The obvious solution to the shattered plastic was to simply remove it all, go the street-fighter route. But the bike looks pretty naff. Replica plastic was ordered, including the tail section and some filler applied to the dented tank. Breakers were visited until I had a collection of pegs, bars, switches, lights, indicators, etc. A newish exhaust finishing off the package. I didn't bother with the spray job until I was sure everything was going to work properly, mindless optimism not one of my failings! It ended up dark blue and candy orange, looked very nice, too!
The ZZR weighed 500lbs, both looked it and felt it. The great slab of a petrol tank was sculpted for my legs but still left me splayed quite widely, was almost sexual in its embrace, all it needed... oops, sorry, this is a motorcycle magazine, isn't it? Anyway, the bike's a bit of a handful, especially at town speeds, the seventeen inch front wheel a bit reluctant to go where I wanted to go.
The bars weren't clip-ons but not far off, quite a stretch over the tank, a bit of wrist strain during the early days. None of this was immediately apparent, my only thoughts were down to trying to keep the bike from going airborne. The ZZR has a very direct throttle, giving it a bit of welly had the bike thrust forward like nitrous oxide had cut in. It was dead easy to get the front wheel off the ground without thinking about it, seemed to do 60mph in a blink of an eye.
Trying to ride through traffic in first gear, just a series of jerks, the mildest amount of throttle producing too much speed. It didn't really quiet down until it was in fourth! Even then, all it took was a flick of the wrist for it to lay down massive, seamless power that had the needles on the dials moving so fast I couldn't keep up with them.
The same went for road speed. The ton came up so rapidly and with such ease that it was more like 30mph on lesser machines. Put it into sixth, at 70mph there was a slight stutter, then the bike sprang forward, hit the ton and went into warp drive, putting the ton-fifty on the clock before I'd even had a chance to comprehend it. By the time I realised what was going to happen to my licence it was doing 165mph and I backed off pronto.
This bike spoilt me for all other motorcycles. It was so at ease at speed it left me a gibbering wreck more often than not. It began to settle down at 120mph but I think would've preferred 130mph. At the ton it was barely ticking over, ridiculously understressed. Before I'm raided by the men in blue, understand that I had a job in Germany and did most of my riding on the autobahn - honest!
I often breezed along at the ton-fifty for an hour, or so. It didn't strain the Kawasaki in any way (other than the 25mpg!) but it did my mind in - all it would take was some dozy cager (Volvo driven by a Brit on holiday?) to change his direction slightly and not even the Kawasaki's magnificent triple discs would've saved me, I couldn't be bothered wearing full leathers (too many Kraut shirt-lifters in Berlin where I was working) or armour (kids threw bricks at me in the town centre when so oddly attired), I don't think my body would've survived a 150mph tarmac interface. Ouch!
The ZZR was very, very stable even at insane speeds, the price paid for that a certain reluctance to” change direction on a whim. Setting it up for high speed bends wasn't a problem but changing direction if something happened could get the chassis all twisted up, not something you want to happen at 120mph with 500lbs of metal threatening to go out of control.
The bike came with Avon radials, gripped well in all conditions and lasted for 5500 miles. Stickier, higher tech tyres might've helped the bend swinging but I didn't fancy paying out for them, nor replacing them every 3000 miles or so. On consumables, the Oring chain needed little attention and the brake pads did about 5000 miles. Considering the speed and mass, not bad going.
Not that anyone buys this type of superbike for their running costs. No, it's all about speed, insane velocities and outrageous top ends 175mph in this case! That kind of velocity is too much for the human mind to take. At least not without a lot of practice, officer, because everything goes down so fast that a moment's inattention will have you in big trouble.
After six months and 10000 miles, the replica plastic began to crack up around its mounting holes. Thinner than stock, it was attacked by vibes in certain rev ranges, though I never really found that the secondary vibes had much affect on the rest of the chassis. Coming back to the UK on one occasion, it celebrated being thrown about in the ferry, by dropping the right hand fairing panel. A couple of bungee cords got me home.
For awhile, I rode around with the lower half of the fairing off but this did in the high speed acceleration, the aerodynamics of the fairing critical once you get over 125mph. A spare was eventually found in the breakers and fitted, belatedly sprayed - looked well weird in a different colour scheme.
Some minor irritants turned up - sticking calipers that squeaked in protest (WD40 worked), heavy corrosion on the wheels, silencers that had rattly baffles and went bang-bang on the overrun, a screen that cracked up (the 175mph flies probably did it in!), an ignition unit that went dead and a saddle that wore down to its base, leaving me squirming in agony. Nothing exactly major, but the sum of these problems, over amere couple months, added up to a certain amount of irritation.
The end of the German contract meant I was back in a cold, wintry England - the ZZR could lose me my licence in second gear! Town road surfaces, greasy with diesel, water and other rubbish, proved problematic for the bike's back wheel - the mildest amount of throttle had it hopping and skipping in protest and any wildness would've turned the bike around back the way it was coming.
Ever tried selling a bike like the ZZR1100 in winter? No-one wants to know, at least not for a half decent wedge. Fast falling prices of new Jap bikes didn't help. In fact, they were so low I was seriously considering a trade-in for something sensible, like a CBR600. Getting a test ride was a major headache, required leaving the ZZR, my credit cards and passport in the shop. I offered the girlfriend as well, but he took one look at her (typically Teutonic in girth) and waved her on to the back of the CBR.
Two-up, it needed an incredible amount of effort on the throttle to get anywhere fast. No thanks. The dealer didn't want to give up, offered me a go on a six cylinder 1500cc Gold Wing. I don't want one of those, - I almost screamed, but a free ride is a free ride... bugger me if the big Honda didn't turn out to be a laugh a minute. It was never going to be mind blowingly fast but my licence couldn't take that - what it had was a marvellous lump of torque from tickover, total protection from the elements (the ZZR's screen directed water straight into my neck and face) and a remarkable comfort. The radio and CD player were pretty neat, too.
I tried to keep a straight face, but the one year old grey import was reasonably priced and I got a large wedge for the ZZR. If you are shy and retiring you won't like this bike - people gawp at you, cagers cause pile-ups and little kids wave playfully. And I thought the ZZR had presence!
The latter bike's absolutely brilliant if you want warp speed, don't do much back road riding and can keep up with the running costs. In the UK, though, it's totally out of place unless you're into false numberplates and playing tag with the cop cars. I always laughed at Wing riders but the bikes are amazing for winter riding and moderate cruising, though, again, a bit of a handful on the back roads... at least it's got a reverse gear!
Eric Tanner