ZX-14 -- Incredible!!!

Yesterday at the International Motorcycle Show in Houston I had the
opportunity to experience Kawasaki's ZX-14 firsthand. All I can say
is "Wow!!" OK, that's not all I can say, so here goes.
Power/acceleration is truly amazing, bordering on frightening, even
after reading all the press about it. Fortunately, the braking is
equally impressive.

I showed up expecting some tame little ride around the parking lot
and was very pleasantly suprised with a full 25-minute demo
including interstate riding of ~10 miles and some minor curves on
low-traffic surface roads. The ride was escorted by two company
riders, who gave every opportunity to see what the demo bikes were
capable of. Of course, some gearless (helmet doesn't count) sqxxx
had to show how skilled he was by blasting past us in our own lane.
The third demo ride of the day (on an FJR-1300-AE) was somewhat
dampened by the presence of Tx State Trooper waiting over a hill on
288, but our leader must have been ready for him, so it went ok as
well.

Anyhow, back to the ZX-14. This bike was everything it's been
claimed to be: fast, smooth, very little peak to the power curve,
handles like a dream. The little fairing and high speed were
interesting for someone who normally rides a Concours, as the strong
breeze generated went a long way toward taking pressure off my
wrists. I still wanted a lot of forward weight to keep me ready for
the massive acceleration, though. If the Concours 14 has even more
low end (VVT effect), I don't know what more anyone could ask for.

I actually like the 2007 coloring with the pearl white with flame
accent decals (see Webshots for a couple good, and a couple less
good photos http://community.webshots.com/album/555513881ooXFJA.

Hope to hear what others impression of this bike are.

P.S. Saw ZX-14 in Galveston last week with aftermarket?? matching
sidecases that looked pretty sharp.

When I tried to get a test on a ZX-14 today they said they were all booked for the rest of the day. Of course at the time I was asking there were about 4 of them sitting there unused right in front of me and no one around preparing to ride them. There's logic there somewhere I guess.

When test sitting her on the floor, I was surprised how light this bike was! On the other hand, why does everything have to be soooo big? 2in bar ends? C'mon. The Lever was fit for giant hands and probably even then left some over.

Otherwise, really nice bike.

tjbrandt50 said:

Of course, some gearless (helmet doesn't count) sqxxx
had to show how skilled he was by blasting past us in our own lane.

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Gearless. Nope, wasn't me. I had my Kawasaki jacket on when I passed 'em.

Wish I had known it wasn't going to be a parking lot test ride

Wait for the Kawasaki Concours 14/GTR

You mention that new model Kawi concours that will be coming out with soon, while standing at the cycle show in Houston last month,looking at the new concours, my neighbor was standing next to me and said " Hardy, the last thirty five motorcycles I've owned have been Harleys. This one, in front of us, will be my next bike." It's gonna be a dandy. HB

I bought my ZX-14 last May and have 14K miles on her now. I stepped up from a ZZR-1200. I find the 14 to be much more comfortable. I have done 2 days of over 900 miles each and could have gone further. Never would have considered that on the ZZR.

The only mods are a Brocks Generation III exhaust, black ceramic coating on the headers and mid-pipe to help with the heat and a carbon fiber canister. The secondary flys have been removed and a power commander added to straighten out the fueling.

Removing the flys made a huge difference in low end torque and the power is now very linear from idle thru redline. She used to be very scary in the curves unless I stayed well above the 6K rpm power hit. That also caused a lot of rear tire wear from spinning on corner exits. Now I can run a gear higher and don't live in fear of an unexpected surge of power.

This bike is my daily commuter as well as my play toy. My round trip is 62 miles per day and I average about 37.5 mpg. Long haul slab work gets about 43 mpg.

The Bridgestone BTO-14 rear was gone in 3K miles. I have been riding Continental Road Attacks since the 1st change and they work well on this bike for my use. Approximately 5K miles per rear tire.

No repairs other than standard maintenance have been necessary.

+1 on the Road Attacks but not cold weather friendly... 2500 on the stocker.. same mods...same miles... but ur gas mileage got me beat 30 average.. M3 is a great tire also...

I rode a ZX-11 for 10 years, fantastic motorcycle. When I was shopping last year it was SOOOOOOO hard to not buy the 14, but my wife said she wouldn't ride with me. LOL But I DO think I can get her on the new Concours! So here's to hoping the business takes off for me!

I've got a few hundred miles on my 06 ZX14. All in all I like the bike. It looks pretty good (mine is all black), has a light feel to it and makes a reasonable amount of power once the motor is spun up. It actually doesn't feel all that fast at lower engine speeds. Brakes are good and handling feels solid.

The biggest down side is the cost of insurance. Biggest irritant is that I hear a lot of noise from the front end. I finally decided that it is probably road noise as I hear more on rough roads than smooth ones.

The seat isn't too bad - my rear end gets sore after about 75-100 miles. It seems that the faster the bike goes the faster it wants to go.

In general I'm satisfied with the bike and enjoy riding it. I just hate paying the insurance premiums.

eric_marsh said:

It actually doesn't feel all that fast at lower engine speeds.

Click to expand...

From what I have seen and heard, if you want more low end torque just do the mods to remove the electronically controlled secondary throttle plates and you will have loads of torque at the low end (3000-3500). I think Kawi limited it a lot to improve 'rideability'. In other words to make it safer for the inexperienced rider.

lorin70 said:

From what I have seen and heard, if you want more low end torque just do the mods to remove the electronically controlled secondary throttle plates and you will have loads of torque at the low end (3000-3500). I think Kawi limited it a lot to improve 'rideability'. In other words to make it safer for the inexperienced rider.

Click to expand...

At some point I will probably make this mod. For now I think I can live with the bike as it is.