ZZR6 Or NC30?

[Thom]

Wey, Right here's the general jist of things, i've almost finished my gs500e now and all i wanted this bike for to to get me to and form college and to learn a bit more about bikes mechanics on.

So, im thinking about a new bike now, to be bought about jan or february when bikes are cheap and funds are up

I've narrowed it down to two very different choices...

ZZR600 which i can pick up from anywhere from £700 - £1500, it has a very nice redline, shares a zxr's engine however appears as mroe of a tourer, which i think i actually prefer to the zxr's.

Then theres the VFR NC30, anywhere between £800-£1800, this is a smaller bike than the zzr in terms of both engine and phsycial size, however it's every new riders dream bike (almost)

Problem im having is choosing which i want to save for and set my aims at.

The NC30 is an out and out sports bike, and im not sure how practical it would be for commuting as well as long slogs to university (360miles round trip), furthurmore, finding a good one could be hard and apparantly theyre not that fun to work on.

Saying that, it's small enough to remain safe (unless i act stupid) and it easily has the ability to carry a pillion, even if slightly uncomfortable. Bonny bikes too, although im not keen on the older styles of original paintwork im sure i could find a resprayed one.

The ZZR600, wey, it's my compromise of a zxr to be honest. I cant afford a zxr600 of the same age and i think a zzr would be the more practical bike for what im after. The ZZR has a slightly more upright seating position yet can be ridden hard if i choose to.

Nice looking as well (much better than the RF600's i was considering!)

Problem is with my current bike being a GS500e im worried a large faired sports 600 could cause me a few teething problems?

So my question is, considering what i've said, should i go for the smaller bike (NC30) or The bigger ZZR600.

Oh and i dont even see the point in the ZZR400, for some reason i cant get it through my head that a 400 is capable of being a tourer, sports or not!

Any advice would be welcome.

Pictures of your own bikes even more so!
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Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[The Tot]

Mate, nothing wrong with the ZX6R F1-3 that i've got. Get the right tyres on it and it is a WHOLE load of fun. As many of my mechanics have said, they're great little fun bikes to have and are pretty reliable (granted you need to keep on top of your weekly maintenance chores for peace of mind) but i've ridden mine for ages throughout winter. I service it every 5k miles (pushing it, but that's for stuff like consumables which i can't do at home) and an oil change every 2.5k miles.

I got my zx6r for 1200 quid which was, at that time in good condition. As with most bikes of a 95-98 vintage, you'd need to budget half the value for spares and replacement parts - bikes with mild steel pipes WILL need replacing with stainless regardless of what make bike you have. Brake discs begin to warp so may need to budget for that. Suspension probably needs replenishing especially after 30k miles.

Mate, if you want a bike that says "I can carry you home over the next 400 miles but i really LOVE to play with the big boys in the weekend" then there's nothing wrong with the ZX6R F... Admittedly the G/J's are better so if you can get those models for DIRT cheap, then you're laughing, but i was more than happy with my F. My roles and requirements were for distance touring, weekend blasts and city rides... fulfills them well. Comfort for a supersport is pretty damn lush. Thick, wide seat, 820mm seat height, very roomy and because it weights 182kg dry, it feels planted yet agile enough on the roads.

My best mate has had 200 mile days on the back of my ZX6R and hasn't complained one bit. Certainly worth considering over the ZZR6 and RF6.

As LONG as nothing goes wrong, the early ZX6Rs are pretty much bulletproof. It's consigned to being a sports tourer now. Pics... well you asked for it.

https://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2008%5C05%5C24%5Cbikepics-1298838-full.jpg
https://w3.bikepics.com/pics/2008%5C05%5C24%5Cbikepics-1298839-800.jpg

Great little bikes they are - don't worry if weekend riders turn their noses at you... they're just worried and insecure that a guy on a 13 year old bike on sports touring tyres is about to whoop their arse.

Admittedly, tyres of choice - Dunlop Roadsmarts from me, Michelin Pilot Road2's from a fair few riders. Both good tyres and the only way for me to tell is to ride them back to back on my bike.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[mr jamez]

I have never had a go on a ZZR. I owned an NC30 for a while though and covered a lot of distance on it before mangling the poor thing. First off like you say its a sportsbike and going fast on twisty roads is where it excels. So naturaly it isn't brilliant for commuting or long distance due to the seating position and tank range. However I commuted on mine and did some long slogs all over the place.

If you get one the first job you should do is refresh the suspension, the standard stuff will all be past its best now. They are fiddly to work on and take patience, but day to day maintenance isn't any more difficult than any other bike. Balancing the carbs is a pain and valve clearances are very time consuming.

I can honestly say its the best bike I have ever ridden, it may be small but you can get some rather alarming speed round corners out of them
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NSR 125F > BROS 400 > NC30 > BROS 400 > Trumpet S4 > '97 VFR 750

[Thom]

Ah yes Titz i do believe i saw the pics of your bike elsewhere, didnt realise you got it that cheap but i would have to get an insurance quote on the zxr as if i remember it was considerably higher than the ZZR.

I am tempted to reconsider the ZXR now that you've said that mind, that seems to be a certain +1 for Kawasaki at least!
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Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[craigs23]

Based on your criteria, have you considered a CBR600F?

[Thom]

It'll sound really stupid, but i refuse to own a CBR...

It's probably really stuck up but up here everyone has CBR's and theyre just all too common, however they do match my criteria quite nicely, i may consider one if one comes up at the right price.

Theyre also quite expensive as far as im aware!
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Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[The Tot]

Also, ignore what the "supercore" 600 bastards say, nothing wrong with old kawaskais, they started the rapid 600 revolution... a significant proportion of them, what they ever do is wheelies and going around roundabouts... ( satisfied craig?! ) so if it seems that you do the same sort of riding that I do, mostly distance work, then don't discount it. Okay, insurance quotes for me was roughly about the 500 mark with 3 years ncb at 19 with no alarm, just disk lock (alarmed discklock), chain and ground anchor.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[craigs23]

Everyone's got iPods these days, that's usually down to the fact they're not too bad at playing music.

How about a Thundercat? Fazer 600?

[The Tot]

Bear in mind the other bikes that craig has suggested has steel components - steel frames and swingarms.. The zx6r f is ally framed and has an ally swing arm. The thundercat, like the CBR600 is steel framed along with its swingarm. There are no known engine problems with the ZX6R - you see many hitting 50k with no problems and running fine still.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[Blau Zedong]

An oil cooled GSXR750. Cheap, lots of it is alloy so it doesn't rot to bits like a Bandit or GS, bombproof engine (mine has done 60K and can still haul 150+ on the speedo), quality chassis and suspension. I use mine for work sometimes, bit heavy on the wrists but that's all. No fuel pump or water cooling to worry about either.

https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/BLUEX5/DSC00047.jpg
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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

[Kickstart]

Hi

Ridden a VFR400, and do a fair number of miles on a ZZR600.

Personally I would say they are for very different purposes. While they can both be thrashed round a track or used for long distance touring, each is better than the the other at one of those.

ZZR is decent on petrol, fair relaxed riding position (although I find the seat gives me a sore bumb pretty rapidly), decent size tank, adequate brakes (although they are a pig to work on) and pretty quick. First 150mph 600, although you do have to rev them (not much under 8k).

VFR was more flexable, far more compact, better handling, etc.

For local-ish use and fun thrashing round I would choose the VFR, for longer distance use I would go for the ZZR.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[gmanxiii]

I've just bought a zzr600 to commute on last week after using an NC30 for about a year. So far so good, mostly what keith has said. Loved riding the nc30 very easy to chuck about. The zzr feel very different, I find the brakes are very crap and apparently they seize often if you dont keep on top of them. The nc30 is narrower so is better for filtering but i find the ZZR better for motorway work. Very easy to go fast on but feels heavy when cornering compared to the 30. Main thing i think is price. I picked up a decent nc30 for almost twice the price of the ZZR. Both same age and with similar mileage.
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I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[krebsy]

Not ridden the NC30 but loved my ZZR-600 E10. I'd show you a picture but they're not pretty, what with it going down the road and all.

Great on fuel if your easy on her, doesn't drink too badly if you thrash it as well. More than kept up with the bikes on the track last year and I found the bike more than comfortable (and worked well two-up touring) for long distance. I used to do a few 400 mile round trips a month for work and took it in it's stride. Tires and brakes last well, and any bikes will give you grief if you don't look after them. Get it to 8k revs and it storms along in the rest of the range.

Dirt cheap on the insurance as well...

Compared to my VFR 800, it was smoother, easier to flick around and less jerky on the power delivery. I was just getting to the stage of hanging off when I met a lamp post coming the other way.. .

Doesn't drink oil, cheap to service, easy to get at most stuff and you can undo a few bolts and roll the whole lower fairing off in one go rather than having to explode the whole bike when servicing. If you want it to turn in better then tweak the suspension or change the dog-bones.

A double-Bubble screen works wonders as well. Cuts out a huge amount of wind blast.

As long as it sits merrily in 2nd gear (if it doesn't then it's a sign of thrashing) then it'll suit you well.

Try each bike for size, go for a spin and see which feels best.

K.
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What's my New Year's resolution?

1280 x 1024.

[Faldo]

ZXR400 ? Best of both worlds. Same power/weight/uncomfy riding position as the NC30. Insurance group 12, (Think the ZZR is 14/15?) And it's a Kawasaki Rock on!

But you don't get the sexy single sider of the NC30

I've had a ZXR400 and a ZZR400 (Exactly the same frame as the 600 I believe), but for me the ZZR was far too "squishy" and the handle bars were far too high up for me to thrash it round bends. It was comfy though.

https://w2.bikepics.com/pics/2007/08/19/bikepics-998303-full.jpg
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Current: ZZR1400
Previous: ZXR 400 L9, ZX-7R P5, ZZR 400, ZX-7R P6, Bandit 600, GSXR 750 Slingshot, DRZ400, DR650, ZX10R C1H, ZXR 750 L1, ZXR 750 L3, '99 ZX7R P4, KTM 300 EXC, ZX-9R E1, TDM850

[mark83]

I'd go for a ZZR but that's because deep down I'm an old man.

........ ............
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[Thom]

its sounding like althought the Viffer is capable the ZZR will be more suited, checked out some sxr's on the net and theyre too expensive comapred to zzr's so looks like it might be the kwak rather than the honda!

I'll see if i can get a couple of test rides, but im not sure how dealerships will feel letting an 18year old ride a bike after 6 months of a full licence
____________________
Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[quik_d]

based on my dads zzr i would say that, he loved it, its damn nippy yet comfortable etc He is selling his BTW if your interested as he got a tourer with all the panniers etc so my mum could do away for the weekend.
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LOOK AT DAT M8 WELL LUSH A PARROT INT IT

[G]

How much money have you got to spend?
An early ZX6 as suggested by Titz would seem to be a good compromise between the two rather different bikes you list.

[calum17]

[Thom]

[G]

Wouldn't be surprised if you could get a GSXR or even an early R6 for that in winter if you're willing to shop around and wait a bit.
Same for a bit later zx6 too and definitely the F model.

[mark83]

[Thom]

Quotes:

KAWASAKI ZX-6R £652.32

KAWASAKI ZZR 600 £368.15

Deciding factor really!

The zxr is a 95 model as confused didnt seem to have anything from before that, not sure if they were or were not made before then like!

Both TPO with no mods declared and 1 years no claims infact identical quote other than the bike.

I reckon for the sake of having some style the monetary cost doesn't make up for it.

ZZR it looks like it may be...

I'd consider a zxr400 but theyre expensive and i dont really want to downscale from my 500, although the zxr is a completely different engine, more revvy, quicker and faster.
____________________
Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[G]

95 was the first ZX6r.
I'd get a few more qotes personally; different companies might be cheaper, though if you're fairly young that 'X' rather than a 'Z' may well bump it up.

The ZX6R definitely offers more than just styling improvements over the ZZR.

[craigs23]