New FZ Series from Yamaha

When Yamaha Watercraft Group announced they had a “new” Waverunner series, our first thought was that they dressed one of their existing PWCs in new clothes – but, boy, were we wrong. The New FZ series
really is new and different. For starters, they redesigned the hull in several significant
ways, and then they went to work redesigning the top deck. Yamaha told us that this
series was designed for the enthusiast that wants to ride either sitting or standing.

The new FZR for two people.

The FZ comes in two versions, the FZR designed for two riders with a fast-back
look to it, and the FZS designed for three riders and the ability to tow. Starting
at the hull, which utilizes NanoXcel technology and measures 11’ 5” (3.51 meters)
for the FZS and 10’9” (3.32 meters) for the FZR, we found a shorter wetted surface,
larger intake, and several changes to the chines and bow area. On the top deck,
Yamaha gave the FZ a look more like a sport coupe with large analog instrument cluster,
and a telescoping handle bar column with three position options.

The new FZS for three people.

Inside the new shell we found the proven 1.8 liter four-stroke supercharged SHO
marine motor, 1812cc that runs on regular 87 octane fuel, fed from an 18.5 gallon
(70.03 liter) tank.

On the water, the first thing we noticed was the stability of the hull and its willingness
to carve in a turn, while at the same time, being forgiving if you get a little
over aggressive. Testing Capt. John Wenz is still writing up his report and editing
the video on these two tests, which will be published in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, click here if you would like to see the performance numbers on
the FZS.