ZX14 Dreaming
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quicksilver
So.., how fast does that thing go?
My dealer has an new bright blue '07 on the floor.
First words out of his mouth were, "I can take $2500 of the list."
'07 bright blue is pretty too. Way better than '08 "pimp my ride" candy red and flames.
First words out of his mouth were, "I can take $2500 of the list."
'07 bright blue is pretty too. Way better than '08 "pimp my ride" candy red and flames.
bramfrank
BramFrank
I had the honour (Canadian spelling) of riding yesterday with one FBA (Fastest Busa Around), who happens to know several of the more prominent members of this forum (such as myself) well.
These days he doesn't own a Hyabusa - in fact he sold his in 2006 to get an '06 ZX14. Steve (FBA) was one of the originators of the 'secondary fly removal' surgery that increases torque and horsepower in the low end of the Kawasaki 1400 cc engines. He also happens to be a power freak. So he changed out the gearing, changed the exhausts, installed a PC3, adjusted the timing and more . . . then decided to blow it all off and got an '08 ZX14 to replace his '06 and started over again.
He also got a Concours 14.
We're riding down to the Gap and such next week - he's taking the C14, I'll be on my FJR.
But yesterday was Canada Day - a holiday for most up here. The weather was spectacular and we decided to do a bit of riding - he took the ZX14.
After our traditional lunch break we headed up into the lower Laurentians.
We swapped bikes at one point (Steve had an '04 FJR and was the person who convinced me to get mine). He was curious to compare mine to his old one - I had ridden his '06 and wanted to see just what the differences were.
Then again, FBA has done all the performance mods to his new ZX14 AND in addition has upgraded the suspension and installed a swing arm that is a full 5 inches longer than stock. In spite of all the power and the lowered gearing this bike finds it hard to wheelie, but the handling is still very neutral.
So we swapped. I rode his machine on some 60 miles of winding 2 lane, decaying blacktop.
First of all, something's changed. I hated the riding position on the '06 - but on the '08 I was comfortable - I'm 5'11", 30" inseam and weigh 265, so I'm not exactly tiny - but aside from a bit too much turn in the knees, I felt right at home.
Second - I forgot what it was like to ride in clean air - without the screen to mess up the air it was simply quiet - all the way to 140 mph (as fast as I took it) it was just clean, constant pressure.
Power? WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I have to admit that this thing was confidence inspiring and simply pulled and kept on pulling. . . .
And - VIBRATION-FREE - except for a very annoying deccel popping at about 3500 rpm, it was simply on and off, like a VERY powerful electric motor controlled by a rheostat.
The transmission puts the FJR's to shame - snick-like shifting, up and down.
Did I love the bike Yes. Would I ride one from Montreal down to Deal's Gap? Nope.
Will I buy one? Nope - up here they're rasing the cost of tags for sport-rated bikes to almost $2K per year . . . the FJR is headed to $600. Yes, it includes bodily injury insurance, but that's still way too much money.
Great machine. If you can fit the bike you WILL love it.
I'm going to have to revisit the ride after Steve gets the turbo intalled.
Yup, I said Turbo - as fast as this thing is, he still wants more.
These days he doesn't own a Hyabusa - in fact he sold his in 2006 to get an '06 ZX14. Steve (FBA) was one of the originators of the 'secondary fly removal' surgery that increases torque and horsepower in the low end of the Kawasaki 1400 cc engines. He also happens to be a power freak. So he changed out the gearing, changed the exhausts, installed a PC3, adjusted the timing and more . . . then decided to blow it all off and got an '08 ZX14 to replace his '06 and started over again.
He also got a Concours 14.
We're riding down to the Gap and such next week - he's taking the C14, I'll be on my FJR.
But yesterday was Canada Day - a holiday for most up here. The weather was spectacular and we decided to do a bit of riding - he took the ZX14.
After our traditional lunch break we headed up into the lower Laurentians.
We swapped bikes at one point (Steve had an '04 FJR and was the person who convinced me to get mine). He was curious to compare mine to his old one - I had ridden his '06 and wanted to see just what the differences were.
Then again, FBA has done all the performance mods to his new ZX14 AND in addition has upgraded the suspension and installed a swing arm that is a full 5 inches longer than stock. In spite of all the power and the lowered gearing this bike finds it hard to wheelie, but the handling is still very neutral.
So we swapped. I rode his machine on some 60 miles of winding 2 lane, decaying blacktop.
First of all, something's changed. I hated the riding position on the '06 - but on the '08 I was comfortable - I'm 5'11", 30" inseam and weigh 265, so I'm not exactly tiny - but aside from a bit too much turn in the knees, I felt right at home.
Second - I forgot what it was like to ride in clean air - without the screen to mess up the air it was simply quiet - all the way to 140 mph (as fast as I took it) it was just clean, constant pressure.
Power? WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I have to admit that this thing was confidence inspiring and simply pulled and kept on pulling. . . .
And - VIBRATION-FREE - except for a very annoying deccel popping at about 3500 rpm, it was simply on and off, like a VERY powerful electric motor controlled by a rheostat.
The transmission puts the FJR's to shame - snick-like shifting, up and down.
Did I love the bike Yes. Would I ride one from Montreal down to Deal's Gap? Nope.
Will I buy one? Nope - up here they're rasing the cost of tags for sport-rated bikes to almost $2K per year . . . the FJR is headed to $600. Yes, it includes bodily injury insurance, but that's still way too much money.
Great machine. If you can fit the bike you WILL love it.
I'm going to have to revisit the ride after Steve gets the turbo intalled.
Yup, I said Turbo - as fast as this thing is, he still wants more.
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