Greatings, just wanted to say hey. New to the forum but not new to riding. My sole purpose here is to learn about the ZX14.... the, good, bad & ugly. I have been admiring them for some time and while I like my fjr I'm thinking of adding something with a little more punch in the future. The 14 is one of the best looking bikes out there IMHO. Just gathering info. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions but I promise I'll use the search feature first.

thanks

* Last updated by: 1wheelpeel on 7/28/2009 @ 11:55 AM *

Welcome, 1wheelpeel. Not too much bad and ugly about the 14, but you'll learn a lot of good here. -bg

Welcome Welpeel,
It's big, fast, hard to tame if that is your game. This bike is not built for wimps. Wimps come and go on these. Kind of weeds out the breed. You have that kind of gambling hand on the card stack is a cable ripit or two is 4-Sale once the wimp arrives at your right hand.

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I like my fjr I'm thinking of adding something with a little more punch

You've come to the right place.
The 14 has what you want, smoothness, best in the league, predictable power (punch) and ride comfort, for being a sport bike. Not like the FJR for comfort, but tolerable.

Many people that own a 14 here have had quit allot of bikes, and even though yea they are loyal to the 14, will admit to experiencing one of the BEST bikes money can buy.
But sometimes it's personal what a rider likes in a bike.
I for one, love the smooth engine, along with the smooth and not choppy suspension, GREAT brakes, very relaxed riding position, the ability to lean the bike over pretty hard in tight stuff,(Deals Gap kind of stuff), and of course the power delivery, very predictable and strong.

Welcome aboard.....by the way.

Hi 1wheel! You'll get all the info you need here. I'm almost at 10,000 miles and i have no complaints.

Everyone has there little gripes/worries but it doesn't amount to much. I hear a lot of complaints about noises. The shift from N-1 and 1-2 will make an audible clunk. There's a vibe between 3.5K - 4K which causes some noises. You here the same description over and over of a ticking noise and that is always just the tip over sensor which needs to be snugged up in it's bracket. You'll hear of a few 14s with blown engines. Admittedly that is serious sh!t but it doesn't seem to be real common. I can remember 3 members over the past year having such trouble. A lot of posts about the bike's temp gauge running high but the only overheat i have ever heard of was a guy who ran at high speed for hours on end. Yes the bike does throw a lot of heat back at the rider in hot weather at low speeds and stoplights.

On the other hand, the bike is very comfortable to ride for hours at a time and it has way more power at any rpm than you ever need for street riding. It handles extremely well for a big bike and the brakes you will appreciate if you ever need to slow down or stop in an emergency. The headlights will give you a great view of the road at night. It is easy to work on. It is the best looking bike ever built, IMO.

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Welcome, 1wheelpeel

Thanks for the help Bill.

It's big, fast, hard to tame if that is your game. This bike is not built for wimps. Wimps come and go on these. Kind of weeds out the breed.

Hub not all of my riding is on such docile steads as the fjr and nine. I have ample seat time on my brothers GSXR1K. This little cutie was put on a diet and trimed down to just under 370lbs wet, and is putting just over 170hp to the ground, which makes for a pretty fun power to wieght ratio. But I tend to like the heaver bikes and a little more comfort ergos.
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I for one, love the smooth engine, along with the smooth and not choppy suspension, GREAT brakes, very relaxed riding position, the ability to lean the bike over pretty hard in tight stuff

EP that sounds Good!

Everyone has there little gripes/worries but it doesn't amount to much. I hear a lot of complaints about noises. The shift from N-1 and 1-2 will make an audible clunk. There's a vibe between 3.5K - 4K which causes some noises. You here the same description over and over of a ticking noise and that is always just the tip over sensor which needs to be snugged up in it's bracket.

Rook that's the kind of info I'm looking for. Just the facts, not the sky is falling. :)

Thanks for the welcome guys I'll probably have questions for you later.

* Last updated by: 1wheelpeel on 7/31/2009 @ 10:48 AM *

Welcome to the forum. You should find what you need here. This site is great as it gets you the information you need with less BS than the other sites. Whenever you have a question just ring.