ROADTOAD's new ride

[ROADTOAD1340]

I got a pretty crappy cell phone , the screen is terrible to see out in sunlight , so I mostly lower and angle it as best I can and just take multiple shots . I got the right side low , by standing on the embankment incline , worked out good , didn't have to bend even a little .
As for other riders , no Kawasaki ... no I mostly ride by myself nowadays . I get more enjoyment riding by myself to be honest , not having to monitor how the other rider is keeping up or not etc. , but I miss the stops and bike talk chats more than anything . I found , that a lot of my past riding mates have either given riding up altogether , or riding on the street . I got one mate that has built a 50k project bike for example , for track only , but it has been ready for coming on 4 years ready to ride , but instead sitting untouched . Then there are others that don't ride on the street because fear of injury or worse I guess , down to family etc. I do not really know why .
Me , my situation is this , I like to ride my bikes , it is also my hobby to mess around with my bikes , I spend many hours of the day with my bikes and researching etc. bike stuff . I ride them the way I like , spirited , but at the end of the day , I have 2 dependents , that if something happens to me , well it is going to be bad and hard on them , so I ride defensive / aggressive / with the aim of having a great ride , and coming home .

 

[RedBull]

I got a pretty crappy cell phone ,
the screen is terrible to see out in sunlight ,
so I mostly lower and angle it as best I can and just take multiple shots .

 

[fallenarch]

Same here. My wife and I don't have any kids, not even a dog right now! I have a ton of insurance including disability so I don't worry too much about something happening, makes riding a lot more fun.

I like 2-3 guys (including myself) who know each other well and basically ride in formation like fighter jets. I hate constant chatter on the com or the guy who holds the mic open the whole ride! To me riding is a solitary experience even in a group because you are in a suit and helmet, which is one reason I love it so much. No better place to clear the mind.

 

[fallenarch]

I just got a Galaxy Note 10+. Big as crap but the pictures are straight up amazing.

 

[faseljd]

so I ride defensive / aggressive / with the aim of having a great ride

 

[Tached1300]

Same here. My wife and I don't have any kids, not even a dog right now! I have a ton of insurance including disability so I don't worry too much about something happening, makes riding a lot more fun.

I like 2-3 guys (including myself) who know each other well and basically ride in formation like fighter jets. I hate constant chatter on the com or the guy who holds the mic open the whole ride! To me riding is a solitary experience even in a group because you are in a suit and helmet, which is one reason I love it so much. No better place to clear the mind.

Our crew always rode in formation too. Didn’t have any comms but had hand gestures etc. I love the solitude of riding. 2-3 is perfect as I hate any of the preplanning deciding where and when to meet etc my buddy used to always handle those logistics. I’ve always enjoyed riding solo too because I’m an impulsive rider and will get an itch to ride and just take off, stop along the way as I like etc. I do look forward to riding with some good riders, sometimes I like having a rabbit to chase. If Roadtoad could buy one more bike Willie and I can fly over and burn up some roads with him ha!!!

Same on insurance, my youngest is now 22 finished with school and has entered the workforce (yay!). But if something were to happen to me I wanted to make sure the family is straight. So I have life and accidental but need to revisit short term and long term disability.

 

[Tached1300]

I got a pretty crappy cell phone , the screen is terrible to see out in sunlight , so I mostly lower and angle it as best I can and just take multiple shots . I got the right side low , by standing on the embankment incline , worked out good , didn't have to bend even a little .
As for other riders , no Kawasaki ... no I mostly ride by myself nowadays . I get more enjoyment riding by myself to be honest , not having to monitor how the other rider is keeping up or not etc. , but I miss the stops and bike talk chats more than anything . I found , that a lot of my past riding mates have either given riding up altogether , or riding on the street . I got one mate that has built a 50k project bike for example , for track only , but it has been ready for coming on 4 years ready to ride , but instead sitting untouched . Then there are others that don't ride on the street because fear of injury or worse I guess , down to family etc. I do not really know why .
Me , my situation is this , I like to ride my bikes , it is also my hobby to mess around with my bikes , I spend many hours of the day with my bikes and researching etc. bike stuff . I ride them the way I like , spirited , but at the end of the day , I have 2 dependents , that if something happens to me , well it is going to be bad and hard on them , so I ride defensive / aggressive / with the aim of having a great ride , and coming home .

Andrew have you ridden a Gen 2 Hayabusa with ABS brakes by chance? I know it would not compare to L2 but it’s much better than the 08-12 brakes. Just wondering how they felt in comparison to the zx14?

 

[fallenarch]

Our crew always rode in formation too. Didn’t have any comms but had hand gestures etc. I love the solitude of riding. 2-3 is perfect as I hate any of the preplanning deciding where and when to meet etc my buddy used to always handle those logistics. I’ve always enjoyed riding solo too because I’m an impulsive rider and will get an itch to ride and just take off, stop along the way as I like etc. I do look forward to riding with some good riders, sometimes I like having a rabbit to chase. If Roadtoad could buy one more bike Willie and I can fly over and burn up some roads with him ha!!!

Same on insurance, my youngest is now 22 finished with school and has entered the workforce (yay!). But if something were to happen to me I wanted to make sure the family is straight. So I have life and accidental but need to revisit short term and long term disability.

I got L2! @ROADTOAD1340 you can buy a Grom for @Tached1300!

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

Andrew have you ridden a Gen 2 Hayabusa with ABS brakes by chance? I know it would not compare to L2 but it’s much better than the 08-12 brakes. Just wondering how they felt in comparison to the zx14?

No , haven't tried a M4 Brembo equipped 13+ Gen 2 so anything I say will be purely conjecture . That doesn't mean I would not have an idea about the improvement over the tokico 08 to 12 models . For starters , the only real complaint I have ever heard about the latest Gen 2 setup is still the master cylinder . It can be replaced , but you must be careful about trading off your lock to lock steering with some pumps , RCS Brembo for example like I run , foul . @Yellow09 , as a member with a better pump / M4 Brembo combo , would be the example of a setup that works very well and satisfies the clearance issue . When he gets back ask him what pump is on his bike .
As for the Brembo monobloc M4 , well they are the Japanese motorcycle industry standard , meaning they are very good performers , and their is a huge range of pads made for them , which is excellent . If my L2 had this setup , well I wouldn't of rushed into anything straight away other than , braided lines , and the pump .

 

[Tached1300]

No , haven't tried a M4 Brembo equipped 13+ Gen 2 so anything I say will be purely conjecture . That doesn't mean I would not have an idea about the improvement over the tokico 08 to 12 models . For starters , the only real complaint I have ever heard about the latest Gen 2 setup is still the master cylinder . It can be replaced , but you must be careful about trading off your lock to lock steering with some pumps , RCS Brembo for example like I run , foul . @Yellow09 , as a member with a better pump / M4 Brembo combo , would be the example of a setup that works very well and satisfies the clearance issue . When he gets back ask him what pump is on his bike .
As for the Brembo monobloc M4 , well they are the Japanese motorcycle industry standard , meaning they are very good performers , and their is a huge range of pads made for them , which is excellent . If my L2 had this setup , well I wouldn't of rushed into anything straight away other than , braided lines , and the pump .

Yellow09 has the R1 pump, I’ve been looking at them on Ebay as a possible upgrade

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

I did notice the lower shots and the bike looks more balanced and formidable too! You can just hold the cell phone down low and not actually bend down. I often do this.

So have you found any local Kawasakis to ride with? To be honest I ride mostly alone but do run into a Busa here and there.

PS: How long does it take to acclimate to the ZX going back and forth with L2? Man when I ride the BMW for a couple weeks and switch to the Busa it feels weird for about 30 minutes. After that it feels amazing.

When I got back on the Busa , (that cop encounter ride) , I was truly surprised about how comfy it actually is . Now I have changed a heap of things to get it it that way for me personally , but I was very happy about that . I had to stop down the street to adjust my mirrors , and I already had reset my pump lever angles , but even before the hills , I felt really good about being back on the Busa . After only 10 minutes at most , everything had settled and come together for what can only be described as another , L2 , very good handling , ride experience , despite having to take the long way home because of the law .

 

[ottafish]

Yellow09 has the R1 pump, I’ve been looking at them on Ebay as a possible upgrade

That's the route I took. A excellent, late model R1 brembo.

 

[RedBull]

KAWASAKI ZZR1400 (2012 - 2020) Review

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

KAWASAKI ZZR1400 (2012 - 2020) Review

Well bro , those 2 old road warriors , are both at / nearing the end of the line .... now I am REALLY happy I own 2 pretty nice examples of these historic machines .

 

[fallenarch]

Who cares if they make any more when you have that one @ROADTOAD1340 has! So let's see: Put out the replacement H2 first before you stop making the 14. Humm, are you watching this Suzuki?

 

[Sandow]

Well bro , those 2 old road warriors , are both at / nearing the end of the line .... now I am REALLY happy I own 2 pretty nice examples of these historic machines .

Suzuki is waiting for that. The year later the send out the GEN3 ...mark my words

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

Got a couple of things done to Kato ZX14R , I decided on some K Style (Kawasaki ) mirrors , same as stockers , except 50mm shorter length arm . Got a full titanium engine bolt kit coming from UK Racebolts . They have a better kit than Probolt , 39 pieces from Racebolts versus 14 piece from Pro . Got some better race stand spools from Agras , and a nice Moriwaki oil filler cap . The bar bolts and switchgear were mostly plain ti , but swapped a lot of them for DLC black ti . Fren Tubo full abs carbon lines kit as well as a rear caliper mount . Still haven't pulled the trigger on the calipers , because still deciding .
The Gilles are fitted up , and got the new rear 45t sprocket and the EK chain fitted up today . The bike feels crazy quick with this gearing , only got a real short test on it though , but looking forward to next ride in the hills .
We got 4 days of 40+ degrees Celsius in a row this week , starting from Tuesday , so not going to be doing much except keeping my family cool .

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

Yesterday , I got the bike down to my local dyno , my mates actually , Superbike Performance of Adelaide . I took the bike to get a base line reading , well see what it has right now , with the generic Brocks map .
The bike has the 42t sprocket and the stock chain , and was a pretty nice day really .
Firstly , the Brocks map is okay , but was tuned for 87 octane , not what I wanted , the 93 octane , which is the same as our Aussie 98 octane ,(because the US calculate it up a bit differently ) . So there was a bit of a communication gap.... but it did hit 199.05 hp and touching 115 ftlb .
The bike shows promise for sure , I will get it tuned next year properly . This is the highest stock hp figure ever on this dyno , so pretty happy about that .

 

[fallenarch]

She is certainly something special man. Those numbers are great for a pipe and a stock map. Will be interesting to see what you can do with a tune.

 

[white.Busa]

The bike looks great @ROADTOAD1340. I am so jealous, I think so the green color sprocket is all the money there !
It's always nice when you finish a project, to be able to start a new one!

Pure Raw power there, nice dyno chart, 199 horsepower with stock map, is a wonderful number, full of promises.
Enjoy your new project Andrew, and if you get bored with hayabusa, can you send it to Greece please? I will pay for shipping myself. Enjoy driving and experience, keep us updated..