Any other ZX-14 owners on the board?

[MotoVegas]

Hey folks, any other ZX-14 owners lurking around? I picked up an an '07 in November. Couple of initial mods, some Leo Vince SBK slip on carbon fiber pipes and a power commander. Oh, and a set of PP2CT's.

Also, it's Diablo Black (which is obviously the fastest because the Devil himself is ground up into little flakes and added to the the paint, LOL).

Keep the shiney side up fellas.

[CBRVFR]

No 14's here, but I am sufficiently envious.

If you require the analytical view of someone to discuss the virtues of the bike, I'd be happy to take it off your hands for a few days...

[Revvv]

I'm in debate over a new purchse. I'm conflicted over the Busa and the 14.

[MotoVegas]

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

No 14's here, but I am sufficiently envious.

If you require the analytical view of someone to discuss the virtues of the bike, I'd be happy to take it off your hands for a few days...

Outstanding, that made me laugh bro.

Anyway, it's my first sport bike after nearly 15 years of cruiser riding, so I don't have much to compare it to; in fact I have nothing to compare it to. However, here's some of my initial thoughts:

First, the bike is big. Which, frankly is what initially pulled me towards it. Being 6'3", 275 lbs, I wanted to make sure I was "reasonably" comfortable on a sport bike. I intend to use it for mostly weekend rides with the buddies, out in what canyons/twisties that are nearby, with day trips varying between say 200 on the short end, and 500 miles on the top. 600s and 1000s just felt to cramped for me.

After sitting on it at the dealership, I was instantly impressed with the feel. I had kicked around the idea of a Busa, but frankly it felt like I was leaning down to far when I sat on it. Not to mention, Busa's are 1998 technology. Anyway, the lean was not so severe for the ZX-14 as it was on the Busa. My reach down to the bars is nice. And my legs are not over cramped to reach the pegs while in the proper seating position. Needless to say, she had me right there.

The dealer had already removed the fugly missle tube pipes and installed some Leo Vince SBK black carbon fiber pipes. Very nice touch, esp on my Diablo Black bike. They also put in a power commander. With those pipes she has a great sound when fired up. Not crazy loud, but not so wimpy as stock pipes. Slightly throaty but not overly so. IMHO, it's right on the money.

As I left the dealership, what I noticed as I road away was, honestly, a certain amount of tameness from idle to 4k rpm. Apparently, Kawasaki was going for this in all their new ZX's to make the in town driving more managable and not so "jerky" right out of the gate. Now don't get me wrong, she will ZIP right past that 4 thousand rpm zone in a flash, but with gentle inputs, down low she is as docile as a kitten. Which is nice when sitting in traffic. Nothing worse than a bike that wants to run away from you the second you give it some juice.

Now, when you roll to the 5k-8k rpm range you really understand that there is a TREMENDOUS amount of power lurking in this engine. And amazingly, it's smooth! The power curve is just smooth, really no other word to describe it. No crazy leaps, no spikes, nothing to catch you off guard (unless YOU roll it too fast which will pick her right up off the ground without a hitch...longer wheelbase and more lbs be damned, lol).

When you take her into the 8k to 11k rpm (that's redline on the tach), this machine is an absolute BEAST. Boarderline ungodly amounts of power and torque, esp around 9500-10000. Stock most reports are putting them at high 160's even 170 hp at the wheel. Mine is close to 180 after the mods but honestly, that is more juice than I have guts. But again, there are no spikes or surges in power anywhere in the powercurve. None. Zip. Smooth all the way up to redline. Also regardless of where you are, or what gear, there seems to exist more power if you want it. The well, just "feels" endless.

And, she is steady. With that longer wheel base, and around 560 pounds fueled up (Kawi says 475 lbs, dry... but um, no way) maybe that helps explain it. She doesn't come with a stearing dampener, but a couple companies make them and I will likely pick one up. Some guys debate whether or not they need it. Meh, I will err on the side of caution. I mean, similar to a gun, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it... am I right?

Personally, I plan on changing out the windshield. At 140 mph+, I get a bit to much buffeting from the wind. But I'm kinda big, and that stock windshield is pretty low profile. I figure a slightly smaller guy, with a dubble bubble would feel nothing all the way up to the max speed limiter (what is that about 186 on all sportbikes via a gentleman's agreement between the mfgs???). I've had her up to about 165mph (on my speedo) with a couple thousand RPMs to go in 6th. So there is PLENTY of room left in this thing to keep on going. I just need to get the right road, change the windshield and get some bigger balls, and maybe I will move her a bit more.

As for lean angle, forgive me, I'm still a sportbike nub and still have chicken strips. I know I know, but give me some slack, I've only been on sportbikes less than 2 months. Not mention I am serious about training (I am going to Lee Park's ARC course this weekend, and in April I'm hitting Freddie Spencers Riding School). So, at some point in the future I can relay the cornering abilities of the bike... just not yet.

Have I mentioned the breaks? My goodness, this bike will stop on a dime. Which amazed me. Then again, I may be easily amazed coming from the cruiser world. But I like my breaks touchy. I mean, I want to start feeling them the moment I touch them. The front break on this thing is outstanding. When I took the Advanced MSF course, I purposefully locked up the front many times to get a feel for it. She gives you a fair warning, a bit of shudder before she locks. But if applied smoothly, you can really "scrunch" down on them without worry of locking them up; and you will come to a rather abrupt stop when you do smoothly "scrunch" them. As for the rear, I was totally unprepared for the ease at which the rear breaks lock up on sportbikes. I am still learning the proper technique in applying these breaks. From what I've read, and experienced is most cruiser riders can expect 20-30% of stopping power from the rear. And that is what I was used to. Apparently, on the sportbikes, that stopping power is more like 10-15% from the rear. I just have to be slightly more gentle than I am accustomed to on my big cruisers.

The ONLY minor issue I have had is that she seems to run hot while stopped in traffic (yes, I realize bikes like to move, but it does seem higher than most bikes I have owned). However, I just put some Water Wetter in (which seems to help a bit) and ordered a large 6 blade metal fan from Muzzy. I have read quite a bit around other boards, and it seems many folks are seeing slightly high temps on the bikes (both '06 and '07, no major changes). However, I have NOT heard of any overheating. If I were Kawi for later models, the only thing I would change is to make the fan a double fan system, and make them a tad bit larger.

Overall, I am greatly impressed with the machine Kawasaki has designed, built and delivered. It has a wonderful combination of accomodating comfort, way down low she has that in town gentleness, excellently applied torque, amazing speed, superb steadiness and in any gear she contains a massive amount of raw power at the rider's disposal. What more could you ask for in a Super-Sport Bike?

Cheers!

PS Sorry for typos, I was just banging away and not really proof-reading.

[phobe]

Chain? That you?

[Revvv]

You are gonna get flamed over the speed. I see it coming.

[MotoVegas]

Originally Posted by phobiaphobe

Chain? That you?

No sorry, no Chain here. A buddy of yours?

[bwhip]

Originally Posted by MotoVegas

No sorry, no Chain here. A buddy of yours?

Chain's an old friend who was often very descriptive in his posts, as you were. We like that! (heck, you saw my write-ups about Spencer School )

Spencer School will definitely help you get a good feel for those brakes.

[SomeStrangeGuy]

Originally Posted by Revvv

You are gonna get flamed over the speed. I see it coming.

If he didn't mention Lee Park in the same paragraph, maybe

[CBRVFR]

That was a great real-world review of the bike..

Like a number of others, I'm hoping you get it on a closed course often enough to really open it up and get that out of your system so you can behave like a good citizen on the public roadways.. I don't think you'll be able to get much time on the internet in jail. And you definitely don't want to hit a coyote at that speed.

Is there a drag race organization in your area that you could hook up with? That would be fun on a powerful bike like that. Hard on the rear tires, though.

Keep us informed on your track school experiences!

[Revvv]

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

That was a great real-world review of the bike..

Like a number of others, I'm hoping you get it on a closed course often enough to really open it up and get that out of your system so you can behave like a good citizen on the public roadways.. I don't think you'll be able to get much time on the internet in jail. And you definitely don't want to hit a coyote at that speed.

Is there a drag race organization in your area that you could hook up with? That would be fun on a powerful bike like that. Hard on the rear tires, though.

Keep us informed on your track school experiences!

Mmmmm Drag Racing

[smoothrideronli]

Wow...story makes the 14 sound attractive...even desirable.

[JBOOGIE]

I want one now














just kidding but your description is impressivethough.

[MotoVegas]

Thanks fellas. Yeah, I'll be sure to find a good closed course, that is definately VERY solid advice. (Btw, those speeds were on VERY rural "BFE" Nevada two lane highways, with several miles of straight-aways in the middle of nowhere with no on coming traffic for miles, and no same way traffic to pass... I would never even think about riding at those speeds in/near/around town, let alone actually do it.)

Well, I just got back from Lee Parks' ARC class. I'll post up a detailed review probably later today... maybe tomorrow.

[coferj]

Hey MV, another owner here...06 red, pcm, yoshi trc cf full system, high flow race filter, quick shifter...lovin life.

[ND4SPD]

aboard! Do you dragrace it?

[coferj]

Haven't yet, been kicking the idea around. I would probably get some straps for the front just to try to keep the front end down a little better. I've only gotten about 2 hours of seat time since the upgrades due to this cold snap, but hopefully this week will warm up to give me some more miles.

[reypac24]

hey there motovegas, purchased a red one april of 06. it's a great bike and really easy to ride. current mods are flies out, tsukigi oval s/s, pcIII with custom map, heli bars, and muzzy lowering links. bike became a wheelie monster after i pulled the flies but settled down a bunch after installing the lowering links.

[MotoVegas]

Originally Posted by reypac24

hey there motovegas, purchased a red one april of 06. it's a great bike and really easy to ride. current mods are flies out, tsukigi oval s/s, pcIII with custom map, heli bars, and muzzy lowering links. bike became a wheelie monster after i pulled the flies but settled down a bunch after installing the lowering links.

Yeah, she is a monster bike, but comfortable. I traded to a ZX-10R after putting 5k miles on my ZX-14. I decided to put an end to my road riding and make a track only sportbike. Had I kept road riding, there is NO DOUBT I would have held on to that awesome bike.

You will surely enjoy it.

[reypac24]

wow mv, love the zx-10 but i'm too old for something that radical. my back and knees can't handle more than 30-45 minutes of that and then i need physical therapy for about a week.