htosado
Zone Head
Posts: 949
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posted May 01, 2006 10:19 AM
My New ZX-14- My opinion
This bike is amazing!!!! It does'nt lift when throttling at any speed, just goes straight and as fast as you can handle. I've owned a zx-11, a cbr100xx, gsxr1300, and now the king. This bike can handle turns as easy as most 1000 cc bikes with a solid feel. The clutch and gears are perfect and can be handled easy by most experienced riders. I challenge anyone to redline this bike, you just can't unless you leave the city. I go to about 75 in first with a quick shift to second, and by third, in seconds I'm at 135 and braking. You can own more nimble bikes, but they won't outdo the overall comfort, ease, and pure raw power. Did I mention that I get twice the mileage of my BMW 1150GS Adventure.
I can ride hard all day about 145 miles (City and canyons) and only use 3.5 gallons.
Any questions ask.
  
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blueford
Needs a job
Posts: 2984
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posted May 01, 2006 05:03 PM
[quote This bike can handle turns as easy as most 1000 cc bikes with a solid feel.
Any questions ask.
Nice report, what twisties have you twisted on, if you don't mind, so I can evaluate better.
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spalding12
Novice Class
Posts: 40
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posted May 01, 2006 05:29 PM
quote:
This bike is amazing!!!! It does'nt lift when throttling at any speed, just goes straight and as fast as you can handle. I've owned a zx-11, a cbr100xx, gsxr1300, and now the king. This bike can handle turns as easy as most 1000 cc bikes with a solid feel. The clutch and gears are perfect and can be handled easy by most experienced riders. I challenge anyone to redline this bike, you just can't unless you leave the city. I go to about 75 in first with a quick shift to second, and by third, in seconds I'm at 135 and braking. You can own more nimble bikes, but they won't outdo the overall comfort, ease, and pure raw power. Did I mention that I get twice the mileage of my BMW 1150GS Adventure.
I can ride hard all day about 145 miles (City and canyons) and only use 3.5 gallons.
Any questions ask.
i'm glad you posted this
i have a 2005 BMW R1200GS.... which i LOVE
but, want the zx-14 very badly
i'm glad to see that i'm not the only one who desires this odd combination of bikes
please....
tell us more
i know you'd rather be riding than typing..... but, we would love to hear MUCH MUCH more... please
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 01, 2006 05:45 PM
quote:
This bike is amazing!!!! It does'nt lift when throttling at any speed, just goes straight and as fast as you can handle. I've owned a zx-11, a cbr100xx, gsxr1300, and now the king. This bike can handle turns as easy as most 1000 cc bikes with a solid feel. The clutch and gears are perfect and can be handled easy by most experienced riders. I challenge anyone to redline this bike, you just can't unless you leave the city. I go to about 75 in first with a quick shift to second, and by third, in seconds I'm at 135 and braking. You can own more nimble bikes, but they won't outdo the overall comfort, ease, and pure raw power. Did I mention that I get twice the mileage of my BMW 1150GS Adventure.
I can ride hard all day about 145 miles (City and canyons) and only use 3.5 gallons.
Any questions ask.
Dude, not to argue with ya, but three things:
1) This bike does lift quite easily at WOT...been there, done that.
2) Be careful, If you try to push her in the corners like a litre bike, they'll be pickin you out of the trees...the solid feel is very deceptive, she breaks loose fast in the rear...too much TQ for short or diminishing radius twisties
3) Already redlined her in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th...thats how I know how easily she lifts at WOT, especially during the shifts
I do agree with you on most of your other comments...congrats and enjoy her!
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FYYFF!!!
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 01, 2006 06:51 PM
FBA, do you happen to carry a resume (racing)...Just a thought. I think in life we have to respect those in the know and I know a lot Machanically but I don't think I hold a candle to you my friend. Keep the updates coming I learn more from these e-mails. Too Cool.
Oh yea thanks for the heads up, I might add that in rain keep the 14 in 4th, 5th and 6th gears. This should help the accidental break away.
Rob
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blueford
Needs a job
Posts: 2984
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posted May 01, 2006 07:33 PM
quote:
Be careful, If you try to push her in the corners like a litre bike, they'll be pickin you out of the trees...the solid feel is very deceptive, she breaks loose fast in the rear...too much TQ for short or diminishing radius twisties
Montreal, Quebec, Canada? Do you have mountains? In California, we grow up riding twisties year round, so we learn not to hammer it coming out of apexes at a young age. 
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TurboBlew
Moderator
BUSY DOING THE SCHIAVO
Posts: 4590
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posted May 01, 2006 09:09 PM
Wanna race me??
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Official Charter Member of the RIDERS OF KAWASAKI MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION CLUB
Also a BadAss Internet Forum Moderator 4 Hire!! Come at me brah!
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gunner
Needs a life
Posts: 5778
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posted May 01, 2006 09:35 PM
 Edited By: gunner on 1 May 2006 22:37
quote:
Wanna race me??
You stole my line........................ Turbo  I want some of that twisty action that BIG nimble 14 has...hehehe My poor under powered little pip squeek 10R will just have to suffer to keep up but I'll try. I may need a tow rope dropped out the back of that rocket I do like the 14 more every day and it will find a home at my house sooner or later, BUT I'm thinking sport tourer with hard bags.
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hotzxrod
Novice Class
Posts: 99
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posted May 01, 2006 09:48 PM
fuel tank .....it was.....the fuel tank ...thats it thats ALL
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tilthewheelsfalloff
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 01:40 AM
quote:
FBA, do you happen to carry a resume (racing)...Just a thought. I think in life we have to respect those in the know and I know a lot Machanically but I don't think I hold a candle to you my friend. Keep the updates coming I learn more from these e-mails. Too Cool.
Oh yea thanks for the heads up, I might add that in rain keep the 14 in 4th, 5th and 6th gears. This should help the accidental break away.
Rob
We don't get rain here..
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FYYFF!!!
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marco383
Expert Class
Posts: 145
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posted May 02, 2006 02:40 AM
Am I the only one that breaks bikes in by the rules? It seems that everyone else who got a 14 in the past couple of weeks redlined the thing on their way out of the dealer.
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zx61114
Expert Class
Posts: 327
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posted May 02, 2006 03:48 AM
Marco,
Just a guess but I'm thinking your bike has been dam close to redline at the factory. When they put the Goldwing on the dyno in Marysville, Ohio after the bike was up to temp, HP was checked and they pushed up the RPM close to redline. Somehow I can't see Kawasaki not doing the same. Keep in mind this is coming from a guy who has redlined the VFR maybe 20 times in 83,000 miles. VTEC kick is at 7,000 RPM and no one is home above 11,000 so why push it.
Rob
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Red1
Expert Class
Posts: 442
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posted May 02, 2006 03:55 AM
FBA,
How does the 14 compare with the Busa? Horsepower, Torque etc.
Thanks,
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Red12/Blue14
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Drowland
Zone Head
Posts: 733
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posted May 02, 2006 04:05 AM
2) Be careful, If you try to push her in the corners like a litre bike, they'll be pickin you out of the trees...the solid feel is very deceptive, she breaks loose fast in the rear...too much TQ for short or diminishing radius twisties
You said that right
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 05:33 AM
Edited By: fastestbusaaround on 2 May 2006 07:49
quote:
FBA,
How does the 14 compare with the Busa? Horsepower, Torque etc.
Thanks,
Way more TQ/HP, but only above 6K, less below, but that in fact is due to the mapping...when the engine is cold, mapping is not the same and it then pulls harder than the Busa throughout the entire band (only for a minute or so till the mapping changes to the "warm engine" program). I have seen this 3 or 4 times now and just on my in to work today in fact. It pulls so hard at 3K cold, that if you snap the throttle closed/open, it will lift. But it's also more solidly planted than the Busa, way better brakes and tranny/clutch....list goes on and on. If someone figures out how to change the actual mapping in the ECM, the bike will pull substantially harder from any RPM than the Busa...guaranteed! Just my .02 worth...
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FYYFF!!!
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 05:38 AM
quote:
quote:
Be careful, If you try to push her in the corners like a litre bike, they'll be pickin you out of the trees...the solid feel is very deceptive, she breaks loose fast in the rear...too much TQ for short or diminishing radius twisties
Montreal, Quebec, Canada? Do you have mountains? In California, we grow up riding twisties year round, so we learn not to hammer it coming out of apexes at a young age.
Are you kidding me? We have serious mountains and twisties, all combined with the absolute worst fucking pavement in North America...unfortunately. We ride in NY and VT often as it's only 40 miutes from here. Tons of gaps, mountains and smooth twisty roads. They always taught us in race shcool to hammer hard exiting the turns...but it's not something I do on big bikes on the open roads...on the litre bikes yes, but on the Hyperbikes...no. I was only responding to what HTOSADO said about feeling as solid as a liter bike in the turns...which it is not.
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FYYFF!!!
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Squareman357
Expert Class
Posts: 148
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posted May 02, 2006 05:55 AM
Edited By: Squareman357 on 2 May 2006 06:59
quote:
..when the engine is cold, mapping is not the same and it them pulls harder than the Busa throughout the entire band (only for a minute or so till the mapping changes to the "warm engine" program). I have seen this 3 or 4 times now and just on my in to work today in fact. It pulls so hard at 3K cold that if you snap the throttle closed/open, it will lift...
I was wondering if this was just me or not. When pulling out of the garage this morning, revs were up, and as I pulled off in first she seemed a HELL of a lot more powerful than a few minutes later after she warmed up. Mind you, this is only first gear. I thought I was just imagining that.
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Keep the shiny side up!
Square
'06 Ebony Metallic ZX-14 - "Delilah"
'02 Silver CBR1100XX - "Stormcloud"
'04 GS500F - "Wife's Bike"
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Squareman357
Expert Class
Posts: 148
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posted May 02, 2006 05:58 AM
quote:
Am I the only one that breaks bikes in by the rules? It seems that everyone else who got a 14 in the past couple of weeks redlined the thing on their way out of the dealer.
No, you're not. I haven't been over 6K yet. WIth almost 200 miles on her. I HAVE run her up through the gears rapidly, but I short shifted and was shifting at 5 to 6K. I know some folks do it one way and have success (baby it) and others do it another way and have success (ride it like you stole it), but I tend to follow the standard break in, and keep the revs down as much as possible through the first oil change, vary the RPM as much as possible (lots of shifting and rolling on and off), then I'll start wicking it up a bit. I haven't had a problem doing it that way and my XX is still as snappy (1st and 2nd gear hard roll ons produce lofting) as it was when it had zero miles on it some 30K+ later.
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Keep the shiny side up!
Square
'06 Ebony Metallic ZX-14 - "Delilah"
'02 Silver CBR1100XX - "Stormcloud"
'04 GS500F - "Wife's Bike"
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nightmare
Pro
ACP Racing
Posts: 1797
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posted May 02, 2006 06:04 AM
Dammit I cant wait?
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2006 ZX14 Ninja "SWINE FLU"
60ft 1.23
8th Mile 5.16
ACP Racing
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 06:48 AM
quote:
quote:
..when the engine is cold, mapping is not the same and it them pulls harder than the Busa throughout the entire band (only for a minute or so till the mapping changes to the "warm engine" program). I have seen this 3 or 4 times now and just on my in to work today in fact. It pulls so hard at 3K cold that if you snap the throttle closed/open, it will lift...
I was wondering if this was just me or not. When pulling out of the garage this morning, revs were up, and as I pulled off in first she seemed a HELL of a lot more powerful than a few minutes later after she warmed up. Mind you, this is only first gear. I thought I was just imagining that.
That's the "cold engine" mapping I was talking about...it seems to run a different program which has little or no TQ limitations under 6K...you are not alone, they all work this way...
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FYYFF!!!
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TeamSpeed
Expert Class
Posts: 449
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posted May 02, 2006 08:42 AM
Edited By: TeamSpeed on 2 May 2006 09:45
So somebody needs to come up with a thermostat simulator (like the O2 sims used for the GM LSx motors), then hook it up to a "performance" button to use it when you want it. Figure out what temp is used to go to the closed loop, and set the sim to show one degree under when the button is on, and tell the computer the real temp when the button is off.
Maybe better yet (less risk of overall damage) would be to tap the gear indicator feed into the computer and have the button tell it that it is in 5th or 6th, giving it full power < 5K.
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 08:54 AM
You know, I don't even think it does that in 5th-6th either...I think its global across all gears from what I can feel...because in lower gears when cold, it outpulls the Busa and from what I felt for a very brief moment, it does the same in high gears too. Yet when warm, pulls way less in all gears than a Busa under 5K...I can't be too sure about the cold thing in higher gears, but I am sure about it while warm...cold mapping doesn't run for more than a minute or so. But the temp sensor thing might actually work, till the ECM figures out its been cold for too long maybe?
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FYYFF!!!
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TeamSpeed
Expert Class
Posts: 449
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posted May 02, 2006 03:31 PM
Edited By: TeamSpeed on 2 May 2006 16:32
My guess is that the programming won't be all that elaborate to monitor the amount of time the stat was sitting at something like 160 for long periods of time, however it would detect a missing temp. reading. I would be wary what all the tables look like for a cold vs warm motor, not sure if you would want to run a cold map for very long on a warm motor. Just one of those things where somebody will get the service manual, look at all the ECM feed wires and then test some of these theories.
Same thing I did when I figured out how to force the TQ lockup on my LS1 Z28 at any speed in any gear, found out that one wire going out of the computer would go to ground telling the TQ to lock up. I just ran that wire through a grounding switch on the dash after hacking through all the harnesses for the ECM...
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted May 02, 2006 03:34 PM
The cold map must run a lot richer than the warm map -- which I assume would not be a good thing for extended periods of time...but perhaps there is an electronic bypass as you suggested...anyone wanna donate a bike? 
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FYYFF!!!
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blueford
Needs a job
Posts: 2984
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posted May 02, 2006 04:32 PM
Well Kawasaki had better not designed a map that can't be circumvented, I don't mind them doing it for some "we know better than you reason" but fuck that, make it easy to change if any given customer has big ones.
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