Wow, a lot of activity in a hurry. Nice! -Yep, Kawi has an 800 available. Furthermore, they have the ability to make it, if they wish. -The Z800 is waaaaay heavy. -More low-mid power is my specialty. I'd like it from a bigger bore engine than a 650 (Though I love my Versys. My other bikes have it done very nicely but they're heavy. I don't like heavy. Heavy is my new enemy. Lighter is better.). -I don't do ABS if I can help it. If I can't help it, I may concede for a particular bike but that hasn't happened, yet. Great idea and safer, I have no doubt. Just not my 'druthers, as of yet. -The price of the bike is not a big deal to me. I go through way too many of them and I love these things. If I can find what I want that doesn't require me (Or make me want to) have so many bikes at once, I'd still come out way ahead. -You have to be really careful when you start telling other people what they should/shouldn't do or think. It's a slippery slope... All good fun, gentlemen. I love to play. Bring on the high end Versys 800, done right. By my definition, of course.
Yep, that GSR 750 Suzuki is sweet! Just make it a V-twin instead! That is what the gladiass should have been.
While that may be a small reason I don't think it registers in company boardrooms. After all there is a long history of ABS applications in cars and it presumably has a well fortified litigious protection history. The main reason more bikes don't have ABS is frankly most riders in the US don't want it (or don't want to pay for it). It's an extremely price sensitive market, and just a glance at the used market for motorcycles with ABS versus without for bikes offered with both will tell you the story. The cynical side of me would also add that in order to have the presence of mind to actually seek out a bike with ABS in the first place requires a sensibility among the motorcycle buying demographic that I believe just doesn't exist in this country obsessed with sport bikes and harleys.
Okay, let's step over the dead horse and get back to bikes we want. Methinks discussion of ABS, liability, helmets, oil, and the like can be diverted to other forums/threads. I dig the GSR-750.
About ABS, in Europe its soon not possible to buy a motorbike without ABS, and i think thats just posetiv. This is the bike that i want today,tomorrow and the day after, comes with ABS as standard
They are all awesome bikes. But I'm partial to the early GSXR's over the others. The one that started it all.
I doubt it's locked... that would be bad in a race condition. He's likely allowing the rear wheel to spin at about half the rate of the front... makes for a nice controllable drift. Which also can NOT be done with ABS.
On most bikes all you need to do is put the bike on it's stand and manually rotate either of the wheels until the ABS light comes on.