Hi guys well I've gone and bought myself a Z1000 Street fighter, got a big trip coming up so though this might work better than a super bike. It's a 66 plate performance edition with just 2000 miles on the clock and absolutely mint. Plus absolutely bog standard, it's real good fun to ride and goes like stink.
I wasn't looking for one at all , was looking at an 899 for the bird then this caught my eye. Deposit there and then.
I had an 07 then a 10 model Z1000, really liked them, solid motor and smooth as. Heavy on the front tyres though, only bike I’ve had that would wear out the edges of the tyre before the centre. Would have probably bought one of these but the 10 got to 3yrs old, Kawasaki hadn’t updated it so I started buying Italian bikes instead and got an MV. Always reminded me of the ABC Warrior robot in Judge Dredd
Good choice @cookster …I bought the updated ( tft screen, quickshifter/ blipper, cruise etc ) “Ninja” 1000 SX a couple of years ago for touring duties and it’s really surprised me what a fast and capable bike it is, basically the same bike as yours plus the bodywork and screen to hide behind when it’s pissing down.. Brand new with both touring and performance packs, 4 years warranty, ..just over £13k on the road, flippin bargain I think! I call this my “workhorse” and the Panigale is the “show pony” It’s just lacking a bit in the desirability stakes, but once you ride it and see how grunty and effortlessly smooth it is you forget all about that, don’t underestimate how quick they are either.. Copies below are from “Bike” magazine actual road tests showing performance figures against a 1290 Superduke, this Kawasaki is the model before mine, so it’s now got the quickshifter and they’ve found a bit more torque by tweaking cam profiles and shortened intake trumpets etc. You’d think the KTM would eat it alive,..just look at the figures, Kwak is faster to 60 and absolutely murders the KTM in top gear roll on’s.. So it’s by no means a slow bike, don’t underestimate it at all. Another plus point to me is that I’m not as “precious “ with this as I am with the Panigale, what I mean by that is it doesn’t bother me riding it for miles in the rain on tour and leaving it dirty for a few days, or leaving it parked outside a hotel overnight. At the end of the day, it’s pretty bulletproof and reliable and that’s what I want when I’m on a 10 day European trip, just something you can put the key in and ride, I’ve done over 11,000 miles on it in less than 2 years and it’s been absolutely faultless, let us know how you get on with it, I think you’ll enjoy it
I like the look of 'em Cookster, if I could cure my Panigale addiction and needed something for a long distance run the green meanie would be on the shortlist for sure. Enjoy mate.
well got me kriega tail pack fitted, ordered a rad guard, fork protectors, paddock bobbins and an evo tech tail tidy then thats it, get on and ride it.
The only Jap/four cylinder bike I would give house room too, a superb bit of kit but I did get a little bored after about three months, 1200 miles, it didn't do anything wrong , it just lacked a certain "sparkle" that you get with a more involved bike like a Ducati! I would still have another one if I needed something for big mileages/commuting etc though!
yeah to be fair ive already started looking at super bikes again mate, think either r1 or zx10r but il see how my scotland trip goes on it.
Ah ok……we’ve got a long weekend trip planned from 1st to 4th July. It would have been nice to meet up somewhere
@El Toro yes it would have been good mate, i need to talk to bettes and arrange a time to go up and see him to.