I hope Mother Kaw takes notice

BMW R1200RT = 110hp getting closer.

lemme see 82 gpz1100 120...oh wait i'm going backwards....you mean todays aircooled...ahhhhhh

81 gpz1100...oh sorry.......

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Glad you guys don't like the Z1000...means it will be cheaper for me when I go to buy one...

The problem with the Z1000 is they de-tuned it, and thats not cool. Someone asks what you're riding and you go "a de-tuned, fatter naked version of a zx10r with not as good suspension or brakes". Thats shitty.

T_Dub wrote:

The problem with the Z1000 is they de-tuned it, and thats not cool. Someone asks what you're riding and you go "a de-tuned, fatter naked version of a zx10r with not as good suspension or brakes". Thats shitty.

Ever ride a ZX-10r? I have one and honestly its too much for the street. It seems that everyone is hung up on the detuned thing. All they did is change the power delivery to have the torque peak come in at a lower rpm. It still makes just as much torque. This just knocks the top off of the HP peak. Fork is fully adjustable 41mm Showa vs fully adjustable 43mm Kayaba on my 10. Brakes are 300mm rotors with 4 piston Tokicos vs. 310mm rotors with 4 piston Tokicos(which everyone replaces anyway.) Rear shock is adjustable for preload and rebound vs. preload, rebound and compression dampning on the 10. Kawi hasn't listed the weight yet, but the new bike has an all aluminum frame claimed to reduce weight.

I see the argument about the styling, but this is 2010. I think that part of the lack of sales can be accounted for the fact that the bike was introduced at the end of the riding season last year. Let's see what happens when it warms up. Personally, I'd ride the piss out of the thing, but I'm not taking out a loan on a motorcycle when I already have two in the garage.

i'm totally hung up on the detuning thing most of these bikes that being brought out now like the fz1 the zrx and z1000 are being aimed at the non sport bike crowd which means guy's from 30 up to about 50. i have been riding for over 3/4 of my life i don't really appreciate have a company basicly tell me that i don't have the skills or reactions to be able to handle the full power of there sport offerings so here is this emasculated tamed down version for you old feller. what is the major age market for super cars i can tell you this if they brougt out a 911 with a 944 engine in it wouldn't sell either. so porsche doesn't build anything so weak so why do the bike companies. if the motor is based of a zx-10 , r1, gsxr, zx-11 it should also have comparable power and it would cut down alot on devolopment costs as well they would always be down a bit on power from the originals because of air box and exhaust designs but not 1/3 or better like most of these are. the ones that are the closest right now are the aprilla touno and fz-1 and the b-king but god they are freakin ugly. but they are definitly fun to ride.

Thats why I mentioned the Ducati Streetfighter S earlier. Expensive, and ugly to some people, but its got the engine from the 1098, ohlins suspension, and its light too.

I have been considering a z1000 for a while now I am looking to make a purchase this sumer or by fall at least. Last year when I first saw the z1000 I thought it was ugly, it kind of made me cringe. The more I see it though, it grows on me. They have made some improvements this year on it and the reviews seem more good than bad, the 2009 had some mixed reviews from road tests. There are some sublte astetic changes on it in 2010 and thats is growing on me even more. My other orption is nice used ZRX that my local dealer has been trying to sell for years. They may be willing to deal on that by now and its in nice shape with about 5K on the odemeter. So for less than half the money I could have a nice used bike. I have driven a ZRX and I loved it, I would imagine the Z1000 is a close relative as far as feel halding and power but I haven't driven one and where I live the only way I will is if I order one.

I think Kawasaki has always been about the numbers game, you want a monster bike capable of ludacris speed, okay here's a zx-14. You want an inexpensive easy to drive sport bike, here is a 500 ninja. Want to cruise cross country, here is a 2000cc Vulcan. Want to jump a sand dune... you get the point. Kawasaki has alot of great purpose built bikes with great stats and performance numbers. But the naked sport is kind of an odd ball. You want a super muscle bike, that looks retro, and is livable as a cummuter bike, and can carve through a corner like a superbike? Does it have to cook your breakfast too?

the only thing with the reviews on new bikes that scares me is that even when i feel adept at reading into the obligatory praises the bikes get for the testers /writers being grateful to test at so and so track ,in so and country,in custom matched leathers,/fed gourmet meals/flown to and from tests and givin perks and gifts before ever putting pen to paper to give us their"unbiased reviews"oh really?,the only thing that still scares me when i feel i've decoded the various reviews,is that hindsight is 20/20 and if the past truely is a predictor of the futre,than only about 1 outta 40-50-100 new models becomes a must have keeper.
We all remember the first yr z1000 getting bike of the year...or runner up next to the touno.Now folks call those bikes long in the tooth and the list of problems is now a known quantity...yesterdays sweetheart...tell me rush to buy...are now problem ridden mistakes
I am not rich,rich in spirit and happy,but not set enough money wise to take a chance on a first yrs production bike...they rarely are much to want after the glitter settles....gimmie a 3 yrs in production slowely improved on model and maybe...zx12rr....2006 zx10r....2008 fz-1..all grew into wicked,well concieved evolutioned keeprs

But, as others have so correctly stated...why blow 9000-14000 on a bike when 3000-5000 tossed into a Z makes a killer bike that no one could ever say was an "okay" bike
,even ardent kawasaki haters know what they are looking at when a z-1 pulls up....arguably THe greastest bike ever produced anywhere..probably is actually

To go spending money on a another modern bike ,before completing a breathtaker z bike would be profane;)

why wouldn't you want everything you can possibly get out of a bike i don't expect for them all to be perfect but if i'm going into hock to buy a bike it had better do what i want it to do and being mind blowing fast is one of those things(with decent brakes and good handling) also looking good to my eye is also key.

Yesterday I was talking to a guy who used to sell Kawi's in the 70's and he described his experience with a Z1R in 78. He told me he took it to the edge of the parking lot and back, got off it, said "I only know one guy crazy enough to buy this bike" and then proceeded to call that guy and sell it to him.

I'm with Tim. Our bikes were the fastest around in the 70's, why shouldn't a new bike targeted towards us be the same now?

I think that someone is missing the point. Almost every bike out there today is mind blowing fast. What the heck, a 500 today has the same Hp that a 900 had in 1975. The point is eye appeal. That unfortunately is a bit different for everyone. I remember when I first saw the Z1R sitting next to the KZ1000. My first reaction was, "my God is this thing ugly. Than one day I started it and heard the 4-1 pipe and that was all she wrote. I fell in love and never looked back. After a while the looks grew on me, mostly because it looked different from all other bikes. That is the problem today. You basically have two stiles to chose from, and to my eye they are both as ugly as a female Chimpanzee's ass. They are all cut with but two odd shaped cookie-cutters and in two exotic flavors. Well I don't care for these exotic flavors I just want plain round vanilla cookie. I will send Ma Kaw an email with a link to this post. I wonder if they will even respond, or if they will just blow us off. Personally I can be content just building my own bikes from used parts just the way I like them and not give them any of my new money. I would prefer just to be able to go to a dealer and buy a shiny new bike off the showroom floor. But there is just nothing to buy. When I go to my local dealer that sells Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, I have to look at the name plate to be able to distinguish them. There is just no individuality or character to any of them. However if I see this new CB1100E sitting on the floor, I will know exactly what it is.