DRIVE SHAFT + + Motorcycles
Here's my 1993 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 when he was young to become familiar with a little hot Italian while I stopped for lunch in Los Gatos It didn t work out she had too many wheels.
The competition is an American-made bike, built in Lincoln, Nebraska Kawasaki was the first Japanese company to build a US plant for the production of motor vehicles in 1975 Kawasaki 1000 Special Police, Competition and ZX-11 motorcycle there were built the special police model designed under contract by an American, Dan Gurney, the famous motor racing.
Kawasaki manufactured the Model Contest since 1986 and has introduced some minor changes to the basic design is the favorable price and one of the best values available in a heavy weight sport bike touring - a little too heavy, so be careful and stop at low speed, but very fast and handles well at highway speeds - and large, it is better to have long legs if you plan to mount.
My competition has evolved over the eight years that I had with adding more accessories The factory windshield creates a lot of turbulence; I replaced mine with the screen after sales sold by Rifle After the air flow was smooth and comfortable saddle The factory was bad I first replaced by an impromptu sports Corbin selle; but that was too hard for a long day driving comfort Finally, I had a custom built seat to my specifications by Corbin with lots of extra padding, slope less forward, and a better break for the passenger windshield Rifle and custom saddle Corbin contest turned into a very comfortable long-distance touring machine, suitable days for 10-12 hours riding with comfort I also finally added a tail Givi box for a capacity of additional luggage Givi provides tailored support designed specifically to replace the small tail stock contest and the box is available with a fire red LED light for more safety further, I added a fire halogen driving to forward, for better visibility day on a custom mounting bar that I had done a machinist friend.
I sold that contest in 2001 with 33,000 miles on the clock after buying 2001 BMW K1200LT below much as I love the BMW, I sometimes lack the contest.
My K1200LT traveled almost 10,000 miles now, largely thanks to travel 7,000 miles in July and August 2001, he was gradually being able to light level to the front for better visibility day and red marker lights additional rear for improved nighttime visibility, the options that should be offered by BMW but are not, have already been added Metzeller the ME880 Marathon tires were mounted in series on my bike are good and the port is still much of left tread.
As I discovered in talking with the dealer in Vancouver, British Columbia, during a service stop, a more comfortable seat is included as standard equipment on the top model as sold in Canada This seat discontinued by BMW USA, alledgedly because of complaints from buyers about the height of excessive seats available in the only US as an upgrade accessory soft-touch seat, 425 for the driver Ditto for passengers I am currently looking for a cheaper alternative as I discovered during my summer trip, the seats of shares are a little too hard to be quite comfortable for long days - a gap K1200LT important in relation to luxury-tourism models of virtually all competitors Although the heating elements are well when it is cold; they just need more padding on top, I think it would be nice if BMW USA could tell customers about the Soft Touch seats at the time of purchase and offering them perhaps an option rather than an expensive upgrading It seems stupid to go cheap on when you sell 22,000 motorcycles for those who are lucky enough to buy for less custom or iconic model, the cost difference between the padded seat heating luxury and standard driver's seat heated when shopping for modernization is only 50.
The suspension of this bike is excellent and offers excellent maneuverability at road speed power and performance is enough to require caution and frequent speedometer controls; it always seems to be going about 20 mph faster I think.
However, the K1200LT is as high heavier than the competition, maybe even moreso, and requires significant care at stops and low speeds to avoid dumping when it will no longer hidden tubular crash bars and bumper rails -chocs do a good job of catching and avoid major damage be sure to place it on a flat surface and not too isolated you will need a friend or two to help you endure again the center high, gravity and also, I think, a general first-gear ratio that is higher than in other touring bikes, makes maneuvering at low speed and inching along in stop-and-go traffic enough uncomfortable, but it is well on the road.
Two major irritants are 1 The lack of road pickets and no easy way to mount the fairing is too wide around the runner calf area to make them even practice if you can find a place to mount Therefore, n has not the luxury of varying the driving position to avoid fatigue which is ensured by competition from major tourist models such as Harley ElectraGlides and Gold Wings BMW USA recommends changing the seat height during fuel stops as an alternative but the only height adjustment does not provide a lot of variety 2 high beam and speed control lights on the dashboard that are way too bright and tend to blind the driver at night I think it ' is an unforgivable error of design is even more egregious by the fact that too much light indicators also reflect off the back of offering direct windshield ent in the driver's field of vision This makes the beam and basically unusable cruise control after dark I plan to mount some movies shaded dashboard to cut down on that look, and hopefully find a way sticking a small piece of plastic also there to serve a shading hood to prevent light from moving vertically from the indicators to reflect the My dealer mechanic told me he sees many K1200LTs with ribbon shading on the dashboard It seems that BMW's engineers do not test their designs at night.
Rear brake squeal is something many K1200LT owners seem to complain about is mine too; sounded like an angry flock of geese whenever the rear brake was applied my mechanic removed the pads and manhandled a bit because they show some glazing This seems to have cured the problem, at least for now apparently the rear brake on the K1200 incorporates a floating disc According to my mechanic, noise can come from lateral movement of the disk itself on the mounting studs following irregular intake by platelets when they become glazed Seems like it should be a way to lubricate the clamps to avoid the noise, if this is the cause.
This is my Katana 600 Sweet Suzi, overlooking Mono Lake I called Suzi Suzuki and sweet because the four-cylinder engine of 600 cc was smooth and this little bike 480 lb handled so well - she was comfortable and so soft to roll Not as fast as or as large as the competition, but ideal for short and medium range in one-up tour.
Suzi was perfect until it has taken a few hits in 1998 when I let my girlfriend used as a convenient bike She said she wouldn t fall Suzi, but I knew she replacement mirrors and some good instead of red plastic tape kept intact the fairing Suzi I sold it in 2001 to a commuter-I-680 corridor frustrated cycling, not the girlfriend girlfriend was already a long time; she threw Suzi, then she dumped me.
This is my 1982 Gold Wing 1100 on the road Angeles Crest Crest is a great ride, I made several times that I used to go that way when I visited my friend and client Bambi in Wrightwood, California, then headed down to Los Angeles to visit my son at UCLA now because Justin moved to New York, I have less reason to head to Los Angeles the Angeles Crest Highway Rte 2 winds to 30 Wrightwood miles along the crest of the San Gabriel mountains and then descends rapidly down by Ca ada in Glendale in Los Angeles approach, as many of the roads near densely populated areas, the pleasure is tempered the dangers posed by overriding novices sportbikers skills and push their limits, especially on weekends.
I love to ride around California, along the coast and across the Sierras Here I am in 1994 during a relaxing break riding in Sea Ranch.
The largest bike I could rent on the island of Santorini, Greece, when my ex-girlfriend Leslie not the one who dropped the Suzuki and I went there in 1994.
For Mount Lassen in September 1994, just before I took me almost in the snowstorm, I was on my way back to San Francisco from Boise, Idaho, where I visited my friend Karen and Andy.
Sometimes I rent bikes when traveling What s that I rented in Munich in 1993.
Suzuki Motorcycles Kawasaki Concours BMW K1200LT Honda GL1100, motorcycles, Kawasaki, contest.