G'day all,

Name's Joel. From Sydney Australia, had my zx14 for probably 10-11 months now. Enjoying it more and more everyday. I love how it ticks all the boxes for me, in that it's:

1. Reliable (Jap engineering)
2. Great for touring.(Big 22 Litre tank.)
3. Great for commuting (great riding position)
5. Great for trackdays (bloody fast!!)
6. Looks great - Jap Kwakka quirkiness.
7. Has the peace of mind of ABS and TC.
8. Great for pillions.

And it's got an intimidation factor/ reputation!

My riding buddy's comment that the 14 seems to ride itself, and in na way I'd agree that it kinda does. It's so stable in the corners and so smooth just to cruise at any speed on. I've done some touring on it - but would love to do more longer trips.

I'm relatively inexperienced mechanically so one of the reasons I've decided to sign up is for the advice and technical know-how this forum can give me. That, and I'd love to see what other people are doing to their 14s.

For anyone other than Aussies, you guys probably aren't too familiar with the colour of my bike. It seems to be an Aussie only midnight-blue (black with blue flakes) and matte black side grills. I had the choice between that and the Special Edition model with green side grills but I actually think this is the better looking of the two. Shame we didn't get sky-blue and white like the US did though.

One thing that's marred my enjoyment of the bike is that I f*$king dropped it on the third day of ownership, having forgot I had a disc lock on the front wheel with no reminder cable. So I have a few scratches on the left hand side fairing. Really upsetting, but what can you do. Other than that, I love it - it sounds great with the carbon M4s and rides and wheelies real well.

Look forward to meeting everyone. Here's a few cool pics of my bike as antidote to my narcissitic drivel.

South of Sydney - Stanwell Tops, before installing M4s

Just with the new M4s on. Best looking pipes for the bike IMO - and go nicely with my color scheme.

And on a ride to Wisemen's Ferry North West of Sydney. Incredible ride. Just a pain to get to. With my mate on his XJ6f (or something.)

BTW, best complement I've ever had about my bike was, "You look like Batman or somehting, the things massive!" Haha!

Cheers, Joel.

You had me at #6 and narcissism. Welcome to the fun zone.

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G,day angryman Great specific ZX1400-1441ccR forum!

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It seems to be an Aussie only midnight-blue (black with blue flakes)

nup, we have the 2008 Gen1 ZX-14 in Midnight Sappire Blue in the US. That's my bike. I also had a garage tip over justa few after buying the bike. That really hurt. Probably got the lower, and a few spots on the side and the front directional light. What you can do is fill the pits and scratches in with clearcoat with a small brush. I polished the fresh application of clearcoat with a scratch remover buffed with a piece of cloth over the back of a spoon to hit just the spots with the clearcoat. It was tedious but it worked great. I still have the same lower on the bike 6 years later. The mirror bottom can be sanded smooth and sprayed with a satin black. Footpeg, probably broke the scraper peg off. Don't worry about it. You can use some JB Weld or epoxy and stick that back on if you want.

W E L C O ME !!!

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and good to have ya

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Cheers all!

Hi Joel

Bike looks good mate. I bought the SE with the Green flutes 2 months ago from Canberra.

Where did you get the M4s from? Did you notice a difference in performance?

Cheers
Nigel

Welcome aboard!

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Bike looks good mate. I bought the SE with the Green flutes 2 months ago from Canberra.

Where did you get the M4s from? Did you notice a difference in performance?

Cheers
Nigel

Hi Nigel, I got them off Gumtree, it was a lucky find. Paid half price for them. $450 all up, which is less than 50% off seeing they're going for $AUD1100 online (delivered).

No noticable difference in power - just sounds better, and is a little bit lighter. Oh, and looks fantastic.

You living in Canberra or just get the bike from there?

angryman; A little late, but I have a small square of the grip side of Velcro next to the keyhole on my disc lock, and next to my bike's ignition. Then I stick a larger square of the soft side Velcro over the keyhole of the lock. When I use the lock on the bike, I have to take off the square of velcro. I stick that square over the ignition on the bike. That way when I get back to the bike, I can't put the key in unless I remove the square. I unlock the lock, replace the square, and stow the lock. Safe, cheap, and practically foolproof. Replace the velcro once in a while and you're golden.

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Haha that's a good system - whatever reminds you I suppose. Yes the horse had kind of bolted there, but appreciate the good advice. I couldn't believe I dropped the bike on my third day - and in the dumbest way. The whole idea of sticking on the lock was to protect it from the small country town vandals (bought the bike in Brissy and rode it back to Sydney) and the point was to stop anything happening, but had I just left it unlocked, I wouldn't have dropped it and damaged it. Small irony there.

Joel

I am living in Canberra atm. From Brisbane (12 months ago).

Bought the bike local because price was right (same or better than Sydney dealers).

At first I didn't mind the original cans but I think I will look for new slip ons.

What other mods do you have?

Cheers
Nigel

Welcome Joel,
Great bike mate. It just gets better and better.
I live in Sydney and ride the same thing.
The pictures you posted of Otford are of my regular ride spot..
I'll more than likely see you out and about on her.
Good Stuff. Enjoy the forum..

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From Brisbane Joel.

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Congrats!

How does the big gal do on the track? I'm an old racer, and am getting the itch to do a track day. I keep leaning towards the ZX because I'm so happy with it on the road, but there is also the BMW S1000RR in the garage.....

@Nigel: Only mods I've done is the pipes. Except for a throttle/wrist rest for longer journeys.

@TheGunCollector: Haven't taken her to the track yet but Ive got a mate on an R6 who races and he's been trying to get me to the track for years. The day is approaching, that for sure.

@1400r & Martin61: Thanks guys!

Hey Joel, I think your bike looks awesome, mainly because it's the same as mine. Like you, I dropped mine shortly after buying it. Sad side stand story. But all repaired now and back to the beautiful midnight sapphire blue. I know I am late to your welcome but excited to see another Aussie in the same colour.

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