TOPIC:

they missed on the balance of lightness and strength. They spend alot of time making things light they spend alot of time making thing flex just the way they want to. They missed. I don't think they are junk. you aren't trying to compare a kz steel tube frame to the gsxr's aluminum frame are you?

PLUMMEN wrote:

was just over on the yamaha owners site,seems that theyre having problems with cranks and rods going junk on 0n the 06-07 r6 models. sure am glad the new bikes are so overbuilt! looks like theyve also had issues with countershaft sprockets nuts backing off destroying engine cases,coils shorting out........ uh oh looks like theyve got noisy topends and valvetrains also! thank god for the yamaha owners site or would never know how good they actually are. oopsies forgot bad valve springs! transmission problems,ecu problems

Thats a yamaha for you. But I bet the people that are having problems are flogging the crap out of them. Like I said befroe they run such a fine line between performance and reliability its crazy. But if they don't they don't sell bikes. Period. New Mx bikes are grenades you get 30 hours out of a topend and thats it but if you could build a motor that you get any more out of it would not sell. Period.

PLUMMEN wrote:

from hyabusa site:cracked frames and or sub frames.transmission problems.fuel injection and ecu problems.hydraulic clutch leaks.tires wearing funny......cam chain tensioner failure,glad to see theyve gotten that issue solved .with all this new technology you think they could make a tensioner that would hold up to a 13000 rpm motor!

Personal experience: buddy of mine with a 3-year-old high end BMW sportbike: failed fuel injection, it was an electronic controller problem of some sort I THOUGHT GREAT the computers bad. On the bike. The really nice looking almost new bike. He spent a ton getting it fixed, he could not sell that f**er fast enough when he got it going again. At that time I was working on a tuning problem on my '74 Kaw triple. Carbs off. New jets in. Carbs on, manual sync. DONE. No computer problems. Meanwhile he still had his bike disassembled trying to fix it himself so he doesn't have to pay a shop.
Then he buckled finally, paid big $$, got it going and got rid of it.

All you have to look at is the worldwide procurement by Police departments everywhere buying that 1970s kz1000 technology. The Police kz1000s were a bit 'frozen in time' -- they have a good rep in terms of cost/benefit with all those police departments, that right there tells you about their reliability.

No, I say that Suzuki built a frame more than strong enough to handle the demands of the bike, and then decided to warrantee accident damage and abuse! Then after they fixed it they guaranteed that you could not break it for five more years.
I had a 00’ GSXR750, wonderful bike, fast, comfortable, sold it for more than I bought it for after three years and 40,000 miles. I will have another but it is going to be a blue 85’ slingshot.

flht1997 wrote:

No, I say that Suzuki built a frame more than strong enough to handle the demands of the bike, and then decided to warrantee accident damage and abuse! Then after they fixed it they guaranteed that you could not break it for five more years.
I had a 00’ GSXR750, wonderful bike, fast, comfortable, sold it for more than I bought it for after three years and 40,000 miles. I will have another but it is going to be a blue 85’ slingshot.

drool, those slab sides are sexy....

newOld_kz1000 wrote:

PLUMMEN wrote:

from hyabusa site:cracked frames and or sub frames.transmission problems.fuel injection and ecu problems.hydraulic clutch leaks.tires wearing funny......cam chain tensioner failure,glad to see theyve gotten that issue solved .with all this new technology you think they could make a tensioner that would hold up to a 13000 rpm motor!

Personal experience: buddy of mine with a 3-year-old high end BMW sportbike: failed fuel injection, it was an electronic controller problem of some sort I THOUGHT GREAT the computers bad. On the bike. The really nice looking almost new bike. He spent a ton getting it fixed, he could not sell that f**er fast enough when he got it going again. At that time I was working on a tuning problem on my '74 Kaw triple. Carbs off. New jets in. Carbs on, manual sync. DONE. No computer problems. Meanwhile he still had his bike disassembled trying to fix it himself so he doesn't have to pay a shop.
Then he buckled finally, paid big $$, got it going and got rid of it.

All you have to look at is the worldwide procurement by Police departments everywhere buying that 1970s kz1000 technology. The Police kz1000s were a bit 'frozen in time' -- they have a good rep in terms of cost/benefit with all those police departments, that right there tells you about their reliability.

Did you seriously just compare a BMW bike to a triple for RELIABILITY? Seriously? Pistons and rings in 30,000 miles or less, over heats on a hot/long ride? middle cylinder prone to seizing with reports of grenade like results?

I know if I had a choice of a bike to cross the USA on bmw of a 750 widow maker without a doubt which bike I would chose.

::Edit/:: Stunting and all the hundreds of wheelies and stoppies that go with it was not around in the 1970's (reason? classic bikes can't do it!) but now many companies are having to deal with damage cause by this type of riding. Wheelies will break aluminum frames eventually, same as z1 frames.

For motor problems, tell me you have never seen a newb rev his sport bike to the limiter shortly after starting it cause it's "cool." any technology can fail with a proper idiot in charge of it. Try revving your KZ to the limiter (oops forgot....no limiter). But I bet no one ever ruined a kz crankshaft because they over-revved a bike. ::/Edit::

I think he was trying to say Easier and Cheaper to maintain..

kawsakiman wrote:

we still on this shit?
i really don't care at all.
my bike runs and unless plummen lets me flog that zx14, i could really care less.
tall, short, new, old, who gives a shit ?
just ride the damn thing and know if you flog the hell out of it, you will be doing a rebuild earlier than you want to.

set up the race,someplace between here and there!

flht1997 wrote:

I had a 00’ GSXR750....... I will have another but it is going to be a blue 85’ slingshot.

My brother bought a brand new blue gsxr 750 in 1986. He ragged the hell out of it, lost his licence, and sold it after 4 years.

He calls me last week and told me he just bought an 86 red gsxr 750 because he had fond memories of the bike. He started looking for another and had a hard time finding one that was still running half assed that he could bring back to here former glory. He said they just are'nt out there any more and parts are few and far. Bunch of stuff for the newer ones though. He is having a nightmare with carburation and the fact that in his words the worst mikuni designed carbs ever.

hardr0ck68 wrote:

newOld_kz1000 wrote:

PLUMMEN wrote:

from hyabusa site:cracked frames and or sub frames.transmission problems.fuel injection and ecu problems.hydraulic clutch leaks.tires wearing funny......cam chain tensioner failure,glad to see theyve gotten that issue solved .with all this new technology you think they could make a tensioner that would hold up to a 13000 rpm motor!

Personal experience: buddy of mine with a 3-year-old high end BMW sportbike: failed fuel injection, it was an electronic controller problem of some sort I THOUGHT GREAT the computers bad. On the bike. The really nice looking almost new bike. He spent a ton getting it fixed, he could not sell that f**er fast enough when he got it going again. At that time I was working on a tuning problem on my '74 Kaw triple. Carbs off. New jets in. Carbs on, manual sync. DONE. No computer problems. Meanwhile he still had his bike disassembled trying to fix it himself so he doesn't have to pay a shop.
Then he buckled finally, paid big $$, got it going and got rid of it.

All you have to look at is the worldwide procurement by Police departments everywhere buying that 1970s kz1000 technology. The Police kz1000s were a bit 'frozen in time' -- they have a good rep in terms of cost/benefit with all those police departments, that right there tells you about their reliability.

Did you seriously just compare a BMW bike to a triple for RELIABILITY? Seriously? Pistons and rings in 30,000 miles or less, over heats on a hot/long ride? middle cylinder prone to seizing with reports of grenade like results?

I know if I had a choice of a bike to cross the USA on bmw of a 750 widow maker without a doubt which bike I would chose.

::Edit/:: Stunting and all the hundreds of wheelies and stoppies that go with it was not around in the 1970's (reason? classic bikes can't do it!) but now many companies are having to deal with damage cause by this type of riding. Wheelies will break aluminum frames eventually, same as z1 frames.

For motor problems, tell me you have never seen a newb rev his sport bike to the limiter shortly after starting it cause it's "cool." any technology can fail with a proper idiot in charge of it. Try revving your KZ to the limiter (oops forgot....no limiter). But I bet no one ever ruined a kz crankshaft because they over-revved a bike. ::/Edit::

I know which one i would choose too Bring some parts along, and rebuild it on the side of the road if you decide its starting to feel a little worn out, haha!!! Ya, but in all seriousness the triples arent gona be a real reliable bike to roadtrip on but hell yeah i would throw my leg over it and head out on the long journey. If i wanted to ride a BMW the whole way i might as well drive my sisters chevy malibu. Maybe i could find myself a goldwing to cruise with Not saying a goldwing or bmw arent a real bike, just not my style. maybe thats why i drive an 86 monte carlo ss for a daily driver instead of a cadillac.

Craig Vetter rode ALL over the U.S. on a 500 triple with one of his very first fairings, many many miles - it CAN and HAS been done..

will61310 wrote:

I think he was trying to say Easier and Cheaper to maintain..

Exactly. I prefer classic bikes for a lot of reasons. This is a prime one. I like to work on bikes to a degree, but as the complexity increases there is less and less you can do and feel 'clever' about. I have a computer science undergrad degree and reprogramming a bike to me is not clever.

Now, messing around with an older classic machine, enjoying a classic ride, well it's just me and my age (50) but I'd ruther do that than mess around with some high-tech throw-away this-or-that.

As to the BMW vs. Kaw triple comparison -- you can have the top end off in a couple minutes. No valves, no cam chain, etc. so the maintenance issue is a non-issue. You should have seen my buddy trying to make headway on that durned nearly-new bike there -- I felt awful for him, and I avoided him for a bit whilst quietly getting my triple rigged for the pipe and filters.

We get new laptop computers every 18-24 months don't we. They get old that fast. Heck the hi-falutin '86 gsxrs are about 25 years old now and no one is buying them. I just picked up a 135hp '86 gsxr1100 tricked out for..............$1000. Polished frame. Reversed forks, hotrodded motor, 15,000 miles, excellent paint, custom swingarm and Fox shock, all original bodywork, $1000. Tells ya something.