Steve 76:
Ex- Z1 drivers rock! (even if you do have a bike that only manages to produce 60hp for a 883 cc engine.... )
Your days on the old 900 will offset that for a few years to come.
(Cool website, Steve. I'm a Kawasaki man through and through!)
You know, I've never understood the huge objection that some riders raise to the low power/displacement ratio of the Harley. It's as if there is some rule that decrees every engine must squeeze the maximum amount of horsepower out or it just ain't worth a ****e. Personally, I never held it against Harley that their engines weren't as thermodynamically efficient as they "ought" to be.
At 900 and 1000cc's respectively, my Z-1's do manage to eke out a few more ponies than my Sportster (not really
that many). But the Harley transmits that lesser power to the rear wheel in a much more viscerally satisfying way. Then again, I prefer two-blade Bells to multi-blade Astars, and too the rumble of a radial piston engine to the pilot-ish whine of a turbine, so I'm probably just an anachronism like big ol' gay Lu.
It was in the 1970's that motorcycle magazine editors began demanding that all bikes adhere to the "Japanese standard." Bikes from the Orient were as smooth as sewing machines, and had controls that required virtually no effort. They had wonderful power/weight ratios, great brakes, and for the most part were very user-friendly. Harleys, on the other hand, were derided as "out of step with the times" and "horrendously old-fashioned." There were sarcastically referred to as "boat anchors" a phrase that many hot-dog non-Harley riders repeat with great relish. Trouble is, I don't like riding sewing machines.
Oddly, despite all of its so-called "faults," my Sportster has been the most fun bike I've ever owned. It's certainly not the best-performer. And I am single-handedly keeping G.E. in business with my ever-replenishing supply of head-, tail- and turn-signal light bulbs. But I have never once said, "Gee, I wish that clutch lever didn't take so much energy to pull," or "Gee, I wish that rear suspension had four inches of travel instead of three," or "Gee, I wish this Sportster was as fast as that there CBR600." In fact, I've never even said, "Gee, I wish this Harley didn't leak so much," because it does not.
When I go places on my bright red and chrome Harley, people come up and talk like they know me. That
never has happened on any of my Japanese bikes. What my Sportster does is give me incredible motorcycling satisfaction every time I turn the key. That it is not the fastest or best-handling bike on the block is not important. If it was, I would buy the latest-and-greatest sportbike from Kawi.
And I may still yet!
Lu Z:
Me, gay? Sometimes you make me so angry if you were here right now I would hit you with my purse.
Ahh, no worries, Lu, I was just poking fun at ya. We've all done things when we're drunk that we regret. ...At least, I
hope you were drunk... Hey, if you ever get out to the desert southwest, I'll buy you a beer and give you a ride on my Sportster. But I've got to warn you- *I* sit in the front and steer.