A decision to make

[stumbows]

Actually Ricky or in fact anyone that knows a little about road bikes. I've been looking at buying another one... YES! another bike lol.

I have my sport - BMW R1100S
I have my loper/tourer/commuter - Kawasaki ER5

And i want something that is comfortable to ride for long distances and will get up and go when I crack open the throttle.

The 2 bikes that really struck me for fitting the bill were the Kawasaki ZZR1100, and the Yamaha FJR1300 with it's weapon like acceleration at 2.9sec to 100kms and comfortable riding position. Now don't get me wrong the ZZR isn't slow either it will do a quoted 3 secs. So does anyone know if either of these bikes are good i.e pros/cons and would i be better off looking somewhere else?

The reason i am looking for a bike like this is a few of us (about 25-30 people) are gonna be doing the ride to Phillip Island next April for Australian Superbike Championship.

 

[coolmodee01]

i like the style of bike your looking for there very versitile with both performance and comfort
the most comfortable bike i've eva riden is my mates z1000 as soon as i got on it i felt like i could sit there for hours of course stoping for food and drink
i know someone with an fjr1300 and he reckons it's one mean peice of machinery and pretty comforable to ride also haven't riden it personally
ducati do a couple of good sports cruzer's have a look at them but there's plenty of coin to be spent there
so my money would be on the z1000 imo i really enjoyed the bike from both aspects your looking for

p.s i have only eva owned one roady and it was an old cbr250
so you dont have to take my opinion on the power thing ha

 

[Mintard]

I would highly recomend the Kwaka ZZR1100

there really isn't much difference in comfort for long rides, however, the parts for the ZZR are more common at wreckers and it looks better than the FJR


The motor in the ZZR is more bullet proof and after market parts are a plenty

ZZR all the way!

 

[stumbows]

Yea the ZZRs to start with aren't breath taking but i've seen some people make some simple mods to them and really lift the appearence of the machines.

As for the Z1000 I actually seriously looked into buying one but they are a little lent over for my liking in that kind of situation. And although they might be comfortable to sit on they don't have a fairing and it would make the ride quite tiring, i know this cause i own a naked bike.

But a good option for a semi-comfortable quick squirter.

 

[Ruby]

The Z1000s were released to satisfy the stunter community who wanted a modern bike, instead of rebirthing old CBRs and other bikes. They do look comfortable (we have a few friends with them) but for your long distance rides there is no fairing and mods are limited. A friend Nathan fitted aftermarket bars and it caused problems with brakelines, hitting the fairing etc.

Rickys right. The ZZR looks better and there is more choice for parts. We saw two last night actually.

Oh, and ricky also told me the story last night of when he worked at the MotoGP. his alarm clock was a ZZR1100 bouncing off redline for half hour every morning. The guy wanted to prove the ZZR was bullet proof. LOL

 

[stumbows]

Yea Kawasaki make good strong bikes i know because i own one

I've given to much crap to the ER5 and man it just keeps on going i love it.

 

[stumbows]

Ok so i've got an Idea...

Been looking around and I am leaning towards Kawasaki because they were my 1st love haha.

And i don't mind the idea of a naked bike. For some reason there is a fair amount of appeal so i came to the conclusion that i should consider a ZRX1200R as they are a very comfortable bike and they meet all my other requirements.

anyone this might be a good direction to head in?

 

[Ruby]

The ZRX is a good bike, but the battery is in the most awkward spot and the mufflers rust out badly and make alot of rattling noises when they do. But If your fitting an aftermarket can, then it would be a good bike also.

I'd lean towards the ZRX then, more modern and more grunt.

 

[stumbows]

Yea well the one i am seriously looking at already has a Yoshi fitted to it so i guess that's not a prob and how often do you have to get to the battery.

Also i love the riding position on the ZRX.

 

[stumbows]

Thought you might wanna see a pic of the thing.

It's like new...

15,000kms on the clock with brand new tyres, chain, sprockets, oil.

And he's just had the carbies tuned and jetted.

It's also owned by a 45+ yr old guy so i am sure it's really been well looked after.

 

[Ruby]

THEN GET IT!!!!

LOL



BTW is that a Corbin seat?!?

 

[stumbows]

HAHA.... TOLD!!!

I guess i must and sorry Ruby not sure if it is or not but the guy did mention something about a new seat so there's a possibility.

I am going to be speaking with him this afternoon about it so i will ask.

 

[Ruby]

Whats the price tag on the ZRX? PM me if you don't want to make the sting public.

 

[stumbows]

Asking 8K but we haven't started negotiating yet so there's room for movement.

 

[Ruby]

I'll assume its a 2003/2004 model? Then average private resale is between 8K-10K depending on kms travelled, so with low kms, that is a bargain! If its newer than 04, then the deal gets better. With the Corbin seat and Yosh pipe your really laughing!

However, inspect it for the usual Kwaka clutch rattle. Its normal for some rattle, but once its warm it quietens down. And ask for the service history. (but I'm sure you know all that)

Looks like its got the Pirelli Super Corsa hoops. Great for summer, and helps the bulky bike turn-in, but they're greasy for winter. I'd look at wearing them out over summer, and fitting Pilot Powers for next winter.

 

[stumbows]

Don't worry Ruby i do about 500kms a week on my bike currently that the ZXR will be replacing and once i get that it may be even more.

So yea i should have them worn over the summer.

But on another note i just spoke with the local kawasaki dealer and he said he'll be offering me an 08 model inc. on roads straight out of the crate for 13K flat and they are offering quite a decent trade in on my current bike which i was going to let go for 4K on the private market, they were able to offer me that as a trade in so i am stoked.

So who knows i could end up with a brand newy but oh there's so much choice and too many decisions.