Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Would be a long time before ya need to get to the 12r's shims anyway.

They are a fair bit lighter and look eaps better than a busa and are almost equal in power and speed and certainly handle better than most simular size machines.
Maybe the other riders are just awestruck by the zx12r's presence on the road that they just think it's not worth trying to keep up.
Who knows, I still wanna test another zx10r again, that will prove one thing for me; then I can give a full comparrison report between a zzr1200, zx12r, and a zx10r. (BTW I still miss big blue the ZZR1200)
But its always a personal choice in the end IMHO, weight and long distance travel sitting on a good seat was a big factor for me along with rideability
The zx10r originally seemed a small bike, too narrow and too light for open road riding at a constant high speed. More an in-between bike to take on the litre bikes in the city with a few runs out of town was my impression.
But that would suit you in Canberra, when I was living there I found the local roads fairly awesome before ACT become its own government then the roads went from best in the country to absolute crap. But the outskirt roads would be perfect for the 10 IMO along with the Civic cafe appearances.

scotty37 wrote:... I found the local roads fairly awesome before ACT become its own government then the roads went from best in the country to absolute crap...

So true

i'm with you on the seat issue mick, when i was looking for a bigger sportsbike i went to ride a 929 and 954 blade. After sitting on them for about two mins i was numb down my left hand (almost).

Mick C 98ZX9R wrote:
ZX12R - Would have loved to have ridden one but they didn't have a demonstrator...except for a used 2001 model. A mates one I have ridden before impressed with the power, but disappointed with the handling. Maybe they've improved but I'm not willing to risk my hard earned on a maybe. Plus I don't like the idea of having to drop the engine to get the valve cover off

Hey mick try and get a test ride on a late model 12.
Before 03 they were pretty crap in the handling department. 03 they fixed that but the fuel injection was very sharp off idle(power comander is meant to fix this) 04 onwards they fixed it all plus put on radial brakes.

Cya

Yeah, it would have been nice to try one to see...it might be a bit late now anyway

and that front end complete with radial brakes, fits straight into a 7R for those interested

Mick C 98ZX9R wrote: CBR1000RR - Not bad but I must have had dodgy one, it wouldn't turn into corners too well. The seat was like a plank.

i think there all dodgy

Well Strutto n I harrassed a coupla of the scoot cellars today. Weather held & i got to at long last toss a leg over the "Criminal" 04 ZX10R ....... Holy Fark. The name suits it so well "hang out with this Sik puppy too long n you're bound to end up in Jaol". I still cant get my head around riding a 10r to work in the rain. Mick best of luck with it champ.
i was silly enough to think that an old 10r would make a good track bike for me, nah uh, for Stu or Madkaw for sure but even an "old Criminal" would see me sliding down the road looking for a safe spot to come to rest. "Visor Tap" n Best wishes to all you guys n gals on them.
Ok on with the impressions
05 ZX6R ... Really delightful package, well suspended, Brilliant brakes, unmistakably with precision riding in mind, extremely light to steer, great stablilty in crosswinds for its light weight. Think its the type of bike that takes a little time to feel confident on to start tossing it around but when you do the fun really starts. Loved the look, finish, seat, lap timer thingie, gearbox, brakes & the motors willingness to rev.
Disliked the underseat pipe (look n lack of noise) the heat on the ankles, the tacho (yes i could see it if i sat back n inch) , mirrors couldnt see directly behind at all, lack of grunt n my thumbs ached ?. Had more punch then the cbr6rr i rode last year n much nicer seat n riding position.
05 Z750. Much More bike then i expected n most fun all day, why heaps of poke n very little to fear, immediately I felt confident on it started tossing it around n having fun. Throttle responce was better then "tiggr" but it did lack that high end sting of a 9r. Also liked the footpegs & the instrument cluster. Think I'd whack some straight bars n a really cool ermax screen on it n i dont think theres anywhere this bike wouldnt do well. Disliked the things that come with a budget bike such as lack of suspension tunability & minor creature comforts like mirrors that dont buzz.
04 GSX1000 Surprised me with its low end grunt. Like the 10r too hard core for me to comtemplate for anything other then pose purposes. Seat was too soft ? was horrible n riding position too stretched for me. Liked the front breaks n did everything else pretty well. Its a spewie though so other then that i wasnt that interested.
04 ZX10R "The Criminal" I have to say Go ride one Kids they are more fun then the fun park rides n usually shorter lines to get on one. Throttle response is immediate & just plain nasty. It's hard to be smooth creeping along in traffic. Anyone that has been on the pillion seat needs a medal for Valor but who cares I would'nt
My favorite bits were the motor, the riding position (brilliant for my little bod) the motor, the brakes, the motor, the slipper clutch, the motor, Mirrors were ok, the motor, suspension seemed firm but fair, the motor, the induction noise, the motor, the compression braking off throttle, the motor, the side pipe oh n the motor was pretty good as well. Dont think there'll be a lot to worry about buying one of these second hand as i cant imagine a lot of blokes caning the motor ....... gearbox, brakes, clutch for sure but not the motor
Best wednesday i've had in a while thanks Strutto for the great company.
Cheers Brett

Nup thanks to you Brett for your advice and impressions... I got a raised eyebrow from "the missus" though... "How the hell did you spend 6 hours looking at bikes? There can't be that many bikes to look at!" Women eh?

Anyway my thoughts on the bikes:

Gixxer Thou and 600: They're Spewis... They just didn't feel right... The End...

The 10: WAAAY too much bike for me...

Z750: Nice bike but the lack of fairing would shit me I reckon... Plenty of punch at low revs... I prefered the Z1000 for seating position but that may have just been the position of the bars on the Z750... Doesn't have the "stamp of approval" from "the missus" cause it doesn't look finished apparently... Women eh?

ZX-6R: I'm pretty set on one of these I think... Love the look... Plenty of "things" to fiddle with... Needed a pipe... Got a great price after a KSRC name drop (thanks to Tanya and Stu for the groundwork on that one...) Fit me really well... I think learning the 6R well would set me up well for a 10R in the future...

Still got a little bit of time before I do anything but was good to get out there and see what's available...

Thanks again Brett...

Was all this testing done at Whales?

They wouldnt let us take out the 05 Criminal 10R (sold apparantly ) so we headed to Team moto for the 2 04 bikes, the gixxer n 04 "Crim" 10R. Getting itchy cods Jibbers ?. I can see ya on a Z750 mate James' in sydney would be the go .
Cheers Brett