Yeah yeah - I know the for some stupid reason they decided to call it a ZX14R here, but we all know it's the latest ZZR*...
Herewith the ramblings of an old fart:
I was told not to ride it if I still wanted to like my trusty ZZR1100, and I said that to the local dealer, just in conversation. He said no, you must take it for a spin. I said that I can in no way afford it even if I wanted it, and he said no problem, sign here, there's the keys...
Brand new on the demo fleet, 65km on the clock. He set it up on "full power" and TCS set to 2 (whatever that means) and started to tell me about it. I said I'll not be messing with that, and off I went.
Footpegs are a bit higher, but I was quickly comfortable. I didn't bother setting the clutch and brake lever "reach" smaller as I have small hands (makes my d!ck look bigger - win!). Pull away and throttle pick-up is much easier (though the 11s throttle cables could be better set up - I'm just too lazy to take the tank and airbox off to do it), so it is very easy to ride. It was just as manoeuvrable between the cars at the lights as the 11 (with flipped eccentrics). The first time I gave it a bit of berries I thought it was very smooth but not much more than the 11. The second time I was able to stay on it a bit longer and I realised it was the traction control keeping the front tire mileage the same as the rear! There was more and more and more and more... At this point I noticed I was well into the zone of having to phone the dealer and tell him his bike was with plod for a 28-day sabbatical - for some reason those guys aren't impressed when you are over not by a factor, but by a multiple! Not clever. I pulled my head in and cruised back, mostly behaving myself.
There is no doubt that that machine is an awesome bit of kit - everything I love about the 11 it does more of, and better.
Happily, I still enjoyed the ride home on Ruby. Showing her age a little, but the ZZR1100 was my 'poster bike' as a young man, but the ol' girl is still capable of much more than I am!
* The 90s ZZR1100 was known in the states as the ZX11, and similarly the ZZR600 as the ZX6 there.
Then they brought out the ZZR1200, and called it that everywhere, but due to a lack of replacement for the 600 bike they rebadged an earlier version of the ZX6R as a ZZR600 in the us
(pic)!
Now they call this new bike the ZZR1400 there and the ZX14R here? WTF?!!
\,8'
