zx-14

I traded my fjr a while back although I loved that bike it just was not working for the wife and I. Missed the speed, smoothness, ability to turn without scraping pegs. I bought a Yamaha stratoliner and we have customized and enjoyed it but really wanted another fj or something like it. Was at the local motorcycle shop getting heated grips for my stratoliner and found a great deal on a lightly used 2008 zx-14 SE. Only 2,900 miles on her. Love this bike, seat is garbage but I feel that way about any stock seat. Hits much harder that the fjr and I felt the fj was no slouch. Am really happy to be back with a liquid cooled more modern bike although I love the strat and its big air cooled engine (I call it the Cadillac after driving the zx). Now I feel I have a very nice machine for 2 up and a bike for commuting to and from work and occasional rides for me.

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Ok posting a picture is kicking my butt. Trying to use photobucket.

RaiderBill said:

Ok posting a picture is kicking my butt. Trying to use photobucket.

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Join the club. I've had several people give me specific instructions on how to post pics & I still can't manage to get it to work from photobucket. Don't know if it is settings on own computer that are preventing it or what, but it's definitely frustrating.

Congrats on your ZX-14. I have another buddy I sometimes ride with that has a newer one & it's a sweet ride.

2008 ZX-14......been there, done that......for 9400 miles. It was a hoot for a couple of years and then it started gathering dust in the garage. Hope the new owner uses it more than I did.

My wife asked me which I would rather have a fjr or a zx and she was surprised when I said fjr. I mean only if you own one bike the definitely the fjr but since I have a cruiser the zx is good to go.

Does the Zx have any vibration problems? I'm looking to buy an '11 ninja 1000 and the reviews say it has vibration at 7000 rpms and above.

Zbear said:

Does the Zx have any vibration problems? I'm looking to buy an '11 ninja 1000 and the reviews say it has vibration at 7000 rpms and above.

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My son has a 2011 Ninja 1000 and I have never noticed much of a vibration problem. If your ripping through the gears your only above 7000 rpm for brief periods. If your cruising at 7000 rpm in 6th gear your going way too fast. Its a fun / fast bike that leaves my Ducati 999 in its dust on the straight aways.

Are the older ZX14s as quick as the newer ones? Trying to remember when they first came out.

On another note, this was post # 2000 for me. I was gonna post up something cool for this one. Oh well. Why bother tryin' to do something now that I've never done before...

Gary

garyahouse said:

Are the older ZX14s as quick as the newer ones? Trying to remember when they first came out.

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If you are asking about the original ZX14, the answer is yes....and no. The 2006/2007 models made higher peak HP but they were pretty soft below 5000 rpms. There were numerous internal engine changes in 2008 that changed the power curves but the peak HP dropped a bit. The 2008 started making power at about 3000 rpms and was pretty much at full boil by 3800 rpms (and it is really easy to keep the rpms above 3800). The drop off in peak power was actually caused by the engine running far too rich the last 1500 rpms, one of the magazines estimated that another 12-14 HP was available with a properly tuned PC. I never felt the need for more HP, my 2008 could stretch my arms all the way through 3rd gear, which was good for about 140 mph. I don't think there were any engine changes after 2008 until the ZX14R.

I agree with Abercrombie that if your above 7k on your revs you are moving out and wont stay there terribly long. I don't notice vibration when you are concentrating on not running out of road.