Curious Kawi

[ContraMnky]

Just out of curiousity, are there any other 650R riders on this board?


-Phil

[Nikon]

no

[jimaug87]

ZX-11 over here

[ChR1s]

We've got a 650R in our garage.

There you go!

[MissTwisties]

Tuff crowd....

[Bowflex]

ZZR here

[ContraMnky]

Wow....one. I'll take that. Kawi's a Kawi. For you riders on bigger bikes, aside from the obvious top speed, torque, and HP difference, what differences do you notice between riding a liter(or bigger) bike and a 600cc? (Non-Kawi riders are welcome to answer as well!)

Thanks, and pardon the n00b question.


-Phil

[evile]

Picked up my new 650R on Saturday, planning to use it mostly for commuting 80 miles RT from the north shore to Cambridge. Love the bike so far, we'll see how it handles in the rain this afternoon!

[Crash Dummy Denno]

Wow....one. I'll take that. Kawi's a Kawi. For you riders on bigger bikes, aside from the obvious top speed, torque, and HP difference, what differences do you notice between riding a liter(or bigger) bike and a 600cc? (Non-Kawi riders are welcome to answer as well!)

Thanks, and pardon the n00b question.


-Phil

a lot more fun to ride - lighter

[PB]

Going 80 mph on an R1 feels like you're doing about 35mph. Going the same speed on my R6 I definately knew I was going 80 mph.

I have a 650R that I use for commuting back and forth to work. It's a lot different than riding the R6. 80 mph feels like about 60 on that bike.

What are you asking?

[Zed]

Wow....one. I'll take that. Kawi's a Kawi. For you riders on bigger bikes, aside from the obvious top speed, torque, and HP difference, what differences do you notice between riding a liter(or bigger) bike and a 600cc? (Non-Kawi riders are welcome to answer as well!)

Thanks, and pardon the n00b question.

650R - nice bike!

As to the appeal of larger bikes: my wife and I have owned smaller bikes in the past (a YZF600R and an FZ6), but we now have only big-bore machines in the garage (my ZX-14 and ZZR1200, and her FJR1300).

Why the big bikes? Well for us it has nothing to do with top speed or peak horsepower, neither of which we've ever come close to using. For us, it's:

1) Comfort. Bigger bikes are more comfortable, period. We are more of the casual rider / touring type, and the added agility of a smaller bike really doesn't mean anything to us vs. the comfort afforded by our bigger bikes. Handling-wise these are still vastly superior to any cruiser and they do anything and everything we ever ask of them. I've never dragged a peg on any of these nor ever encountered a situation where I wished I was on a smaller bike.

2) Low-end torque. I just don't like having to wind up a bike to make it go. I like the easy free-flowing torque and pull-any-gear grunt of our big I4s. I like the effortless, smooth, unstressed low revs these things turn on the highway.

3) Stability. The opposite of small-bike agility. We do alot of highway riding, and a longer, heavier bike is much less skittish and doesn't get blown around nearly as much.

4) Wind coverage. All three of our bikes are fully-faired, which not only reduces fatigue on long rides but keeps you warmer and drier. Yes they're hotter in a heatwave, but this is New England and more often than not the warmth and coverage is appreciated (I ride nearly year-round). My ZX-14 has substantially less coverage than my ZZR, which in turn is less than the FJR, but all of them nevertheless offer more coverage than any smaller bike.

5) Carrying capacity. My wife's FJR has full hard luggage on it including a top case, as does my ZZR. I'm addicted to hard bags simply must have them as I use my bike for regular daily transportation/commuting/errands as well as touring. My ZX-14 doesn't have bags on it as it's just my short ride fun toy, but my ZZR gets all the heavy duty work.

6) Kick-in-the-pants. Nothing pulls on the bottom like a big-bore I4. I don't even have to break the law or use the upper half of the tach to get a big silly ol' grin going.

[stoinkythepig]

Wow....one. I'll take that. Kawi's a Kawi. For you riders on bigger bikes, aside from the obvious top speed, torque, and HP difference, what differences do you notice between riding a liter(or bigger) bike and a 600cc? (Non-Kawi riders are welcome to answer as well!)

Thanks, and pardon the n00b question.


-Phil

I decided on a >600 for longevity. With my 9R, I can cruise on back roads in 6th gear with the engine just plodding along at 3000 RPM and still get decent thrust out of corners without changing gears. Riding like that should make it last a long time. I'm nearing 57,000 miles and it still runs like new.

[spicy]

SV650S here

comparable bike, but not a 650R...

just got her back from the first service, though. definitely enjoying the extra 1500rpm i can spin (up to 7k). sounds great and has some get-up-n-go.

jim/nick/mark -- we'll have to go for another spin soon, once the weather dries out a little.

[Dznutz]

My buddy has one, he swapped the bars out and changed the pipe. He likes it much more now.