I,m not sure if I'm talking into space sometimes, but nevertheless this blog is a means to recount my biking activity whether anybody is 'listening' or not but it is cathartic if nothing else, allowing stuff bouncing around in my head to be purged to make way for more plus also an outlet for previous scribbles and allowing me space to write stuff that my day today activity on http://www.ukbike.com/ does not.
It's been a while if you have been 'listening' The memory of the razor sharp ZX6R is fading and I'm hungry for more miles under my belt on something new, The ZX9 felt flat and as sloppy as an old armchair since the 6. With any luck I've lined up a 1098 Duke, and a ZZR1400 for the near future, it's just finding time and a clear coupla days to give them a good squeezing, they are both privately owned machines and I owe it to the owners to exercise due care and attention to their present condition out of courtesy and respect, but soon, soon, I feel like a junkie in need of the next fix.
I was part of the Brightona organization which has received most excellent feedback from all and sundry receiving comments as 'the best bike show in the south by far' which is a great accolade and a fat slap on the back for all the hard work myself and particularly others have put into the event. Bear in mind this event is always described in the same breath as the Rockers Reunion Ace Cafe run, so thanx to everyone who came, participated, paid, donated and enjoyed the day.
I'm an old stick in the mud. I like my sports bikes. Bikes are for thrills, for getting the heart racing, for introducing an element of danger into ones sometimes hum drum life, call me jaded with reality but bikes give me that sense of satisfaction and exhileration that is hard to find elsewhere especially when a clear roundabout presents itself the right gear is selected and (despite the fact that it probably doesn't in reality) the feeling that the rear tyre is slipping due to my (perceived but mistaken belief) trackgod prowess. Its a buzz!
having just said all that Some of the chops, lowriders and custom machines on display at Brightona were fantastic and oh God be kind, bring me some disposable income to have one, I promise I would ride it sensibly, I would park it next to my KTM supermono, ZX-10C and Zed 1000 in my fantasy garage, and lavish equal attention upon it. (At least dreams are free).
Anyway time to finish what I started 8 chapters ago. The TL road trip must recommence until finality. I can then stuff it in my fat and largely discarded files of memorable experiences and move onto another. So here you are...............
Chapter 9 - The strokers are so close I can smell 'em.
One last fill up before we were going to find a roof for the night. We stopped in an Agip filling station, swarming with bikes like angry and discordant bee's, the air resonated and each pump had a 'groovy' gas pumping attendant dude with a cash bag lashed round their waist. I motioned to the nearest one to fill up the sweating TLR, holding the bike upright to ensure a proper brim full load. (I thought that I would need every drop available in the parsimonious tank, tomorrow there would be shit loads of bikes swarming around in packs, availability of juice may be hard to find).
We were within sniffing distance of Mugello which was only about 50 miles away, The strokers were so close you could almost smell them. I could see them in my minds eye scudding around in the practice sessions already, those hideously peaky stink wheel 500cc two stroke missiles guided by their diminutive pilotes fighting for the chequers. Of 60,000 people ululating praise and appreciation upon the victor announcing his entry into that particular hall of fame.
I was drawn out of my reverie by a grubby hand and an alien voice whose balls hadn't dropped pointing at the gas pump's LED display, which showed me a numeric at least 400 charachters long. It rocked me back on my heels for some reason, lucky I was sitting down. Common sense and a grasp of present reality quickly kicked in once more of course they had about 4,000 Lire to the pound (thank fuck for the Euro). Time to get rid of a kilo weight of eytie money. I handed over the sheaf of notes and 'pump groover' said 'no change'. I said 'You what' again rocking back on my heels astride the mighty TL he said again 'no change' this time with a flicker of a sneer on his thin lips. I worked out that the impudent pump pimp groover fellow owed me close to 800.
I had lapsed into incredulous disbelief momentarily once again. Common sense then kicked in. 'Fuck it it's only twenty pence and the coinage required to furnish me with change would be like swimming with lead weights. You may think it's weird asking for 20p change, when in the great scheme of things I was wasting rubber and the ozone layer at an alarming rate, the cost of which on my return to blighty would severely hamper my beer drinking opportunities for many months, but Johnny Lire was a tricky bugger to get your head round. Oh Yes!
We all pulled back into the autostrada super highway and shortly thereafter took a slip road into some low hills adjacent to the motorway hoping to find a snug little B&B or something.
Twenty miles further down the road we rejoined the main artery having had no luck and pulled in eventually at a hotel sign pointing to a little place entitled Voglia Del Plans. The hotel was just up the road opposite a ramshackle garage, quite a grand old looking building faded somewhat but it had a suitable gentrified air about it, family ran, no glitz or neon just old style comfort and faded velvet. We landed and streched our fly spattered leather limbs. There were some other bikers in residence which was a good sign, Germans by the look of their plates, their rear tyres had been given a workout. Fair play to the Hun.
The first thing I noticed as we trouped into the lobby was a prominent sign saying 'No credit cards' in five different languages. We'd just done the last of our cash filling up with juice up the road, because the majority of gas stations didn't accept credit cards either. Basically on the strength of that notice we wouldn't be able to pay for the room and beers the next morning. Still that was tomorrow and we needed a place to stay, we'd work it out tomorrow, if they got the strop with us at least we'd be washed, probably slightly hungover and rested. We stayed mum and the aged crone was eager for the business as far as we could work out. A quick dumping of our sparse baggage, into crumpled civvies and to the bar for painfully small glasses of yellow beer. Refreshing to know we had made it. Tomorrow was the day!
Tuesday 23 October 2007
Monday 1 October 2007
kawasaki ZX6R
2007 Kawasaki ZX6R
This is the second brand new bike I have had the pleasure to ride in as many weeks, some deity must be smiling down on me granting me this little slice of two wheeled action.
This weeks steed was the ’07 Kawasaki ZX6R, the latest generation of middleweight sports fare from the big K.
Like most models that are popular they are built on a fine pedigree and a winning package. This incarnation of salacious horsepower perfection is no different.
I believe Kawasaki started the relatively modern trend for 600cc machines with the (for then) stunning GPZ600R A1 back in the mid eighties. Time has moved on and the latest crop of bikes deliver such staggering performance that it is partially responsible for the death knell sonorously sounding over sports 750cc models. (Suzuki excepted at present).
It’s been a while since I rode a 600, the last one, again, a Kawasaki J1 model, this was a quick bike and great for the track days I was able to do at the time, it used to howl and you could feel the fuel tank vibrating between your knees as the air box beneath pressurized and forced fast air down its gullet and into the vitals of the bike.
The new one however has moved on since then, appearing as a 636 configuration through the B and C models to its present incarnation as a true 600cc bike again.
The salesman said, ‘you’ve got to rev it, don’t worry about being heavy handed with the throttle’ he then set the natty gear shift indicator light to 15,000, and briefly showed me the various functions on the standard digi clocks.
A real nice feature was the gear indicator display. I’m one of those people who have championed this feature for years, ever since I test rode a GSX550 ESD as a spotty 17 year old, blagging a go from the motors rep at the newspaper I was working at the time. He had been given it to test but he registered zero interest in it.
I’ve been ridiculed and pilloried from some quarters, with the gist of it being ‘well you should no what gear you are in’ but I’m one of those people who will keep changing up until there are none left, constantly seeking seventh gear, only really counting down for roundabouts or cogging down when the motor appears to be losing puff for the conditions ridden in. Anyway I’m wittering, Gear indicators - a bloody good idea in my book!
I did make a mental note of the lap timer toggle switches musing as to where I could utilise it, but time was short. The salesman bade me a hasty farewell, he had a motocrosser to thrash and was late.
I smoked and cast a beady eye around the bike grasping for an overwhelming first impression to communicate.
It seemed simultaneously curvy, perhaps read ergonomic but angular at the same time, it sounds stupid I know but that’s the conclusion I came too.
The screen was tinted and stippled at the base to hide the back of the clocks; the twin headlights were small and perfectly formed though the attention to fairing fit around the top corners I think should be addressed on the 2008 model. I can’t see any reason why the inner shroud needs to be seen when the sleek and shiny outer carapace could hide it.
The maw of the central air vent reminded me of the aperture of the helm of a Nazgul in the recent LOR’s trilogy (it was on last night), with a delightful arrowhead shaped running light sealing the front fairing design. It looked sharp and ready to rock.
There was the usual UD forks (non nitrided) now standard fare on modern sports bikes, mono block brakes and wavy discs (which were awesome when called into action), Most talk will be about how fast this bike is, but a mention of how fast it decelerates is also worthy of a mention. Hollow large diameter spindles pierce meagre spoked wheels on proper wide rims, well hidden catalytic converter, laughable pillion seat plus practical and lawful rear end complete with LED rear light and stalked indicators.
The Zed 1000 I had ridden the week before came equipped with Dunlop qualifiers and I couldn’t fault them. I was surprised to find the Six wearing a set of Bridgestone Battlax’s 016 front 015 rear, I couldn’t fault them either, especially as I found myself on the way home not noticing the mild drizzle and greasy road surface, absorbed as I was in pushing the Six along, enjoying the experience.
I jumped on board and thumbed the starter after the clocks had set themselves, immediately noticing the spread of the mirrors. They looked slightly incongruous at first not quite fitting the lines of the top fairing, but there was no doubt that you could actually see out of them once ensconced onboard. A quick adjustment was all that was needed. I waited for the temp gauge to register 45 and then slowly moved into the evening commuter traffic, telling myself ‘to take it easy, make sure the tyres are warm, test the brakes before you need to use them in anger’
The style of late has been to make sports bikes smaller and smaller. Good idea in terms of performance but what about the tall people?
All I can say is that Kawasaki must have given it a bit of thought (good on ‘em), this is after all a road bike despite it’s race track pretensions and will sell in large numbers to the predominantly North American and European market, and we’re getting bigger by all accounts, wider because of all the rubbish we shovel down our throats and taller because human physiognomy is shaking off the debilitating effect of gravity.
The Six is a triumph of comfort for its class. The seat wasn’t that hard, the footpegs were perfecto and though I suffered at first with a little wrist ache the bars were positioned damned near to perfect as well. (If it didn’t interfere with the leverage/fairing clearance I would adjust the factory set position of the lever assemblies further down which I think would ease the pain of this little niggle). If I had the money to pour gasoline into it’s hungry belly I could quite happily lob a double bubble screen on the thing as well and score a few miles under my belt touring, it was that good.
The throttle felt like it had a little too much slack and when pulling away a conscious effort had to be made to rev and slightly slip the clutch as otherwise it felt like it was bogging down.
I found a few stretches of open road and started to explore the potential of the bike. Quoted at 125-130 horses there was no doubting the straight line speed, the bike wailing up to its shift ceiling in the early gears, with a very tall first gear, (presumably for race track purposes), it must have sounded terrific.
The suspension settings were perfect, neutral and a piece of er. ..cake to flick through some tight esses on the way home, it felt like the quickest I had ever sailed round these particular bends. The bars wobbled a little as the front went light a few times, but nothing really to phase me, it just happened, settled down immediately planting it’s front paw print back on the ground unfussily letting me proceed with the action.
I soon realised that the salesman advice was spot on, you had to rev the thing to get the most out of it, but it seemed to like it the more you did, the more it was appreciated by the bike itself, with its very urgent get up and go. A glutton for punishment! I only hit the rev limiter once however, proving that mere mortals (and vain ones at that) would struggle to get bored of this machine.
Naturally this enjoyment doesn’t come cheap, I’m sure tyres would soon get worn out, standard 120 and 180 fitments, the stickier the compound the better, heavy braking would not be an uncommon occurrence I venture and it did have a terrible thirst on the first night at least. I only managed 100 miles from a brimful tank which improved as the days rolled by peaking at about 120 miles average, I guess gusto and enthusiasm burns more fuel than day to day riding.
The fuel tank holds 13 quids worth from halfway through the fuel low warning zone to full. Tank capacity not surprising really was not huge, it was relatively narrow and I’m sure the capacious air box beneath would be taking up a large amount of the perceived space.
The rear pillion seat once removed reveals no cavity, just a neatly packaged tool kit. I didn’t manage to remove the riders perch, but don’t be surprised to find no room under there either. With the factory c/m rear seat cover emplaced, luggage carrying potential is negligible despite the hooks fitted to the underside of the rear fender more out of a token nod to practicality than anything else.
I managed just over 300 miles in three days before I had to give it back which is not a bad average and I believe qualifies me to talk from a reasonably informed perspective.
You can buy one in stealth bomber black, raving in your face orange (though I’m not sure what the correct factory term for this vivid shade is) and green Natch!
Kawasaki offer a wide range of quality factory accessories, slip on mufflers abound for that authentic race bike look and howl, though I struggle to find a reason as to why you would want to change the originals, other than maybe a weight issue or to bypass the cat if you are a serial track day header. Some carbon fibre panels instead of the factory plastic ones would look the biz, a quick call to Mr. R&G for a tail tidy would tidy the back end up and maybe a hugger if used every day would complete the package for me.
I’ve no idea what the servicing costs would be, but just consider how much a car with similar performance would cost you to buy and run.
The ZX6 is soooo cheap to buy, incredibly exciting to ride and looks the dogz.
I’m sure the CBR6 and the Gixer are equally as good and the R6 is going to be revamped for 2008, but until I ride one I can only speak for the Kawasaki, and if you are prepared to engage urgent attack mode the Kawasaki will not let you down.
Anybody want to gainsay any of my thoughts? Your views are welcome,
Post a review and tell me different.
Now we really must talk about that ZX-10R…….
Once again skiploads of thanx to the top geezers at Alf’s Motorcycles http://www.alfsmotorcycles.co.uk/ for trusting me with another one of their bikes Check the pix on their site of the Dream Machine Moto GP liveried replica.
This is the second brand new bike I have had the pleasure to ride in as many weeks, some deity must be smiling down on me granting me this little slice of two wheeled action.
This weeks steed was the ’07 Kawasaki ZX6R, the latest generation of middleweight sports fare from the big K.
Like most models that are popular they are built on a fine pedigree and a winning package. This incarnation of salacious horsepower perfection is no different.
I believe Kawasaki started the relatively modern trend for 600cc machines with the (for then) stunning GPZ600R A1 back in the mid eighties. Time has moved on and the latest crop of bikes deliver such staggering performance that it is partially responsible for the death knell sonorously sounding over sports 750cc models. (Suzuki excepted at present).
It’s been a while since I rode a 600, the last one, again, a Kawasaki J1 model, this was a quick bike and great for the track days I was able to do at the time, it used to howl and you could feel the fuel tank vibrating between your knees as the air box beneath pressurized and forced fast air down its gullet and into the vitals of the bike.
The new one however has moved on since then, appearing as a 636 configuration through the B and C models to its present incarnation as a true 600cc bike again.
The salesman said, ‘you’ve got to rev it, don’t worry about being heavy handed with the throttle’ he then set the natty gear shift indicator light to 15,000, and briefly showed me the various functions on the standard digi clocks.
A real nice feature was the gear indicator display. I’m one of those people who have championed this feature for years, ever since I test rode a GSX550 ESD as a spotty 17 year old, blagging a go from the motors rep at the newspaper I was working at the time. He had been given it to test but he registered zero interest in it.
I’ve been ridiculed and pilloried from some quarters, with the gist of it being ‘well you should no what gear you are in’ but I’m one of those people who will keep changing up until there are none left, constantly seeking seventh gear, only really counting down for roundabouts or cogging down when the motor appears to be losing puff for the conditions ridden in. Anyway I’m wittering, Gear indicators - a bloody good idea in my book!
I did make a mental note of the lap timer toggle switches musing as to where I could utilise it, but time was short. The salesman bade me a hasty farewell, he had a motocrosser to thrash and was late.
I smoked and cast a beady eye around the bike grasping for an overwhelming first impression to communicate.
It seemed simultaneously curvy, perhaps read ergonomic but angular at the same time, it sounds stupid I know but that’s the conclusion I came too.
The screen was tinted and stippled at the base to hide the back of the clocks; the twin headlights were small and perfectly formed though the attention to fairing fit around the top corners I think should be addressed on the 2008 model. I can’t see any reason why the inner shroud needs to be seen when the sleek and shiny outer carapace could hide it.
The maw of the central air vent reminded me of the aperture of the helm of a Nazgul in the recent LOR’s trilogy (it was on last night), with a delightful arrowhead shaped running light sealing the front fairing design. It looked sharp and ready to rock.
There was the usual UD forks (non nitrided) now standard fare on modern sports bikes, mono block brakes and wavy discs (which were awesome when called into action), Most talk will be about how fast this bike is, but a mention of how fast it decelerates is also worthy of a mention. Hollow large diameter spindles pierce meagre spoked wheels on proper wide rims, well hidden catalytic converter, laughable pillion seat plus practical and lawful rear end complete with LED rear light and stalked indicators.
The Zed 1000 I had ridden the week before came equipped with Dunlop qualifiers and I couldn’t fault them. I was surprised to find the Six wearing a set of Bridgestone Battlax’s 016 front 015 rear, I couldn’t fault them either, especially as I found myself on the way home not noticing the mild drizzle and greasy road surface, absorbed as I was in pushing the Six along, enjoying the experience.
I jumped on board and thumbed the starter after the clocks had set themselves, immediately noticing the spread of the mirrors. They looked slightly incongruous at first not quite fitting the lines of the top fairing, but there was no doubt that you could actually see out of them once ensconced onboard. A quick adjustment was all that was needed. I waited for the temp gauge to register 45 and then slowly moved into the evening commuter traffic, telling myself ‘to take it easy, make sure the tyres are warm, test the brakes before you need to use them in anger’
The style of late has been to make sports bikes smaller and smaller. Good idea in terms of performance but what about the tall people?
All I can say is that Kawasaki must have given it a bit of thought (good on ‘em), this is after all a road bike despite it’s race track pretensions and will sell in large numbers to the predominantly North American and European market, and we’re getting bigger by all accounts, wider because of all the rubbish we shovel down our throats and taller because human physiognomy is shaking off the debilitating effect of gravity.
The Six is a triumph of comfort for its class. The seat wasn’t that hard, the footpegs were perfecto and though I suffered at first with a little wrist ache the bars were positioned damned near to perfect as well. (If it didn’t interfere with the leverage/fairing clearance I would adjust the factory set position of the lever assemblies further down which I think would ease the pain of this little niggle). If I had the money to pour gasoline into it’s hungry belly I could quite happily lob a double bubble screen on the thing as well and score a few miles under my belt touring, it was that good.
The throttle felt like it had a little too much slack and when pulling away a conscious effort had to be made to rev and slightly slip the clutch as otherwise it felt like it was bogging down.
I found a few stretches of open road and started to explore the potential of the bike. Quoted at 125-130 horses there was no doubting the straight line speed, the bike wailing up to its shift ceiling in the early gears, with a very tall first gear, (presumably for race track purposes), it must have sounded terrific.
The suspension settings were perfect, neutral and a piece of er. ..cake to flick through some tight esses on the way home, it felt like the quickest I had ever sailed round these particular bends. The bars wobbled a little as the front went light a few times, but nothing really to phase me, it just happened, settled down immediately planting it’s front paw print back on the ground unfussily letting me proceed with the action.
I soon realised that the salesman advice was spot on, you had to rev the thing to get the most out of it, but it seemed to like it the more you did, the more it was appreciated by the bike itself, with its very urgent get up and go. A glutton for punishment! I only hit the rev limiter once however, proving that mere mortals (and vain ones at that) would struggle to get bored of this machine.
Naturally this enjoyment doesn’t come cheap, I’m sure tyres would soon get worn out, standard 120 and 180 fitments, the stickier the compound the better, heavy braking would not be an uncommon occurrence I venture and it did have a terrible thirst on the first night at least. I only managed 100 miles from a brimful tank which improved as the days rolled by peaking at about 120 miles average, I guess gusto and enthusiasm burns more fuel than day to day riding.
The fuel tank holds 13 quids worth from halfway through the fuel low warning zone to full. Tank capacity not surprising really was not huge, it was relatively narrow and I’m sure the capacious air box beneath would be taking up a large amount of the perceived space.
The rear pillion seat once removed reveals no cavity, just a neatly packaged tool kit. I didn’t manage to remove the riders perch, but don’t be surprised to find no room under there either. With the factory c/m rear seat cover emplaced, luggage carrying potential is negligible despite the hooks fitted to the underside of the rear fender more out of a token nod to practicality than anything else.
I managed just over 300 miles in three days before I had to give it back which is not a bad average and I believe qualifies me to talk from a reasonably informed perspective.
You can buy one in stealth bomber black, raving in your face orange (though I’m not sure what the correct factory term for this vivid shade is) and green Natch!
Kawasaki offer a wide range of quality factory accessories, slip on mufflers abound for that authentic race bike look and howl, though I struggle to find a reason as to why you would want to change the originals, other than maybe a weight issue or to bypass the cat if you are a serial track day header. Some carbon fibre panels instead of the factory plastic ones would look the biz, a quick call to Mr. R&G for a tail tidy would tidy the back end up and maybe a hugger if used every day would complete the package for me.
I’ve no idea what the servicing costs would be, but just consider how much a car with similar performance would cost you to buy and run.
The ZX6 is soooo cheap to buy, incredibly exciting to ride and looks the dogz.
I’m sure the CBR6 and the Gixer are equally as good and the R6 is going to be revamped for 2008, but until I ride one I can only speak for the Kawasaki, and if you are prepared to engage urgent attack mode the Kawasaki will not let you down.
Anybody want to gainsay any of my thoughts? Your views are welcome,
Post a review and tell me different.
Now we really must talk about that ZX-10R…….
Once again skiploads of thanx to the top geezers at Alf’s Motorcycles http://www.alfsmotorcycles.co.uk/ for trusting me with another one of their bikes Check the pix on their site of the Dream Machine Moto GP liveried replica.
For more reviews go here http://www.ukbike.com/Reviews.aspx
You can post a review on the mother site and claim a luvverly free t-shirt 
Gixer Reviews
Doby Trutcenden 28.9.07
‘Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles’ HST Generation of swine
Doby Trutcenden 28.9.07
‘Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles’ HST Generation of swine
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
