This is why I chose a Beemer twin

BoiseBeemer · Post by **BoiseBeemer** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:47 pm

Just finished reading Motorcycle Daily's road test of the Kawasaki ZX14 brute--1350 cc of monster, water-cooled 4-cylinder engine wedged into a 200 mph superbike designed specifically to thumb its nose at Suzuki's Hayabusa.

For a variety of reasons, I have no desire to own such a beast, but these lines especially caught my eye: "Unfortunately, the motor has one flaw - soft power delivery below 4,000rpm. Above 4,000rpm things start to pick up, but it isn't until 6,000rpm that they really get moving." Huh? 1350 cc and it still needs to be revved above 6000 to generate power? When I twist the throttle, I just want the bike to GO, not whine and sputter because it needs to be downshifted twice.

Granted, the redline rush of a modern liter+ four will make your heart flutter and your eyeballs roll back, but I really do enjoy getting the same experience at half the rpm's, since I can use 'em almost anywhere I happen to be riding. One advantage we rarely talk about (since it suggests we're too woosy to appreciate a superbike) is how much fun you can have on a big twin while riding UNDER a hundred per, and hanging firmly onto your license.

For the entire article, go here:

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/27septem ... i_zx14.htm

chris · Post by **chris** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:14 pm

I used to like that redline everywhere style, particularly my gixer600 which really made no power till 8k and then ripped your head off but since I got the beemer I really love that laid back low down grunt. I'll admit that there are still days when I feel like revving the a**e off a sportbike but not that many, the R is plenty fast enough in Blighty with our new speed camera tax system!

Post by **wncbmw** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:17 pm

I agree, low end grunt is where it's at! Helps with the legal issues too!

More fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow. Can't find anywhere to safely use that horsepower around here anyway!

reload · Post by **reload** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:29 pm

I've had a V-MAX and a speed triple in the past and I am sure I would have lot my license or gotten hurt on those bikes.Its just too easy to go 120 miles an hour on those bikes.I've got an 04 rockster now and of all the bikes I've had this is the most well rounded.

johno · Post by **johno** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 7:06 pm

It is good to be sitting on 100kph, and just wind the throttle on to pass, instead of kicking the gear lever all the time.
Just love that Beemer torque!!

Thats why these engines live forever, good speed at low revs.
I too have had that Jap 8,000+rpm rush, but when you look at the speedo
and you are doing 200Kph, the walking vision soon takes over, and you return to normal.

cworley5150 · Post by **cworley5150** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:01 pm

wncbmw wrote:I agree, low end grunt is where it's at! Helps with the legal issues too!

More fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow. Can't find anywhere to safely use that horsepower around here anyway!

My thoughts exactly. The bike I had before the Rockster was a Kawi ZX1100. You really very rarely get to use the power and speed the bike was intended for. I LOVE torque. The grunt of the boxer is hands down the way to go for everyday riding. Feels plenty strong for me.

Post by **yjleesvrr** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:42 pm

Well guys, the things you speak of is especially true of a Harley

"Ride a slow bike fast." Vann, you should buy a Fat Boy!

Seriously though, the R1150R strikes a nice balance between the Harley and Gixxer.

BigC · Post by **BigC** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:10 pm

Not sure I have much of an opinion here since I'm waiting on paperwork to make my BMW ownership experience a reality. I would say that practicle people make practicle decisions regarding their means of transportation. Bikes that are that "peaky" in terms of HP in a given RPM range would be difficult to control and IMO, have a very limited range of usefulness. Definitely not a good commuter bike choice. More of a weekend ride where what your sporting CC-wise between your legs makes all the girls wanna ride

If that's the game, it's all good but I'm too old for that and wayyy to married to find that fascinating.

I love my old Honda which is a traverse twin but I'm tired of always tinkering on it to keep it running right. No one will work on it either so I bare the burden of maintenance no matter the problem. Can't wait to get this Beemer in my garage so I can start enjoying it. I need to get a manual for it so I have something to read when I spending time out there with it

Great site BTW! I've been lurking for a week or so and it seems that everyone keeps a good attitude toward others which is most welcome

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:16 pm

What I've yet to hear mentioned is the most obvious (to me anyway):
*HANDLING*

I rode a ZZR1200 and I was literally shocked by how poorly it performed in the turns!!

I realize that I've been spoiled by my K75 and now my R1150R, but man did that bike corner like garbage!

And I'm not even talking about knee-scraping type corners. The ZZR started shaking on just a sweeping highway off-ramp! It was literally fighting me the whole way through.

Sure, it was fast as hell in a straight away.... but so what??

I can't imagine that the newer, beefier and possibly heavier Kawi handles much better...

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:19 pm

Unfortunately, the same applies to all of the Harleys that I've ridden over the years...

Post by **wncbmw** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 5:56 am

you should buy a Fat Boy!

Who you calling a Fat Boy! Oh, buy a Fat Boy! Nevermind!

Post by **KHaynes** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 5:50 pm

BoiseBeemer wrote:... the redline rush of a modern liter+ four will make your heart flutter and your eyeballs roll back....

I completely agree with your standpoint on this. I enjoy riding something that gives me comfort and pleasure.
When I feel like riding a missile then I'll go out an hire one for a few hours.

jcIII · Post by **jcIII** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 5:52 pm

Interesting look at the ZX-14 I was tempted by it and the K1200S. I rode both and found myself happier with the twin on the r1150r. I felt like I was ready for a bigger faster fully faired bike after six months. The 800ST might tempt for my next ride when it finaly gets here. I started riding a year and half ago, and had never ridden a bike before. I took an MSF course and bought a suzuki M50, great bike to learn on, but I don't quite get the cruiser thing, I commute daily 120mi round trip and wanted something that could handle highway speed better. Hard luggage is a must will never go back to a bike that doesn't offer it. I had to be disciplined to keep the K1200s under 100mph 120mph on the zx-14 (like my clean dirving record too much for that, and I felt the ride was more comfortable on my r1150r. 6,000 mi in six months on my bike and still look forward to that BMW torquey twin feel everytime I get to ride.

Love this site! This is my second post I too have looked at the message boards of many sites over the best few months and have never registerd with one or posted to a message thread. Enjoy everyones comments and insight on BMW's.

Post by **dwayne** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:32 pm

chris wrote:I used to like that redline everywhere style, particularly my gixer600 which really made no power till 8k and then ripped your head off but since I got the beemer I really love that laid back low down grunt. I'll admit that there are still days when I feel like revving the a**e off a sportbike but not that many, the R is plenty fast enough in Blighty with our new speed camera tax system!

A have to agree, the Boxer is plenty of enough power for me, and having all the power down where I can use it everyday is better then the "having to risk losing your license to get to the Fun Zone".

chris · Post by **chris** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 3:18 am

Took the bike round the Yorskhire Dales yesterday afternoon and got the typical bunch of guys on sports kit catching me up as I pootled around checking out the scenery. They seemed to be doing a lot of mirror checking once I decided to go with them for a few miles and they realised this old fart bike was right up their pipes and looking to get by...
Big difference I noticed was the racket they make. All that rev, thrash and hanging off the bike while I just wafted quietly at the same lick with no effort and the BM grunt always had me in the right spot to blitzt them out of the corners. This bike is great!

Post by **Marty2** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:34 am

Terrific site. I've been lurking around for a while but don't have much free time to post. Bear with me please, a brief history first. I had Jap bikes years ago. Took about 20 years off. Came back to motorcycles 10 years ago. Started out with Harleys and still have one. I took a R1150R for a test ride last September fell in love with the bike and purchased one a week later. I have always preferred lower rpm high torque engines over high rpm engines. That combined with the outstanding handling of the R is a match made in Heaven for me.

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:21 pm

The reason why the ZX14 had soft delivery at low RPM was because Kawasaki designed the fuel mapping to behave that way in order to have a vehicle that is so massively overpowered that can still behave at street speed.

If you bypass the factory ECU, then you'll see that a BMW, any BMW much less the boxer twin, wouldn't have close to enough of either torque or power to compare to this beast from the Far East.

cworley5150 · Post by **cworley5150** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:55 pm

Now that i think about it, Ididn't choose the Boxer, it chose me.

BoiseBeemer · Post by **BoiseBeemer** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:57 pm

fnfalman wrote:If you bypass the factory ECU, then you'll see that a BMW, any BMW much less the boxer twin, wouldn't have close to enough of either torque or power to compare to this beast from the Far East.

No doubt, but that kind of misses the point--what's the value of so much power when it has to be blunted to be usable? Balance is what we're talking about here, adequate power for the application--riding on real roads with real hazards, real speed limits, and real cops to raid your wallet as payment for overzealously exercising your "beastiness". If you have the self-discipline to stay off the throttle of a 200 mph rocket, my hat's off to you. Me, not so much. I spent way too many years citation-rated by the insurance company to want to do it again.

klrstix · Post by **klrstix** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:42 am

fnfalman wrote:The reason why the ZX14 had soft delivery at low RPM was because Kawasaki designed the fuel mapping to behave that way in order to have a vehicle that is so massively overpowered that can still behave at street speed.

If you bypass the factory ECU, then you'll see that a BMW, any BMW much less the boxer twin, wouldn't have close to enough of either torque or power to compare to this beast from the Far East.

I have read this same thing from other sources and there seems to be an mod out for this bike that "tricks" this system into opening the intake to the same settings as it is above 5000 rpm. It will be interesting to see how they tune this motor on the upcoming Concours14 in 2007. I can only assume they will give the Sport Touring version more low end but time will tell...

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