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Well today I rode down from Ann Arbor, MI to Toledo,OH to pick up my new bike. There were strong 30mph winds for my hour ride down the highway on the Katana. Can you say countersteer. The Katana was like a sail in those strong crosswinds, but I throttled down the highway at 80-90mph. I make mention of this because on the way home the ZX-14 was a real pleasure in those same winds. It really was a HUGE difference. The ZX-14 handles the wind amazingly well.
I headed out of the dealership the indirect route via city streets and back country roads, not the highway that I took on my way down with the Kat. I wanted to see what it felt like on rough roads, smooth roads, railroad tracks and just about any other conditions that you run into on rural country roads and city streets. Yes, I even had to try it in the twisties too
Where to start. This bike is absolutely AWESOME. It is really mild mannered at low rpms, but you just move the throttle centimeters at a time and it accelerates very smoothly at a rapid pace. You have to be careful with the right hand because you don't realize how fast you are going and will be speeding well above the speed limit with a little twist of the throttle. It is so smooth and graceful while doing it that you don't realize how much speed you picked up so quickly. You don't feel like you are going nearly as fast as you're and really need to pay attention to the speedometer. 80mph feels like 50mph on the Kat.
The ride is very smooth and nice. Railroad tracks and rough roads were very nice and a lot smoother than the ride on my Kat. The Ninja just skimmed over tracks and bumps, very nice. I expected it to ride a lot rougher than it does. It was much more enjoyable than my Kat was. I am not sure if this is because of softer suspension settings or just a more advanced suspension.
To me this bike feels like riding in a Ferrari with the performance and in a Mercedes for the comfort. It really is that comfortable and the best of both worlds. The sitting position is very upright and comfortable, even better than the Kat. I don't feel leaned over at all. The seat height is a bit higher than the Kat. Also, I like how my legs tuck up so nicely against the tank. They just feel natural in that riding position and make you feel like one with the bike.
The Tank is big and has plastic trim around the whole front of the tank. My tank bag will not work because the magnets have nothing to grab on to. You need a magnetic tank bag that is fairly small in order to work due to the plastic trim. I will probably replace my tank bag with a tail bag now
The stock seat is very comfortable. It is similar to the stock Katana seat but a little softer. My butt felt fine after my 2hr ride and 100 miles of backroads home. Actually, I could have just kept riding all night. It was very comfortable with the seat and riding position of the bike. I could see easily doing some serious miles daily on this bike of 600 - 1000 miles a day. I will probably buy a Corbin seat for it with the backrest that I can swap out when my wife wants to ride with me. The stock seat is fine for me for several hundred miles a day.
The mirrors on this bike are excellent. They're adjustable in and out and very large. They allow you to see everything beside you and behind you without arms and elbows being in the way. They are very nice and I like them a lot.
This bike is about 15 pounds heavier than the Kat but feels a lot lighter when you're riding it. It turns very nicely and feels great and balanced at very slow speed maneuvers. For such a big bike it is very agile and much more so than the Kat. It doesn't feel top heavy like the Kat, you don't feel the weight of the bike. All the weight is lower on the bike I guess. It just feels much lighter to me than the Kat and very well balanced.
Instrumentation is AWESOME. The display will tell you things like what gear you are in, average miles per gallon, amount of fuel, Bike temps and other things. The white gauges are very nice and easily readable. I love the white face gauges.
The headlights are excellent. Low beams are decent. The high beams on this thing are amazing and light up a lot of real estate. There is no way you can ride with your high beams on facing on coming cars. They will be flashing, swearing and probably crashing if they are left on. Yes, they're that bright. I used to leave my high beams on for the Kat all the time and cars never flashed or anything.
In the curves and twisties this bike handles great, amazing for a bike this big. Again, it feels a lot smaller than it is. It carves up the corners nicely. When going into a sharp turn you need to push the bar into the corner. None of this lightly pressing or caressing it in on the bars. You give it a nudge and it lays right over and holds nicely. Beware of that throttle, there is a lot of power back there. I was talking to another guy at that dealership that has a 2006 ZX-14 and a Kawi 636. He says that he doesn't even ride the 636 anymore, even in the twisties. This bike just handles amazingly well for the size and weight. His tires had no chicken strips at all.
The shifting on this bike is absolutely perfect. I do not believe that you can find a bike made that shifts nicer than this one. The shifter engages so nice and smoothly. It is a pleasure to ride.
The brakes on this bike are outstanding!!!!
Storage. What Storage? There is none. Under the seat has no room for anything. I am serious here. You might be able to fit a fold up map if you're lucky. I am going to have to tape my registraion and insurance to the underside of the seat. First purchase will be a tail bag. If you don't have a tank bag or tail bag then you better have a jacket with big pockets.
I am very impressed with this bike. I only racked up a 100 miles on the way home but it was under a bunch of different road conditions. I feel so comfortable and natural on this bike. I feel like I have owned it for a while, not a day. I wasn't sure what to expect. Everyone on the forums and the magazines were absolutely correct about this bike. This bike handles extremely well, is very comfortable and smooth. The power delivery is smooth and well mannered at lower rpms. If you get on the throttle, this bike wakes up the animal within and you better hold on. I am only supposed to get the rpms up to 4000 max for the first 500 miles so I can only imagine what it will be like above 6000 rpms. This thing already has tons of power in any gear at any speed. There is no hesitation at all. If you are cruising at any rpm range and get on the throttle, it is like a catapult. Also, there are no engine vibrations or buzzing at all on this bike. She just purrrs
I love this bike and can't wait until break-in is over. I will write an updated review of it when I have been able to
ride it for a while outside of the break-in period.
I headed out of the dealership the indirect route via city streets and back country roads, not the highway that I took on my way down with the Kat. I wanted to see what it felt like on rough roads, smooth roads, railroad tracks and just about any other conditions that you run into on rural country roads and city streets. Yes, I even had to try it in the twisties too
Where to start. This bike is absolutely AWESOME. It is really mild mannered at low rpms, but you just move the throttle centimeters at a time and it accelerates very smoothly at a rapid pace. You have to be careful with the right hand because you don't realize how fast you are going and will be speeding well above the speed limit with a little twist of the throttle. It is so smooth and graceful while doing it that you don't realize how much speed you picked up so quickly. You don't feel like you are going nearly as fast as you're and really need to pay attention to the speedometer. 80mph feels like 50mph on the Kat.
The ride is very smooth and nice. Railroad tracks and rough roads were very nice and a lot smoother than the ride on my Kat. The Ninja just skimmed over tracks and bumps, very nice. I expected it to ride a lot rougher than it does. It was much more enjoyable than my Kat was. I am not sure if this is because of softer suspension settings or just a more advanced suspension.
To me this bike feels like riding in a Ferrari with the performance and in a Mercedes for the comfort. It really is that comfortable and the best of both worlds. The sitting position is very upright and comfortable, even better than the Kat. I don't feel leaned over at all. The seat height is a bit higher than the Kat. Also, I like how my legs tuck up so nicely against the tank. They just feel natural in that riding position and make you feel like one with the bike.
The Tank is big and has plastic trim around the whole front of the tank. My tank bag will not work because the magnets have nothing to grab on to. You need a magnetic tank bag that is fairly small in order to work due to the plastic trim. I will probably replace my tank bag with a tail bag now
The stock seat is very comfortable. It is similar to the stock Katana seat but a little softer. My butt felt fine after my 2hr ride and 100 miles of backroads home. Actually, I could have just kept riding all night. It was very comfortable with the seat and riding position of the bike. I could see easily doing some serious miles daily on this bike of 600 - 1000 miles a day. I will probably buy a Corbin seat for it with the backrest that I can swap out when my wife wants to ride with me. The stock seat is fine for me for several hundred miles a day.
The mirrors on this bike are excellent. They're adjustable in and out and very large. They allow you to see everything beside you and behind you without arms and elbows being in the way. They are very nice and I like them a lot.
This bike is about 15 pounds heavier than the Kat but feels a lot lighter when you're riding it. It turns very nicely and feels great and balanced at very slow speed maneuvers. For such a big bike it is very agile and much more so than the Kat. It doesn't feel top heavy like the Kat, you don't feel the weight of the bike. All the weight is lower on the bike I guess. It just feels much lighter to me than the Kat and very well balanced.
Instrumentation is AWESOME. The display will tell you things like what gear you are in, average miles per gallon, amount of fuel, Bike temps and other things. The white gauges are very nice and easily readable. I love the white face gauges.
The headlights are excellent. Low beams are decent. The high beams on this thing are amazing and light up a lot of real estate. There is no way you can ride with your high beams on facing on coming cars. They will be flashing, swearing and probably crashing if they are left on. Yes, they're that bright. I used to leave my high beams on for the Kat all the time and cars never flashed or anything.
In the curves and twisties this bike handles great, amazing for a bike this big. Again, it feels a lot smaller than it is. It carves up the corners nicely. When going into a sharp turn you need to push the bar into the corner. None of this lightly pressing or caressing it in on the bars. You give it a nudge and it lays right over and holds nicely. Beware of that throttle, there is a lot of power back there. I was talking to another guy at that dealership that has a 2006 ZX-14 and a Kawi 636. He says that he doesn't even ride the 636 anymore, even in the twisties. This bike just handles amazingly well for the size and weight. His tires had no chicken strips at all.
The shifting on this bike is absolutely perfect. I do not believe that you can find a bike made that shifts nicer than this one. The shifter engages so nice and smoothly. It is a pleasure to ride.
The brakes on this bike are outstanding!!!!
Storage. What Storage? There is none. Under the seat has no room for anything. I am serious here. You might be able to fit a fold up map if you're lucky. I am going to have to tape my registraion and insurance to the underside of the seat. First purchase will be a tail bag. If you don't have a tank bag or tail bag then you better have a jacket with big pockets.
I am very impressed with this bike. I only racked up a 100 miles on the way home but it was under a bunch of different road conditions. I feel so comfortable and natural on this bike. I feel like I have owned it for a while, not a day. I wasn't sure what to expect. Everyone on the forums and the magazines were absolutely correct about this bike. This bike handles extremely well, is very comfortable and smooth. The power delivery is smooth and well mannered at lower rpms. If you get on the throttle, this bike wakes up the animal within and you better hold on. I am only supposed to get the rpms up to 4000 max for the first 500 miles so I can only imagine what it will be like above 6000 rpms. This thing already has tons of power in any gear at any speed. There is no hesitation at all. If you are cruising at any rpm range and get on the throttle, it is like a catapult. Also, there are no engine vibrations or buzzing at all on this bike. She just purrrs
I love this bike and can't wait until break-in is over. I will write an updated review of it when I have been able to
ride it for a while outside of the break-in period.
well the wanting to get one part. I live in Georgia LOL
As I have been riding around people really look at the bike and several have stopped to say things like "nice bike" They see Busas all the time but not the ZX-14.
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