Originally Posted By: Norm Olt
I have to agree about your comments re: big Kawasaki's as great sport-touring bikes.
I rode my ZX-11D (140 hp, 600 lbs. wet) from NJ to Portland, OR a couple years ago. The fact is that Kawasaki has a history of having both a cutting edge sport bike and a sport-touring bike (or two) in their line simultaniously.
Their ZX-7R was a lighter, more track oriented bike than the bigger original ZX-10 (remember Tom Cruise in TOP GUN?)& they also had the original 1000cc Concours in the lineup.
The '93 ZX-11D (also known as The King of the Hill) was the quickest, fastest (@176 mph) production motorcycle of the era and held that title until the CB1100XX Blackbird came along, then the Hyabusa hit the streets. My ZX-11 is far from being a crotch rocket as it is big enough to comfortably stretch out & ride for 500-600 mile days (which I did three days in a row on that trip). I'm not sure I need more than 176 mph but I am sure I can't lose 100 lbs. and gain 30+ hp!
How do you hold them down?
1000cc sportbikes gained a lot of legitimate cred both on the streets and the tracks as the major racing formula's basically went from 750cc to 1000cc. For almost a decade any of the Big Four Japanese manufacturer's 1000cc stock sportbikes (Honda CBR1000, Suzuki GSRX1000, Kawasaki ZX-10R, Yamaha R1) would have run away from the racing bikes of a decade earlier. With 160 hp and weighing 420 lbs. you can understand why! Now look at the 2009 BMW S1000RR 4 cylinder bike: 180 rear wheel hp, 458 lbs., anti-lock brakes and traction control!
The ZX-11D was actually replaced by the ZZR-1200 (2002-2005)and surprized most of the bike magazine testers with its overall performance.
A series of ZX-12's then followed by the ZX-14 which is the basis for the Concours 14.
Thanks for the good historical perspective. As this is my first Kawasaki, it's nice to get a feel for the lineage. I've owned Honda, Harley and BMWs and liked something about all of them. . all distinct personalities, but the Concours stands out in the group performance-wise. I was a little disappointed to have the valve cover leak so early, but I've been around long enough to know that any brand can have manufacturing anomalies. . .Kawasaki fixed it without and debate, so I can't really complain.