zerMATT
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted March 05, 2006 04:29 PM
Why Kawasaki??
FP 10R brought up a good question in another thread...
quote:
Is it just me or are Kawasaki bikes different from the rest in some way they have a raw edge that the other Jap bikes just lack?
It would be intertesting to know just what draws the members of the forum to the brand as many like myself have a number of bikes all Kawi's.
So, what brought you to the Kawasaki camp? Did you see a cool Kawasaki when you were a kid? Did a neighbor have a cook Kawi that you always drooled over? Or did you just stumble into the house of kaw by chance?
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14 | Black D&D Slip-ons | Speedo Healer | V1 | zumo 550 | Heli-Risers | PhantomX
  
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zerMATT
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted March 05, 2006 04:37 PM
I'll start.
My dad has always had motorcycles, mostly ancient Indians and newer Harleys. My brother lived with dad growing up, so he got the bike-bug first-hand. He's a die-hard Honda fan having started 22 years ago with a CB400F, then a Nighthawk 750, and now a CBR1100XX.
I lived with our mother growing up and she was very much against motorcycles, as was my first wife (part of the reason she's GONE!). As soon as the divorce was on the horizon in 2000, I decided that it was time.
I talked to my brother for first bike suggestions. I'm a big guy (everyone knows that by now, right???), so I wanted a big bike. The most appealing bike for riding position and comfort while still being somewhat "sporty" was the Kawasaki ZRX. I bought a 2000 ZRX1200R, black with purple/gray stripes. That bike was a lot of fun, but I found myself really enjoying gettin' it through corners... which the ZRX isn't the best at. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that in capable hands the ZRX is quite capable, but it wasn't confidence inspiring for me.
Two years and 11,000 miles with the Rex went by and I heard about the ZZR1200 coming out. I knew that would be my next bike. Within 2 weeks of hearing that the ZZR was even out there, I had one (yes, I was a little late hearing about it). I've had that bike for 4 years and 21,000 miles now and I love it.... well, then I heard about the ZX-14!!!!
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14 | Black D&D Slip-ons | Speedo Healer | V1 | zumo 550 | Heli-Risers | PhantomX
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jimzx9r
Expert Class
Posts: 451
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posted March 05, 2006 04:41 PM
The first time I ever sat on a sportbike, it was a brand new green and white 98 zx7r. After that, I was hooked.
Kawasaki appealed to me mainly because of the comfort and power, and the fact that they're the underdogs of the big 4. Not everybody has a kawi, either...the only kaws I regularly see are zx6s. I can't even remember the last time I saw another zx9 or zx12 on the street. The kawasakis were never as aggressive as the GSXRs on the track, but they weren't as dull and standard as the hondas, either. Yamaha wasn't an option for me, because that's the standard issue guido and squid bike.
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted March 05, 2006 04:43 PM
the zx12r's ergos fit me well. that's about the only reason.
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Tool Man
Needs a job
Posts: 4493
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posted March 05, 2006 07:12 PM
Ok i will date myself with this one. I was a junior in high school I owned a '72 Suzuki TC125 enduro. Riding back and forth to school and out into the fields in Illinois to meet my buddys on their bikes was the routine.
One day I'm siting on my bike out front of school and around the corner come this guy on a brand new Z1 900. He sees me sitting there and looks right at me and smiles. Then without warning he revs the motor and lets the clutch fly. The Z1's rear tire immediately erupts in thick roiling smoke and he races down the block in the longest burnout I had ever seen. It was a defining moment !!!
Since that day I have owned many bikes
'74 CB 750
'83 GS 1100 ESD ( 1260 big bore motor)
'85 GPZ 550 ( 1st race bike ) loved it!!
'85 Ninja 900
'87 gsxr 1100 (2nd race bike) almost killed me at Road America
'87 XR 600 (Rehab bike)
'90 Ninja zx10 (Still in the garage)
'95 XR 600
'00 ZRX 1100 ( ridden daily) 4sale
'02 SV 650 (wifes bike) She lets me ride it if I ask nice :-)
Next up 2006 ZX-14
Every once in a while when I am ride'n I'll see a youhg kid looking at me with THAT look
( you all know the one I mean) and I just smile and let the clutch fly!
____________
The banks are failing..
The banks are failing...
Invest in Ammo
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worm~hole
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
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posted March 05, 2006 07:58 PM
quote:
FP 10R brought up a good question in another thread...
quote:
Is it just me or are Kawasaki bikes different from the rest in some way they have a raw edge that the other Jap bikes just lack?
It would be intertesting to know just what draws the members of the forum to the brand as many like myself have a number of bikes all Kawi's.
So, what brought you to the Kawasaki camp? Did you see a cool Kawasaki when you were a kid? Did a neighbor have a cook Kawi that you always drooled over? Or did you just stumble into the house of kaw by chance?
....circa 1975....blue Z1-B....I was a wide-eyed 19 year-old (as wide as any Asian can get it  )...it was my very first bike...it was a jaw-dropping life changing experience for me....nothing 'new' compares to my first ride on that big-bore Kawasaki....everything else since has been a big bonus 
____________
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
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VPN
Zone Head
Posts: 718
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posted March 05, 2006 08:08 PM
I don't care the brand
I just want the best possible Sport-Touring bike
Lot's of low-end torque, easy handling, modern technology (ABS) etc
Last year it was BMW (didn't buy: the local dealer sucks & seat is too high)
This year it's Kawasaki ZZR1400 (ZX-14)
Next year perhaps new Busa
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Tool Man
Needs a job
Posts: 4493
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posted March 05, 2006 08:12 PM
 Edited By: Tool Man on 5 Mar 2006 20:28
Amen to the first Z1 god !! Pagon nonetheless you got to believe!!
____________
The banks are failing..
The banks are failing...
Invest in Ammo
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gremlin
Novice Class
Posts: 87
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posted March 05, 2006 08:49 PM
1971. My best friend's oldest brother owns a white Mach 3 500cc triple. We are in his garage as he fires up the beast. Blue smoke pours out the three exhausts, as we soak up the aroma. He revs the engine a few times until the entire 3 car garage is filled with a blue haze. He pops the clutch, and the bike blasts forward, the handlebars fully locked to the right, with the real wheel leaving behind a massive smoking dark patch, and he quickly disappears into the distance. For a long time, my best friend and I just stand there, mesmerized. Five minutes later, he returns, places me between him and the gas tank, and allows this 9 year-old kid to steer the bike, and control the throttle. I'm too short to reach the shifter, and too weak to pull in the clutch to shift gears, but to me, I was in control for a few minutes of a legend. Thirty five years later, I still think of and vividly recall that moment in time.
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worm~hole
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
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posted March 05, 2006 09:08 PM
...I forgot to add....I was in San Antonio at Lackland AFB....walking on a sidewalk....then I heard this almost turbine-like sound mixed with a smooth-sounding piston engine....I turn around and there it is....blue Z-1....the right-side upswept chrome-plated pipes winked at me in the afternoon sun as the rider banked and zoomed off into the distance...the silky sound of the the engine/exhaust whispered, "You want me....you want me now....come get me...."
....I learned how to control a bike for the first time on a trusting buddy's A-3 350 2-smoke... six months later I bought my brand-new Z-1B in Ashville, NC....I can still smell that bike in my mind's eye....
____________
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
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