KZ's vs Sportbikes

this is superbike.....not......this is a racebike...it is only for that......it does only that.......it does it well but it shares its crown with a dozen bikes each race series....kz's did not like sharing crowns...they were mean green winning machines...

hey bert...bert....did ya see how that first car looked...
i know ernie.......then he showed that chicks car next....hey my hit...

I haven't ridden many "sport" bikes, and until a year ago, none at all and, to be honest, I was a little intimidated by them. So last spring I took my friends advice and took out a 600ZZR - yeah, I know - not exactly the fastest around, but still fast enough!

I was amazed at how easy this thing was to ride. Engine is quick, very smooth and manageable, gearshifts and clutch - also smooth, brakes - amazing (by my standards) and takes corners without even thinking about it! Yep, it makes my KZ look like a relic - but in the end, the very fact that you have to be "intimate" with the KZ - know how it warms up, about the choke, how to shift, and muscle it out of corners - all those things give it personality and make it FUN to ride! The ZZR was "nice" - but no personality at all!

At Christmas, the same friend loaned me his K1200S - again, an amazing bike and a BLAST to ride - but in the end, same problem - no "personality" - almost too easy to ride! You can easily go VERY fast, without having to work at it, or even be aware of it - an intoxicating and, IMHO, dangerous mixture!

Now I have the W650 to keep the KZ company. It is a much easier bike to ride than the KZ. At least it has a look that gives it some eye appeal, that makes it interesting, and I am adding to its (already started) "cafe racer" look - but for sheer grins/mile, the KZ still wins hands down!

I second everything above this post... I ride with a bunch of guy's with very modern sportbikes super duke,sv,yzf600, but my kz is special. It has TONS of character. Mine is a medium moded kz650b1, and while everyone else is going to faster (except the sv) no one has the character of the kz, we'll be at a gas station and mine is the one that gets the looks and the comments. Kzs just have a certain sex appeal to the romantic fantasies of anti harley american dreamers.
Speaking of Harley's (wich are the majority everywhere right?) it would take an extremely modded sportster to even compare to the performance of a 650. All the guy's I know with Harley's respect my little 650, and that I think is something alot of bikes wouldn't get. So in all matters bike related the kz is very much like a first gen cammaro, it is respected everywhere.

Smooth British inspired lines and geometry paired with, for the time, state of the art engine design and it is a winner!

I'm tired of the cruiser scene as it seems awash in "me too" symbolism in its quest for individuality. So, I'm among the few true individuals in this area that ride a KZ.

When it comes to sportbikes, I feel like I have more in common with them, if not their riders, as I ride a direct ancestor. I realize that the modern sportbike is the logical evolution of the KZ. That said, while its evolution has resulted in an amazing track day tool, judging by those who have posted having ridden one or more, something was lost in the process. Namely soul stirring character.

One of the themes I recall from the early '80s was that the UJM had no character compared to the British bikes they displaced. And here we are talking about the character of our KZs. Perhaps it's all a mater of perspective as someone likely opined in the '60s that the Brit bikes lacked the character of the Indians and others that they displaced. The question is whether a quarter century from now today's sportbikes will be considered to have character in comparison to whatever is available then. Stay tuned.

Stay tuned.

All I can say, Nate, is I sincerely hope I'm around to read your update post on this thread.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

As far as steady high speeds and cornering at high speeds the sportbikes win hands down. I was out last summer with my buddy just riding around, he had just bought a suzuki gsxr 750 and i was on the z1, he popped it into 1st and revved it up so i did the same, the light turned green we both dumped the clutches and took off like bats out of hell, and i beat him to the next stop light. He looked over at me astonished that my old kawi just took him, then he wanted to switch. I was amazed at the power his bike had and it was very easy to handle, but i still couldnt get over that riding posistion. We came up to a curvy road, and that bike took the curves no problem at all at 50 miles an hour. Then we got out on the highway and i gave it hell, i was holding on for dear life, last time i glanced at the speedo i was doing 137, i dunno what i ended up topping out at but that cooled my jets for a while. I will take any 3 of my old kz's anyday over a sportbike, not saying i wouldnt want one, it would be a fun weekend bike.

Irish that bike sure is nice.......

timebomb33 wrote:

i just dropped around 8000 dollars into an engine tha makes about 30 horse less then a stock zx-14 or a busa, i need a remote starter[24volt set-up] the batteries and starter set-up weigh almost as much as my bike.the 14 or busa will run on pump gas and start with the push of a button. my 1393cc monster motor will need a ton of workjust to keep running at it's peak the 14 or busa will need the occasional oil change and possibly air pressure adjustment. all that having been said i love the fact my motor makes over a hundred percent more horsepower than it did stock and i'm the one that has built the entire bike with my own two hands. also have i mentioned that i'm stubborn and i would rather fight than switch.

hahaha that is so funny because I will be doing the same for my 79. Oh and by the way I will get the zx14 maybe this xmas when I vacation in florida. I am convinced that bike needs to be in my garage next to the old kz's. You guys were right. I should have kept her but I want to pay the note on my house off asap.

Lol....well what can you say to that? I've been with younger women and wow! But, the older women always knock my socks off and make me crazy. I guess motorcycles and women aren't so different after all.
My wife, younger girl that she is, told me she would ride on the z but if I bought that zx14 she wouldn't even go near the bike. Lmao. She knows. She just knows me.... hmm... maybe I should buy that bike after all.
:laugh: N0NB wrote:

Reading saxjonz's post leaves me thinking I need a cold shower. :blush: :S

yeah...same thing here...i ruined it for myself ,taking amy riding on the kz so much,now every bike i want ,i show her a picture and she says no!
she will however let me get an elr someday she says....but by the time i get the money together...theyn will be fetching 13-15000 probably.....
oh well like she says....hey you got a bike...be happy...makes sense.....

although it does make sense to leave a kz modified only so much and still a kz......then take the 2800-4800 that could still get dumped into the z a get modern low miles 170 hp literbike as they get re-sold.....

Hey that is always the deal with newer bikes. Just ask my brother. King of buying low and selling high and being dissatisfied with the same ol same ol.
People always have something they need to sell. They get tired and want the newest the baddest thing. But an old bike...well then those aren't so common now are they. My bikes will be well restored and maintained as long as I own them. A new bike is like flavor of the month and once that wears out then it's old hat to everyone.
My brother is the king of that too. He always questioned me about my rides and cars. Don't you get tired of that old bike? Don't you want a different car? I say hey it serves its purpose well why would I need anything else right now. The moment it doesn't I will get something else. I buy with quality and durability in mind for the long haul. New stuff comes out and they advertise this that and the other when in reality it does the same thing as the old.