I'll be loosely in the market for a new bike over the coming months and on my list are the Busa, ZX14, SP2, and a few Dukes and Aprilias that are to be honest out of the budget and a little too poser-ish. So anyway I had a bit of a test-ride of the 14 and the SP2 the other day. This is what I found.
Ho... Hoooo..... Hooon...... VTR1000 SP2
Although I'm a Kawasaki man I'm not entirely biased and enjoy bikes based on their merits rather than their colour or badging. I used to own a VTR1000 which I really enjoyed, and I've always loved the look & sound of the SP2... and assumed given the premium price and racing bent they'd be a pretty awesome thing.
As it turns out it was a massive disappointment... low-down response was awful, midrange was mediocre and top end was equally as bland. The first time I hit the throttle in-gear in 1st it just bogged, the second time it didn't even hoist the front and just gave an uninspiring few flicks of the bars (!!) as the front skated along the tarmac. The gearing is all wrong and the handling wasn't so spectacular that I could justify the front end flapping around like that.
The riding position is very 'look at my arse' but in fairness the controls are very nice to use and I have no complaints there. A shorter travel throttle would prove useful in the hills or on the track... it just doesn't have enough power to justify the long throttle travel.
Engine-wise I'd very much compare it to a ZX6R in that you need to be in the right gear to really get the most from it... and honestly I expected a lot more mid-range (perhaps able to be addressed by a change of gearing). All that said though they're a hot looking bike and that sound is absolute sex. This would be a good machine for someone who wants a bit of a garage princess or to pose around town or at cafes, but not someone who enjoys actually riding a motorcycle.
My review is probably fairly harsh as I've come directly from a ZX12R that I've been very happy with, and I had very high expectations of the SP2 so maybe I was always going to be disappointed... but I guess bikes are all about that grin factor and personally I don't think this bike is for me at the moment - maybe a longer ride or a ride in the hills would change my mind.
Rating: 6/10 kudas.
Kawasaki ZX14 (not ZX14R. There's no bloody R, OK!!!!?!?)
Again it's important to point out I'm a Kawasaki man, but my review is based on the bike itself not who made it.
Some brief comments:
Owners of 250cc bikes need not apply. You will get very dead, very fast.
A ZX6R owner would be absolutely blown away.
A ZX10 owner would enjoy the comfort but perhaps find it a little too well-behaved at first, and give the standard complaint about the size (when in reality it wasn't so long ago that all bikes were much much heavier than the 14). I think 10R owners who are quick to write the bike off just because it's big and a little softer would benefit from a longer ride on the bike and I think would really come to love it.
As a ZX12 owner I really enjoyed the bike, my biggest complaint would be the softness in the front (even with a very light rider) which could perhaps be dialled out with some suspension adjustments... although this makes it a bike that you can go very fast on, very easily. Guys who bought the 12R because they wanted a 10R but are too tall/big for them might be disappointed with the lack of the sporty feel of the 12R but after a few minutes you really appreciate what this bike can do.
The controls are really good, I do love the softer feel of the clutch as the 12R cable clutch is a little stiff in stop-start traffic. It bites a lot earlier than the clutch on the 12R but that's probably more about adjustment than anything, and even if not you'd get used to it pretty shortly. The seating position is very comfortable and wannabe racers will realise where they've been going wrong all these years with their knees up around their ears.
I haven't read much about the specs but the steering angle feels broader than the 12R - with the reduced weight & chassis design I found that this didn't really materialise in slowness of handling so much as an amazingly stable front end. This was probably helped by the soft suspension I complained about above, so it would be interesting to see what happened with a bit of rejigging in that department.
The bike puts down the power really well and wheelstands a lot less than the 12R - although the 14 was stock and my 12 has a few goodies I'd say they're fairly similar power-wise so it's very impressive that it can handle that amount of power without breaking into bulk wheelspin or hoisting the front nastily. It would be a dauntingly fast machine with the standard pc3/k&n/exhaust and amateurs need not apply. As it's so stable it is probably the kind of bike you could get yourself into a lot of trouble on before you've even realised it... but for someone who is used to a fast bike then I can't say enough positive things about it.
Rating: 9/10 kudas - revised suspension would make it a 10/10 but I'm not so sure that's what this bike is all about.
and didn't proof read 
you were that impressed?
