Rode a 2005 Kawasaki ZX-10 Saturday morning...

180 Horsepower, under 400 lbs soaking wet, full of fuel...

Me likes...titanium color, very rare around here...only 4K miles. Dealer is throwing in a new back tire, one year maintenance, includes a Muzzy carbon-fiber/titanium slip-on & PC.

Bike is amazing...and I'm a strict Honda guy. 0-80 in a heartbeat(literally ). Riding position isn't as bad as I thought...racy, but not as bad as a GXR. Throttle was very stable...didn't have the jerkiness od the Hondas. I could rest my hand without lurching back/forth. Brakes were awesome...has drilled/pedaled brake rotors...looks trick as hell. Tranny had very strong shifts...no question of what gear you were in, etc.

http://www.kawasaki.com/kawasaki_mai...E/1458_800.jpg

I'm giving it some seriuos thought.

 

Thats hot right there.

I would love a bike, I just don't trust the stupid people on NJ roads not to run me over ugh:

 

my pick is the RC-51 if I was to go crotch rocket. Saw a new one at the dealer: 2003 for $8,500... was slightly temped but I do not need 2 bikes in the garage at this moment in time.

good luck with your decision. Sounds like the dealer wants to sell. If you want it, either bargain a little harder or ask for more accessories (eg leather jacket)..

 

Well that is a nice bike a guy I ride with has that in green he has headers and full exhaust on it. Real nice but not my thing I hate kawasaki. A personal vendetta. Just not my taste but seems real nice. But you want a real bike get an R1 you will not regret it.

 

my dream bike! one day

 

The ZX10 is the fastest, best handling production bike being made right now. How is that not a 'real' bike?

I was never a fan of Kawasaki either, but if the bike is on the cutting edge of technology, has some of the best brakes on any bike out there & has 180 HP...you gotta take a second look. The new Kawa's are light years ahead of their old heavy, sloppy, uncomfortable bikes in the mid 90's. I've always loved Hondas...but, IMHO, Kawasaki has raised the bar so much with the ZX10, Honda needs to do more leading, less following. It's not enough to be the lightest these days...all the bikes are sub-400 lbs anyhow. These days, it's how much tech & power you can pack into a 600 frame.

 

I'm a fan of the R1 myself. Along with the R6. But the best-performing liter bike right now is the ZX10R.

edit: as chef chris said.....

 

 

Traitors... :shakehead

 

ooooh... CBR1000RR. Sweet bike.

I won't hate.

 

i dont think its the fastest, hayabusa wins that race, but im sure it out handles it. great choice though

 

i was never a fan of the seating and riding poition on the R1- R6. i prefer the kawasaki. Hondas are very nice too

 

My wife wont let me get a bike.

 

ALL of the liter bikes(gixxer,R1,1000rr,ZX-10) have so much performance that you will never use it. Buy the bike that your comfortable on and what you think looks the best. You can not go wrong with ANY liter bike out at this time.

I

 

we're talking about all-around performance, not just straight line.

 

good reminder - for ppl like us the most important factor for these bikes will be riding comfort. the "probability of going to jail" factor is about the same for all of em.

 

Yeah, but the busa weighs another 100 lbs more. No thanks.

I like to be able to pick the bike back up if it falls over in my driveway.

 

I was actually suprised at how comfortable the ZX10 was. Last year I decided to move to a VFR 800 thinking it would be more fun to ride because it was more comfortable...I was wrong. The lack of zip made for a boring ride, even though it was technically more comfortable seating, the bike just had no character.

The ZX10 is a grunt...you really 'feel' the road, the engine(not much vibration though, less than all my previous Hondas), the brakes...it's definitely a riders bike. Only problem I had was the windshield put the air right under my helmet, so the wind noise was bad. Nothing I couldn't fix though.

Funny how I came across the bike though...I was actually looking for a used CBR 1100XX...heh...guess I can't go wrong either way though.

 

that colo choice is veryy cleannn

 

Right on gdubb ...the liter bikes have grown in leaps and bounds compared to what they used to be. That being said yamaha has my heart, BUT I would take any of the other manufactors in a heart beat.

Oh btw Eggplant-EX I feel you about the RC-51....I looked into upgrading from my current '00 R6 to that. However compared to the literbikes out now the RC-51 is a bit of a slouch. Those V-twin engines sound great, and do pretty well at the track (after dumping a good amount into them), but inline 4 is the way to go. So my next bike will be a 02-03 R1

 

 

That bike is serious! Good luck and be careful if you get one!!