I bought the 400 Zephyr!

[yambabe]

Yep, had a day bike-shopping today and tried out all sorts of stuff.

First place we went to had a couple of suitable ones. Sat on a 400 Shadow first, not impressed at all. Seat was wide, bars were "wrong" and Himself reckoned it would be dog-slow too. They also had a 535 Virago so I sat on that for a laugh - erm even I with my love of cruisers do not like these things! Last bike looked at there (by me) was a 400 bandit with the bikini fairing. Very nice paint job but not the v-tech engine and also felt a bit taller than the last one I sat on. In the meantime himself had found a very shiny black XJR1300 that I practically had to prise him off, only thing he wasn't keen on was the peg positions so I enticed him away with hints that the next place we were due to visit had a v-max.......

Next up a shop with a very clean XJ400 Diversion, faired, nice but unfortunately waaay too tall. Couple of stunning bikes in this shop, both done by the same people (whose name I have forgotten ). One was a turbo 'busa drag/streetfighter, extra long swing-arm, all sorts of tricks and gadgets, the other was also a streetfighter but I have no idea what engine was in it! Tried to get some pics but they have come out a bit dark, I'll get the Idle Son to try and clean them up a bit in photosop I think and see if I can get them ready for posting.

Final shop gave me an initial choice of 4 bikes. The Fazer 400 was lovely but again my feet were hanging in the breeze, couldn't even get it off the stand. Moved onto an XJR400, right height this time, nice upright riding position, couldn't really fault it. Tried the v-tech 400 Bandit again, after the XJR it felt tiny and cheap! Not a bad bike but decided I definitely wasn't comfortable with the dropped bars. Last bike to try and this was really the one I'd come to see in the first place. K-reg ZR400 Zephyr, nice and clean, good price, very hopeful. It just felt "right" when I got on it, even the dealer said I looked way more comfortable than I had on any of the others. Riding position was not unlike the XJR, being fairly upright and feet just set a bit back, but somehow the bike felt a lot sturdier.

So, a price was negotiated (£200 less than the ticket price, about right I felt) and a deposit left. Himself will go to collect her on Monday. Already taxed and MOT'd til next August so just need to drop the rear suspension down a couple of notches (it was on the top setting, and for me even another inch helps) and maybe have an inch taken out of the seat too for safety, get her on my insurance and I shall be off!

Proper photos to follow once she's home but this is the dealer's pic:

https://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/Yambabe/KZEPHYR400.jpg
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[mr.z]

Thats a very very nice bike

Only thing i'd do is an end can swap, perhaps a stubby one, but other than that its lurvely
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[Whosthedaddy]

It looks tiny
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[yambabe]

[extreme3d]

That is one cool looking bike!!

Looks so neat and compact yet at the same time clearly not budget!

[wilbur]

Looks nice. I'd leave the pipe until it rots.

Word of warning those wheels are a pig to clean. Try and keep the salt off them and/or spray em with a protective coating.

[palmer]

better than the usual no go cruiser type thing you keep looking at

have fun, looks like a nice bike

[ZRX61]

Put a ZRX400 swing arm on it, bolts straight on

[distortion]

Very nice JO ,

have always loved the seat / tail part of them bikes. If i ever do a streetfighter it will have the tail of a zephyr on it

[Blau Zedong]

Looks a nice bike, however I've got a review of one which slated it as it's the same bike as the commonly available 550 zephyr but with less grunt. It's basically the old 8 Valve lump out of the Z400J I understand. Still if your happy with it then so what????
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[yambabe]

Blue is it a written review or a 'net one? As I'm having trouble finding anything about them that isn't in Japanese!

If it's on the 'net a link would be really helpful, also thanks for the info as it always helps to know what I am looking for if I need spares etc.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Blau Zedong]

Hi, it was in the old Greybike magazine. I could scan it for you if i dig it out.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[kawashima]

Really nice bike!. Welcome to air-cooled kawasaki bikes.
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own:2020 Serow 250
owned: 2012 YB125SP, 2008 TDM900, 2005 W650, 2002 LS125R, 2002 CB400SF, NS50F, C50 / Trip to UK(2009), Hokkaido touring(2013)

[Blau Zedong]

Hi BabyYam, I've found and scanned it. It's a four page review and about 9mb zipped, but interesting reading nonetheless!
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[yambabe]

Aw cheers could you maybe email it to me [email protected]?

You didn't have to go to any trouble, but it's much appreciated that you have.........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Itchy]

uh oh me feels the pace of of ride outs is about to get a little bit faster!
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Blau Zedong]

On it's way. No problem btw...I just was reading your post and remembered I had seen a review while looking through the archive of bike mags I really should throw out but can't bare too lol.

Can't gaurantee you'll be as pleased after reading the review, the bike gets a bit of a slating to be honest. As i said, in the end it's personal preference, and if you like the look of the bike and the riding position suits (not being sexist lol but riding position and seat height / bike weight tend to be extremley important when a girl is choosing a bike for physical reasons ), then all is good .

I had a 400 bandit...it was dissapointing. I was hoping anything powered by a GSXR400 based lump would be fast as fook. It also commited the cardinal sin of breaking down several times. Handled and stopped well though. Also the quality of finish was total crap, if i'd still got it i think it would of been stripped down to it's last nut and bolt and everything sprayed by now. Am actually thinking of ways to get my filthy hands on a mate's Katana 400, as it looks cool as hell.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[bish777]

I reckon the Z750 motor will fit (thats the REAL aircooled Z750 engine i mean)
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GSXR1100J

[Blau Zedong]

[bish777]

I wonder if the aircooled GPZ 1100 motor will go in.

I was trying to get Proximity to shoehorn one into his 550 zephyr....
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GSXR1100J

[Blau Zedong]

I think engine height comes into play when swopping engines in "old school" frames. A GPZ1100 engine is so bloody tall you need oxygen to do the tappets . Be interesting though if it would fit under the top tube. .

The zephyr1100 uses a Z1100 type 8 valve engine but with twin plug heads - supposed to be a right grunt monster.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[yambabe]

O don't mind a bad review to be homest, if it tells me stuff to watch out for it's all useful info!

Blue you're right, heeight and weight were very much an option when I was bike-shopping and this one seems to be OK. I'll bore you all to death with my own review if the weather lets me out to play on her over the coming weeks!

Dunno about putting a big engine in just yet, I kinda think it would be a good idea for me to learn to handle the one I've got first........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Blau Zedong]

Well, the fact that it's the same chassis as the 550 means if you do find it lacking in grunt (and everything is subjective depending on how you use / abuse a bike), you could drop a 550 lump in wihout too much fuss.

At the end of the day, get out and ride the thing - then you'll know if you like it or not. And let us know your findings!
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[craigs23]

Nice, did you try a Superfour/CB1 in your search?

[yambabe]

CB1? Yup, looked at a couple. Too tall I know you can get lowering kits for them cos I have a mate who is even shorter than me and after putting different shocks on the back and doing something to the front forks too she rides one, but I really wanted something fairly cheap and cheerful that I wouldn't need to mess about with too much.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.