Ninja 1000/Z1000SX Owners' Thread (or wanna be's)

[rhinoWERX]

Originally Posted by JSharp

I'm sure a late model Z1000 seat will fit but I can't imagine it being better. It has even less padding and I don't think the slightly different shape will make up for it.

The point I was making is a I think it's more about weight distribution than padding. While not the same, I found the Z1000 to be slightly more comfortable from briefly sitting on it when compared to the Ninja. Seats are a crap shoot that often require trial-and-error experiences that can leave a significant dent in your wallet. I'm thinking the Z1000 seat might be a relatively affordable experiment.

We're getting ready to pick up a N1K in the next few weeks - just need to sell a few more things.

Hard to decide on the colour - kinda wish the green was available here...

[arshishb]

Originally Posted by rhinoWERX

The point I was making is a I think it's more about weight distribution than padding. While not the same, I found the Z1000 to be slightly more comfortable from briefly sitting on it when compared to the Ninja. Seats are a crap shoot that often require trial-and-error experiences that can leave a significant dent in your wallet. I'm thinking the Z1000 seat might be a relatively affordable experiment.

We're getting ready to pick up a N1K in the next few weeks - just need to sell a few more things.

Hard to decide on the colour - kinda wish the green was available here...

I agree, compared to the N1K, I prefer the sitting position of Z1K. If it were not for 4 gallon tank, I would have bought the Z1K hands down. However, its not too expensive to convert the N1K to a Z1K sitting position.

[JSharp]

Originally Posted by rhinoWERX

The point I was making is a I think it's more about weight distribution than padding. While not the same, I found the Z1000 to be slightly more comfortable from briefly sitting on it when compared to the Ninja. Seats are a crap shoot that often require trial-and-error experiences that can leave a significant dent in your wallet. I'm thinking the Z1000 seat might be a relatively affordable experiment.

We're getting ready to pick up a N1K in the next few weeks - just need to sell a few more things.

Hard to decide on the colour - kinda wish the green was available here...

I get your point. I have some issues with one leg so I sat on both bikes a lot before I bought my Ninja and even went as far as making some measurements to try to understand why they feel different.

The bars are lower on the Z and have no pullback.
The seat/peg relationship is about the same but the Z pegs are easier to move around on thanks to no rubber tops.
The Z sits lower.
The Ninja is about an inch wider across the pegs thanks to the rubber sub mounts.

My problem with Ninja seat is that it's way too narrow in front. What weight isn't supported by your legs is carried on a very small seating area without a lot of padding. Scooting back helps some but not enough. The contour of the front of the seat to make it narrow for short legged riders to get to the ground easier is just a killer for me. It's bad enough the inside of my left leg has developed almost a callous from moving along the edge of the seat.

[RideDualSport.com]

Originally Posted by rhinoWERX

PS - this thread needs more pictures

[skysailor]

Searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Come on people, something's got to be bad about these things?
Lyle

[arshishb]

Originally Posted by skysailor

Searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Come on people, something's got to be bad about these things?
Lyle

Yes, the pain knowing that you would have avoided a lot pain & expense if Kawi had made the damn thing sooner

My only negative is the way too upright sitting position & slightly cramped leg room, both of which can be fixed with very little money.

Apart from that if you are on the fence, just fucking jump already

[zDollar Bill]

Here is a Z1000 I found on craigs with less than 2000 miles. $7200... http://tricities.craigslist.org/mcy/2582494467.html

[RideDualSport.com]

Ok, so after 700 miles, I am searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Ummmmmm.... ok, the seat is not up to the rest of the bike's long distance capabilities. Also, there ain't no freakin helmet lock! Oh yea, no center stand makes lubing the chain a chore (but I am going to fix that by installing a Scott Oiler and say good bye to chain maintenance).

I am getting more impressed with how the bike handles all riding situations, its very tame and easy to ride in the City, it will devour mountains, it gives tons of road feedback and stellar handling, the adjustable windshield is more than a marketing gimmick too!

I also found out that dudes who ride really awesome antique American bikes, like the Ninja 1000 too!

[sportmotogear]

Originally Posted by RideDualSport.com

Ok, so after 700 miles, I am searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Ummmmmm.... ok, the seat is not up to the rest of the bike's long distance capabilities. Also, there ain't no freakin helmet lock! Oh yea, no center stand makes lubing the chain a chore (but I am going to fix that by installing a Scott Oiler and say good bye to chain maintenance).

I am getting more impressed with how the bike handles all riding situations, its very tame and easy to ride in the City, it will devour mountains, it gives tons of road feedback and stellar handling, the adjustable windshield is more than a marketing gimmick too!

I also found out that dudes who ride really awesome antique American bikes, like the Ninja 1000 too!

Ummmm who owns the Tiger??

[ferrix]

Originally Posted by skysailor

Searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Come on people, something's got to be bad about these things?

Well, it lacks a gear indicator...
I'm only half-joking here - Suzuki can find a way to include one even on their budget offerings like Gladius or GSX650F, I don't know why other manufacturers find it so difficult.

[CrashDummy]

Originally Posted by skysailor

Searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Come on people, something's got to be bad about these things?
Lyle

As ferrix said, a gear indicator would be nice, but I think it would be less important if the gears were spaced further apart. I feel like I hardly ever use gears 3-5.

Also, as mentioned, the seat sucks after an hour. Still waiting on Sargent's replacement to be released. Pre-registration for that's ending soon, so they must be close to releasing it http://www.sargentcycle.com/kawwsz1000ninja.htm

The windshield is adjustable, but not great. I replaced it with the touring screen from CalSci, and it works a lot better, but doesn't look as nice.




Realy starting to grab at straws if you want more complaints than that. Oh, probably the last one from me. The handlebars being tall clip-ons instead of a solid bar cuts down on the options for mounting stuff. I got one of these and it works fine for my GPS, but I would have preferred using one of the ones I already had. http://www.ram-mount.com/CatalogResu...5/Default.aspx

[RideDualSport.com]

Originally Posted by sportmotogear

Ummmm who owns the Tiger??

Our man ZigZag on RDS.

[JSharp]

Originally Posted by RideDualSport.com

Ok, so after 700 miles, I am searching for a reason NOT to buy one. Ummmmmm.... ok, the seat is not up to the rest of the bike's long distance capabilities. Also, there ain't no freakin helmet lock! Oh yea, no center stand makes lubing the chain a chore (but I am going to fix that by installing a Scott Oiler and say good bye to chain maintenance).

I am getting more impressed with how the bike handles all riding situations, its very tame and easy to ride in the City, it will devour mountains, it gives tons of road feedback and stellar handling, the adjustable windshield is more than a marketing gimmick too!

I also found out that dudes who ride really awesome antique American bikes, like the Ninja 1000 too!

It's a great bike but it's more sport than tour. So some things require a little accommodation. IMO it's worth it.

Buy one of these for 10 bucks and put it under the seat. You can hang your helmet on one of the grab rails and loop the cable through the d-ring. You can even lock your coat with it.



I bought a PitBull stand for maintenance at home and a QuickStand to keep under the seat if I need one when I'm not there.

[TomZachary]

Originally Posted by CrashDummy

Realy starting to grab at straws if you want more complaints than that. Oh, probably the last one from me. The handlebars being tall clip-ons instead of a solid bar cuts down on the options for mounting stuff. I got one of these and it works fine for my GPS, but I would have preferred using one of the ones I already had. http://www.ram-mount.com/CatalogResu...5/Default.aspx

I emailed RAM mount since the Ninja 1000 wasn't listed on their page. I received a reply saying that the RAM-B-174U would work best. They even sent an attachment with the diagram of the RAM-B-174U so I could take my own measurements to ensure it would work. And just like they said, it will. That is the one I think I'm going to order. I will try and upload some pictures of the bike loaded for the GP trip as well as the outlet install.

[CrashDummy]

Originally Posted by TomZachary

I emailed RAM mount since the Ninja 1000 wasn't listed on their page. I received a reply saying that the RAM-B-174U would work best. They even sent an attachment with the diagram of the RAM-B-174U so I could take my own measurements to ensure it would work. And just like they said, it will. That is the one I think I'm going to order. I will try and upload some pictures of the bike loaded for the GP trip as well as the outlet install.

Yeah, that's the kit I wound up getting, but I had to also buy a double RAM ball and another extension to get the GPS closer to the center and where it didn't hit the windshield so much.