27 thoughts on “I really need a bigger bike.”

    1. It comes down to Exit Speed. I need more Lean Angle, or more Grunt to pull me out of the Curve.
      Either way… One or the Other – Or Both.

  1. Well, I’m looking to sell my 2004 Kawasaki ZRX1200. Silver. 10k miles. Excellent condition. I just never find the time to ride it with the 3rd baby on the way. Let me know if you’re interested. Of course you’d have to find a way to get it home from Smyrna GA. Wait, won’t you be down here for a show soon?

    1. ZRX12 IS the bike to have.
      I have been a big fan of them since the intro of the 1100.
      It is hard to beat a big bore standard for an all around do it all bike.

      Jim

    2. Yes, I’m planning on being out there in a few weeks. If you were Giving, I’d ride it home. Buying? Its probably out of my price range by far.

  2. Anybody here old enough to remember all the fuss when police agencies started buying Kawasaki instead of Harley for their motorcycle cops? Whee that was fun.

  3. I’d call the Bandit a .45 auto: powerful, but not high-pressure. Understressed enough to work for a lifetime if properly maintained.

  4. More grunt than a Magna? There aren’t a lot of cruisers out there that will break 100 in the quarter mile, but the Magna is one of them. You just need to get into that upper end horsepower band faster.

    From a performance standpoint only a Vmax, VRod, and the old Valkery were the “upgrades” from the Magna in the cruiser category. All of which have a lot more low end grunt than the Magna. If you want speed then even a 600cc street bike will be an upgrade from a cruiser, but it won’t be as comfortable.

    Good luck getting the perfect fit between you, the bike, and the road. For what it is worth, I ride a Magna too.

    1. You can’t beat the V-max in the power department for a cruiser. The ’85-’07 1200 was 113hp and with a little simple hot rodding could pump out closer to 140. The ’09 and up 1600 was pushing 170hp. About the only way your showing one up is with a Triumph Rocket III. A little short on the HP compared to the Vmax(1600), but throwing down 150ft·lbs at a gentle 2500RPM. As much as Harley likes to push the image of the Vrod as a power cruiser, it’s only pushing 85ft-lbs and weighs near as much as the Triumph.

  5. Ogre: I have a Victory Hammer 8 ball that I like very much. It’s a big bike, but handles very well and has all the grunt you would want. I went to the Victory from a Kawasaki Concours, another great bike but very different from the Victory. Victory makes agreat bike, and at this point it might even be possible to find a used one for a reasonable price. Definitely take one for a test ride – it’s not like the other similar looking bikes…

  6. Steve offered to sell you his REX? Just freakin’ DO IT! Seriously- This is a classic, big bore standard. It has a beautiful motor- dead stock, it has 80 foot pounds of torque, 115 horsepower, and if you take it easy on the RPM, will return 50 mpg. It is a carbureted engine and jetted well from the factory, it runs with no “on/off switch” syndrome like a lot of injected bikes. plus has one of the most knowledgeable owners groups on the web.
    Mine has 32,000 on it, I have run it all over the west. I put higher bars and braided steel lines on it, dropped the pegs an inch (Buell pegs) and had a local guy build me a better seat. All stuff to make it more comfortable for long rides. Never touched the motor, it has way more than I have the talent to use, stock.
    The ZRX is one of the great overlooked bargains of the MC world. (along with the 1200 Bandit- I wish Suzuki had reflected the early 80’s Suzuki superbike styling with the bandit,, the way Kawi did with the Eddie Lawson look on the Rex. )

    http://www.zrxoa.org/

    1. Also- a standard will let you stand on the pegs, unlike a forward control cruiser- which is really useful on rough roads or ground- and yeah, I have taken the rex places I probably should not have….

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