1000cc - 1400cc

[zedx11]

Originally Posted by KawiFan10R

have you tried Ducati 1098 yet and if so, what is your opinion?
Best,
Mike

I wish!

sorry, can't tell you anything about those except I like how they look.

[KawiFan10R]

A word or two about the Ducati 1098S '08 (late production) may be of interest to you and some; like you said, the bike is very pretty from inside out; mine came just two days ago from Italy and I put in about 300 miles already into it. I can say that its a fabulous bike that has the best suspension and the best brakes that I have seen in my whole life. The torque is out of the world and all other specs are pretty much very similat to the ZX10R. The feel of its V Twin engine is substantially different and the sound it generates with the Termignoni exhaust system cheers me very much. In a race between the 1098 and ZX, i dunno what the result would be. I suspect that the Ducati has a slight advantage (1199 cc) and is a bit lighter than the ZX. I already feel like a bigamist.

[zedx11]

I need a better paying job. would be sweet to have a 1098 too.

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by zedx11

I need a better paying job. would be sweet to have a 1098 too.

The shop your in does not pay you well I take it.

Since they are ripping the customer off to the tune of I bet $80 or more per hour, plus all the parts you install during a job at a huge mark up.

Have you asked why your pay is poor?

You should be making 40 per/hour or more....just my opinion.

[zedx11]

I am OK with the pay I am making. I'm hourly plus OT. this is the best paying job I have had...ever.

plus I take the scrap metal which in a month I can almost make another 3/4 of my paycheck for the month.

I'm still paying on one bike and a financial mistake so no money for another bike yet. one day maybe.

[KawiFan10R]

"Since they are ripping the customer off to the tune of I bet $80 or more per hour, plus all the parts you install during a job at a huge mark up. Have you asked why your pay is poor?" Posted as above

I personally find this observation to be on the verge of disingenuity. This takes into account the fact that I observe almost three to four times a week what the mechanics do at this dealership I visit. They are employees who work at a set salary which is not $80 per hour. Dealership pays the overhead and so forth, right? I think that the dealer makes more money in parts than one may think. And yet, my dealer cuts me a better rate than eBay for parts, gear, etc. I do not see any of those employees driving a Lexus. All of them live modestly, they have kids etc. They may aspire to go to a strip club but they never make it there. Most of them have worked there for at least ten years. They do a great job in what they do. I suspect that they gross approx. 15 to 18 bucks per hour. For an expert, that is a modest price for your machine. Of course, you can fix it yourself. I am informed that a one time Dyno is $200. Can someone tell me if that seems reasonable or what.

In Europe, some countries have such taxation that a Ducati 1098S may cost as much as $50,000 (In the US, the MSRP is $21,500 for the same machine). Service is even more expensive in Europe.

I have no issue with $75-80 per hour here for good service. It is when you get bad service that you feel "ripped". This is true of everything, however.
================================
It is a pity that power is generally mistaken for delegated power. Implementation of borrowed power results in crisis.

[ervins]

Originally Posted by KawiFan10R

A word or two about the Ducati 1098S '08 (late production) may be of interest to you and some; like you said, the bike is very pretty from inside out; mine came just two days ago from Italy and I put in about 300 miles already into it. I can say that its a fabulous bike that has the best suspension and the best brakes that I have seen in my whole life. The torque is out of the world and all other specs are pretty much very similat to the ZX10R. The feel of its V Twin engine is substantially different and the sound it generates with the Termignoni exhaust system cheers me very much. In a race between the 1098 and ZX, i dunno what the result would be. I suspect that the Ducati has a slight advantage (1199 cc) and is a bit lighter than the ZX. I already feel like a bigamist.

10R will walk the Ducati.

[KawiFan10R]

Whether one beats the other, they are both two substantially different machines. Ducati appears to feel more stable on the track, IMHO. The rest, i'll leave for the experts to comment.
Best,
Mike

[mmandre7]

I just bought the latest of the finest supersport bike out there: the 2008 zx10r. finished the break in period per schedule, now i am roughly at 2 000 miles and realising the bike is missing some power (initially thought was only a perception) but then raced against my brother's old beatup yamaha r1 2004 and got easily beaten a few times in a row at different speeds... anything i am missing here... is the bike restricted in any way??? i am frustrated to say the least...
switched bike and ended up with the same result so it is not the rider...
any help much appreciated.

[zedx11]

yeah, either start your race from a stand still or set it like 6th 50mph start.

[KawiFan10R]

mmandre7, you will most likely benefit from a decent pipe and the power commander with Dyno tuning and finally install TRE which is modestly priced. The bike has no lack of power but you can bring it all up in a more efficient way thus, IMHO.

[Musgofasa]

Mmandre,
I am new to the forum, but read this post and thought I might respond. I am actually surprised to hear this. I just bought an 08 ZX10R and took her out for our first real ride over the weekend. It is broken in from around town riding, but hasn't been taken out to the mountains until last saturday. I was riding with a couple of guys on other bikes. Chiefly a 2008 yamaha R1 and a 2007CBR1000RR. On the curves I couldn't keep up with the R1, but I think that was 100% rider skill as he is longer in the seat than myself. I rode his bike on some of the curves on the parkway and was a bit more comfortable, but no faster. The CBR of course stayed right with us. I didn't get to ride it in the mountains.

On the way back, we had some straight roads to really test power on. We swapped riders on all three bikes and the Kawi came out first every time. The power delivery was so much smoother and the balance better that with full throttle from a dead stop it just got to speed faster than the other bikes. From a rolling start we were very even. The R1 seemed to run out of power before either of the other two.

A buddy here has an 08 ZX with Akro exhaust and it sounds cool, but I wouldn't trade with him even with my bike in stock condition.

There are lots of mods, but I wouldn't call the bike restricted, lol. It's strong like it is. Interesting. Let us know if you find something that is causing it.

BTW everybody! Hi! I hope to be around a long time. The forums here look fun and informative. Now off to post my questions about my new baby, lol.

Take care,
Robert

[mmandre7]

maybe the R1 i raced had some modification I need to look at closer...

[KawiFan10R]

I too was surprised that the gentleman did not find his ZX10R somewhat per his expectations. This is the first time i've heard this while i've spoken with at least six different riders who unanimously say that their ZX is a powerhouse that nothing else comes close to it. I also feel the same despite the fact that I have never used its full potential. ZX10R is the winner by all accounts for '08 and i've heard that the competition has been very busy to come up with something 'better' in '09. Having said that, i do not doubt the experience cited above. The Ducati 1098S does have a better suspension, IMHO.

As for the mods for ZX10R, i chose to put on Leo Vinci slip-on for sound that matches up with the power better than the stock module, again a personal thing. Frankly, the stock pipe sounded more like the sewing machine to me, lol. Leo Vinci took off 13 lb off the machine also. I have heard that Kawasaki does not make too many ZX10R. Does anyone know why they are not so common?

[Musgofasa]

My bets are on either something wrong with the Kawi or something done to the yamaha.

On a note, I absolutely love the Duc. If I could've gotten a sweet deal on that bike like I did the ZX10R I might seriously have gone with it. I do not regret getting my ZX at all though.

I haven't heard they were uncommon. I was talking to my best friend today though and he noticed that we never see any more of them around. The dealership where I got mine said that mine was the second '08 they had sold and they have one more that had a sold sticker on it. That means only 3 in this area that I know of.

Headed off to make fun of my buddy. He wants to go drag race with his R6s. This should be fun, lol

Take care guys,
Robert

[Musgofasa]

edit: That'll teach me! That little R6s is faster than I thought. He didn't beat me, but I sure had to work harder than I expected to outrun him. lol

Straight lines through 3 gears before I noticed him dropping away. After that no comparison, but from stop to 100 he was closer than I expected. I want to put him up against my buddy with the CBR and the R1. I think it might be more rider than bike. Maybe I will ride his bike and put him on mine next and see if he leaves me sitting, lol.

[KawiFan10R]

[KawiFan10R]

[Musgofasa]

Hmmm

That's very interesting. It's at least 20 horses more than any bike I have personally owned (until now) but from all written accounts I have seen, Kawi is claiming 170 on the rear tire. After riding mine for a few weeks, this is more what I felt like the bike really had. I have ridden a couple of privateer bikes that dyno'd at 175 or so and I did think they were stronger so this makes sense. Anyone got a dyno test on an R1 for comparison?

Thanks for the post Kawifan10R, was that a stock 08? I would like to use that as a baseline for mine. I am going to have mine dyno'd soon and I will post the pics of the test. After I get that I may start with mods, but I don't know if I want to do anything to it or not. Have to decide after a few thousand miles are on it. lol

Take care,
Robert

[dino821235]

and ZX14