Eunos Chump

Dark mornings and evenings means the ZZR is relieved of commuting duties - it's performance is unusable unless you can see a mile down the road.  This means the VFR is back as primary transport, and frankly it feels a bit rubbish now.  It's short, and upright, the engine isn't smooth, the steering is slow, the brakes are a bit feeble, and it feels BLOODY SLOW.  And it cut out on me this evening, on the busy A3 in Guildford - perhaps it's warning me not to take it for granted?  It restarted after a few seconds but I don't need that on dark, rain-lashed dual-carriageways.

Went to stay with my folks in Norfolk, and this photo opportunity came up during a blast along the coast.  Needless to say, the bike was very effective on A and B roads, in fact it often felt too much - every overtake had to be  nuclear .  I still need to get to grips with using it effectively.  Then it might start giving better economy too, I've refuelled it about 4 times over the weekend

A bike in the works car park clearly doesn't like all the recent rain.  I've been on the VFR all week because of it; strange that this is now my 'little' bike.  Hopefully the ZZR war elephant can be deployed tomorrow - commuters beware!

Collected the ZZR yesterday without any problems, the weather even stayed dry.  Done quite a few miles on it already, covering all my favourite routes and getting the feel of it's strengths and weaknesses.  So far: Very well sorted suspension Massive brakes Utterly stable Quality feel Deffo sports-tourer rather than sportsbike; it's heavy and that becomes apparent when making swift direction changes, or braking heavily (those forks really dive). Not all-day comfortable - my lower back complains after about 90 mins. Surprisingly decent on fuel (40+ MPG) Then there is the issue of speed... for now, leaving it in 3rd gear is working for me.  It'll easily pull less than 20mph in town, gives massive overtaking power on A and B roads, provides considerable engine braking, and the noise ensures I remain aware of how fast I'm going. Overall, I'd describe it as a big friendly bear.  It's large, and it'll rip your arms out of your sockets if you provoke

I've done a deal on a Kawasaki ZZR1400 today, which I've already nicknamed the Death Star as it's huge, stupidly powerful and very frightening. I gave it a good thrash during the test ride, hitting almost 50mph at one point (that's as much as I dared within central Swindon, in the pouring rain, with a 200 BHP bike with a £2000 insurance excess).  It was so agile and eager compared to the Blackbird; the gearbox is extremely slick, the brakes are phenomenal, and it was immediately more comfortable.  And of course performance is... erm... let's say sparkling . Other options were the BMW K1200S (rejected as only early models are within budget, which are prone to expensive faults), VFR 1200 (probably a good fit but I can't abide it's looks), and Hayabusa (I don't like the attention they draw, nor most of the colour schemes). Picking it up Saturday, as this Death Star needs a front tyre, service and MOT before it's fully operational.

Almost bought this today.  Took it out for around 30 mins in the far-from-ideal conditions of damp country roads, and it felt big and stable , and of course it's a cliche but deceptively fast too.  Nice gearbox, steering a bit slow, decent comfort but a touch heavy on the wrists, and my legs were quite cramped as the pegs seem high.  Nothing special sound-wise; sounds like a big 4-cylinder, a little slow to rev. This particular bike hasn't seen a lot of use in recent years.  The service history ceased in 2007, it was initially reluctant to start, and the FI light came on at one point.  Is it a lemon that never ran properly, or did the previous owner not get on with it?  It's a risk so I wasn't going to pay full price, and a deal could not be struck. Going to check out a K1200S tomorrow, weather permitting.

Serviced the VFR (oil, air, big dose of ACF) @ 59146 miles.  Also washed and re-proofed my waterproofs using Nikwax Tech Wash and TX Direct .

Fixed!  'Bodged' is the only way to describe the repair to the holed side panel, but it's out-of-sight and you'd probably never notice unless you went looking for it.

The CBR is finally being fixed - witness the pukka Honda top fairing (£209 but it came painted and with the decals), and new screen (from a Padgett's race bike).  I'm fixing the hole in the side panel, and have repainted the scratched mirror stalks, so it's ready for sale.  It is pretty good fun though, if I wasn't such a physical wreck I'd probably keep it. I had a sit on a Blackbird at the Honda dealer, and I liked it a LOT.  The bars are quite a stretch, in fact you could lay on the tank quite comfortably if you get a bit tired.  Felt big too, which is another plus.  This one was a bit ragged given the mileage (21K), and rather overpriced, but they're definitely back on the radar.  I prefer the look of the BMW which also has more of a sense of occasion about it, but there's no shortage of tales of expensive woe to be found on the web.  A Blackbird will just work, and continue to keep working.