Happiness!

trianglelaguna wrote:

delete your account....forgot about motorcycles...focus on accounting and banking in school.....take up crossword puzzles as a hobby instead...you will end up smarter and in good financial standing ,instead of hairy backed with scraped knuckles and torn shins.....run son....run

hey now guys. I started on my 750 four when i was 16. Sure its prolly too much bike for him, but i would hate to live like every other kid. I am glad im a kid who grew up cranking on the throttle of my old kaw with my buddies on our abundant abandoned highways Sure it was stupid, reckless, and dangerous but i wouldnt trade it for the world. and btw kid, where do you live? I am from around aberdeen, sd and going to school in brookings

my advice would be to buy the 1000 and a little 250 rebel or something like that.
work on the 1000 and learn how to repair it as needed.
LEARN TO RIDE THE 250 FIRST!
sign up for the motorcycle safety course as soon as you can.

even if you rode dirt bikes all your life, a street bike is a different animal all together.
anyone can ride fast, it takes a little skill to go slow and learn your balance and counter steering.

if your only 14, you have your whole life to go fast. start with the basics.

keep the 1000 so you have something to upgrade to after you develop your skills some more.

trianglelaguna wrote:

delete your account....forgot about motorcycles...focus on accounting and banking in school.....take up crossword puzzles as a hobby instead...you will end up smarter and in good financial standing ,instead of hairy backed with scraped knuckles and torn shins.....run son....run

Come on Craig! If he follows your advice what will happen to all those frustrated CHICKS? OH I get it,forgot about your master plan, you'd funnel them down to Monterey.

Bill

i guess i should let on that i'm just playing....you young guys have the reaction time and coordination to be very good riders....take your time and build a little experience on the street and you will do fine...good helmets and REALLY GOOD gloves and a jacket and jeans are minimum gear and should be worn 100% of the time....go slower most of time and watch...pretend like every single car...even the parked ones can and will try and kill you if you are not watching em...watch like a hawk for cars turning left in front of you....that is the number one way to get hit... and learn ,,,learn..learn...i believe a bike and a young man is safer than a car and a young man...but that's just been my experience...bikes turn out safe drivers imo


below is a picture of a teenager from back in my day named freddie spencer...or fast freddie...he grew into the bigger bikes from smaller cc bikes and became the motogp world champion at 19....

i also recomend a subscription to cycle world magazine at the least and others as well...read...read...read.everything you read will speed you into living a long time with bikes...read kevin camerons collum in cycle world each month...he is the best m c writer alive today,,,,a subscription is under 20 bucks .....good luck..and ride on



below is kevin camerons "top dead center" book you can find online...i got mine at amazon....if there was one book about motorcycling that i would recomend first...this is it

well, if I have a street bike (ridden dirt since I learned how) I know that it will be a bike for cruising every once in a while with friends. I have heard that I am a very responsible street rider, but you can be the most responsible rider in the world, that doesn't matter, the biggest thing to be worried about is the NOT responsible drivers on the road, the ignorant drivers, the careless drivers, sure there are the responsible drivers out there, but drivers aren't looking out for bike, most are rarely looking out for other cars... thats the biggest thing I am worried about.

That 300 was a street bike. I kind of mastered cornering, and i shifted so well that you couldn't even tell that i shifted unless you listened to the RPMs. I even think that a 1000 is maybe a little big for me just cause of the size of the bike, not the engine. But at the end of the summer i knew i needed something bigger. That 300 would do 85 mph if i wanted it to but the engine would sound like it was gonna blow up. i just want something that will do like 70 mph comfortably. I realized that i was ready to step up to a bigger bike when i went like 80 miles all the way to sioux falls from sioux city. I'm ready for that size of a bike. I LOVE the older ones too. They have kick starters which i have longed for for a long time now. My 300 had a bad Rectifier the whole time i owned it. Had to push start it most of the time. thank GOD that it wasn't cold blooded. I never laid my old bike down once either. I may have dropped it once while putting it on the center stand... or maybe i got it stuck in knee deep mud:D But we all make mistakes, i learned from mine too. Plus, i literally rode that 300 EVERY DAY for a whole summer. I'll do the same with a 1000 no problem. I'm just here to learn more about these bikes. I don't need info on what size i should get for a motorcycle but i do thank you guys for caring and i do not find it insulting or anything either. My mom HATES motorcycles now. I wouldn't want my son on one. I'm glad that they let me get one though. It's all i talk about now.
So, can anyone tell me where to get a highway bar for a 79' KZ1000? Also, will clubman bars hit the gas tank when i turn? Thinking about trying straight drag bars, European bars, and clubmans. I think im gonna have to put new tires on that bike as well. the ones that are on that 100 i think are cracked. What type of shinko tires will i get the most bang for buck? I want to put fork gaters on it too. Where can i get those? Will the fork gaters off of the KZ1000P bikes fit? Thanks guys, KT

I enjoy your enthusiasm for bigger bikes. If your looking for stability at high speeds you might want to look for something newer... Drove my kawasaki down highway 34 from Lincoln to Plattsmouth doing 150 without stopping. Smooth as butter. Heres a quick picture, its quite modded

As for your question about shinkos, the lower the number IE 001, the more soft the tire is. If your looking for tread life the higher number the better. If your looking for a race slick, the lower the better. I have a 003 on my zx-14.

:laugh:
Yyyyyyyyyyyeah...let's tell the 14yr old how a ZX14 is what he needs...hell, he's been riding for a whole year now; throw a turbo on it ...and a bottle! :laugh:

KT: There are no sticky-tires for stock KZ1000 wheels; you'll need to check into bias-ply tires and listen to the guys on this forum as to 'what' tire you need.

You sure seem to have a great attitude; all of us 'mother hen'-ing you and you don't mind. Cool.

If you don't mind I want to throw my 2 cents in: you did the best thing by putting your butt in a seat for a summer and ride-ride-ride; nothing teaches like experience (I'm an MSF instructor for 10yrs now and been riding for 41 years and racing for 36...so, maybe I know a little something I can share with you :pinch: )
As much as I want to I'm not going to give you the 'cc' lecture...:huh: ...as much as I want to...
Here are two little things to consider: people who take a MSF class move themselves to the top 10% of motorcycle riders least likely to crash :blink: ...there is a reason for that, go find out what it is.
The next thing I would emplore to you is: ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time)..85% of all accidents happen within 2.5 minutes of the destination, or the departure site. There is a reason for that, too: familiarity breeds complacency. Don't think that little jaunt to school, the grocery store, the pool is too close to wear your gear.

At your age we don't have to stimulate your enthusiasm, so, 'welcome'...and stay frosty!

-KR

Wow, Thats i nice bike. It says ZX14. How big is that engine? I think the ZX6 has a 600 CC engine so im assuming that the ZX14 has a 1400 in it or something. Nice bike though. I like the extended swingarm too. I would need a job before i got a newer bike. Even then though i would want a suzuki Boulevard If i got a newer bike. High speed is out of the question for now too since my dad is around. He has a 81' KZ1000. Not sure what the top speed is. I know that it does 85 mph since the speedometer buries itself around then:D

My dad makes me wear my helmet no matter how far we are going. I'll think about the class. Do you just take it on your own bike then?


Thanks guys,
KT

Don't think about taking the class, do it. It will be the MOST well spent 100$ of your life. I GUARANTEE the class will improve your motorcyclist skills. In nebraska, they will give you a little 250cc cruiser.

Please take what I said in moderation. I don't want to hear that your going to be drinking out of a straw the rest of your life. There is a time and a place to speed, I-80 during rush hour is not one of them. When I did this down highway 34, It was broad daylight where I could see for miles without a single car on the road.

As for Bad Kaw, I never said he should get a ZX-14, Just that he should look at newer bikes for perfomance in Power,Stability AND Braking. I'm frankly getting tired of hearing people saying keep away from big bikes if your young. Learn some self control and keep your hand off the throttle.