NC30, NC35, ZXR4, or GSXR4

[Mantzy]

Having read I believe all there is to know about these 4 bikes I'm now having trouble in deciding which one to go for. Thanks to MarJay i'm now more put off by the GSXR but more in favour of the kawasaki and thanks to Haynes (for not producing a manual), I'm more in favour of the Hondas. But the ZXRs look really nice (especially the one in black '92 model i've seen on Bike Trader for £1350 and only done 8K miles). There's also a nice '90 NC30 I've seen on there for £1200 with 29K on the clock. Thing is, I think I'm likely to keep the bike for a good few years and use it as my commuting-to-work bike when I want something bigger. What do you guys think? What would you go for if you had the choice?

I think most of you would probably say NC35. I don't know why but I've been looking at pics of them recently and I just don't find them as appealing as when I first started looking at them. Think thats mainly because you're looking at £1000 more than a very similar though slightly older (and with slightly older components) VFR. Think I'd rather save that money and put it towards a 600 in a year or so time.

Suggestions would be welcome

R

Edit: Was thinking of buying from a dealer otherwise, that way I could do PX with my current bike or should I just get a loan with no early redemption fees?
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Current Bikes: 2010 Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous Bikes: 2002 Sachs XTC, 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R, 2004 GSX-R 600 K4, 2006 Yamaha XT660X

[iCraig]

NC35's are expensive and ugly in my opinion, you better off going for an NC30 or ZXR400.

I'd go for the latter, as Kawasaki's are great .

[ProXimaCore]

Just out of interest, what put you off the GSXR?
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Mantzy]

[ProXimaCore]

[N_Tart]

I bought a ZXR400L brand new in '95. I used it everyday for work, I toured europe for 4 months, I did the TT 4 years in a row, I did track days on it and my other half raced it for a season. Apart from an electrical problem which turned out to be the alarm and was cured the instant I junked it I never had a problem. The only reason for not having her anymore is my mate wrote her of at Snetterton. She had 85,000 on the clock. And I still miss her

[Ninja]

Just to extend things a bit - how about a ZX-4? hmmmm?
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James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

[Mantzy]

[Mantzy]

[fazed]

I found the rvf surprisingly comfortable , if you are tall get a zxr400 L if you are average size get a NC35 , and if you're ickle get a cbr4 nc29 all good bikes but i prefer the nc35 to all.

[Mantzy]

[N_Tart]

ZXR is pretty comfy. It seems slightly bigger than the others and as I'm 5' 10" just suited me better.
Obviously it's not as comfy as a real tourer although my mates dad found it more comfy than his ZZR1100. bizarre!

[Ninja]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=304716

howzat!!!

I like the eighties styling of Kawasakis so would go for the ZX4 each time - I've seen them as cheap as £500 and as pricey as £1600. Individuality
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James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

[Mantzy]

Okay, i'm just dim then, seeing as I stated in my first post that I'd read Marjays post thoroughly. Looks like I've been caught out.

Think I prefer ZXRs personally, no offence
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Current Bikes: 2010 Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous Bikes: 2002 Sachs XTC, 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R, 2004 GSX-R 600 K4, 2006 Yamaha XT660X

[Ninja]

haha! no, I'm the dim one - I didn't realise you'd already read it . . .

I'll get my coat...
____________________
James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

[Phoenix]

I've owned both a VFR and a ZXR and had reasonable experience on the CBR4, and a quick go on an RVF, GSXR i've not touched tho was offered a go on Proxima's

If I had to live with one I think I'd go for the CBR400, easy to work on, inline 4, gear driven cams mean no camchain worries, pretty torquey for a 400 and awesome handling.

VFR comes 2nd, let down by being very difficult to work on, prone to annoying problems too, like rear wheels and hubs seizing etc. It's got gear driven cams though, so is just as reliable as a CBR, despite the V configuration I personaly don't see much torque increase over the CBR, but they're both good, handling wise it's up with the CBR, stick to the road and goes where you point it. RVF is a glorified VFR and not really a bike for road use imo, it has no benefits over a VFR on the road and is twice as expensive.

ZXR is a nice bike, reliable, big for a 400 but doesn't have much go compared to the Hondas, always felt gutless and wheezy to me, yeah it's got top end speed but it seemed to take forever to get there, no immediate go. Handling was very good compared to a bigger bike, but the Hondas again seem to feel a lot better, other downside is you can't get BT090s in a 160 rear, so you'd have to fit a 150 on which is undersized for the bike. Reliability was good, they use camchains, so they need checking, but I never had a problem with mine in over 8000miles despite a perished carb rubber which was easy to sort. Head gaskets also need checking on ZXRs, they can go at any mileage, usually after 20K though, this is because ppl rev the bollocks off them. I'm assuming they do that because they need revving to go anywhere, and they make this nice Whhoooosh noise over 10k rpm.

GSXR, well can't comment really, but there's very few around in comparison to the others, and seems to be a good reason for it, most of them die. Mechanical reliability seems to be pretty poor, electrics aren't much cop either. Handling and power wise I don't know, but the ones I've seen seem to go rather well.

[Mantzy]

[ProXimaCore]