"Too much bike" or nostalgia? 100hp 4cyl vs <50hp twin for leisurely back road riding

[GS1150Pilot]

I'd own a Triumph Scrambler 900 any old day.

[roeme]

I haven't ridden one but I like the looks and specs of the V7, but I am very suspicious of the "retro-remakes," my one brush with one, a 01 Bonneville, left me wanting. Too polished, missing sense of adventure of riding a real vintage carbureted motorcycle.

Let me assure you, owning a first-series of the V7 remakes the "racer", it made sure that there's still some adventure involved. Absolutely horrible clutch cable routing, inappropriate clutch adjustment (either you got constant slipping or couldn't get it to disengange properly, always fun if you failed to get into Neutral before coming up to a red light), a leaky shaft...

Still, I won't part with it, same as will I keep my GS550's. They're just endless fun to ride.

(I did replace the clutch cable with a hydraulic one, an improvement. Also, subsequent series changed the clutch arm design etc).

[Suzukian]

I felt the need for going bigger and found a ZZZR1200 last year with only 3875 miles on it. The bike looks new. The dealership had just rebuilt and synced the carbs. I've lowered it 1 " inch, front and back ends, made my own custom slip on mufflers (knocked 42 lbs. off the weight of the bike) and upgraded the TOKICO bakes to NISSIN calipers. Added a pair of Genmar risers I got the bike for $2200 dollars. The guy did not understand what he had. He was 6'5" tall and thought, because it fit him, it would be a good bike. It scared the heck out of him. He asked his friend to sell it for him. I also mounted a set of Pirelli Diablo tires onto it. I've had offers of $5K for it, but the answer is "No". This is the last motorcycle I will buy. I may be making a trike though.

The ZZR1200 was the fast carburated non fuel injected motorcycle ever made. It's listed a a Sport Tourer, so insurance is cheap. If I send the carbs out, and adjust the timing, the bike will hit 200 mph, but is happy doing 60 mph all day long. They are supposed to reach 170 mph stock, and put out 145 HP at the rear wheel. I'm bigger than I used to be.

[Rob S.]

I felt the need for going bigger and found a ZZZR1200 last year

The more Zs, the better. You can never have too many Zs. If I go to heaven, my garage will have a Z1, a Z1A, a Z1B, etc. Sprinkle in an H2 and H1, top off with a couple GPz11 (one red, one green).

Gotta go catch some zzzs now.

How bout some pics, especially those custom mufflers?

[GS1150Pilot]

I'm finding the R1100R to be about the perfect balance between most every need I have in a roadgoing motorcycle.

[earlfor]

The ZZR1200 was the fast carburated non fuel injected motorcycle ever made. It's listed a a Sport Tourer, so insurance is cheap. If I send the carbs out, and adjust the timing, the bike will hit 200 mph, but is happy doing 60 mph all day long. They are supposed to reach 170 mph stock, and put out 145 HP at the rear wheel. I'm bigger than I used to be.

I found that stock seat of the pants calibration read right at 180 mph. LOL

[Baatfam]

I'm finding the R1100R to be about the perfect balance between most every need I have in a roadgoing motorcycle.

I felt the same way about our K1100RSs....We had two...

[Brendan W]

I'm finding the R1100R to be about the perfect balance between most every need I have in a roadgoing motorcycle.

Mine is growing on me. Had been looking at Enfields but we made the right choice

[GS1150Pilot]

Mine is growing on me. Had been looking at Enfields but we made the right choice

I added a small flyscreen, got rid of the wonky bar-end mirrors, put some Grip Puppies and a throttle lock on mine and it's hitting all needs really well.

[Suzukian]

The more Zs, the better. You can never have too many Zs. If I go to heaven, my garage will have a Z1, a Z1A, a Z1B, etc. Sprinkle in an H2 and H1, top off with a couple GPz11 (one red, one green).

Gotta go catch some zzzs now.

How bout some pics, especially those custom mufflers?

I thought I'd get shot if I posted any Kawasaki pics here. The clutch cover has some weird going on. I haven't taken time to really delve into it, It has little nicks here and there from being in storage for so long. The 3875 miles is the main draw to it. The pipes have an baffle with Ceramic Weave wrapped around them and "Radiant" exhaust tips.
zzr1200-exhaust mod.jpg

[Suzukian]

The Baffle looks like this on the inside. A.jpg

[Rob S.]

I thought I'd get shot if I posted any Kawasaki pics here. The clutch cover has some weird going on. I haven't taken time to really delve into it, It has little nicks here and there from being in storage for so long. The 3875 miles is the main draw to it. The pipes have an baffle with Ceramic Weave wrapped around them and "Radiant" exhaust tips.
zzr1200-exhaust mod.jpg

Is it missing some fairing up front (sides)? I thought the big ZZ was more fully faired.

Funny how bikes become relegated to the 'Sport Touring' club as they age. I recall the first Yamaha FJ (1100?) was an extreme, cutting edge 'Sport' bike when it debuted. It didn't get de-tuned, others just got more extreme (GSXR, etc). I think the same thing happened to the 'Blackbird' (Honda) as well as the ZZR.

That exhaust looks extremely slim and unobtrusive. One on each side, 4-into-2? I can't believe how humongous the cans have got nowadays (ZX-14R, etc).

How about a full length photo of each side? The boys here won't mind. Exhaust looks very nice.

[Suzukian]

There's one on each side. The bike is fully faired up front, the only open part you see is what you see in the picture. It was quite dirty, that pic is 5 months old, that why I am building a shed for it, and my other bikes. That knocked almost 40 lbs. off of the bike. The Radiant exhausts alone are just a bit too loud. Too many projects and too little time. The front header is stock, these are just slipped on.

Kawasaki-ZZ-R1200c stock.jpg

[Rob S.]

Wait a minute, that's not your bike, is it? Counterfeiting bike porn is a serious charge, even though many view it as a 'victimless' crime.

Seriously, thanks for the pic, it refreshed my memory.

[Brendan W]

I added a small flyscreen, got rid of the wonky bar-end mirrors, put some Grip Puppies and a throttle lock on mine and it's hitting all needs really well.

Mine came with an MRA vario screen with spoiler. It's noisy. I'll figure it out.
Still has original mirrors.
My throttle hand was and is suffering. I think a large part was the TB imbalance and surging at low speed. Unconsciously I had a death grip when re-applying power.
Getting better now as I figure out this single TPS lark. As I get closer to a more balanced and lower idle, more of the steam train character I was looking for is returning.
There are still a few nice 45 mph lanes around here if you know where to look.