From what I gathered the new ZX-10 is lighter and more refine

Where did you hear this Dragmeister? I thought the bike was unchanged since '11 except for BNG and electronic steering damper.

I want that 10, it just looks bad ass and then I want some of Kruz's money to hook it up!

Yeah, me too. I'm so poor I had to make my own smilie.

Where did you hear this Dragmeister? I thought the bike was unchanged since '11 except for BNG and electronic steering damper

You're right. I watched the review again and I misspoke. This is still the lightest Japanese liter if I'm not mistaken. The shock is supposed to be the weak link on this one but Ohlins made one that plugs into the ECU. Sounds promising!

I agree with Rook! I would get rid of the CBR and maybe the cruiser and get the ZX-6R to go racing on the track. You could also get the MV since the fueling issue has been fixed. It's going good so far in WSBK.

* Last updated by: dragking on 4/19/2014 @ 2:43 PM *

I shot them an offer of $13K drive out on the HRC, one word back from sales manager...."NO". I guess they don't need any of my money.

Well here's what I finaly ended up making a deal on, picking the Red was a surprise to me, it is the best looking color in person but for some reason is not as photogenic as some other colors. I pick it up in the morning.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 4/24/2014 @ 6:16 AM *

Nice choice Kruz - I'm looking at getting a second machine myself, but think I am going to opt for a 600.
You're right though, some colours just look waaaayyyy better in person.
Congratulations - drive safe and enjoy.

+1 on the 600, there is no more fun I have than on my ZX-6R, you can just about put it anywhere in a corner. I love riding my ZX-14 but a 600 puts the biggest grin on my face.

Went out at lunch and signed the paperwork on a 2014 R6 in the Matte Grey.
You inspired me Kruz.... lol
as if I needed a push in that direction..

For real???? That is awesome ZX14beast, post up some pics for us.

I signed the paperwork and wrote the check out on the red CBR about 1 hour ago, no turning back now....lol! Will pick it up at 10:00 tomorrow morning.

DragMeister you're up next, Spring is in the air and everyone is going into debt on a new bike! Just Do It!

Yeah!!! JUST DO IT!!!

Yea baby....schweeeeet! Looks fantastic, I'll get some photos posted tomorrow of my new Red Rocket.

Drag, you're long over do for a new liter or 600, listen to the beastman....Just Do It!!!

nice bikes! You can tell Spring is in the air.

So it takes kruz four months and seven pages of discussion to buy a new bike and beast just says fuc it and goes out on his lunch break and buys a new one. Two extremes for sure. Congrats to you both.

I agree but in the end after four months and seven pages, mine still pretty much came down to an impulse buy, I am still surprised by what I ended up buying. Beast sounds like he had zeroed in on an R6 a long time ago, just needed a little inspiration to seal the deal.

She's home!

Those pics in your garage look better than the ones you found online.
Grats man, very nice colour... I get mine next week on Thursday - so lame, and yeah, I've owned a 2008 R6 in the past and I rode a friends new 2012 Wednesday night, so didn't take much inspiration to get motivated... lol

Full ride report later, not blown away yet compared to my '07 CBR 1000RR (highly modified) or my '11 ZX-10R but I only have 7 miles coming home on the freeway so far. Need to get some break in miles on it and open it up a bit.

Initial impressions, bike is sewing machine quiet, very smooth, really nice and light clutch action. Riding position feels a little different than the rest of my fleet, brakes feel a little soft in initial action but then firm up. Idle speed jumps around after restarting hot and then settles down. Steering felt a bit heavier than my other literbikes and 600 at freeway speed but she settles into a lean real nice and stable. I was down to about a 1/2 inch chicken strip on the 7 mile freeway ride home which is always a good sign, should be completely to the edge when I hit some twisties later today. I can't tell on power yet, my '07 CBR1000RR jumps out of the gate, tons of low end power and then settles into a long smooth pull to redline but then it has an Akrapovic, PC3 and tuned. My ZX-10R has similar low end to the new Honda but I think the CBR has a stronger midrange surge, too early to tell yet as I never got much above 6000 rpm on the way home. Cycle World says this bike runs a stock 9.82 seconds at 147 mph in the quarter, that's quick, their 2012 BMW S1000RR was only .04 seconds quicker at a 9.78 so I think this bike is going to be fast once it gets loosened up a bit.

Those pics in your garage look better than the ones you found online

...hope you end up being very impressed with teh performance.

now pick your least favorite bike and get it to the track! If yo crash you have back-ups waiting!

Juries still out on the performance aspect of the new bike. I just did 35 miles of superslab and managed to get enough lean on while doing the overpasses to finish off the rear chicken strips; so this bike does like to get over on it's side. I don't get the part about this bike having 600 like handling though in all the magazines, no more so than than my other liter bikes. Front brakes are definitely a notch below Kawasaki in both initial bite and ultimate braking force. Turn in is about the same as my older CBR and my ZX-10R.

Mid turn stability seems superior to my other bikes and that's always been a strong point of this bike, just feels really trustworthy when heeled over. Suspension feels pretty good, as in I really didn't notice it doing anything wrong and it seemed to handle the freeway expansion joints pretty well. I think the rear shock is a bit soft and the Big Piston forks ride a bit high in their travel which affects agility and turn in.

Powerwise, the low end feels soft, my old CBR feels like a torque monster by comparison and even the 10R feels pretty similar in low down pull. There is a nice midrange surge but I haven't gotten into the full throttle yet so can't say if it's going to clobber the other bikes there. I hope so, midrange is what this bike is supposed to be about.

The bike seems pretty well screwed together although the battery was dead and would not hold a charge so they replaced it. There was also what felt like a half inch of slack in my throttle cable. I think they do this to keep newbs from looping the bike in the dealer's parking lot. I do like the tachometer better then the LED unit on the ZX-10R, easier to read.

Hoping to get a ride in tomorrow with Jagman and do some twisties so I'll get a beter picture of what it can do.

My takeaway so far from all of this is that even though 5 years separate my two CBRs, they are a lot more similar than different and in some areas the old bike may have an edge. I'm beginning to think that modding an old bike can definitely be a viable way to keep from having to invest in a new machine all the time.

I noticed this same phenomenon with my Gen 3 and Gen 4 ZX-10Rs, the Gen 4 was better in some areas and worse in others ,so kind of a mixed bag.

Beast is my bestie, one thing for sure he changes his bikes as often as his undergarments. We've not seen the last of noon hour purchases. That said, Kruz has a very handsome stable. Both men have enviable zeal and brass balls!
W

Oops, my bad, skip that last evaluation, this thing is a freakin midrange monster, fast becoming my favorite bike! I had a couple of setup issues that I had to correct and that made all of the difference in the world. The throttle had over 1/4" of free play straight from the factory and I as a consequence I was not opening the throttle as much as I thought I was and thought the throttle response was poor. I tightened it up to about 1/16' and now she has instant throttle response. I also adjusted the brake lever and got the pads bedded in and now the front brake performance is stellar, equivalent to my ZX-10R Nissin setup. The tires were over inflated which was making the handling a bit nervous. The front had 38 lbs cold and rear had 42 cold, I dropped them to 35 and 37 respectively and now she drops into corners like she's on rails. I got in a good ride this morning and finally got to open it up a little, 9000-10,000 rpm and this thing pulls like nothing I've ever ridden. Even my 14 doesn't pull like this! This bike really is as good as they say it is, I give it a 9 or better pretty much in every category. I want to be cautious though comparing the handling to the other bikes as any competent machine will feel like a million dollars when it's on brand new front and rear tires.

Wow! Congratulation to you guys! Kruz, I'm a little bit underwhelmed by your choice. I don't think that it will scratch that itch for long. Unless, maybe you make the other CBR your dedicated track bike but even then...
Beast choice is great in my opinion. Perfect compliment to a stretched turbo bike. I'm waiting for a more detailed evaluation of the bike because there can't be that much difference between the 07 and the one you just bought. Service the fork oil etc and ride them back to back. Also, why not the SP? You've got a lot of questions to answer Kruz! Ok, I'm down busting your bubble. Again, Congratulation. Myself, I'm still in no hurry, I would like to do a couple of track days on the 14 first and see how I progress. When I find out the bike is slowing me down, I will be looking into getting that sweet ZX-10 or maybe the new R1.

* Last updated by: dragking on 4/30/2014 @ 1:56 PM *

Wait until I get some mods on there Drag, first order of business is to get that hideous mud flap off the back, I ordered the Targa tail and it should arrive on Friday. Next order of business is my signature Yoshimura carbon fiber pipe to liven things up. I've now got 138 miles on the new bike and my thoughts are starting to crystallize a bit. This bike is all about refinement, dinner with the queen manners. Honda has polished this thing like a fine gem stone. Fueling is flawless, power delivery smooth as Kentucky Bourbon with a nice midrange bulge and an early sign off. Low end a bit on the soft side. Transmission shifts like buttah, clutch is light and smooth action, brakes are strong and well modulated, ergos are spot on, maybe a hair high on the foot pegs for my longish legs. Turn in and line holding is about as good as it gets, light and accurate, drops into a turn effortlessly. The engine is quiet and smooth, almost no vibes at cruising speed on the freeway. Suspension is well damped, almost plush. I suspect I would need to stiffen up both ends if I were to go racing with it. Bottom line, Honda has built the most refined superbike on the planet with absolutely no bad manners or visible flaws. Only drawback is it doesn't scare you, there is no fear that you must tame it's wild side, just hop on and go, feels like you've been riding it forever! It's the Honda Civic of superbikes, does everything well and your mom would approve of it. Without a doubt, this has to be the finest sportbike for the road ever made but it needs some edginess to it. That's where the mods are going to come in.

The dealer I bought from had an SP but I just couldn't justify the 18 grand drive out price....absolutely no discounts! In the end, after a four month long journey, the CBR just grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go! Of course the pricing didn't hurt either. If I'd gone Euro flavor, I'm afraid the relationship would be short lived, too many compromises in those machines with exception of the BMW. What killed the deal on that one was I got to ride a '12 model....hard and came away a little underwhelmed. The vaunted top end hit is at stratospheric revs, I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen. The Honda is immediate gratification, same pull just in the midrange where it's easy access. Look at Cycle World's 2012 test of these two bikes, 4 hundredths of a second split their 1/4 mile times, 9.78 vs 9.82, not a lot in my opinion considering a neary 25 HP advantage on top for the BMW.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 4/30/2014 @ 6:26 AM *