Works for me

[chickenstrip]

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?
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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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[redeem ouzzer]

It's prettier than the new Katana but that's all i can say about it. Still too much monoshock, too much water cooling for my liking. If you're going to have that shite you might as well have a modern looking bike rather than something vaguely pretending (if you squint hard enough) to be an aircooled 80's monster.
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[MarJay]

[G]

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!

[MarJay]

[redeem ouzzer]

[chickenstrip]

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.
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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!

[MarJay]

[chickenstrip]

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.
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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!

[chickenstrip]

Has anyone here had a test ride on one?
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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!

[chickenstrip]

[leolion]

id stick with what you have and get EVEN more experience on it..

[MarJay]

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[MarJay]

[chickenstrip]

[G]

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.

[grr666]

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.
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[MarJay]

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[grr666]

How heavy is it?
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[chickenstrip]

215kg wet.
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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!

[grr666]

That's not tons heavier than mine at 188kg wet. Interesting.
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