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should I buy a new ZX10R???

5K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  ZX-2R 
#1 ·
hi all,

I am looking to buy a new bike. Currently living in South Africa, so all the superbikes are pretty expensive. Anyway, I gotta have one!

I had a GSX R400, but crashed it last year. Now I have to decide what I want...

Honda CBR1000 RR
Suzuki GSXR 1000
Yamaha YZF R1

or...

Kawasaki ZX10 R.

I am very tempted to buy the kawa or the honda, as they look the best. Lotsa people told me to stay away from the yama. Why?? Dunno.

Would love some opinions on the choice I have to make.

Do any of you have some specs on the kawa and the honda and the gixer? Like accelaration, top speed, handling, etc?

Thank you.
bernie
email: iwbt4@sun.ac.za
 
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#2 ·
Not much difference is speed on these liter bikes. Were talking fractions of seconds difference which really comes down to one thing. The RIDER.
The best handling bike of the group is the Yamaha and I am not sure why your friends said to stay away as the R1 is a great bike. I have ridden my friends R1 and has great handling characteristics that have been backed up by all the trade magazines.

The ZX10r is definately the fastest going in a straight line, but is not as refined in the corners. All of the bikes have more than needed power for the street.
 
#4 ·
The reason why people are warning against an R1 is because there have been numerous reports of blown engines. I don't know if the whole thing has been sensationalized but everytime I see a post on the ZX-10 boards they always reference some post on an R1 board complaining about another grenaded motor. Others have complained about driveability issues in reference to the motor bogging down for unexplained reasons. Some other complaints center around the undertail exhaust as some riders have affectionately called the R1 seat as a nut roaster.
 
#5 ·
first of all, HOW DID YOU WRECK THE GSXR 400 ? was it your fault or someone else's ? if YOU wrecked the 400 then stay away from litre bikes cause they will kill you oh so quick. im not a "learn small" nazi but it sounds like you are not ready for a litre bike. :roll:
 
#6 ·
ZX10 Guy said:
The reason why people are warning against an R1 is because there have been numerous reports of blown engines. I don't know if the whole thing has been sensationalized but everytime I see a post on the ZX-10 boards they always reference some post on an R1 board complaining about another grenaded motor. Others have complained about driveability issues in reference to the motor bogging down for unexplained reasons. Some other complaints center around the undertail exhaust as some riders have affectionately called the R1 seat as a nut roaster.
The guys I ride with have 04 R1's and although a small group have not had any failures as of yet. Regardless of manufacturer there are not many blown engines out there unless people are abusing their engines - that I believe any engine will fail at a certain point. I just checked the NHTSA board and only found 1 engine blown (complaint) out of how many Yamahas that have been sold???????

The guys complaining about the seats are wimps. Tell them to ride on a Ducati and they can feel some heat. You can also do plenty of things to reduce heat if it really bothers you. Ceramic coating/header wrap and CF undershield instead of plastic.

Like I said before you can't go wrong with any of the liter bikes.
 
#8 ·
1 Liter Bikes

re: Sport Rider December 2004 Magazine...
In order of the SUPERTEST 2004 SUPERBIKES
1 Yamaha YZF-R1
2 Kawasaki ZX-10R
3 Suzuki GSX-R1000
4 Honda CBR1000R
5 Suzuki GSX-R750
6 Aprilia RSV Mille R Factory
7 Ducatti 999S
8 Apirila RSV mille R
9 Benelli Tornado TRE RS

Bike Comfort Engine Suspension equipment price
1 5 8 9 8 8
2 6 9 8 7 6
3 9 7 6 3 7
4 8 6 4 6 5
5 7 5 5 2 9
6 4 4 3 9 3
7 1 3 7 5 2
8 3 2 2 1 4
9 2 1 1 4 1

Not so funny thing is that in the SUPERSPORTS the Ducatti 749S was last in 7th spot. Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Kawasaki, Honda, Triumph (Daytona), then Ducati. The engine on the ZX-6R was the only 9!
 
#10 ·
methanol

methanol, you have the luck as well as the Canadians with the ability to get the ZZR-250 or as the also list tehm ZZ-R250. We still only get the EX250/Ninja250R...sucks to have a steel tube frame, 16"wheels, small taillight with cutouts in it for additional sockets/lamps, and turnsignals that protrude out the side of the bike like an afterthought, oh, yeah, we need something hanging hanging out the sides of the bike for Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements...when the ZZR taillights would be the answer to cleaning up the bike. the Fairing is also nice. Seems out "new" ZZR-600 is the older style ZX6 you had. Anyway, SOme of us wish we had the option to purchase the ZZR-250 and get parts without all the paperwork hastle...the EX250 parts are not compatable...
 
#11 ·
how did I crash my suzuki?

Hi all,

I crashed my suzuki beacause I was at a party earlier... nuff said. I never drove dangerously.

A question: why is the R1 being referred to as a nut-roaser? The CBR also has the underseat pipes. Is this because the R1 does not have the vents next to the backseat as does the CBR?

Second q: the person's whose nuts are being subjected to the toasting. Would that be the rider or the passenger?

Thank you for all the posts. I really appreciate it.

bernie
 
#12 ·
Re: methanol

ZX-2R said:
methanol, you have the luck as well as the Canadians with the ability to get the ZZR-250 or as the also list tehm ZZ-R250. We still only get the EX250/Ninja250R...sucks to have a steel tube frame, 16"wheels, small taillight with cutouts in it for additional sockets/lamps, and turnsignals that protrude out the side of the bike like an afterthought, oh, yeah, we need something hanging hanging out the sides of the bike for Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements...when the ZZR taillights would be the answer to cleaning up the bike. the Fairing is also nice. Seems out "new" ZZR-600 is the older style ZX6 you had. Anyway, SOme of us wish we had the option to purchase the ZZR-250 and get parts without all the paperwork hastle...the EX250 parts are not compatable...
Sorry to get off topic here...

When I first had a look at the american kawasaki site I was quite suprised not to see the ZZR there, but at first when I saw that there was a 'Ninja' 250R available. I immediately thought it was a ZX-2R but had a closer look and saw that it was exactly the same bike as our GPX 250, the ZZR has been a great bike so far though, just clicked over 4000kms and has been good fun all round! :wink:
 
#14 ·
Re: how did I crash my suzuki?

bernie said:
Hi all,

I crashed my suzuki beacause I was at a party earlier... nuff said. I never drove dangerously.

A question: why is the R1 being referred to as a nut-roaser? The CBR also has the underseat pipes. Is this because the R1 does not have the vents next to the backseat as does the CBR?

Second q: the person's whose nuts are being subjected to the toasting. Would that be the rider or the passenger?

Thank you for all the posts. I really appreciate it.

bernie
Exhaust heat on any motorcycle is too warm to touch and can be insulated for the under the seat types with Carbon Fiber vs Plastic. Some people are more sensitive to the heat then others. Personally me, I didn't feel the heat and I rode the R1 in 100 degree temperatures.

You can insulate the pipe with wrap or a heat shield or have it ceramic coated for about $100 if it bothers you.
 
#15 ·
Re: how did I crash my suzuki?

bernie said:
Hi all,

I crashed my suzuki beacause I was at a party earlier... nuff said. I never drove dangerously.

A question: why is the R1 being referred to as a nut-roaser? The CBR also has the underseat pipes. Is this because the R1 does not have the vents next to the backseat as does the CBR?

Second q: the person's whose nuts are being subjected to the toasting. Would that be the rider or the passenger?

Thank you for all the posts. I really appreciate it.

bernie
Exhaust heat on any motorcycle is too warm to touch and can be insulated for the under the seat types with Carbon Fiber vs Plastic. Some people are more sensitive to the heat then others. Personally me, I didn't feel the heat and I rode the R1 in 100 degree temperatures.

You can insulate the pipe with wrap or a heat shield or have it ceramic coated for about $100 if it bothers you.
 
#16 ·
bernie said:
hi all,

I am looking to buy a new bike. Currently living in South Africa, so all the superbikes are pretty expensive. Anyway, I gotta have one!

I had a GSX R400, but crashed it last year. Now I have to decide what I want...

Honda CBR1000 RR
Suzuki GSXR 1000
Yamaha YZF R1

or...

Kawasaki ZX10 R.

I am very tempted to buy the kawa or the honda, as they look the best. Lotsa people told me to stay away from the yama. Why?? Dunno.

Would love some opinions on the choice I have to make.

Do any of you have some specs on the kawa and the honda and the gixer? Like accelaration, top speed, handling, etc?

Thank you.
bernie
email: iwbt4@sun.ac.za



I say the 10, i just got one two and a half months ago, and i love it. PERFECT Bike..!!...In all aspects.
 
#18 ·
yoassizmine said:
hey zx-2r what did you mean when you said The engine on the ZX-6R was the only 9!?
The 9 represents a good score for the engines in the test and what he probably meant was that the zx6r had a better engine then the rest of the competition.
 
#19 ·
Re: how did I crash my suzuki?

I crashed my suzuki beacause I was at a party earlier... nuff said. I never drove dangerously.
bernie

>Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

Well, riding a bike is dangerous, any way you look at it. So yea, I guess it would sound pretty dangerous. I compare it to cliff diving and ultimate fighting. Which I both do. Pretty dangerous stuff. Still trying to figure out why I have headaches most of the time. :D
What I meant was, I obviously never drove dangerously when I was sober. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for when I'm driving my car. I guess I go on a bit of a power trip when I climb into it. 2.5 Litre engine, intercooled, horizontal 4, turbo. All wheel drive. 0 - 100 km per hour in 4.4 seconds. My friend timed me. Can anyone guess what it is? Insane!!!!

:wink:

By the way, any of you ever tried spearfishing whilst being drunk? There is a whole list of activities I still wanna do whilst being drunk.

Back to the kawa topic... What is the top speed of the ZX10R? And what is the 0 - 100 km/h time? I heard it is like 2.? seconds?? Is this true? And does it go on the back wheel very easily?

cheers!
bernie
 
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