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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 11:02 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Works for me |
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In the interest of not getting sucked too deeply into the sock puppet and political wars going on elsewhere on the forum.
So I saw this on a recent run out:
https://i.postimg.cc/tgLRk35c/DSCN1206.jpg
I don't think photos do it justice. Actually seeing it in the flesh, it was a very pretty bike, and I think this time Kawasaki have really caught the retro theme nicely. The Zephyrs always had a slightly porky look to me, but this didn't seem like a big heavy lump, the lines seemed to flow from most viewpoints, sounded quite nice, if a little muted on the standard pipe.
Looks were always the first thing that fired me up about any bike, and this is hitting the spot in that way for me, although it took seeing this one outside of a showroom to do it. Wonder if I could live with one? I suspect I'd want a little more oomph than it'll have as standard, but it seems to me like the kind of bike you could mess around with a bit, give it more go, tidy up the handling, spend a few quid to make it 'yours'.
So would anyone here consider buying one? Anyone else feel the love for it? ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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Posted: 11:26 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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chickenstrip wrote: | In the interest of not getting sucked too deeply into the sock puppet and political wars going on elsewhere on the forum.
So I saw this on a recent run out:
https://i.postimg.cc/tgLRk35c/DSCN1206.jpg
I don't think photos do it justice. Actually seeing it in the flesh, it was a very pretty bike, and I think this time Kawasaki have really caught the retro theme nicely. The Zephyrs always had a slightly porky look to me, but this didn't seem like a big heavy lump, the lines seemed to flow from most viewpoints, sounded quite nice, if a little muted on the standard pipe.
Looks were always the first thing that fired me up about any bike, and this is hitting the spot in that way for me, although it took seeing this one outside of a showroom to do it. Wonder if I could live with one? I suspect I'd want a little more oomph than it'll have as standard, but it seems to me like the kind of bike you could mess around with a bit, give it more go, tidy up the handling, spend a few quid to make it 'yours'.
So would anyone here consider buying one? Anyone else feel the love for it? |
Prefer the unfaired, but pretty much agree with everything you said. I really love the bronze/orange one. I want to test ride one, but if I do I might end up buying one, and I don't really want to do that. To be honest I think it probably has enough 'oomph' for a bike of that style... ____________________ British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another. |
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G |
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G The Voice of Reason
Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :
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Posted: 11:28 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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I saw an unfaired one (err, I think it was) in black and did think it was quite pretty.
Of course a ZX9R would probably offer as good a riding experience for a tenth the price! |
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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Posted: 11:46 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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G wrote: | I saw an unfaired one (err, I think it was) in black and did think it was quite pretty.
Of course a ZX9R would probably offer as good a riding experience for a tenth the price! |
*sigh*
I kind of agree with this... but even the newest ZX9R's are 15 years old now... and they don't look as nice.
I've been through this whole cycle recently by buying a 2000 VFR800 which is a great bike. Far better than it should be on paper. It's a surprising amount of fun considering it has an enormous barn door fairing, slightly low spec suspension and sliding caliper brakes. Really the brakes are what let it down.
However, compared to it's modern Kawasaki equivalent the Z1000SX, it's just not a match. When new? Maybe. 20 years after it rolled out of a Hammatsu factory? Nah. Things are just breaking on it. Much like you or I G, once we get to a certain age bits of us don't work as well as they used to. Be that shoulders, elbows, knees, eyes, regulator rectifiers, brake hoses, throttle cables etc.
It's natural for us ~40 year olds to get misty eyed about the bikes that were great during our late teens and early 20s... especially those that can now be had for £1500 (which to olds like us is nearly throwaway money) but it's impossible to deny that modern bikes have more to give. Whether that extra is worth £10,000 I have no idea. But I do know that most people don't give a crap about that and just stick it on PCP these days anyway.
And they just look pretty.
To those whinging about monoshocks, wheels and air cooled ness... Nah. That would all be a step too far and they wouldn't sell You're talking about a Zephyr! Blau would you rather have a Z900RS or a Zephyr? Seriously? You expect me to believe that?
I think Kawasaki have pitched this bike absolutely perfectly. They have the perfect balance between retro and modern, and I love it. Shame it doesn't really fill a role for me right now, else I'd probably have one. As it is I may have to go Z1000SX or modern VFR for ULEZ reasons at some point... ____________________ British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another. |
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 13:00 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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Well, I get the dislike for LC with bikes like this, given I got into bikes when air cooled still ruled the roost, but I guess I'm used to it now - at least this has a nod to cooling fins.
Don't get me wrong; this couldn't replace my Fazer - too much invested that I'd never get back, and I've grown into it too much to part with it for something else. But it could, too, if you get my drift.
As to monoshock - a lot of folks back in the air cooled days would have converted from twin shock if they'd had the money - many did. MarJay's point about the actual originals ageing is a good one. Ageing not only in that they're wearing out, but ageing in the sense that they're heavy, slow old beasts by today's standards. That's what I liked about this 900RS - it didn't look like a big lump, was smaller than I'd expected, and of course the LC engine means it's slimmer than old Z1s and the like. I remember when LC just started to become common, and I too felt a little resistance to it - but I'd never have turned down a GPZ900R when it hit the showrooms! I don't mind living in the past sometimes, but I don't want to do it all the time.
Zephyrs somehow missed the target for my taste.
G - well, you're a bit of a sports bike fan I think, which I also get, and the ZX9R certainly was a good bike, although not the sportiest of sport by today's standards. But I don't think it's a relevant comparison here, not for me anyway. If you're going to make comparisons, it seems to me to make more sense to compare with other upright style bikes.
The fairing on this one brought to mind the old GS1000S.
I also think this Kawasaki is a bike that would be easy to live with on a daily basis. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!
Last edited by chickenstrip on 13:14 - 16 May 2019; edited 1 time in total |
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MarJay But it's British!
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 13:17 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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I wasn't even thinking about how much this bike might cost new. If I thought I was going to get one, and new was too expensive, I'd wait a few months until a nice low mileage second hand example came up - its how I was able to own half the bikes I did. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:00 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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Has anyone here had a test ride on one? ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:04 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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chickenstrip wrote: |
G - well, you're a bit of a sports bike fan I think |
Although I think you're actually more a fan of logic, and having the best tool for the job in every situation. But some of my favourite bikes and times spent on them threw that out the window! ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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leolion |
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leolion Scooby Slapper
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Posted: 14:10 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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id stick with what you have and get EVEN more experience on it.. |
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:17 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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leolion wrote: | id stick with what you have and get EVEN more experience on it.. |
If I had the money, I'd be out on my bike every damn day
Cheeky bugger! ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:19 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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MarJay wrote: | To be honest I think it probably has enough 'oomph' for a bike of that style... |
Yeah, I know, but, ya know? ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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MarJay But it's British!
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 14:44 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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MarJay wrote: | chickenstrip wrote: |
Yeah, I know, but, ya know? |
Same power as my VFR... about 20kg less weight. I'd say that's perfect for the road. When you start to get above about 120bhp, you can't really use it as much... |
Yeah, but that's G logic talking. Where's the fun in that?
And anyway, mine's got 140-ish RWHP - I'm not using most of that most of the time, but you'll take it from me over my dead body!
I appear to be regressing...
I can just see it with this bike. GT200Fan got it with putting flat slides etc on a Zephyr. It's just what you do with a bike like this! ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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G The Voice of Reason
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Posted: 17:24 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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I'm also a fan of being careful with my words - you'll note I did specify 'riding experience' when comparing the two - I was actually thinking about ABS when I wrote that.
I still haven't owned a bike with ABS, but if I was looking for a bike to have some commuting use I would prefer it, now it's fairly ubiquitous.
Oh and 'the fun in that' is having less than 80hp for me! I definitely have the most fun on the roads with around 35-80hp.
More power and range of power means less work and involvement in the ride.
I do still hanker after a 200hp track bike, but even with working shoulders, I expect I'd have more fun on a supersport and maybe finding other supersports to play with (ie bit of club racing), than changing the bike to find more people of a similar lap time.
(Actually yesterday's track evening I had three people doing a similar lap time to me - two modern litre bikes and a CB500!)
One of my problems is that a lot of modern bikes don't seem to have much more to give - ie CB500s which have got heavier and slower and not massively more fuel efficient I don't think. |
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grr666 |
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grr666 Super Spammer
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Posted: 17:35 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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I like it too. Would have to be green though. I might go try one just to see. I'm not after changing the Spacker just yet. ____________________ Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
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MarJay But it's British!
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 17:54 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: Re: Works for me |
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G wrote: | I'm also a fan of being careful with my words - you'll note I did specify 'riding experience' when comparing the two - I was actually thinking about ABS when I wrote that.
I still haven't owned a bike with ABS, but if I was looking for a bike to have some commuting use I would prefer it, now it's fairly ubiquitous.
Oh and 'the fun in that' is having less than 80hp for me! I definitely have the most fun on the roads with around 35-80hp. |
ABS or no ABS - don't think I'm that bothered, never having ridden a bike with it.
Quote: | More power and range of power means less work and involvement in the ride. |
I don't entirely agree, although I do understand what you mean. I think it's a different kind of involvement is all, enjoyed in different circumstances. All bikes I've ridden have been "involving" in one way or another to me. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 17:58 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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grr666 wrote: | I like it too. Would have to be green though. I might go try one just to see. I'm not after changing the Spacker just yet. |
I suspect your Spacker (still laugh at that name ) is probably more fun in an aggressive kind of way than this would be, but I think the Kwak looks better - evokes more emotion from an aesthetic viewpoint, although that may be just to do with the bikes I grew up with. I could envisage a supercharger on one of these though
OTOH, MarJay might be right, and it might be just fine as it is. I see a few options in such a bike, and I think that's part of the appeal of it. Perhaps if I had two of them... ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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grr666 |
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grr666 Super Spammer
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Posted: 18:03 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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How heavy is it? ____________________ Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 18:05 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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215kg wet. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
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grr666 |
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grr666 Super Spammer
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Posted: 18:06 - 16 May 2019 Post subject: |
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That's not tons heavier than mine at 188kg wet. Interesting. ____________________ Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 4 years, 345 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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