I picked a 27 year old Kawasaki for a 1300 mile trip to the Ring instead of a Panigale (or indeed a 851 or Monster). I have my logic, but they will sound like excuses here.... yours, sat in Calais waiting for a ferry and expecting to be hunting for a new forum soon, Ian.
A lot have Kawasaki's on here and appreciate the coolest 70's and 80's manufacturer .................:Bag:
nothing wrong with that.. mate runs a ZZR1100 and has done for many years/miles and will never ever sell it. Been scouring Bay/Gumtree for one myself. Have a good TT!
Sometimes we need to see what is on the other side of the fence just to remind us that the choices we make in life are the right ones. That and less chance of the Kwaka breaking down as well......
Dont blame you if you're taking the incredibly boring motorways for the journey, we've started putting the bikes in the van now. You'll miss having the Panigale instead of the Kwaka Bus once going around the Ring and surrounding area though. I took the Pani to Southern Italy a couple of years back when I first got it but whilst it was a great adventure I dont see the point in tripping around Europe putting mega mileage on a sports bike now. I'm going next month again and plan on putting the bikes in the back of the van and just driving to all the awesome spots and being nice and fresh without square tyres for riding them once we're there.
1200 miles done, sat on a ferry. The old bus never missed a beat - and I can cancel the chiropractor appointment this evening! 250 miles left, and my bones still function, that is to say as well as they normally do anyhow!
My own first road legal bike was a zzr 1100 d1 93 in that burnt orange and purple, example photee Loved it. Spent a winter doing a nut and bolt strip and rebuild, then the second time out after it was finished, a mini cab driver took me out, Rascal. Apart from a 350 mars bar lc, I've always preferred grunt monsters and for this the zz is a lot of bike for the money but the s/h prices now put them into blackbird territory and the bird is a better bike.
To be fair, Blackbird prices are generally still more like 30/50% more than ZZR1100 - 'like-for-like' (MOO)