Demoed ZX14 at Bike Week
The 14 is a far more superior motorcycle than the ZX12r or the Busa imo. I believe it's alot lighter least it feel that way, seat hight is alot lower as well as the center of gravity. The suspension is far more forgiving than the 12r Alot lighter in the corners, less muscle for turn in. Power wise it it feels every bit as strong as my fully modded 05 12r(178rwh) but smoother. Very easy to ride fast, I felt right at home on it from the start.I also demoed a 14 at Bike Week this year and I would like to know how you were able to come away with so much of an impression with the short and slow ride that they allowed us to do? During the 20 minute ride I was barely able to get the bike past 60mph. We didn't take any particularly curvy roads so where did you feel the handling? I was able to feel a substantial flat spot at 4K, did you also feel that? I felt that if anything it weighed about the same as my 05 12R but definitely not lighter and it felt slightly lower at the expense of the tank being further up in my chest when tucking behind the screen, which wasn't that easy either. I have ridden my 12R through some seriously fast turns and some slow ones and once I set the stock suspension to my taste I felt that the bike handled perfectly! I'm not biased as I bleed KHI green through and through and if the 14 turns out to be much better than the 12R then I too will get one, I just didn't come away from the demo ride impressed at all with the ZX14. I feel that it is different, but not better. It may turn out to be better for certain things like dragstrip performance due to the longer wheelbase, stronger clutch and more bottom end torque, but I don't drag my bike I ride on fast open roads and the wind protection combined with the seating position and the endless top end pull of my 12R feel absolutely wonderful
As much as I hate to admit it, I've ridden two Busa's and they handle well also, they don't seem to turn in as fast as the 12R but they handle well once set on course. We'll just have to wait for some real world tests (in the street with real results, not magazine tests) and see what the results are.
