Week one with the ZRX :) (long)
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:38 pm
One week down on the ZRX and over 1000km. 
I did 5000km in the last three and a bit years on my ZZR, so that says something. Pretty damned happy with it so far. Someone on here compared the ZRX to a ZX9R recently and they are right- a sporty bike that handles good, but comfy enough to rack up the miles on. I really like the C model ZX9Rs but they aren’t available new any more.
I’ve got the following impressions of it so far:
More comfy than ZZR. Bit of the seat around the tank on the ZZR was a pain which spreads your legs unnecessarily. ZRX doesn’t have that bit on it. Seat looks thin and unpadded but works really well for me. Not as comfy as GT550, but pretty damned good for a modern bike.Seating position suits round people like me far better than the ZZR- struggled to reach the bars and the seat was too high for me on the ZZR. A mate of mine (50 years old) used to have a ZRX and he sold it because he found it uncomfy. I wonder how? He has a XJR1300 now, which I find boring as batshit to ride, and doesn’t handle or go anywhere near as good as the ZRX. He whinges about the fuel economy of his XJR, but my ZRX is worse at this stage. Girlfriend and I have done 430km on the bike today and she says it is good for pillions. She hasn’t ridden much and we have been stopping every 100km or so. I could go from full tank to empty, but it is pretty hard on pillions. Bike was loaded to the eyeballs with the panniers I fitted last week.
Headlight is pretty average, (ZZR had excellent headlights) but have improved it with a Narva Plus50 bulb. Adjustment is really easy with an accessible screw to adjust up and down. Will try and fit a knob there to make it slightly easier. Had to adjust with pillion and two full panniers.
Underseat area is huge and can store heaps there. I have removed the ‘glovebox’ and this avails more area to stuff things in.
Paint job is up several notches on the ZZR- all panels are the same colour and no flaws in the paint- ZZR was mis-matched from the factory, and I had the fairing upper replaced under warranty because of dust particles in the paint. I’m pretty fussy here because one of my hobbies is painting bikes.
Handling and braking are miles better on ZRX- a shame because ZZR was $4k dearer and wore the same wheels, front suspension, but with fewer adjustments. Brakes are 6 potters compared to ZZR 4 pots. ZRX is 12 kilos lighter but feels like 50 kilos. I was thinking today that Kawasaki could have saved themselves heaps on the ZZR development if they made a ZZR fairing for the ZRX, put a clock on the dash and made a mono-shock rear end, chucked in some hotter cams and called that a ZZR1200R. Mid range power is predictably much better on ZRX, but I noticed a while ago that the ZZR works really well at 180km/h. You have to go that fast on a ZZR for it to go well and be enjoyable.......ZRX doesn't feel that much slower than ZZR, even though I'm sure it is with 120Hp vs 160Hp. ZRX seems to like 120km/h to cruise on. Not real licence friendly either.
Wheelies easy and I’m pretty crap at wheelies. Even did a little stoppie on it yesterday. No way a ZZR could do that. Easy to ride at town speeds- feels much smaller than it is, once on the move.
A few disappointments with the ZRX are: no centrestand, fuel economy (13km/L- hoping that will improve after it runs in and I balance the carbs) and fuel range (250km ish out of 19L tank) and that some countries have powerleads under the seat, but Australian ZRXs aren’t supplied with them. Will hook up a 12 Volt socket up near the headlight somewhere. Don’t like the gold wheels much but will leave them a while to make up my mind. Painted the gold wheels of the ZZR black and polished the edges. Not sure about the paintscheme either- Kawasaki green is pretty hard on the retinas. Have already bought another tank and front guard off ebay so will give another paintjob a whirl when I get a chance and can collect the other bodypanels. ZRX eats tyres. A medium pace run through twisties with a pillion today and the Bridgestones BT20s are burnin up on the sides. They won’t last long at that rate. I test rode a ZRX down in Brissie a couple of weeks ago that seemed to go better so maybe mine will loosen up and go better with better economy too. The radiator grille is cheapo thing that rattles a lot, and I've read it can wear into the radiator itself. Gotta fix that one! Mirrors are really good and give a wide view of behind except they blur the image a bit, particularly when being followed at night. Overall not much to whinge about, really and the other good points of the bike more than make up for the bad.
I haven’t named a bike for a few years, but my ZRX is called ‘Eddie’ for obvious reasons. ‘EDD13’ is already gone from the personal plate register. Bugger.
I did 5000km in the last three and a bit years on my ZZR, so that says something. Pretty damned happy with it so far. Someone on here compared the ZRX to a ZX9R recently and they are right- a sporty bike that handles good, but comfy enough to rack up the miles on. I really like the C model ZX9Rs but they aren’t available new any more.
I’ve got the following impressions of it so far:
More comfy than ZZR. Bit of the seat around the tank on the ZZR was a pain which spreads your legs unnecessarily. ZRX doesn’t have that bit on it. Seat looks thin and unpadded but works really well for me. Not as comfy as GT550, but pretty damned good for a modern bike.Seating position suits round people like me far better than the ZZR- struggled to reach the bars and the seat was too high for me on the ZZR. A mate of mine (50 years old) used to have a ZRX and he sold it because he found it uncomfy. I wonder how? He has a XJR1300 now, which I find boring as batshit to ride, and doesn’t handle or go anywhere near as good as the ZRX. He whinges about the fuel economy of his XJR, but my ZRX is worse at this stage. Girlfriend and I have done 430km on the bike today and she says it is good for pillions. She hasn’t ridden much and we have been stopping every 100km or so. I could go from full tank to empty, but it is pretty hard on pillions. Bike was loaded to the eyeballs with the panniers I fitted last week.
Headlight is pretty average, (ZZR had excellent headlights) but have improved it with a Narva Plus50 bulb. Adjustment is really easy with an accessible screw to adjust up and down. Will try and fit a knob there to make it slightly easier. Had to adjust with pillion and two full panniers.
Underseat area is huge and can store heaps there. I have removed the ‘glovebox’ and this avails more area to stuff things in.
Paint job is up several notches on the ZZR- all panels are the same colour and no flaws in the paint- ZZR was mis-matched from the factory, and I had the fairing upper replaced under warranty because of dust particles in the paint. I’m pretty fussy here because one of my hobbies is painting bikes.
Handling and braking are miles better on ZRX- a shame because ZZR was $4k dearer and wore the same wheels, front suspension, but with fewer adjustments. Brakes are 6 potters compared to ZZR 4 pots. ZRX is 12 kilos lighter but feels like 50 kilos. I was thinking today that Kawasaki could have saved themselves heaps on the ZZR development if they made a ZZR fairing for the ZRX, put a clock on the dash and made a mono-shock rear end, chucked in some hotter cams and called that a ZZR1200R. Mid range power is predictably much better on ZRX, but I noticed a while ago that the ZZR works really well at 180km/h. You have to go that fast on a ZZR for it to go well and be enjoyable.......ZRX doesn't feel that much slower than ZZR, even though I'm sure it is with 120Hp vs 160Hp. ZRX seems to like 120km/h to cruise on. Not real licence friendly either.
Wheelies easy and I’m pretty crap at wheelies. Even did a little stoppie on it yesterday. No way a ZZR could do that. Easy to ride at town speeds- feels much smaller than it is, once on the move.
A few disappointments with the ZRX are: no centrestand, fuel economy (13km/L- hoping that will improve after it runs in and I balance the carbs) and fuel range (250km ish out of 19L tank) and that some countries have powerleads under the seat, but Australian ZRXs aren’t supplied with them. Will hook up a 12 Volt socket up near the headlight somewhere. Don’t like the gold wheels much but will leave them a while to make up my mind. Painted the gold wheels of the ZZR black and polished the edges. Not sure about the paintscheme either- Kawasaki green is pretty hard on the retinas. Have already bought another tank and front guard off ebay so will give another paintjob a whirl when I get a chance and can collect the other bodypanels. ZRX eats tyres. A medium pace run through twisties with a pillion today and the Bridgestones BT20s are burnin up on the sides. They won’t last long at that rate. I test rode a ZRX down in Brissie a couple of weeks ago that seemed to go better so maybe mine will loosen up and go better with better economy too. The radiator grille is cheapo thing that rattles a lot, and I've read it can wear into the radiator itself. Gotta fix that one! Mirrors are really good and give a wide view of behind except they blur the image a bit, particularly when being followed at night. Overall not much to whinge about, really and the other good points of the bike more than make up for the bad.
I haven’t named a bike for a few years, but my ZRX is called ‘Eddie’ for obvious reasons. ‘EDD13’ is already gone from the personal plate register. Bugger.
But most nromal riding see's around 280 before you need to stop 
, so hopefully yours will ocme good as it wears in. Also remember, as it is new, you are probably doing what Phil, Wadda and myself all did in the first few months of ownership and that is played with the prodigous torque!!! So as your right wrist setttles, the economy may also!!! 
