Paging Oldbloke

Did you get it then... the Zephyr did you get it?

If no response for a week I'll take that as a yes.

D

 

Yup, just got it home.

It's, erm, big.....and thirsty.
--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My NEW bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
My old Bike 2000 Honda CB500 (for sale)
M'boy's Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Heavily fortified)

BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26

 

yeah, bet it feels a tad more powerful, is it comfortable?

D

 

So you ran out?

 

It's (obviously, I guess), a lot less buzzy than the CB500.

I didn't give it anywhere near maximum beanage on the way home, but it feels
like there's plenty there.

On the move, it's a bit like driving an automatic, it'll pull in 4th or 5th
quite happily, even round the bends.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My NEW bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
My old Bike 2000 Honda CB500 (for sale)
M'boy's Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Heavily fortified)

BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26

 

No, but when I got it the fuel gauge was reading empty, so I took it very
steadily to the first petrol station I could find, only to find I could only
get a tenner's worth in it. Therefore, the fuel gauge, whilst working,
appears to be very inaccurate, so my next mission to find out what the tank
range is (I reckon I'll get about 150 miles out of it).

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My NEW bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
My old Bike 2000 Honda CB500 (for sale)
M'boy's Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Heavily fortified)

BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26

 

"Even round the bends"? What do you mean by this?

 

Sortof implies he slows down for bends à la Ginge[1] but still doesn't
feel the need to change down.


[1] You didn't really think this would change after last week, did
you?

 

On the Honda, as you approach a tight (ish) bend, it sort of "asks" [1] to
change down, from 6th to 5th.

When out riding the Zephyr home yesterday, it didn't, and going round the
bends in 5th (it doesn't have a 6th), it felt much the same is changing down
to 4th.

I expect it's most probably down to me taking it very easy until I have
become better acquainted with the Zephyr, whereas I have the feel of the CB,
and know what degree of corner requires a down shift.

[1] it sort of chugs a bit mid corner, whereas down shifting makes it not
chug, but more, sort of, buzz.

Not explaining this very well, am I.

 

No... but quite entertaining so carry on.

D

 

I don't really understand this at all. On a tight (ish) bend, I'd want
to be in at least as low a gear as 3rd, to be able to give it full
welly out of the bend.

 

You've got a puch VZ50 haven't you?

D

 

err, no - see .sig.

 

Hmm it's just me reminiscing to my days of owning a VZ50 with three gears on
a twist grip and going everywhere in 3rd (top) because I couldn't be arsed
to change it.

D

 

I did a bit of a run on the ZX-7R yesterday with SimonK - I don't
think I got into a higher gear than 4th anywhere on the run. On that
bike there's no power below 4K rpm, so you need to keep the motor
spinning nicely so it feels right in the bend and there's decent
acceleration out of the bend[1]

[1] though I wasn't really using it as I didn't want to make the
difference in power between a 400cc single and a 750cc inline four
/too/ obvious.

 

Well, to be honest neither do I really.
The Honda, being a fairly lightweight twin (I am guessing here) is fairly
straightforward to set up for a corner, and power out the other side
(sometimes in 3rd, particularly if I know the road).

The Zephyr, being a bit of a barge (again, I am guessing here) didn't seem
to worry about this so much (but then again, I was on unfamiliar roads at a
fairly ponderous pace). It has an awful lot more low down grunt than the
Honda (which seems to come alive above 6000rpm), therefore coming out of a
(slow) corner in the "wrong" gear (i.e 5th) does not seem to cause it to
stutter, like the CB would in similar circumstances.

Any clearer?

 

absolutely. Basically you're saying the bike has enough power and
torque to let you ride it lazily. I /could/ ride like that on the
'blade as it's got plenty of grunt, but I choose not to, because I
enjoy caning it in a lower gear out of corners. The 7R is a bit
different - there's no power below about 4K so changing down is
/necessary/.

On either bike I tend to change down a gear or two before entering a
bend, opening up the throttle slightly through the curve, and then
wrenching it WFO as I exit the bend. This is fun.

 

Is there any power to speak of on any sportsbike under 4k? There sure as
hell isn't a hell of a lot on the gixxer.

 

But it's gone all French...

 

my 'blade will pull from about 2.5K.

The 7R will not pull from less than 4-5K.