Holy Demo Day, Batman!

[Goom]

With Bike Week coming to town, I got excited about all of the fun motorcycle stuff that would be happening. Once things got in full swing however, I realized it's mostly a bunch of posers and d-bags all over town with a few awesome things here and there. Aside from the races and a few various other things, one of the best things going on this week is the demo rides outside of the speedway. Today alone, I got to ride 7 different bikes.

I started off my morning by freezing myself to death on a ZX-10. I was intimidated right up to the point that I took off. It was surprisingly rideable for a liter bike. Granted, you'll never use all of the gears, but it's not a bad bike. The throttle was a little bit jerky, but it wasn't the worst I've dealt with. It will do 110 in 3rd gear, though...uh...so I'm told.

After the riding the ZX-10 and signing up for all of the other bikes I wanted to ride, I came back to the 636. I won't say I was disappointed, but it wasn't the best bike I rode all day. It wasn't really that bad, but the throttle was super jerky. I understand that you'll have that with most sportbikes, but it was excessive. Aside from that, I really didn't have too many complaints.

After that, I headed over to Yamaha to take the R6 for a spin. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The power was there, but you could actually roll the throttle. It was still jerky, but nothing like the Kawi. The few times I got to let it stretch its legs, it was right on par with the ZX-6. One thing that was different on the R6 was that it really wanted to fall into corners. Both of the Kawasakis would roll through corners, but the R6 required some throttle to keep it up. Another thing was the riding position. The Yamaha has a very aggressive setup. I was really cranking my neck up just to look forward.

To kill time until my next ride, I went over and rode a couple of Harley-Davidsons. They have the coolest demo setup of all. You sign up, get a ticket, ride any bike you want, and repeat as many times as you please. I started out on the Forty-Eight. If I were to own a Harley, I think that would be the one. It was pretty quick and nimble and fairly easy to adjust to. It felt a little sketchy when pushed in a sweeper, but no more than I expected of it. The only thing I would change on it of the bat would be the seat. There isn't much of a back on it, and you slide like a mofo on heavy acceleration. I rode the Fat Bob next. I don't really have much to report on it. It is nice and stable, and it'll get up and go, but it wasn't my thing at all.

When my time came up, I headed over to the Suzuki tent to ride the GSX-R750. I'm not a Suzuki fan, so I had pretty low expectations. That could have been the reason I wasn't as disappointed as I had anticipated. For normal riding, it had the most comfortable riding position. It also seemed like it had less of a learning curve than the other bikes. I was comfortable on it in no time. My ears, on the other hand, were never comfortable. The exhaust note was annoying. It almost reminded me of a GP style exhaust sound.

Finally, I headed back over to Yamaha to ride the R1. They warned me beforehand that it was a whole lot of bike. I didn't realize until I rode it how much bike it was! The thing was stupid! I couldn't imagine trying to ride it on a regular basis on the street. It was ready to do nothing but race. It's the only bike I've ridden that will lug in first gear at about 50mph. I won't say I didn't like it, because I loved it, but the R1 has no place on the street. Even if you took it on the interstate, you'd have 4 unused gears. The same could be said for the ZX-10, but it has a smooth low-end that is far more tolerable.

All in all, I'd say today was a good day. Hopefully, the next couple will be just as good. I promise I'll try not to ramble this much about any other bikes I ride

[xSean13]

Cool stuff, didn't ride any hondas?

[CC Cowboy]

Eric, I agree the Harleys have the best demo rides. I had major problems with the 48 in turns. I loved the Super Glide and the Deluxe though.

I'm friends with Laura (the girl at the Kawi test rides) and she snuck my son in on a litre on Tuesday. He rides a Suzuki GSXR1000 and was pleased with the Kawi. He loved the R1 and wants that as his next bike. I love the GSXR 750. I had one of the first ones and always thought they were great bikes.

Did you go to Arthur Kowitz's party last night? It was too cold for me to ride but he always has a great party. He had it on Wed. so the Liar's club guys all went.

[Trailerboy531]

Kawasaki didn't do any demos here this year and Suzuki never has, WTF

jealous much.

[Goom]

Originally Posted by xSean13

Cool stuff, didn't ride any hondas?

Sadly, Honda didn't have demos here, but they had a meet and greet with their riders before the supercross, so I can forgive them. haha

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

Kawasaki didn't do any demos here this year and Suzuki never has, WTF

jealous much.

The Kawasaki demos are pretty good. They had the biggest selection next to HD. On my 636 ride, our lead rider was awesome. He just rode like he would normally ride. When he passed a couple of cars, the front of the pack got away from me, so I used it as an excuse to wind it up. That's how I got to run it up to 110. lol Suzuki didn't have a whole lot of bikes, and they weren't quite as friendly, so I wouldn't say you missed a whole lot, aside from the actual ride.

[Goom]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Eric, I agree the Harleys have the best demo rides. I had major problems with the 48 in turns. I loved the Super Glide and the Deluxe though.

I'm friends with Laura (the girl at the Kawi test rides) and she snuck my son in on a litre on Tuesday. He rides a Suzuki GSXR1000 and was pleased with the Kawi. He loved the R1 and wants that as his next bike. I love the GSXR 750. I had one of the first ones and always thought they were great bikes.

Did you go to Arthur Kowitz's party last night? It was too cold for me to ride but he always has a great party. He had it on Wed. so the Liar's club guys all went.

I'll have to take a few more Harleys out tomorrow and Saturday before the race. I was trying to figure out what the Forty-Eight reminded me of in terms of cornering- a bicycle. It reminds me of a bmx bike. The front end is so light compared to the rest of the bike that it feels like it wants to chatter.

I'm not familiar with this party. I guess I'll have to check it out next year?

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Goom

I'll have to take a few more Harleys out tomorrow and Saturday before the race. I was trying to figure out what the Forty-Eight reminded me of in terms of cornering- a bicycle. It reminds me of a bmx bike. The front end is so light compared to the rest of the bike that it feels like it wants to chatter.

I'm not familiar with this party. I guess I'll have to check it out next year?

The 48 doesn't corner. I was scraping pegs and pipes as it wallowed around turns. I found the Super Glide and Softail Deluxe my two favorite bikes.

Join Daytonasportriders.com.

Arthur is a realtor in town and used to race superbike. Now he does vintage racing and has a pretty good collection of bikes in a pretty impressive garage on 12 acres between Ridgewood and Nova. He is a world on knowledge on bikes.

I'll see you at the track. I always sit in turn one, up in the shade.

[nycsteve]

Nice report!

[Bigballsofpaint]

did you jump on the ninja 1000 or z1000 at all? I didnt get to demo much last year at americade but will be doing much more this year. Although i ended up buying a ninja 1000 since the demo, so maybe i shouldnt ride more bikes...

[Goom]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

did you jump on the ninja 1000 or z1000 at all? I didnt get to demo much last year at americade but will be doing much more this year. Although i ended up buying a ninja 1000 since the demo, so maybe i shouldnt ride more bikes...

I really wanted to ride the Z1000, but I didn't end up having the time. To be honest, I was so impressed by the ZX10 that I ended up riding it 3 times. haha

I heard plenty of good things about the Z1000, though. One of the guys on a ride I was on kept lifting the front end on it with minimal effort. My buddy said it has a ton of torque, and I definitely believe it.