Just SO glad I got the zx14....never get bored or tired of her....best bike I ever owned!Forest Ninja

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/24/2014 @ 11:52 AM *

Hey Grn going dirt biking on the big Girl ? Nice pic.

Agreed. Best bike I've ever owned. Not perfect, but no bike is. I wish it was more comfortable while still looking this good, but it's just not possible.

I'd like the comfort, storage & shaft drive of a C14, with the looks, speed and handling of the ZX14R. I know I can add bags, top case, taller windscreen, bar risers, etc, but most of those detract from the looks, IMO. Everything's a compromise, of course ... but the stock ZX14R is best for me.

Awesome bike. Best decision of my life when I ordered mine.

"Hey Grn going dirt biking on the big Girl ? "....always trying something newLOL!!!Hell...she does everything else;)

Loving mine as well, the other bike I wanted was a VFR1200 but hardly anyone on the VFR site could claim their VFR was the best bike they've owned. Screw that! The 14R makes so many bikes out there feel pretty pathetic. Hail the Kawi engineers!

Extrapolator. Convertibars have made mine as comfortable as any bike I've owned. The reach to the bars even stock isn't that bad compared to other big bikes so it responds really well to bar mods. No reason to consider this an uncomfortable bike by any means. You just have to add $$$

I moth-balled mine 2 weeks ago and have been missing riding terribly. Got it back out today due to nice weather today and forecast the next couple days.

Anyway, rode 150 miles. finally topped it out! Holy crap is this thing a blast! I made my rounds at my favorite spots to get my lean on, got the Metz pretty melty too.

I "raced" someone what was great around a 100-120 mph curve my mighty 14R was still pulling away! I don't know how people say this bike can't corner ("it's not a true supersport" commonly said by people) cause goddamn I get it to corner! What a great day!

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Did the thought come to mind..."what if?"....LOL!!!!

What if I had my speed limiter removed? IKR I could've probably hit at least 195!

She's a mighty beast. Tame when you want her to be, a beast when you really twist the rist, corners at ease...loved here...gonna have to relearn when new bike gets here. Over 3 months with no wheels....ughhhh

"Back in the Saddle Again"....;)

Not sure it's the best bike I've ever had, though probably in the top 3. Liked it so much that 2 weeks after buying an 07' I went out and bought a new one to go with it.

Not sure it's the best bike I've ever had, though probably in the top 3.

Do tell ... what were the other two??!

"Do tell ... what were the other two??!"

89' FJ 1200, 98' 916. In time it may outrank the others. Being in the top 3 out of 27 bikes isn't bad. This will probably be my last internal combustion street bike. My cars and 1 bike are EV, about time I concentrate on EV motorcycles.

..."out of 27", LOL!!! Although at my young age (fixin to turn 65 an a coupla' months), I should keep quiet about "numbers", LOL!!! Did get me thinking though.... and when one is thinking about what Medicare supplement plan to sign up for, let alone the ever decreasing pee break intervals..., thoughts of any value are to be cherished; and just in case one forgets at which station the train of thought arrived at before the last pee break, written down...
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So... Below is a list of my "days of future past". Trust me! This list is not any measure of my long past Biker Manliness - Nope... It's just a list that some of you will find nostalgic, and probably in some cases bring back some memories. There is no "comparison" between most of the bikes and the ZX14R. It's not even apples and oranges any more; those days are over for most on the list. As Pink Floyd said, "The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime".

1968 Triumph 500 (1971-1972) - sold to buy Norton
1968 Triumph 500 (1971 - wrecked - bought for parts to fix the one above....)
1973 Norton Commando 750 (New 1973-1975) Sold when I went back to US for 18 months)
1974 Honda 250 (1975 - cheap run around post bike)
1975 Yamaha 250 (1976 - cheap run around post bike...)
1968 Triumph 500 (1977 - converted hard tail, 24" springer, "chopper" - could not resist it...)
1974 Honda CB750 (1977-1978 - cafe racer!)
1975 BMW 750 (1978-1979)
1975 Honda CB750 (1979-1980)
1983 Yamaha 350 (1983-1984 - I think it was a 350, etc., used to go back and forth to college)
1984 Suzuki Katana (1985)
1985 Yamaha FJ1100 (1985)
1985 Honda VF750R (1985)
1985 Honda VF1000RR (1985-1995 then bought it back 1997-1998)
1999 - 2002 - Raise my children break...
1986 Honda VF750R (2003-2006)
2006 Harley 883 (2006-2012)
2007 Harley 883 (2010-2012)
2008 Honda CB1000RR (2012-2013)
2012 Kawasaki ZX6R (2012-2013 and then bought it back 2013-2014)
2012 Honda CB1000RR (2013)
2013 Kawasaki ZX14R (2013-2014)
2013 Kawasaki ZX10R (2014)
2014 Kawasaki ZX14R - current "ride"

So what's the best bike anyone has ever owned?
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For me, now after 43 years, and in retrospect... the 14R is the best. The most sophisticated, power, etc.
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But as the years went by... a few others stood out: The Norton Commando (even with it's quirks...), The BMW, and the VF1000RR. If had been able to find a good condition 1985-1986 VF1000RR six months ago, that would have been my choice. I looked... but they are "antiques" now, and antique (or vintage...) does not translate into reliability or availability of parts, etc. ~30 years is a long time for any motor... I'd rather ride than spend my waking hours covered in grease, oil and rebuild craziness - been there - done that...
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Take yourself back in time and ask the question... You might be surprised at what you conclude, LOL!!!

* Last updated by: groomlake on 10/31/2014 @ 7:01 AM *

Loved both my CBR900RR's back in the 90's ... and those were perfect for me at that age, mid 20's.

Now I love the big ZX ... perfect for me now, mid 40's.

I like to think the big ZX is the better of the two, since it's what I've got now, but hey a Honda is a Honda; those were fantastically built bikes, and cutting edge game changers for sport bikes. Of course they lacked the ZX's electronics, and I'm a gadget head when it comes to electronics. I mean, who doesn't wanna know the time and temp?!

Nice list groom. Had several of the bikes on that list as well, though I'm only 60 compared to your advance age of 65. I try to stay away from the "best" this or the "best" that. Rarely is anything really the best, be it bikes, oils, pipes, dogs or nations. Something may be the best to an individual, but often times declaring the best this or that serves to dismiss and disenfranchise other points of views. Curiously, some of the most fun I've had on a bike is the XR100's we use for training on the ranch. Still fun to slide both ends around on dirt, though not as fun or quick to recover when things go awry...

Looking back now, sure would have been cool if I had kept more of those past bikes...

Groomlake, do you have any of those old bikes still ? that 1975 CB 750 would be nice to have around,
I remeber drooling over it at the local Honda shop when I was only 16 years old ...

"that 1975 CB 750 would be nice to have around,
I remeber drooling over it at the local Honda shop when I was only 16 years old ..."....LOL!!That was my FIRST actual ride on an inline four....same age(I think...or damn close to it)...dealer let me take one out on the freeway....10 minute ride or so.REALLY wanted that model for several years after that...but it wasn't in the cards;)

Yea, I really wanted it too, but I got over it, when I got my GS1100 ! LOL !

Yeah...I went from my low 20's to upper 40's without a bike...and then...a 2000 Heritage...brand new...twin cam 88B...and really liked it;)After that got ripped off...went with a Kawasaki ZZR 1200....it was on after that!Never really looked back...except for a UltraClassic ElectraGlide used.Nice bike...but...not my real desire.Kinda bought it out of a whim...didn't keep it long...traded in for a zx12R....THEN it was really on;)Kawis ever since(sorry,'tried' a 2014 RoadKing a few months back...had that 24 hours...ditched it with the quickness..but never got rid of my Ninja;) )....

"Never really looked back...except for a UltraClassic ElectraGlide used.Nice bike...but...not my real desire." Grn

I stopped riding sportbikes in 2002 after a series of traumatic events. Picked up a mint 04' Sportster in 2011 (Sportster riders don't buy Sportsters because they want a Harley, they buy a Harley because they want a Sportster) and while it worked well as a therapeutic modality, as riding virtually any bike will do, it wasn't the same. Picked up the 07' ZX14 after promising SWMBO (with fingers crossed) that it really isn't that fast and I'd ride it just like I rode the Sportster. Like an idiot, I gave her a ride up HWY 1 to Big Sur which revealed just how big of a liar I can be. Fortunately, she liked it a lot and was foursquare okay with picking up a new one to go with the 07'. Now she is picking out helmets and riding gear...

"Now she is picking out helmets and riding gear..."...SWEET!!!!

I'll tell ya...I SERIOUSLY doubt I could EVER go back to a Cruiser style motorcycle...they just don't reach me the same way.

I had the 'pleasure' of transporting a Harley Sportster(40 miles or so)...I think it was a 1200...not sure...owned by a girl.I can definitely see the attraction for gals getting this model....being a guy... I thought it was gonna come apart at any minute,but for a gal....;)...seriously...how they sold so many of these...it's beyond meLOL!!!

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/31/2014 @ 11:03 AM *

I was actually surprised how well the rubber mount 1200 Sporty handled and how fast she could go, especially in the first 1/8 mile. Much better than I remember the Harley's of 30-40 yrs. ago. Doesn't leak a drop and with the right upgrades it can be a nice bike. The forward controls, while perfect for around town, began killing my back on rides over 3 hours. Still, you think it is well built and fast until you ride a newer sportbike. Not even close. I got the Sporty as a compromise not thinking it could go fast enough to get me in trouble. Though I was wrong on that score, it is much easier to go slow and check out the scenery on a Sportster than it is on a ZX...

I stopped making fun of Harley's some 25 yrs. ago when I met a couple of Harley riders late one night at Cold Springs Tavern off of 154. I was on a heavily modified XS1100 and got into bench racing and BSing with both the Harley guys, one old and one young. Seems that the old guy was showing the younger one how to ride. While I was regaling them with my exploits at Willow Springs, Laguna Seca, and around the Rock Store off of Muholland, the old guy just listened patiently. He then he asked if it was alright if they followed me the back way to Santa Maria which is a very tight and twisted 40 miles... and dark. Though we left the young guy in the dust right off the back, I was surprised to see the old guy stay with me. I'd lose him a bit on the long straight aways, then he'd catch me in the tight stuff and the sweepers. He was only 15 seconds behind me when I pulled into the gas station in Santa Maria. Then he says. "You really like to go fast." I said the same to him and asked him what was in his motor. He said it was slightly modified at the Santa Maria Harley shop, which he owned. Then he introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Vance Breeze." I knew right away who he was and began cracking up that he allowed me to BS so much and put down Harley's as much as I did. He owned many of the records at Willow Springs for a long time and could ride circles around me blind folded. Last time I put down Harley's.

For what it does, the Sporty does well. Especially the way mine is set up. It does crack me up that people will take a Sportster and spend thousands on it to turn it faster and into a sport bike, when it is much easier to just buy a sport bike to begin with. But I guess the same could be said for any bike. The ZX is a great bike, but it can't compete with a 600 on the track or even on the street outside of long straights. Though I've always preferred big sportbikes, Honda 750, Z1, XS1100, FJ1200, etc, at times I wish I wasn't 6'2'' so I fit better on a 600. Almost as fast but handles much better. I still race, mostly AHRMA, and the smaller bikes are fine on the track, just not as fun as the ZX and Busa's on the street...

Carabusa: The only bikes I have left are the ZX14R and my daughter's 2012 GSX-R600 (Stored, maintained and "tested" avery week until she has her own place to live with some reasonable security that will keep it from being stolen...)