Understanding crotch rockets

Rode one for the first time yesterday. Was over at a friend of mine's barbeque yesterday, and his son was there on his Gixxer 600. He said go ahead and ride it. I rode it.
HATED IT!! (I didn't have the heart to tell him).
Sure it was fast, really nice torque band at around five grand on up to 14 grand. Hard to keep the front end down. Handled pretty decent, although to tell you the truth, didn't seem like it handled any better than my KZ. But the designer who thought it would be a good idea to have my knees in my chest while I'm riding it needs to be shot. These bikes have to be designed for midgets. A half hour of that and I was getting cramps. I sure as hell don't ever see a cross country trip on one. And the turning radius was huge. Lock to lock slow steering in parking lots is awkward as hell.
I just hope I never run out of parts to keep my KZ1000 alive.

thanks alot! you just jinxed us! now where am i going to get more Z parts now?



kidding.

i understand them (i had 2 a zx6r and a zx9r streched and dropped) they are very fast and very disposable just like their owners :laugh:

Okay- first off, you do realize the Z1 was THE original "crotch rocket"- in fact, when I got mine back in 84-ish, my H-D friends said "why did you get a crotch rocket":laugh:

And the KZ650 was the original supersport.

But, I hear ya. Back then they didn't sacrifice creature comforts for speed as they do now. However, the current crop of sport bikes are "repli-racers" and follow that form very closely. Remember also that most races last 45 to 50 minutes and the riders are rarely in one position for very long unlike typical highway riding. They are also quite stylish and sell like hotcakes.

Before the full fairing bikes hit in 84 I
never heard the term "Crotch Rocket".The
HD guys called them "Rice Burners".Then
we would call the HDs "Coal Burners".
In the 60s the HD guys called the British
bikes "Buzz Bombs".Appropiatly I might add.

You didn't really just say you think your KZ handles as well as a GSXR 600!! :whistle: :laugh:

nowadays i call harleys hogglys, hardlys or Pushrods!:lol:

Yeah, I think I need to loose about 60 lbs. I think the whole point of the crotch rocket is that it is an atheletic machine. It requires more physical fitness to ride than anything short of a fighter jet, or a stunt plane.

I am pretty sure that being thin would really make it more comfortable. I plan on loosing enough weight so I don't have to grunt or hold my breath to bend over and tie my shoe laces. Then, I will re-evaluate the bike.

The more I look at the SV1000S, the more I realize it might actually be more comfortable if ridden on the back wheel only. I just need to get some downward facing spotlights for wheelies at night. it's hard to see the road with the headlight up in the air.

"You didn't really just say you think your KZ handles as well as a GSXR 600!!"

Well, yeah. I took that bike through the usual twisties I take my bike, and it leaned over just like my bike does. The only difference I found was that the exhaust on the gixxer doesn't scrape on right hand leans like mine does. Other than that it felt exactly the same, aside from the contortionist body position.

Post edited by: riverroad, at: 2007/09/05 07:30

Well, there is no way a Z1 can come close to a gixxer on the corners in stock form- i am working on making my Z1 handle much better- but tire size alone make it impossible to keep up with a modern sport bike. Also clearance- you need rearsets and exhaust relocation to get the lean angles.

right before I lost the valve in the Z1- that thing was leaned all the way over on the 130s, but I could have passed it on the inside on any modern sportbike:P

I really liked the riding position of the 600 Ninja i bought. I have always rode with my feet on the rear pegs and on the Ninja i rode with my toes up on the pegs. It is harder for me to manuever than the Venture Royale i just sold but i will get use to it.
I will find me another KZ. Roy