I went to a Kawasaki Demo ride event outside of Dallas today. Wanted to ride a ZG14. Enjoyed it and will probably get one some day. The crowd wasn't that big so I signed up for a second ride on a ZX14R. A sport bike guy I work with had told me it was made for "fat old guys like me."
The bike was intimidating to sit on but ergonomics were not really that bad... really pretty good. I started to think I would chicken out and not ride it out of the parking lot... Once we were moving though all fear evaporated. The clutch was easy and power delivery was smooth. Brakes were powerful but not grabby. Handling, even at low speed, was light and almost psychic compared to my ZG1000.
And then we got to the open road... OMG....
Throughout our 30 minute ride I spent a full 20 minutes literally giggling in my helmet. The acceleration is... breathtaking. I had no idea. The seating position became effortless. The firm suspension was comfortable. I was effortlessly flicking it into turns I had taken cautiously on the ZG14 just minutes before. This bike is magic.
So why won't I buy one? I am sure I could put bags on it enough for some modest touring. But, since I am only 53 I lack the maturity to ride this bike responsibly. I found that it shaved about 40 years off my impressions of "mortality," "civic duty," and similar high minded concepts. It may not be possible to ride that bike legally on public roads. I might just get one anyway.
If you want to try one, check out the event when it comes to your town: http://goodtimesstreetdemodays.kawasaki.com/home/?cm_mmc=GTDD-_-KMCPromo-_-DemoRidePageStreetBucket-_-GoodTimesStreetDemo
The bike was intimidating to sit on but ergonomics were not really that bad... really pretty good. I started to think I would chicken out and not ride it out of the parking lot... Once we were moving though all fear evaporated. The clutch was easy and power delivery was smooth. Brakes were powerful but not grabby. Handling, even at low speed, was light and almost psychic compared to my ZG1000.
And then we got to the open road... OMG....
Throughout our 30 minute ride I spent a full 20 minutes literally giggling in my helmet. The acceleration is... breathtaking. I had no idea. The seating position became effortless. The firm suspension was comfortable. I was effortlessly flicking it into turns I had taken cautiously on the ZG14 just minutes before. This bike is magic.
So why won't I buy one? I am sure I could put bags on it enough for some modest touring. But, since I am only 53 I lack the maturity to ride this bike responsibly. I found that it shaved about 40 years off my impressions of "mortality," "civic duty," and similar high minded concepts. It may not be possible to ride that bike legally on public roads. I might just get one anyway.
If you want to try one, check out the event when it comes to your town: http://goodtimesstreetdemodays.kawasaki.com/home/?cm_mmc=GTDD-_-KMCPromo-_-DemoRidePageStreetBucket-_-GoodTimesStreetDemo