Hello, nOOb to this board, but I just bought a ZX-14 about 2 weeks ago, and apparently no one yet has one over at Sportbikes.net. Here is my riding impressions up to this point I now have 570mi on it and love it. I came from a GL1800abs Goldwing, but have ridden sportbikes before... Here goes:
ODO = 332mi
First off let me tell you that I have not yet taken this motorcycle above 6000rpm. I am still breaking it in (in accordance with the owners manual). So the impression I give below is based on this beast having one hand tied behind its back!
Now watch this Video!!!
The ZX-14 is two very different motorcycles under one cowling... a Jekyll & Hyde. Below 4000 rpms (where most of us sane riders do most of our street riding), it is as gentle as a vespa scooter. The motor is smooth, predictable and subtle, without any abrupt driveline lash. So while tooling around town; at intersections, in parking lots, at the mall, stop and go traffic, etc... The ZX-14 is as docile as a kitten. Once out of the traffic, when you roll on that throttle, Mr. Hyde rears his head! Above 4000 rpm's this thing is making the kind of power that will - no s#!t - peel you from the handlebars! This bike seemingly makes time, and traffic, stand still.
As I turn off the surface street onto the frontage road that doubles as the freeway onramp, the light is green. I make a gentle 30 mph right turn onto the frontage road (the bike still in 'vespa' mode) while still in second gear. I roll on the throttle ever so slightly, as the tach climbs above 4000, the speedometer starts to rapidly spin clockwise. By the time I hit 4th gear at 6000 rpm (a matter of seconds) the bike is hurling toward the rear of the cars on the freeway at 100mph! I back off, upshift twice to 6th and coast into the freeway traffic. WOW! The first time I unleased this beast, it caught me by surprise.
My 2005 Goldwing was prudy darn fast, but I have never ridden anything with this kind of ungodly power. On the freeway at 75mph in top gear, now downshifting is necessary to squeeze out of a tight spot, simply roll the throttle and BAM! This baby will give you 100 mph almost instantly from any speed. Suffice it to say that I have NO IDEA what to do with the rest of this powerband when the time comes! It is almost as if Kawasaki put the break-in rpm limits more for the riders sake than the bikes. More progress reports to follow!
Enjoy the Video clip too!
ODO = 452
The more I ride this bike the more I like it... no LOVE it! Keep in mind that I am comparing this blinding fast sportbike to my old Honda Goldwing!
I had some errands to run around town today and I decided to buy a little backpack so that I can actually buy some things while I'm on my scooter - a luxury I took for granted on the Goldwing (I could make a Costco run on that bike). This bike makes a great errand running bike. It is great in traffic and I must say that somehow I feel safer riding this bike than I did on my wing. I think it is because it does what I want, NOW. It goes quicker, stops MUCH faster, turns by telepathy and doesn't feel sluggish at stoplights.
I have only one concern right now: It seems to run a bit hot in traffic in 90 degree weather. My wing never did, I just assumed that a full blown hi-per bike would be able to handle idling in traffic... which isn't nearly as punishing or demanding as track conditions where the bike is running at redline all day. Other than that, I am very pleased.
Transmission: The shifting on this bike is outstanding! The positive neutral find works extremely well. The upshifting is very solid, on my wing I would occasionally get those shifts that made you think it wasn't quite in gear, but the ZX-14 effortlessly finds the next gear... at any rpm. At first I was a bit alarmed by the heavy CLUNK going from Neutral into First at a stop... but that is THE only thing this tranny does that bothers me. First gear is a bit high geared requiring a bit more rpms to get moving than my wing, but it is a much better "parking lot gear" and functions as more than a gear to get the bike moving.
Clutch: I don't really know what a "hydrualic, radial, blah, blah clutch does or yet how it works (I will soon though - I like doin' that kind of research), but I can tell you that it shifts better than my wing. The clutch on this bike is buttery smooth. I usually sit at traffic lights in Neutral, but on the occasions where I get suckered, by a long-ass light, into holding the clutch in for a couple of minutes, the pull is light enough where it doesn't require forearms of steel to hold in.
When I upgrade to my 2007 ZX-14: Here is what I want Kawi to do with my Zixer.
- Make handlebars adjustable. I'd like 2 more inches in height.
- Cruise control. Self explanitory
- Taller windshield.
- Shaft Drive.
- Saddlebags (Removable & Optional)
... Or they could redesign the Concours - which hasn't changed since the 80's!!! Most of the people on this message board were in diapers when the Concours debuted.
PUT THIS ENGINE IN A SPORT TOURING BIKE!!! Do Ya Hear me KAWI !!!
