS WAVERUNNER

By Captain John B. Wenz

According to a recent market survey, something like 80% of PWC riders stand up about 25% of the time. Yamaha’s watercraft guys, in a continuing effort to meet the needs of that market, decided to develop something all new. They wanted to deliver the feel of a stand up, freestyle, competition craft, but also provide some versatility for occasional cruising three-up or towing. So, they worked from the ground up to design a sit down watercraft which is made for stand up riding; the FZ series. Make no mistake, if you’re looking for a long list of comfort and convenience features, you probably want to look elsewhere in the Yamaha line up. Although Yamaha’s FZS model provides a ride made for the aggressive, adrenaline junkies, it won’t disappoint you when you want to bring it along for an occasional family outing.

A Supercharged Motor

The FZS is powered by Yamaha’s 1812cc supercharged, four-stroke engine. The engineers tell us that it’s the largest displacement engine ever to be produced for a production personal watercraft. The exact horsepower rating is unpublished information, but let’s just say that there’s plenty, and it delivers! There’s nothing lacking here when it comes to acceleration, and we topped out at 68.1 MPH our speed trials. And you’ll be happy to know that the FZS, like all of Yamaha’s watercraft, is optimized to run on regular gasoline.



An All New Hull

If this new model was to perform as intended, the racing-minded guys at Yamaha’s watercraft division knew that a new hull design was necessary. They put all their years of competition experience and know-how to work and it shows; from the keel to the rails. It starts with the oversize intake duct to complement the super high-output engine. It provides increased thrust which improves acceleration and gives you much better hook-up through the turns. And the nozzle has a trim adjustment on the left handgrip so you can trim-out the ride to suit the conditions. A full-length dihedral keel offers directional stability and contributes to high-speed turning response. The full-length lifting strakes appear to be slightly oversized in sectional dimension. The lift means less total wetted hull surface which reduces drag. The angled outside chines are really effective. They give you a lean-in, edge-to-edge ride through the turns. This was the most noticeable difference in the ride; I was able to execute turns at a much higher speed on the FZR than I’ve been used to. And I’m sure that the hull material, Yamaha’s proprietary NanoXcel, makes a contribution to the ride as well. This stuff’s stronger and lighter than conventional fiberglass, and it looks great, too.



Gadget Free, Except Where it Counts

Don’t expect to find the amenities that are included with Yamaha’s luxury models. That’s not what the FZR is all about. Like I said, the focus of this design process was on solo, stand-up riding, although not strictly limited to that activity. Tilt steering, it was decided, just didn’t cut it. Instead, they came up with a functional telescopic steering system which allows the rider to stand-up without hunching too far forward. The middle position lets you sit upright to cruise for a bit to catch your breath. If you’re the type who owns an all-out performance bike, get ready to sit real low and feel right at home while edge-to-edge banking through the turns at high speed!

“Muscle Car” Styling

The styling and color choices reflect the classic muscle cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s. In either version, Crimson Red Metallic or Stealth Black, the FZS looks really cool. The instruments are set in rounded bezels in the curved forward console. On either side of the cowling is a chunky chrome intake grill. It’s a throwback to earlier Yamaha performance models and reminiscent, again, of classic automobile chrome. When you want to take someone along with you, there’s room for two plus the driver on the FZS. There’s a ring for towing, so you can use this PWC for water sports and there’s over 21 gallons of storage space up forward, both under the seat, and at the handlebars, so you can pack your gear and refreshments.

And when you’re standing, or moving around the deck, Yamaha’s Hydra-Mat deck surface is easy on the feet while offering an aggressive non-skid quality on the big aft deck and in the deep foot wells. If you need to cool off, (you probably will because the FZS is so hot!) a folding reboarding step is tucked under the aft deck.

A Thrilling Ride

As I’ve mentioned, the three-seat FZS and her two-seat sister FZR were not intended for the luxury performance market. Yamaha’s got other models to suit those needs. The FZS is all about solo, standup riding; going all-out, hooking-up through the turns and having pulse-pounding acceleration! But in terms of accommodating two or even three riders, the FZS makes very little in the way of compromise.

When I got to our test site, I was fully prepared by my hosts to expect something different, and I was immediately impressed. You’ll probably want to ride solo, like I did, to experience all the FZS can deliver. The ride was somewhat different than what I’ve come to expect; in a good way. I could maintain my speed while leaning into a high-speed turn, more so than normal. The hull does its job, and I felt like I was sticking on the machine instead of feeling like I was about to fly off as I angled through my turns at high speed. Yes indeed, my pulse was pounding!

So what if the FZS isn’t for everyone? It wasn’t meant to be, although it doesn’t have many shortcomings, except maybe for the spartan list of extras. If extras are your priority there are lots of other Yamaha models to choose from. If you’re the type who likes to get up on your feet and “ride the heck out of it” all day long, then you owe it to yourself to check out Yamaha’s brand new FZS.

• Top speed for the Yamaha FZS (2009-10) is 68.1 MPH (109.6 KPH), burning 20.2 gallons per hour (GPH) or 76.46 liters per hour (LPH).


• Best cruise for the Yamaha FZS (2009-10) is 21.3 MPH (34.3 KPH), and the boat gets 5.33 miles per gallon (MPG) or 2.27 kilometers per liter (KPL), giving the boat a cruising range of 89 miles (143.23 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1.8L supercharged 1812cc 4-stroke.


• Time from 0 to 30 of the Yamaha FZS (2009-10) is 1.5 sec. seconds.

= Standard = Optional