Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Thin Grey Line wrote: The current 12 is a sports bike. There is no tourer about it.

TGL

Thank God someone finally agrees with me, did you hear that guys, stop calling my bike the goldwing please.......

So has anybody tested both bikes?? obviously the 14 is a sports tourer so not really designed for the racetrack as such but does look to be a big comfy sports tourer with a emphisis on tourer.

Just interested in some reasonable comparisons of the 2 because i dont do bike mags anymore.

Barrabob wrote:So has anybody tested both bikes?? obviously the 14 is a sports tourer so not really designed for the racetrack as such but does look to be a big comfy sports tourer with a emphisis on tourer.

Just interested in some reasonable comparisons of the 2 because i dont do bike mags anymore.

Yes mate, I tested the 14 back in May, just after my computer went Ka-Boom, and I never got the chance to post up a review of the 14.

In a nutshell, it is more comfortable than the 12 by far (especially riding them back-to-back.). The bars are higher and flatter, you tend to sit more 'on' a 14 than you do a 12 ( you sit more 'in' a 12).

Really good brakes, much better than stock 12. Just insane brakes really.

Not much poke below 4-5 grand, which is really dissapointing for any city work. But once you get the 14 out of the 'burbs, then it is a real weapon. Very very quick from anywhere above 5-6 grand, booms at 7 and you need to keep your wits about you. Very stable and solid feel ( much like most Kawasaki's really, even back to the Z1000's ) at least *my* old Zeds are pretty stable

Not much cornering clearance ( well, relatively speaking ) - I got my toes down a couple of times without really meaning to which was a bit of a surprise on a test bike with only 80km on board I guess with some time to set up the suspension, this may not have been much more of a problem, but the clearance is not in the same league as a 12.

Overall, the 'sports-tourer' tag fits the 14 perfectly. It does not have an 'R' in the name for good reason. The extra grunt from going to 1400cc is immediately noticeable, but I can guarantee you that a 12 would eat a 14 in the tight stuff, and won't be left behind when the road straightens....

I really liked the test-ride, but would not trade my 12 in, because the 14 is just not a sports bike, like the 12 that we know and love It is a very comfortable mile-muncher, and really should have been called the ZZR-1400, because that is *exactly* what it is.

And I said virtually what Gos said when I rode them back to back too.
I also reserved a final decision until I rode a modded 14 or until kwak bring out a 14R.
I dont think the 12 is a sportsbike but Hoffy
It is too big and heavy, Kwak MAY have had plans for it once but when Suzuki dropped the 'busa bombshell they just didnt know WHAT to do with it so it languished as a white elephant unitl the 14 came.
It IS more of a sportsbike than a 'busa, bird, 14 or any mega blaster.
BUT it is NOT a 10R, in no way shape or form
And I for one am happy about that.
And the big bugger can lean turn and mono no doubt.

frogzx12r wrote:And I said virtually what Gos said when I rode them back to back too.
I also reserved a final decision until I rode a modded 14 or until kwak bring out a 14R.
I dont think the 12 is a sportsbike but Hoffy
It is too big and heavy, Kwak MAY have had plans for it once but when Suzuki dropped the 'busa bombshell they just didnt know WHAT to do with it so it languished as a white elephant unitl the 14 came.
It IS more of a sportsbike than a 'busa, bird, 14 or any mega blaster.
BUT it is NOT a 10R, in no way shape or form
And I for one am happy about that.
And the big bugger can lean turn and mono no doubt.

I rode one here a few months ago (was naughty of me I know), although it was a fairly simple 15 minute straight roads run it felt very much like a refined zzr1200 to me, as Gos said brakes are out of this world, smooth confident power and handling, still would have a 12R even as a tourer as they are a more exciting bike to ride

Correct me if i am wrong but the busa came out before the 12R did by a few years and it was KHI's response to it the Budgie?

The 12r still holds the world stock bike land speed record (I think), numerous tests have shown a 12 will walk a busa over 160kmph, out handle it and generally looks awesome in comparison but do share many records and so close to each other in performance, only advantage to having a busa is the ease of fitting a turbo.

The 12R is no white elephant its a black one, sheesh.. If anything the 14 is the white elephant IMO, 12R's are still good enough to out do the ugly thing, add pc3,map, pipe, filters, and set the suspension with the right tyres it will be at least it's equal. KHI had to do something for a new flagship, the 12r was getting dated after 6 years and 4 updates, 5 if you include the 2006 color scheme.

When the 12R was released in 2000 it was a completely new model of sportsbike by all senses of the word only the adoption of the bore x stroke ratio that the 6 and 9 proved to be a good combination, it is no updated 9R as some will say as it was a complete newly developed bike right from the start, really they all are just old sportsbikes. So in that theory all 12 month old sportsbikes should be re-clasified as sports tourers and sports tourers become tourers!

Anyway out with the old and in with the new so they say, when the 3rd update is done on the 14 I may be interested as the whole nothing below 5k would seriously anoy me.

Iam being a picky bastard

Jono said "Correct me if i am wrong but the busa came out before the 12R did by a few years and it was KHI's response to it the Budgie?"

Hmmm 'bus was 99 and the 12R in 2K
BUT I think K had the 12 ready to go and the bus was a shock to evryone
They couldnt go back to the drawingboards (to be fastest) so it became the problem child.
There seems to be no doubt the 12R was the better sportsbike, although a 'bus will suprise everytime as it doesnt ride like it looks, whereas the 12 looks like a scaled up 6 (of the time).
I dont know that they REALLY updated it other than stick twin butterfly efi, brakes and plastic on it, but I spose a normal upgrade is graphics
Would have been nice to see it factory big bored/stroked or an RR
I want, nay NEED to ride a 14 with PC (fuelling), pipes, a different ignition map and high set pegs.
PLEASE

hoffy wrote:

Thin Grey Line wrote: The current 12 is a sports bike. There is no tourer about it.

TGL

Thank God someone finally agrees with me, did you hear that guys, stop calling my bike the goldwing please.......

Only when you take the heated handgrips and stereo sytem off it

Glen wrote:

hoffy wrote:

Thin Grey Line wrote: The current 12 is a sports bike. There is no tourer about it.

TGL

Thank God someone finally agrees with me, did you hear that guys, stop calling my bike the goldwing please.......

Only when you take the heated handgrips and stereo sytem off it

OK, they are off, but the tassled panniers and highway pegs are staying

hoffy wrote:....OK, they are off, but the tassled panniers and highway pegs are staying

Stick your guns *son* !!

Frogster - I think a 14 with a good pipe, PCIII, some *decent* rearsets, and lower bars would be fully awesome. The other major difference I noticed was the additional wheelbase - it might only be 25mm or something, but the extra length was definitely noticeable.

For anyone thinking of actually sports-touring, you should wait for the new jobbie with the panniers, shaft-drive etc. It is a pretty ugly behemoth IMHO, but with that 1400 motor, it would be the ultimate 200mph lounge chair.

frogzx12r wrote:Jono said "Correct me if i am wrong but the busa came out before the 12R did by a few years and it was KHI's response to it the Budgie?"

Hmmm 'bus was 99 and the 12R in 2K
BUT I think K had the 12 ready to go and the bus was a shock to evryone
They couldnt go back to the drawingboards (to be fastest) so it became the problem child.
There seems to be no doubt the 12R was the better sportsbike, although a 'bus will suprise everytime as it doesnt ride like it looks, whereas the 12 looks like a scaled up 6 (of the time).
I dont know that they REALLY updated it other than stick twin butterfly efi, brakes and plastic on it, but I spose a normal upgrade is graphics
Would have been nice to see it factory big bored/stroked or an RR
I want, nay NEED to ride a 14 with PC (fuelling), pipes, a different ignition map and high set pegs.
PLEASE

Over 140 updated parts mate major bits apart from what you mentioned; cams, balancer shaft, ignition, went from a 16 to a 32 bit ECU and thats just a few off the top of my head.

(its all in the info pages at the zx12r usa website.)

The GTR looks like a fantastic tourer, and in my mind is a real icon, but I kind of like the appeal of something that has that mad sportsbike look...

How about a zx14 with some compromise?... 4 into 1 pipes with panniers???

Too much, you think?

TGL

Jono said "Over 140 updated parts mate major bits apart from what you mentioned; cams, balancer shaft, ignition, went from a 16 to a 32 bit ECU and thats just a few off the top of my head."

Yep and its STILL wasnt all that much better than the first one, some would say the later models were worse
Mind you some would take a early 10R (that WAS changed) over the new 10R too... me for one

frogzx12r wrote:......Yep and its STILL wasnt all that much better than the first one, some would say the later models were worse
.....

When I tested my first 12 back in 2001, it blew me away. So quick out of the blocks it was frightening. Stopped really well too. I did the normal test-loop of about 60km, and when I got back to the shop, the only thing they wanted to know was how fast I went well it pegged out about 260 dollars from memory.

But !! The suspension was *really* harsh, I got a sore neck from the windblast, the seat was like a plank, and overall I told the guys I couldn't own one, because it was just too uncomfortable at speed, and would probably (definitely) result in my licence going AWOL for many years.

Fast forward to 2005, and what a difference a few years makes. Much more comfortable, better brakes again (but still not a patch on the 14's brakes), suspension felt great, and personally I think the ignition mods. in the first couple of gears have made it more user-friendly around the 'burbs.

Now, with 2007 almost knocking at the door, I can't wait for a PCIII, TRE, full TI Akra, and shorter gearing funny how time changes your perspective on things......

and they look dead sexy, I mean how could you own anything else

albeit with all it's power etc, it is a really easy bike to ride, very smooth and stable, perhaps more so than some of the highly strung litre bikes out there

good lookin' bike, all you need to do now is paint the wheels black, and paint the belly pan black, and it will look *really* good