zx10r, opinions?

jim o doom

Hey there, replacing my KTM Superduke 990 (07) in the next week or so with a zx10r (also 07) - having looked at the prices of bikes going around it seems like the purest racing bike around (of japanese ilk anyway) for reasonable cash, and to my knowledge there are as few zx10rs on the road as there are superdukes (it's nice driving something that's rare on the road).


It won't be my everyday vechicle, I have an 03 z1000 already for that. and to the question; Anybody have any opinions/good or bad experiences with the zx range? what d'yis think, a good move or a bad one?

Wossack

wouldnt say purest... rawest probably

jim o doom

raw, the way I like my steak (well not quite) Which race bike would you say is the purest - I heard the zx described as the most focussed racing bike but of course that was just a reviewers opinion ..

agent_smith

Personally I drove the zx10 (model year 07) and TBH i was not at all impressed. It is not an easy bike to drive fast. It is frightening , quite simply the head shakes under any sort of heavy acceleration. Try doing the same on an r1, blade or gsxr and you get smooth controlled acceleration.
All depends on what you want, but unless you are rossi any 1 liter bike out there is more than powerful (in fact i woudl argue too powerful for the likes fo track days in mondello).
If it was my money, (which it was a year ago) i woudl go with the blade (07 year) or the r1. The look 10 times nicer IMHO to the gsxr and kwak. But horses for courses !

Steffano2002

agent_smith wrote: »

[...]If it was my money, (which it was a year ago) i woudl go with the blade (07 year) or the r1. The look 10 times nicer IMHO to the gsxr and kwak. But horses for courses !

That's what I did a month or so ago! Got myself an 07 'blade and never been happier! For a Supersport bike it is super friendly and comfy! I use it every day to commute and it's great!

And for reliability you can't go wrong with Honda! As for Kwak...

Wossack

I think the purest sportsbike should be the quickest (and easiest) round a track - in which case its hard to beat the gixxers and blades tbh...

macnab

OP have you had a spin on the ZX10, personally I would keep the KTM over any of those bikes, super dukes rock

agent_smith

The r1 won masterbike (international) competition in 07 for best jap .
that said... im anxiously waiting for the new 1. It has a cross plane crankshaft and the soudn clips of the new engine are simply orgasmic

Steffano2002

agent_smith wrote: »

The r1 won masterbike (international) competition in 07 for best jap .
that said... im anxiously waiting for the new 1. It has a cross plane crankshaft and the soudn clips of the new engine are simply orgasmic

The new R1 looks manky though... Nearly as bad as the new Fireblade!

agent_smith

Thats true.... but to be honest... i think all 09 jap bikes look terrible with their massive fugly cans. I reckon a nice stubby exhaust would transform the new r1. That said , i am in no way a fan of the bug eyes on the front of the new r1. horrible. The new gsxr is even uglier than the last one. The fireblade i thought was horrenduous when i first saw it but funnily enough it has started to grow on me! the kwak is still butt fugly for next year....
Probably the only attractive new bike stock for next year will be the rsv4... that looks incredible. Can't wait for ducati dublin to get them into stock

jim o doom

Cheers for the info all Yeah I had a shot on it alright - I know it's not as refined as the other machines, but I like it fairly raw (I was on a superduke prior to this trade) - dropping in to trade it in today; once again cheers

batman_oh

the 2004 2005 model is way better and doesnt look crap
wouldnt go near that model 10r myself

agent_smith

The very best of luck with your new wheels! Keep her between the ditches

jim o doom

batman oh - I actually really like the styling on the 07 zx10.. but each to his own! (the newer ones are more powerful too - this one is 160 bhp that's more than most of my mates cars!! )
Agent smith - I shall endeavour to remain road bound

agent_smith

this thread is useless without... PICS! so go on ... show us your new pride and joy

jaycen

It's a good move, personally I think the R1 is the closest to racer but there's hardly a rizzla between the big 4's superbike offerings, you won't be disapointed.

It's defiantely the rawest of the 4, not the fastest though.

batman_oh

jaycen wrote: »

It's a good move, personally I think the R1 is the closest to racer but there's hardly a rizzla between the big 4's superbike offerings, you won't be disapointed.
It's defiantely the rawest of the 4, not the fastest though.

Fastest doesnt matter really, i got a good 07 r1 making 171bhp at the wheel. My mates 04 zx10r makes 155. The r1 only starts to pull away at 240+kmh so its pretty irrelevant for anything other than USA style highway squidding. The 10r kills the r1 on part throttle grunt though, the r1requires absolute wide open throttle to move at a good pace. Suitable to the track but not always on the road
Enjoy the new bike, try get a few spins in before it gets really crap out

agent_smith

batman_oh i have the same bike as you model year 07/08 r1 with the 16v engine. Before I bought the one originally i was almost certainly going to buy the gsxr due to more low down grunt. I then had the opportunity to drive both a 07gsxr with an after market can and the one with the after market can... made a world of difference. The r1 i have now has an aftermarket end can, and is pretty much straight throuh Apart from sounding awesome, it completely changes the low down grunt... a worthwhile modification IMHO.

Steffano2002

agent_smith wrote: »

batman_oh i have the same bike as you model year 07/08 r1 with the 16v engine. Before I bought the one originally i was almost certainly going to buy the gsxr due to more low down grunt. I then had the opportunity to drive both a 07gsxr with an after market can and the one with the after market can... made a world of difference. The r1 i have now has an aftermarket end can, and is pretty much straight throuh Apart from sounding awesome, it completely changes the low down grunt... a worthwhile modification IMHO.

Did you also get a Power Commander and a run on a Dyno to get it all set-up right?

I'm thinking of getting an Akra slip-on end-can with a PCIII to make sure the fuelling is spot on all the way through the rev. range. I rang Adelaide and they told me it wouldn't cost me a penny to make this mod!

agent_smith

The lads in redzone (eddie laycock) set it all up perfect for me. Dont think they needed the powercommander. basically replaced the downpipe, end cans and lambda sensor. AFAIK, the lads have one of those yamaha ECU remapping gizmo thingys... whatever they did, the fueling is spot on. no quibs. and power is fantastically delivered.

batman_oh

agent_smith wrote: »

batman_oh i have the same bike as you model year 07/08 r1 with the 16v engine. Before I bought the one originally i was almost certainly going to buy the gsxr due to more low down grunt. I then had the opportunity to drive both a 07gsxr with an after market can and the one with the after market can... made a world of difference. The r1 i have now has an aftermarket end can, and is pretty much straight throuh Apart from sounding awesome, it completely changes the low down grunt... a worthwhile modification IMHO.

I put akra cans, the y-piece, bmc filter and power commander and got it mapped so mine was miles better than standard. Was up near 10bhp everywhere. the low end still wasnt great, especially on part throttle where to be honest it sucks. At less than 100% throttle its way down on power compared to the other litre bikes. It needs wide open throttle to make sense. Made a whole **** load of sense then tho! Dyno'd 171.5 on DLM's dyno, about 14 up on a stock k6 and crazily 7 more than my mates 07 r1 with a full micron on the same dyno
I only used it for fast spins and the track so it was fine for me, but i traded it for a 2008 blade a couple of weeks back anyway as i fancied tryin the thing every1 is ravin about
I loved the r1, but the engine is a wee bit flawed for road use

agent_smith

The blade is supposed to be an amazing beast to drive... I've heard nothing but good things about it. How do you find it ?

batman_oh

Awesome so far, tiny little yoke and so easy to chuck about, feels the size of a current 600(with a little more weight!)
the engine is savage from 6000 to the redline, really strong and linear
Really liking it, just hoping it doesnt develop the oil eating issue that many have :pac: it most likely will! but i knew this before i bought it so cant complain
Looks wise its a grower, still crap compared to the r1 though!
I keep tellin myself im gonna stop buyin new stuff every year and spend the money on a track bike and i hope this one will keep me away from other new **** for a while!

agent_smith

i hear ya. TBH sometimes im half tempted to just sell the one, and get a naked again. Then a good day comes along and i get to do the twisties all over again. I have a serial bike changing condition, I'm neither brand, nor bike loyal . Im already thinking about my next superbike... either rsv4 , 1098s, 09 r1 (looks wise this is growing on me.. what the hell are the japs all doing at the moment styling wise :S ).
I'm surprised to hear about the oil burning.. Honda's have such a rep for good quality build and reliable engines. I'm sure your prob hearing about the one or two duds with vocal owners. People never go online to praise their bikes..

batman_oh

The Aprilia could be interesting if priced decently, although I am scared of their resale value, pretty impossible to shift the RSV at any sort of decent money
The ducati is an 1198 from next year so that should spice things up nicely for it. Claiming 10bhp extra which should push it to around 150 real power and more torque too. Lots of issues with the 1098, but some people seem to get ones that give no trouble, a bit of a lottery but most things are small and annoying rather than terminal death issues :pac:
Gixxer will have the peak power engine it seems, but looks too samey to k7,
the R1 is definitely interesting for the sound alone, i dont hate the looks either. I think the R1 is the only Jap bike i would consider switchin to, they havent moved things on hugely and the looks have generally gone backwards, so this is helping me resist changing again! Unless that 1198 gets me :P