Kawasaki ZZ-R1100 (1990-1997)

I have a 1996 d4 zzr1100, bought her with 9000 on the clock 4 years ago, last year i rode her to Finland to see some friends who live there,from my door and back, i did 3028 miles in 7 days with a 7 day break in Finland, and she never missed a beat at all, she was fantastic all the way and back,especially on the German autobahns where i could let her rip, where i had a great dice with a maserati clocking 155mph which was great until i pulled in for the next fuel stop where i found i had completely ripped the ass end out of my water proof covers on my panniers, what the hell it was worth it for the grin factor, considering i was fully loaded with two big throw over panniers plus a big rear seat bag, she did me proud, but 155 mph was the fastest i could take her because with all the luggage i had packed on her any faster and i had a bit of a wobble starting in the bars, not to bad but enough to steady me up, but if you want a great bike with loads of character get one of these bikes, and they still get looked at if they are in good nick even along side today's pocket rockets, happy riding all . goucho

I have had my ZZR1100D for 6 months now, we did not have the best of starts, with me loosing the front end in France and still having 300+ miles to go. Even battered and not in the best of health she got me home. After a few searches of E-bay, got her patched up again so that I could truely enjoy the experiance. She may not look the best, but she still goes like stonk. Excellent to ride, not as nimble as my Sprint ST but a fantastic place to be. The world is a constant blurr, and when you get to 140mph its time to get behind the screen. One of the most relaxing and easy to ride tourers going.

I've owned my 1997 ZZR1100 for 6 months now, I bought it with 13000 miles on the clock. My previous bike to the ZZR was an R1..... and I love the ZZR more. I am 6ft 2", and I find the riding position very comfortable, the only thing I have changed has been to add a double bubble screen, as the standard screen is too low for someone of my height. The power of this bike is awesome, and completely effortless, you do not have to rev the t**s off of it to gain triple figure speeds, the 6th gear roll on is mind blowing. I recently rode down to Donnington for the MotoGP, and managed 201 miles from a full tank before I stopped to fill up, and I still hadn't switched to reserve. The finish on this model is lovely mine is a dark metallic green colour with chrome decals. It is very sensitive to tyre pressures, I follows the tyre manufacturers directions and run with 42psi front and rear, I actually rang Bridgestone who confirmed this is correct. The front brakes are not over clever and get worse if your riding hard, they would definately benefit from being upgraded. All in all this bike is great, it does everything I want it to do, cruises effortlessly, and with the right rider will surprise a few sports bikes on the twisties. This is definately a keeper !!

I have owned this bike for three years now, one problem i had 6 months after was the exhaust splitting where the main joined the extensoin exhaust( there's probably a better phrase for it but i dont know what it is lmao....beer goggles and all that) but any way got another off ebay, far cheaper than the dealer, didn't know a metal fabricator until i got the replacement......but since then no prob apart from that time that we got that dodgy fuel which did something to my carbs and god knows what else, so it got a dealer service which sorted everything out, lets face it if you know the spec of your bike and know what it is capable of, look at what is on offer at the dealers new, and there still isn't alot that can touch this bike, personally i like carbs and none catalists maybe i'm old fashioned but i dont care

I have a 2005 ZZR1200 and have had the pleasure of piloting this touring laviathon for some time now. In and around town the bike is pretty agile and the overall size of the bike is very comforting, and running on carbs make low rev control very easy, theres no snatching or lurching of that which a fuel injected bike suffers from. The ZZR1200 comes into its own when out on the open road for which I feel there is two modes of performance, sensible, sure footed and very predictable and then there is the ZZR's somewhat evil streak - Crack open the throttle and rev it hard and you will be reaching break neck speeds in seconds, for a big bike you can make the ZZR handle far above its lardy appearance, The front brakes will wash off masses of speed in seconds and turning the bike in is very easy indeed, and if you have the nerve to get your backside off the seat your knee will touchdown Overall I reckon the ZZR is great bike and would have another one again if they hadn't gone and built the ZZR1400

although these bikes are "old hat" now,they are still bl***y fast. great on fuel reasonably comfy(i am 6ft 4in)easy to work on-not that often! if i had bought one of these when new, i dont think i would be here to tell they tale.service parts are reasonably priced ,spares still easy to get.its just agood all round bike-so many testers over the years cant be wrong.the only thing i can pick out as a fault is that its a tad heavy around any slow traffic,but in a low enough gear and good throttle/clutch work it is easy to get used to. i remember the write ups it got when new- i have to say i agree,its awesome,even by Blade/R1 standards set today. cant wait to test a 1400!

My ZZR1200 experience is pretty good, If your looking for a machine that can lay some seriously balastic pace in comfort the ZZR1200 fits the bill, there's bonuses too! for a big bike the ZZR turns in very quickly and ridden well can raise sport biker eyebrows, the wind protection offered by the fairing is ompressive even at 130mph + theres no drama to mention, overall a damb fine bike

I'll start by saying my time with the ZZR was NOT the best biking experience I've ever had. I like sporty nimble bikes and the ZZR isn't that. I had 2 engines go due to poor manufacturing tolerences on internal oilways to the bottom end. Have heard of at least 14 other ZZR11 engines that had this problem. Mine was fitted with a 4-1 exhaust. Not sure if that was the cause but there was a massive dip in power from 3700-4500rpm that the bike struggled to pull out of. Rode other stock ZZR's and they to had this flat spot but not quite as bad. Carbs DO go out of synch fairly quickly and need resetting around every 3000miles. Chassis was long, low and heavy which meant hussling it round corners was limited by wheelbase and ground clearance. On open sweeping roads it can keep up but tighter stuff then don't bother trying to keep a good pace as it can't handle it. Gear linkage was positioned so that you either had to break your ankle or sit at the back of the seat to use. The girlfriend refered to it as a grand dad bike and that pretty much sums up my thoughts about it.

Goes like a rocket and good in town aswell. Great tourer,stable with hard luggage and a big tank.i'm 6'4" and don't get leg cramps. A bit of a handful under heavy breaking. Strengths: Power, comfort, tank range. Weaknesses: Finish, brakes.

I purchased my bike brand new in May this year. I think I got one of the last available. Absolutely love it. Have had three Honda VFR's culminating in the VTEC version, but always wanted something with a little more "grunt" for two up touring. The big ZED gives me that in bucketfuls. 2,000 mile trip in August this year fully loaded, 3 hard cases and the missus on board, warp factor speeds all the way (picked up a speeding fine on the way back to Calais!Ooops!!) Have done 5,500 miles on her so far this year and every single one has been accompanied by a massive "ear to ear" grin. Fitted a pair of Staintune end cans which really make the bike sound the way it should. Strengths: Acceleration, cruising abilty, fuel economy isn't too bad bearing in mind the performance capabilities. Weaknesses: Brakes could be a little better but braided hoses and better pads should see them right. Gearing quite close, takes a bit of getting used to, but other than that...none.