I wanted to say hi and join the forum. I have been lurking around for the last month or so. Lots of interesting information and thanks to all who have contributed. You have been very helpful. I joined today because I just bought a leftover 08 zx14 and am very excited. This will be my first new bike in 18 years! Currently I am still riding my Harley I bought new in 1992. It has been 15 years since I sold my 1982 Yamaha Turbo or ridden any other type of motorcycle. Last summer i rode a FJR for a bit and a busa. I was stunned at how much bikes have improved.

Soooo that started the search. I like the looks of the zx14 and want to do some sport touring also. The kawasaki seemed to fit the bill better. I sat on a C14 which the dealer tried to get me to buy however the heart wants what the heart wants and the zx just keep drawing me back. I am getting some genmar risers. throttle lock, possibly the buell pegs and if that is not enough the convertibars.

Lets see my current bike weighs 590lbs with 65hp, I think I signed up for a big change,

Biggest current problem is waiting the two weeks to pick her up!!

Any advice for i would guess novice hyper bike owner?

Welcome Fr8...Nice Corsair BTW.Did you fly one at some time in yer life?Very nice!You'll love yer new spaceship.Since you've ridden...a Harley at least recently(?),you're gonna have a lot of fun with her.Take it easy and get to know yer baby there.2 weeks....geeez....eternity!

* Last updated by: blue07 on 5/7/2010 @ 7:19 PM *

Hi Fr8flyer and welcome to the forums! I'm sure, like others here, you're experiencing quite a change in bike behavior. I rode a '94 Yamaha FZR600 back in my military days and this 09 '14 definitely changed things for me. Sooo silky smooth and power for miles. Hmm, advice for a new superbike owner:

1) ATGATT - All the gear all the time (at the very LEAST, mesh jacket with CE approved armor, preferably Snell approved, or better, helmet, gloves with knuckle guards, boots that come above the ankles and jeans or better)

2) Respect the throttle and the bike will respect you. Just because it CAN doesn't mean you should. It's ok to cruise on a rocketship

3) Try to find a local MSF course (preferably the advanced course) to further familiarize yourself with the bike's characteristics. Things like braking, cornering, slow u-turns and emergency maneuvering are a far cry from a Harley as I'm sure you've already experienced. The only disadvantage to the MSF course, I thought, was there was not enough focus on higher speed emergency avoidance maneuvers, but fun and informative nonetheless.

4) Don't grab the front or back break like you probably did with the Harley. Now you've got TWO calipers in front vs the one. You can stoppy much easier than you might have originally intended. So, practice emergency maneuvers now, then repeat later after you've ridden it a while to get accustomed to its behavior. I'd imagine most people here probably don't make it a habit of using the rear brake. You'll hear the MSF instructor tell you that both brakes should be used in an emergency stop, but realize that locking up the rear brake (especially while trying to negotiate a corner you might have gotten a little over your head with) will put you on your ass quicker than anything. This all goes back to the traction concept where the front tire is doing the majority of the work, but the rear tire can't help the front if it's locked.

5) Despite what others may tell you, there's no reason in trying to get rid of the "chicken strips" on the outside edges of the tires by cornering more aggressively on the streets. All it takes is a few pebbles in the wrong place and the rubber side just replaced the "pretty side". If you really want to test how far you can lean the bike, please do yourself a favor and do it on the track.

6) As you've already been riding a Harley, you'll surely understand how "invisible" you really are so nothing really needs to be detailed on riding habits other than the fact that you need to anticipate more with more speed, e.g. four-lane road with cars merging from the side road on the right side. Get over to the left lane. Two-lane road with side roads full of cars. Look into their eyes and make sure they see you. If they're doing stupid stuff like doing their nails, talking/texting, etc., and you see them edge forward as if they're committing to pulling out onto the road, don't be afraid to flash your lights to brights rapidly to get their attention. In keeping with this concept, I'd highly recommend you get a brake/headlight modulator to "wake the cagers".

7) No more shaft drive so make sure you clean that chain every so often and check your sprockets for excess teeth wear and do the regular maintenance on the bike. Some say every 2000-3000 miles, do oil changes and after 2 or 3k, put synthetic oil in her. Since you have a machine capable of 185+ mph, in my opinion anyway, regular maintenance becomes more important since you'd probably rather not have something go wrong doing something a tad more "interesting" than while on the Harley.

You'll find an awful lot of information here about maintenance, accessorizing your bike, etc. so feel free to use the Search feature - I do it often. The '14 has a few very small quirks which I'm sure you'll find soon if you haven't already, but I think this website has done an outstanding job of addressing them and, in many cases, resolving them with pretty creative solutions.

Feel free to ask anything, no matter how trivial and there's no experience like miles and miles of seat time.

Have fun and enjoy yourself, ride safe and stay watchful of inattentive drivers.

Best of Luck!

Great advice from loadedmind. I recently went from an '07 FLTR to my '06 ZX14. The first thing you are going to feel oddly is the dynamics of steering. Instead of handlebars coming back toward you, you will have to get use to them twisting below you. Next is the speed perception. This bike isn't your fathers Oldsmobile. It will reach triple digits extremely quick causing you to come into corners hotter than you might expect, so be aware of the power. Even down low, it can get away from you.

On a different note, I just added the Heli-Bar Risers below my GenMar Risers and love them. Blue07 helped me on that one. FYI. If you do the double stacked risers you have to get the bolts from Fastenal. They are the only ones that I found who had them locally. 8mm x 1.25 x 90mm.

Keep us updated on your progress. I suggest spending allot of time on sweepy roads that let you get use to the feel before you get aggressive.

excellent job on aircraft id Blue 07. I did fly one and also the F16C. I am still riding my 92 FXDC harley. I do plan on taking it slow and learning how this bike handles. Although I have been riding for 32 years I am sure this bike is VASTLY different from what I am used to riding. The two week wait is because I am cheap and bought the bike quite a distance from where I live. That is as soon as i have time off to go get it .... this job thing gets in the way of my life.

* Last updated by: Fr8flyer on 5/8/2010 @ 8:55 AM *

Thanks for the great advice Loaded and Slidder, I plan on following it.

I'm one of the few harley guys wearing armor although I hide it under my clothes so not to stick out to much lol. Also the full face helment for me is a must. I will admit in my younger years this was not always the case. I am looking for some better boots for this bike and am sure there are lots of good ideas on this forum.

I have given up racing karts and this is the new toy. It should look great next to the harley in my garage.

Welcome, Fr8flyer!

I see you've already got some great feedback from some of the guys.

And yes, you WILL notice a bit of a difference with 100 more horsepower <grin>... Stay safe!

We look forward to hearing how your adventure unfolds. -bg

towed my new 08 zx14 the 600 miles to my home yesterday. No problems thanks to the help from everyone online. Just put the first 100 miles on her this morning. The riding position is extremely different from my 92 harley but that is what i was looking for. The zx is much easier to handle in corners and the i can barely tell the engine is running going down the highway. Even staying below the 4k rpm break in limit she has way more power then my other bike. I had a grin from ear to ear when i got finished my first ride.

I also finished watching a dvd called a twist of the throttle 2. I thought it was really good.

Here's hoping that grin from ear to ear is something you will never lose... -bg

passed the 500 mile marker and now can let the engine breath a tad. As I let up at 6000rpm I could think only one thing " this is going be fun "

Ya...Keith Code is an excellent source for riding info.Got both his books myself.Don't know if it's necessary,but I heard it was...to allow the engine to take several breaks(heat cycling).Stop...let it cool off for 10,15 minutes,then continue on.Also.....I was told to seat the valves by taking er up to the recommended rpms at breakin and then coast in gear for a ways(downhill)to help em seat.????It didn't hurt mine anyway!Not a drop of oil burning at 32,000+ miles now.After passing the breakin...I took mine up to around redline in several gears...and then coasted downhill in gear.Mine runs great.I've had er wide open in 6th...and I mean held open for a ways, and never has she skipped a beat.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/5/2010 @ 3:41 AM *

I also will recommend another book "Total Control by Lee Parks" and the DVD "Faster" which is about MotoGP

Welcome to the boards. Yes a big difference in handling and power, some good advice already posted and some good book recommendation. Get the first twist of the wrist book and the second series will fall right into place.

Shoot me an address and I'll mail you an excellent book on performance street riding. The only thing I ask is when your done with it do the same and pass it on to another new sport rider. I'll shoot you a pm with my email address.

Be safe and most of all have funnnn!

I took my first ride today after my break in period of 1000 miles has been completed. Some guy stopped me last week in a parking lot to talk about my bike and invited me to join a group of riders who meet on Sunday morning's for a quick ride through the country side. Perfect

Well as I waited I saw the guys pull up in mostly in full leathers and exotic Ducati's. Had a fantastic time on my new bike. It really was what I had purchased the bike for. Long fast triple digit sweepers and some tighter 25 mph switchbacks and then hanging out talking about motorcycles. the Zx 14 sure held up to the test of allowing an average rider to keep pace. The slow in and fast out approach is great with all the horsepower that is available. I am amazed at the feeling as she comes out of the corner and stands up.

Soon I'll order some saddlebags and am looking forward to a couple of short trips.

* Last updated by: Fr8flyer on 7/11/2010 @ 7:14 PM *

I had the same experience this past weekend. Up till now, I have mainly ran 200 to 500 mile trips with some pulling the trailer. Loadedmind invited me to ride with some of his friends and I had a blast. I never get tired of the "Closing Speed" on this baby. All you have top do is hold her down. It has bee about 18 years since I got to ride with a group like that."SSWWEEEETT!!!!!"