Kawasaki abuse!!!!!!

[niff5855]

I was reading the thread below about Kwak build quality and the GPZ magnet problem.

Kwaks seem to come in for a lot of abuse about build quality.

Everyone praises Honda for their quality but arent Honda's...........................Well...................Boring?

Whilst this obviously isnt actually true (CBR600's, VFR's, etc...etc... are cracking machines) the image is definitely a bit Mondeo isnt it?

When I think of getting a CBR600 I think ford Mondeo,

when I think of a shiny GREEN ZX6R or 636 I think sex, drugs and rock n roll !!!!!! F*** the world! I'm a baddass muther hubbard coming for your daughters...
YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!



You get my point?

Mind you, I've always been a kwak man since I had an AR50 about 15yrs ago. I wouldnt dream of getting another brand unless the Kwak version was completely shite. (Actually I would consider a triumph or Ducati !!!!)
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Live fast - die....erm...well...old !!!

[iCraig]

Only reason why people comment on them is because they have had bad experiences with Kawasakis, I myself have owned 2 now and both have had electrical problems of some sort, one the rectifier went on it twice and that bikes was only 3 years old with 14,000 miles on it, on the same bike the shocks went at also 14,000 miles and now at 10,000 miles on another Kawasaki the alternator goes.

Also they get bad press like recent recalls of the ZX10-R with its dodgy wheel castings, bits breaking off of them, and numerous other things.

[hantsdave]

i ride a fireblade me boring no, well built it is ,fun it is,scarry sometimes,

[mrchips]

Green is faster.
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Northern Irish? www.nibikers.com

[octane]

[instigator]

[MarJay]

who'd want to ride any of that japanese rubbish anyway!

Seriously, Here is my rundown of Japanese bikes.

Honda = Reliable as the rising sun, but can be a bit bland. Dogmatic with safety items (such as steering dampers and Dual CBS). Lacking in character.

Kawasaki = Good design with some dodgy craftsmanship. Strong motors with weak design elements such as alternator/ clutch bits. Almost as if some models are rushed off of the production line. Many models have tough character often mistaken for build quality and finish.

Suzuki = great design but unacceptably poor finish and materials. They all rot to hell in winter and some have some very suspicious frame issues (TL-S, Busa). Often try a little to hard to have character.

Yamaha = Good build quality, but some rushed design elements. For me at least they always look like they are trying to play catch-up with Honda. Finish improving over the last few years. Character second best of jap bikes really.

Compare this with my honest unbiassed appraisal of Triumph.

Triumph = Good materials and build quality, excellent finish (with a few ropey ones after the fire) Can be over engineered, but generally do no more and no less than is stated on the tin. (which is a shame). Has character that is often found lacking in Japanese bikes.

Shame Jap bikes are so cheap really isn't it?
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Flip]

Hondas boring? I don't think so, a CBR6 is more like a focus rs than a mondeo. I reckon a CBR6 would be one of the better bikes to have, a fast all rounder.

Maybe they should change their logo and the way they advertise or something? Never really liked the wings. The CBR600RR isn't boring...

I suppose the Honda image a bit, well, safe.

Honda just needs fresh advertising or something. Suzuki Gixxers scream rock n' roll. Great designs.

I agree but disagree at the same time (Can I do that?).

EDIT/ What I was getting at was, the image isn't great and the designs are'nt as good as they should be but I would own a Honda bike again.

[Bendy]

Of course, the 'image' is destroyed the second you climb on board and turn the key... I see plenty 'hooligan' bikes being ridden like my gran would ride, and plenty 'old man' bikes being hooned to within an inch of their lives.

[Villers]

Thinking back to a test in MCN where hey ran three brand new bikes flat out for something like 5000 miles, didnt the triumph engine eat itself while the honda only had a bent exhaust valve?

I do agree that the honda is a bit bland, it wasnt my first choice but the package overall suited my pocket and need for a bike right away. Compared to riding my mates ZX6r it feels like you are sitting on top of it as opposed to being part of the bike. If that makes sense!

[BLOFLY 636]

I guess theres something about the kwaks new designs that I just love like the silver frame, raw induction wail, pug tough front area, in your face green paint, steep sharp tail and wild ability in the right hands, it also won super sport class master bike of the year too, the ZX-10 wheels were mainly cracking because of hard landings from high wheelies, still it isn't good enough though but nothing some dymags wouldn't fix!
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Those bloody footpegs......they ought to do away with em!

[Ste]

I love the way the OEM chain outlived the engine on my ZX6R J2.

[G]

I have had the carb on a NSR mess up and need to replaced in whole. The bike was about 3000 miles and under a year old.

There bikes generally seem to be on the 'boring' side; most of the blades I've ridden I wouldn't consider as fun as other makes. They feel a bit blander, you can still have fun, but it does tempted you to turn the throttle like other bikes. Same with other models.

Even the latest one has been described as an 'easier' ride compared to others in the class; fast maybe, but doesn't feel as exciting and doesn't have that extra few % of power etc.

[stevo as b4]

Yeah, but different brands seem to have different levels of finish depending on the model of bike, the age of the machine and at different era's in time.

When the old Suzuki GSXR750/1100's were around especially the older oil cooled ones, Suzuki had a very high reputation. they had arguably the best gearbox's, the suspension was of a high specification with full adjustment on many models, and the brakes were top notch also. The finish of these bikes seems to be way ahead of todays suzukis, with their poor paint and peeling decals after just a few months etc.

Show an early 90's GSXR a winter and it would look far less secondhand than a modern version after a bit of salt and road grime. Today Suzuki's have a piss poor repuation among the big four, for the finish and corrosion resistance. Times change and manufacturers either get better or worse as they are all always trying to cut costs, but some get it right and others fail. In the late 90's Yamaha's seemed to suffer with corrosion and poor plating and alloy parts corroding at the slightest sign of winter conditions. I think the latest Yamaha's have really tried to reverse this trend and the finish on the latest Fazer600 for example is much better and more corrosion resistant than the original version ever was. No manufacturer will always be top of the pile, for any catagory including build quality and reliability.

Also say a bike like a GPZ500 which ive worked on a few times is a million times more cheaply finished than say a ZX6R , as these bikes are cheaper budget machines, and the manufacturers i think have never put the same effort in across the whole range, they want low cost parts and money saving when and wherever they can get away with them. The new Fazer is another example of this, in that to give it a nice die-cast alloy frame and R6 engine they had to lose the R1 brakes, which was admitted as a purely cost driven reason, so that they could keep the price where they wanted it to be.

[Frost]

Honda's boring?

I spend hours watching 2 CBR600RR's with after market inderstead exausts thrash it round Oulton park. The sounds AWESOME! and boy does it go! Easily the most impressive bike there.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/idratherdiethaneatmustard/tenkate.bmp

And when it looks liek that, it's definatly on my wish list!

[NSR125-Kid-UK]

[BLOFLY 636]

as soon as I think honda I think of massive boat on two wheels oh and the RC211V
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Those bloody footpegs......they ought to do away with em!

[stevo as b4]

Thing is that for me i find the RCV stye very ugly compared to some bikes! it has grown on me a bit now, and yes the 600RR is a nicer looking bike, but can anyone realy say the 2004 Blade is a better looker than the 02 version? having said that the 02 R1 was kinda sexy, but the new one is well, not as nice from the rear, so maybe its an 04 thing, (The year of the ugly Litre sports bike)!

[Kickstart]

[MinhDinh]

keith must know absolutely everything when it comes to bike's. almost ever post is relevant to the thread and i can tell he understands his stuff! i know who to pm when i have bike troubles

all the best keith bit is abit annoying though :p

[EuropeanNC30R...]

[cc123]

There are going to be issues with all bikes, something is going to go wrong with them all eventually.

Personally I had NOTHING go wrong with mines. It's pampered and and looked after including being serviced when it's supposed too.
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Old bikes >>> https://www.bikepics.com/members/cc123/

[Kickstart]

Hi

To be honest the problems seemed to be rider abuse or servicing issues. The Triumph possibly had not had the valve clearances set at the first service, so the clearances had tightened up and overheated a valve. The blade had just been overrevved hard and bounced the valves. Ducati was probably just overfilled with oil.

All the best

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

[map]

Personally I think all this my bike maker is better than yours stuff is a bit childish

When you've been around a while you realise things are cyclic. What does around comes around! After all wasn't the Honda Fireblade the best thing out when launched all those years ago. Completely floored all the others, they were big, overweight and too slow, the 'blade was the bike to get.

Then wasn't the R1 the new kid on the block, didn't the press praise it as "better than a 'blade"? Oh, and don't get me started on a GSXR as being the bees knees

So really I guess it's horses for courses. Personally I've time for Honda, as I like a bike that I feel will always start and won't rot from beneath me! That's not to say they're perfect, just that I don't dismiss them out of hand.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[ZaphodBeeble]

I've had quite a few bikes in my time, granted they've mainly been off-road but I still think my opinion is relevant

I find Honda to be the most reliable and thus the best in my opinion as a slow/boring bike is better than a broken one.

I've had Kawasakis that fell apart, Yamahas that just wear out and others that just don't compare to the long lasting ability of a Honda. Mmm I love the Honda.

My first bike was a Honda 50R Monkey bike, so much fun. I was about 6 years old

I'm only now properly getting into road riding and loving every minute of it. I don't care that it's cold, I've got lots of layers of clothing to wear.
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Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.