Last day of mancation.. I SO don't want it to end, but reality beckons.
Finally met Marthy today. He rode 200 miles just to hang out here for a day. He's most likely still on the road now (doing the 200 to get back). Met with AngelFZ and his girl again and we all got to hang out together here and there. So much more fun to do this with friends! Really glad you guys came out :thumbup:
On to the *reviews*. I won't talk about ZX6R, as I already covered it in one of the other posts.. just a great example of a 600 supersport.
First up was the Busa:
As expected, very similar to ZX14. Loads of torque from way down low and if you get it past 7-8k rpm.. let's just say it's anything, but slow
While I can't call it comfortable, the ergonomics are not quite as aggressive as on supersports (like most 600's and 1000's). I still don't think I could ride it all day like I can the FZ1, but I could probably do an hour or so without too much discomfort.
What I liked better about Busa over ZX14: not nearly as much heat coming off the engine at the stops.
The not-so-great: the bike did not want to go into 1st from neutral. I clicked down 3-4 times.. nothing. Gave it a bit of revs and clicked down and it went in. Maybe it was the beat up demo bike.. it does seem to attract all the tards
Next up was the Kawasaki Versys
I went into this demo with very high hopes. Having read so many positive reviews, I assumed this bike would be highly enjoyable .. perhaps a *better* version of V-Strom (ergonomics are very similar, but no large front wheel and no knobby tires, which I thought would add up to better street performance).
I am sorry to say that I was extremely disappointed.
I can't even think of many positive things to say about this bike.. I suppose it does feel quite light once it's moving and it's very easy to initiate lean on this bike. Transmission is very smooth and clutch is progressive and forgiving.
The cons:
Very weak front brake. I typically use 2 fingers on just about any bike. I had to go to 4 on this one and it was still taking a whole lot of squeezing to get this thing to bite. Perhaps this isn't typical for this bike and it was once again a beat up demo model? :don'tknow:
Terrible vibration! This bike is anything, but powerful.. really not much happening down low (unlike V-Strom 650, which will pull happily from 3k RPM), BUT at 5k RPM, where it has some pull, the vibes are really uncomfortable. This makes the mirrors very blurry at certain RPMs.
Another odd trait: the steering feels tight at very low speeds. This could once again be a demo bike issue, but I've not experienced this on any other bike.. normally bikes start to hunt a little once you bring the speed way down to barely moving.. this one just felt like the head bearing was over-tightened, but it never felt like it wanted to fall over, so at least that was good.
In my opinion, V-Strom DL650 is a much much better bike and anyone considering Versys needs to test ride both (or just trust me and get a V-Strom.. :rof: )
And finally, the modified FZ-09:
Stealing Marthy's pic (that's me with Marthy's FZ-09 bike, and my FZ1 in the background). He took my FZ1 and I took his FZ-09 and we went for a short ride (same 20 minute demo loop with some nice sweeping curves).
Wow!! Just as I thought.. the platform is there and with a bit of work, this bike is fantastic!! His exhaust makes really lovely deep noise. Suspension is 99% better than stock with minimal investment (I believe he just got stiffer springs and heavier oil and replaced rear shock with a used one from ZX10, for very little money). Juice box solved the throttle tip in / roll off issue and that's pretty much it.. a completely different animal! Highly highly enjoyable and it pulls like stink! It actually has quite a bit more low end than my FZ1 (from about 2.5k RPM) I would gladly own this bike.
Well done, Marthy!
Finally met Marthy today. He rode 200 miles just to hang out here for a day. He's most likely still on the road now (doing the 200 to get back). Met with AngelFZ and his girl again and we all got to hang out together here and there. So much more fun to do this with friends! Really glad you guys came out :thumbup:
On to the *reviews*. I won't talk about ZX6R, as I already covered it in one of the other posts.. just a great example of a 600 supersport.
First up was the Busa:
As expected, very similar to ZX14. Loads of torque from way down low and if you get it past 7-8k rpm.. let's just say it's anything, but slow
While I can't call it comfortable, the ergonomics are not quite as aggressive as on supersports (like most 600's and 1000's). I still don't think I could ride it all day like I can the FZ1, but I could probably do an hour or so without too much discomfort.
What I liked better about Busa over ZX14: not nearly as much heat coming off the engine at the stops.
The not-so-great: the bike did not want to go into 1st from neutral. I clicked down 3-4 times.. nothing. Gave it a bit of revs and clicked down and it went in. Maybe it was the beat up demo bike.. it does seem to attract all the tards
Next up was the Kawasaki Versys
I went into this demo with very high hopes. Having read so many positive reviews, I assumed this bike would be highly enjoyable .. perhaps a *better* version of V-Strom (ergonomics are very similar, but no large front wheel and no knobby tires, which I thought would add up to better street performance).
I am sorry to say that I was extremely disappointed.
I can't even think of many positive things to say about this bike.. I suppose it does feel quite light once it's moving and it's very easy to initiate lean on this bike. Transmission is very smooth and clutch is progressive and forgiving.
The cons:
Very weak front brake. I typically use 2 fingers on just about any bike. I had to go to 4 on this one and it was still taking a whole lot of squeezing to get this thing to bite. Perhaps this isn't typical for this bike and it was once again a beat up demo model? :don'tknow:
Terrible vibration! This bike is anything, but powerful.. really not much happening down low (unlike V-Strom 650, which will pull happily from 3k RPM), BUT at 5k RPM, where it has some pull, the vibes are really uncomfortable. This makes the mirrors very blurry at certain RPMs.
Another odd trait: the steering feels tight at very low speeds. This could once again be a demo bike issue, but I've not experienced this on any other bike.. normally bikes start to hunt a little once you bring the speed way down to barely moving.. this one just felt like the head bearing was over-tightened, but it never felt like it wanted to fall over, so at least that was good.
In my opinion, V-Strom DL650 is a much much better bike and anyone considering Versys needs to test ride both (or just trust me and get a V-Strom.. :rof: )
And finally, the modified FZ-09:
Stealing Marthy's pic (that's me with Marthy's FZ-09 bike, and my FZ1 in the background). He took my FZ1 and I took his FZ-09 and we went for a short ride (same 20 minute demo loop with some nice sweeping curves).
Wow!! Just as I thought.. the platform is there and with a bit of work, this bike is fantastic!! His exhaust makes really lovely deep noise. Suspension is 99% better than stock with minimal investment (I believe he just got stiffer springs and heavier oil and replaced rear shock with a used one from ZX10, for very little money). Juice box solved the throttle tip in / roll off issue and that's pretty much it.. a completely different animal! Highly highly enjoyable and it pulls like stink! It actually has quite a bit more low end than my FZ1 (from about 2.5k RPM) I would gladly own this bike.
Well done, Marthy!
