First new big bike EVER!

[MingtheMerciless]

I do like the twin exhausts.....and its green(ish)

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Just realised it's a 1000 not a 900, still looks like a scooter from the front though.

[KungFooBob]

Just realised it's a 1000 not a 900, still looks like a scooter from the front though.

Whenever I see one coming towards me I always assume it's a scooter because the headlights are at that moped/scooter level.

I thought it was just me!

[Skub]

The radiator looks very vulnerable and the front mudguard is very short,so after it's maiden voyage I fitted an Evotech radiator guard.

It seems a quality piece of kit,they make some nice stuff. I have a tail tidy coming from the same folk to remove the haemorrhoidal stock aberration.



I managed my first ride today,for those mildly interested,here are my initial thoughts.

I haven't owned a bike with mandlebars since my Z1 in the early 70s,so there was a little acclimatisation! Static the bike feels a little more 'substantial' than my 10,so my comparisons are always going to be based on that reference point. The weight difference goes away on the move and I daresay I'll forget about it soon.

The engine revs freely and feels willing,but I'm being reasonably sensible for the first few hundred miles,man it's difficult...do any of you new bike buyers bother with running in these days?

Kawasaki recommends 0-250 miles under 4k, 250-400 5k and 400-600 fair game,but don't take the piss.

The brakes definitely needed a few miles to bed in,kinda caught me out the first time I pulled the lever. They were much better after the initial ride.

Flickability seems very pleasing,I stuck to narrow,winding back roads where you'd struggle to hit 60 and the bike went from one side to the other very easily. It didn't take long to take the shininess off the new tyres. Tyres are Dunlop Sportsmax,which I've never used before,but at my modest break in speeds they gave me no cause for concern.

I've haven't got around to setting up the suspenders for me and my tastes,but I'll need to! It's not quite as firm as a sports bike on less than perfect roads,but it's not dissimilar. The rear kicks me out of the seat and the forks seem harsh. I'll be looking to get a better compromise.

I put 61 miles on the clock before I had to come home and do boring things,the seat is quite firm,but I'll need a few longer runs to see if this is something else to be addressed.

It put a big smile on my face and for a time I was able to clear my mind and just enjoy the pursuit of mindless riding. Great therapy. So as far as it goes,that's mission accomplished.

To be continued.

[Bigjawa]

Looks well.

[Skub]

Looks well.

Cheers man,the looks definitely divide opinion,the wife thinks it looks like a collection of leftovers from Kawasaki's parts bin.

[Druid]

Looks well.

Cheers man,the looks definitely divide opinion,the wife thinks it looks like a collection of leftovers from Kawasaki's parts bin.

Your wife appears to be a person of great perception and taste.

Why the hell did she marry you?

[Skub]

Your wife appears to be a person of great perception and taste.

Why the hell did she marry you?

I refer the right honourable gentleman to his first observation.

[Supermofo]

I've run in a few bikes and tend to be a little gentle for maybe a 100 or so miles then ride them normally without thrashing or holding on to the revs to much. When I got my 690 I was told keep it below 6k for first hundred miles then don't redline it till after the 600 mile service, other than that ride it fairly normally. They also said lugging the engine was worse than mullering it. And the 690 engine will be wayyyyyy more over stressed than the Kwak. And i fully intended to keep mine a long time so wanted the engine to be fine

I'd be riding yours pretty much normally by now without going for it, but increasing revs over time and changing revs rather than sitting on motorways for example. Most engines are good to go from the factory. And you'll do well to stress an engine with that much power in normal riding

[Yorick]

Engines is engines You don't run cars in

[Skub]

How come Showa front Ohlins back?

Dunno the logic,probably down to what was cost effective.

I quite like it, it's definitely Kawasaki.
It looks very purposeful and aggressive.

Is rim tape back in fashion?

Rimming tape never went away darling.

[ninja]

Ooh, missed this. That's a lovely thing. I've always had a soft spot for them.

As for running in, I've never done anything too brutal until the oil has been changed.

I hope things are OK at home. I know exactly what you're going through Skubster.

[Yorick]

How come Showa front Ohlins back?

Dunno the logic,probably down to what was cost effective.

I quite like it, it's definitely Kawasaki.
It looks very purposeful and aggressive.

Is rim tape back in fashion?

Rimming tape never went away darling.

[Craigyboy9]

The radiator looks very vulnerable and the front mudguard is very short,so after it's maiden voyage I fitted an Evotech radiator guard.

It seems a quality piece of kit,they make some nice stuff. I have a tail tidy coming from the same folk to remove the haemorrhoidal stock aberration.



I managed my first ride today,for those mildly interested,here are my initial thoughts.

I haven't owned a bike with mandlebars since my Z1 in the early 70s,so there was a little acclimatisation! Static the bike feels a little more 'substantial' than my 10,so my comparisons are always going to be based on that reference point. The weight difference goes away on the move and I daresay I'll forget about it soon.

The engine revs freely and feels willing,but I'm being reasonably sensible for the first few hundred miles,man it's difficult...do any of you new bike buyers bother with running in these days?

Kawasaki recommends 0-250 miles under 4k, 250-400 5k and 400-600 fair game,but don't take the piss.

The brakes definitely needed a few miles to bed in,kinda caught me out the first time I pulled the lever. They were much better after the initial ride.

Flickability seems very pleasing,I stuck to narrow,winding back roads where you'd struggle to hit 60 and the bike went from one side to the other very easily. It didn't take long to take the shininess off the new tyres. Tyres are Dunlop Sportsmax,which I've never used before,but at my modest break in speeds they gave me no cause for concern.

I've haven't got around to setting up the suspenders for me and my tastes,but I'll need to! It's not quite as firm as a sports bike on less than perfect roads,but it's not dissimilar. The rear kicks me out of the seat and the forks seem harsh. I'll be looking to get a better compromise.

I put 61 miles on the clock before I had to come home and do boring things,the seat is quite firm,but I'll need a few longer runs to see if this is something else to be addressed.

It put a big smile on my face and for a time I was able to clear my mind and just enjoy the pursuit of mindless riding. Great therapy. So as far as it goes,that's mission accomplished.

To be continued.

Nice! You seem pretty pleased!

[Nordboy]

Engines is engines You don't run cars in

I did! Run my 2020 5 series in, as per the manufacturers instructions.

[Skub]

Update.

Just over 1k miles now. I've done more miles in about 3 weeks on this bike than the whole of 2019 on my ten.

That must say something.

The seat is hard. After about 60-70 miles my arse begins to complain. 100 miles in and it becomes a distraction. I don't know at this stage whether I'll do anything about that,or just MTFU,or get off for a walk now and again. Some of the custom seats I've seen are hideously expensive and,well... hideous.

The engine pulls from nowhere,but still feels a little 'tight',not surprising after only 1k miles,I suppose. It does feel really short geared and I'm glad of the gear indicator,because I'd be forever looking for another top gear. Gearbox is still a little notchy at low speed sometimes,but better when the revs are higher.

Throttle is sharpish,but not snatchy. It caught me out a few times when I rolled on too soon on the corner without meaning to,which pushed me slightly wider than intended. I haven't found any flat spots,just a useable spread of power,almost regardless of gear.

To get the sag I wanted front and rear,the fork preload had to be backed way off,suggesting to me they are oversprung for my weight. They do feel a lot more compliant for the road now. The rear is a similar story,though I didn't need to back the preload off as much as the front. I haven't tweaked the damping as yet,because I wanted to live with each single change for a while,before I made others and lose myself in the process. The Ohlins rear shock has rebound and compression all in one adjuster,which is a bit cheap seats,since the two do very different things. But I'll not be too critical before I see how close I can get setting wise. Word is,the shock can take a few K to break in.

The front Brembos are great anchors,super feel and very progressive. Confidence giving. The rear I don't use much,but I like to know I can depend on it when I do.It seems to be bedding in well.

The stock Dunlop Sportsman 214 seem to attract a lot of criticism on the web. In the dry they grip well enough for me,they track a bit on road imperfections and they are nervy in damp/wet,so even if you could buy them,there is much better out there.

The Akros have a nice rasp without being antisocial or attracting unwanted attention and mixed with the airbox music,I find the soundtrack very pleasing.

Fuel economy is surprisingly good. I struggled to get into the 40s on the ZX,this one managed in the 50s during careful riding,though it is dropping now to high 40s. I honestly don't care much about mpg on a leisure bike,but it's a nice bonus anyway and it's information for those who do care.

The mirrors are mounted on the same bracket as the clutch and front brake lever. I like to drop my levers a little,so they fall naturally to hand,plus it's also less tiring. Problem is,it's a compromise between getting the levers where I want and not having the mirrors show me the sky! Maybe bar end jobbies might be better,though I wouldn't want them sticking out further than the bars.

Melons had asked me about wind blast at speed and I can now confirm this does actually happen.
I'm going to live with this aspect for a while and not be tempted to make a naked bike into a faired bike,since one of the prime reasons for chopping in a sports bike was to stop the big numbers on the road. I don't plan on sitting at a steady 90/100 along motorways any day soon and on the odd occasion when I may exceed those limits (on a closed private road) the bike and I can handle it for a short time.

Upwards and onwards.

[Skub]

Today I got rid of this weighty monstrosity.



And replaced them with these.





Lextek headers to do away with the cat. I hadn't heard of them until this week.Cheap as chips and seemingly well enough made. £275 including P&P. Two days from order to delivery and just over an hour to fit. Set that against the price of the likes of Akrapovic and realise the power of 'the brand'. I'll keep the Akra cans,that'll satisfy my inner brand loyalty!

When/if it ever stops fackin' raining,I'll report back on how the bike feels. It doesn't sound much louder with the cat gone,but for once I didn't want loud anyway,just less fugly.

[weeksy]

Shiny shiny!! Nice one

[Supermofo]

Taipan had Lextek on his 690 and rated it i think.

[Skub]

I picked up a used Puig screen and fitted it today.

I'm not entirely sold on the looks,we'll see how it performs. It was cheap,so if there's no benefit,I'll do a Weeksy and punt it on.