Kawasaki Green Meanie

[Richard.]

if you are heading past my way you're more than welcome to come and have a go

Very kind of you. It would be a pleasure to try the original 1st gen. What plate is it on 1998/1999? Earliest one I've rode was the 2002 (last shape with the single side can).

 

[Richard.]

Honda, Kawasaki,Suzuki,Yamaha,Ducati,MotoGuzzi,Aprilia,MV,Harley, Triumph,BMW,Victory,Royal Enfield, KTM, etc etc, don't matter wot the name is on the tank, leave your prejudices in the cupboard, use Fast Bikes mag and Motor Cycle News for bog paper, anything with two wheels and an engine is fun.

Ha ha ha I Do really like what you say there mate but I cannot find a way to agree with it. I'm not having fun on a bike if I can't get the WOW factor out of it. It doesn't have to be blisteringly fast to impress me but it does have to show me something to make me want to keep riding. I've rode quite a lot of them but only a small percentage would I bother with again. My step dad is very much of the same opinion as yourself in the respect he loves to ride any bike. I can't have fun if the bikes not wowing me.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

It's a 99 on a t. I love it although I'll have to treat it to a clutch shortly as its just started to slip

 

[CRB]

Honda, Kawasaki,Suzuki,Yamaha,Ducati,MotoGuzzi,Aprilia,MV,Harley, Triumph,BMW,Victory,Royal Enfield, KTM, etc etc, don't matter wot the name is on the tank, leave your prejudices in the cupboard, use Fast Bikes mag and Motor Cycle News for bog paper, anything with two wheels and an engine is fun.

You missed out MZ....?How very dare you, Sir..? Good enough on the rest though.

Ha ha ha I Do really like what you say there mate but I cannot find a way to agree with it. I'm not having fun on a bike if I can't get the WOW factor out of it. It doesn't have to be blisteringly fast to impress me but it does have to show me something to make me want to keep riding. I've rode quite a lot of them but only a small percentage would I bother with again. My step dad is very much of the same opinion as yourself in the respect he loves to ride any bike. I can't have fun if the bikes not wowing me.

My friend, a long time ago had a RD125LC. I had a go and was frankly amazed. He said ' hold it wide open, and when it hits 'x000 it will take off' So I did. WOW.
Then I took my lowly 125MZ and blasted him through the bends....momentum is all. THAT was wow.

I could not give a monkeys' what you ride, if you do not acknowledge me, sod it. There should be no discrimination between marques.

Those of us who love the old makes, are loving the progenitors of the modern motorcycles. MZ begot Suzuki as the Bible would say. After that it went big.

Amen.

 

[Richard.]

You missed out MZ....?How very dare you, Sir..? Good enough on the rest though.



My friend, a long time ago had a RD125LC. I had a go and was frankly amazed. He said ' hold it wide open, and when it hits 'x000 it will take off' So I did. WOW.
Then I took my lowly 125MZ and blasted him through the bends....momentum is all. THAT was wow.

I could not give a monkeys' what you ride, if you do not acknowledge me, sod it. There should be no discrimination between marques.

Those of us who love the old makes, are loving the progenitors of the modern motorcycles. MZ begot Suzuki as the Bible would say. After that it went big.

Amen.

Who said anything about discrimination? I was talking about bikes that impress me and make me want to keep riding. Engine size power handing brakes etc don't matter if there is something about it that I like a lot. One of the best bikes I've ever rode was an old vfr 750. It wasn't really that quick the clutch was awful I didn't really like the seating position or the looks but when I opened it up oh the SOUND was just delightful. The little pur of the V4 just made me smile and everything I disliked about it didn't matter. This is what I mean about WOW factor. If it wasn't for the noise I wouldn't of really been that fussed about it.

 

[66-V8]

"One of the best bikes I've ever rode was...."

Tut tut, Richard, it's not 'rode', it's 'rided'.

 

[Wallace]

The induction noise on my Speed triple is addictive with the rear resonator boxes removed, add the delicious three cylinder exhaust note as the revs rise and pulling hard out of a bend from low revs becomes grin factor. I've always associated WOW factor with adrenalin shake when wow is about all you can mutter!

 

[Richard.]

The induction noise on my Speed triple is addictive with the rear resonator boxes removed, add the delicious three cylinder exhaust note as the revs rise and pulling hard out of a bend from low revs becomes grin factor. I've always associated WOW factor with adrenalin shake when wow is about all you can mutter!

Never had a go on a speed trp but they do look the business. Especially the ones with the red tubular frame.

 

[roofman]

My mate is racing 2 TZ350,s tomorrow (sun) at RAF Valley...they have some kind of open day with a made up track and the best bit theres no noise restrictions for the bikes now dilemer time is do i go the steam fair or watch my mate cane nearly 15K worth of TZ,s..Hmmmm

 

[norlander]

You missed out MZ....?How very dare you, Sir..? Good enough on the rest though.

Good point, I ran a TS250 as my winter hack before life forced me to get a shopping trolley licence, excellent bit of kit. BEMSEE had a class for MZs so folks could do racing on the cheap. Think they still do http://bmzrc.net/
back in days of yore, there was a young gent who ran an MZ, and he would enter in the open class (anything goes engine wise), and he would keep it nailed and really annoy the big boys in the tighter bends.
We did the first Keith Code California Superbike School in the UK, quite a few smirked at the state of the emzeds, but there were a few quasimodos* about after the first few track sessions.
*Got the hump.

I'm not having fun on a bike if I can't get the WOW factor out of it.

The wow factor is:
wind in ya face
feeling evry bump in the road
leaning into the the bends
smelling all the smells
seeing the sights that shopping trolley drivers cannot see
filtering past lines of shopping trollies
feeeling the temperature changes
50 miles on a 50cc can be just as satifying as 500 miles on a 1000cc

One time, I got my Duke riding mates to buy ex pizza delivery bikes, we fettled em and went on tour for two weeks, we laughed more, and had more fun than on our superbikes. Chuck any basic equipped PTW smartly into a bend and you find the wow factor is there, just have to find the right roads that fit the bike.

 

[Wallace]

Never had a go on a speed trp but they do look the business. Especially the ones with the red tubular frame.

Mine is one of the early ones from 1995 so you would probably find it a bit cumbersome and underpowered compared to the modern stuff.

 

[norlander]

Mine is one of the early ones from 1995 so you would probably find it a bit cumbersome and underpowered compared to the modern stuff.

View attachment 67270

that must be a bit of a classic now, but look at it, looks like a solid well built bit o kit.
Yeah, you be right its heavy and underpowered, bring it over here and leave it with me, I'll swap you a couple of bottles of decent plonk for it.

 

[Wallace]

Yeah, you be right its heavy and underpowered, bring it over here and leave it with me, I'll swap you a couple of bottles of decent plonk for it.

And would you like some cash on top to cover the replacement starter clutches Sir?

 

[norlander]

And would you like some cash on top to cover the replacement starter clutches Sir?

No, thats "character" and part of the charm of such machines.............................

 

[pete23]

heres a little project im doing at the minute (when time allows), apic at the start and a pic from about a month ago, need to get some pics on here of me phone.