Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

KAWASAki /'l/iNjA with the look of man who raises thoroughbreds and had just ridden a jackass. "Well, I th ink it ' s pretty cool," I said, with the look of a man who knew that riding a jackass in a 'world full of thoroughbreds was just that - pretty damn cool. I imagine tha t my father is not alone in thinking that the American Classic is somewhat of an engineering mishap. I can almost hear the engineers at Honda when word came down as to what wa s expected of them in the design of a new crui ser. "You want what?" The orders were simple enough: the Cla s sic had to be long an d h a ve a kick ed-out fron t end (ensuring tha t it wouldn' t tu m well at any speed), it had to be wide, it had to be heavy, it had to featu re a lot of chro me, a big engi ne (bu t one wi tho u t mu ch p o w er ), nice fa t handgrip, big ha nd leba rs, fat rim s (fitted with a 170 /80-15 rear tire), a littl e bit of rattle, and it had to be loud. Bottom line : Ok ay, make it like that American com pa ny we 've mad e fun of for so man y years... Despite the fact that this is a far cry from a mot orcycle my fa the r wo u ld h av e desig ne d, I like the Am eri can Classic. It's comfo rta ble and it wo rks w ell in the a p pli ca t io n it was des ig ned for (ok ay , Dad, it goes straight p retty darn good). And it loo ks good ...An d it looks good . Get the point? Memo to Dad: Go tune you r fac tory race bikes use that compu ter to get the suspe nsion jus t right, make it lighter, make it handle better. Win races, win a championship. When you return from good old Europe, the American Classic will be waiting f or you. Think about it: You and me, two-up; on Pacific Coast Highway . We'll be way cool, dude... -Paul Carruthers All hail the king! Suzuki RF600 Highly compatible , 12 bv ious ly, 600cc spo rtbikes are getting better an d better by leaps and _ bounds, then why is it that I'm lik' In g th em les s a n d less ? Pe rha ps it's because they' re becomi ng too specialized (no t to ment ion expensive). Bikes like th e Yama ha YZF600 and the new Kawasaki ZX-6R are so race oriented that they're just not practical for everyday use . You see, I ride every day. Sure, these on-the-cutting-edge-of-technology middleweig ht spo rtbi kes are an absol ute b la s t on th e tr a ck s a n d o n tw isty roads, but w hat abou t on city streets, freeways an d open highways? I think the answer is obvious. But this is whe re the RF600 comes in. Suzuki openly ad mits th at the R 6 0L..F0 was n ' t s pecifica lly designed for th e tra ck , d e spite th e fac t it s till offers decent sportbike performan ce. It is for these reasons , and others, th at I really ' like this motor cycle. The RF600 co m bines co mfo rt with p e rform an ce, m ak ing it a pra cti cal mot orcycle to ow n . Yeah, su re, it might not be the mo st powerful in its class, or the lightest, or the best handling, or sus'pended, but it still has plenty to offer. It s till ha n d les a n d co rners extrem ely well , m akes d ecent power an d is reasonably light at a claimed 429 pounds. You can still flick this bik e in and ou t of the turns with re lative ease. Ok ay, it might not tum under a ZX-6R, but it' ll still keep yo u gri nning from ear to ear. And that's the bottom line, isn't it? But ZX-', - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ... what the RF600 may lack in pure horsep ow e r a n d nimblenes s is more th a n made up for in comfort and stab ili ty, and pri ce. It costs $1200 less than the ZX-6R, at $6699. The RF600is by no means a spacious m ot or cy cl e, b u t i t's not nearly as cra m ped as some of the ot her 600cc sportbikes we've rid den lately. Du ring ou r rid e, I racked up a lo t of freeway miles on the RF and had no com plain ts wha tsoe ve r. Again, this had to do w ith th e bi k e ' s fri endly ergonomics and straight- line stability. The heavier RF is not nearly as twitchy, or nervous, as the higher-performa nce 600cc spo tbikes aro un d . The RF's liquid-cooled, in-line, d oh c, 16-valve motor pumps out good power, and when you roll on the th rottle, the RF responds w ith a hefty and gradual pull. Though we ne ve r drag raced it head to head, it's safe to say that it's not as fast as the Kawasaki ZX-6R, but it's plen ty fast, nonetheless. Shifting is a breeze, the clutch has a ligh t pull, the brakes are very strong, and the re's very little vibra tion to contend wi th . All in all, the RF600 is a very wellrounded package that combines sportbike perfo rm ance with comfort. And to top th in gs off, th e RF600 is one of the sweetest -looking bik es ar ound. We bet that Suzuki will sell many of these bikes on its looks alone. Damn, now I' v e go t to ride the Harley. -Kit Palmer might as well come righ t out and say it now . The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-ll is my favorite sportbike, Period. You want an explanation? All right then. Never mind the fact that Kawasaki doesn't consider the big Ninja to be a pu re sportbike, it's still everything that I have ever thought a sportbike shou ld be . I still think that machines such as the Honda CBR900RR - or the rest of the Ninja lineup for . that matter - are exhilarating and do serve a purpose, eve n on the street. But remember, you sti ll have to get to and from wherever it is tha t yo u're go ing to race /pace. It's in th is realm that th e biggest as sassin becomes more of a real-world sportbike than those road racer replicas could eve r d ream of being. It g oes fa st. O ff idle, the liq uidcoo led, 16-va lve, 1050c c, in-line four pulls like a Top Fuel drags ter all th e , wa y to 176 mph and still retains ample torqu e d o wn lo w to chu g throu gh school zones, and floo d zones. Get on the freewa y, an d you will app reciate the ZX-ll 's ability to pu tter along at 55 mph w ith sty le and g race. Need to make a quick pass ? Don 't shift. Just roll on the throttle, and be pr epared . It h and le s . Sure, th e most a rden t Miguel DuHam el wa nna bes might find faul t w ith the bik e ' s lon g w heelbase and spring rat es that are a little on the so ft s id e. But in rea lit y, th e ZX-11 is bles s ed with turnin g prow es s tha t belies its 514-p ound weight. The bik e can sca m per up a ny twi sty mountain road - only losing a ste p to hard-core canyon carv ers - or take on the task of low-speed, lane-s plitting chores at rush . hour thanks to a very balanced feel. And w he re more stiffly sp rung, shallow-raked sporties bob and weave over roa d irregularities, the ZX-ll g lides over them, rarely eve r de liveri ng a shudder to the rider. It sto ps. Du al floa ti ng fro nt di s c brakes may lack the ou t-and-out power of a rep li-racer, but have a very pr ogressive feel"an d can put the w hoa on th e hefty Ninja reliably. Best of all, the Ninja ZX-ll possesses all these sportbike qualities wrapped up in an ergono mically civilized package that won't make yo u feel like a p re tzel when you try to climb off the bike 25 or 30 m iles down the road . The ha nd le bar / seat / footpeg relationship is aggressive, bu t still comfortable enough for longer excursions like, say , from L.A. to Vegas, making the bike an ideal sporttourer. The ZX-ll isn't perfect. Annoyances inclu de a slight vibration that seeps through the right handlebar at around 4000 rpm in top gear, and a windscreen that helps the b ike cheat th e wind - right into your helmet. In fact, if I were to hel p design a ZX-12, I would consi der returning to the earlier, more upright fairi ng (wi th the exception of retain in g th e d ual air s norkles). An d though I couldn't find fau lt with th e bike's carburetion, maybe it's time for a n e lect ro n ic fuel -i n jection sys te m . Kawas aki tr ied it on th e GPz 1100 in the early '80s, and it w as a failure. We kn ow more abo u t that co m p lex s tu ff now. ' But suc h irrita tions are aca dem ic because even a t its steep $9999 asking price, the ZX-ll is still the my favo ri te b ike , an d th e on ly one I wou ld own. An d if I had to give a single reason for that...welJ...d id I mention tha t this bab y does 176 m ph? -Scott Rousseau

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