BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

At my Kawasaki-Suzuki dealer today on the K1200R Sport. They liked it. Had a favorable look and touch from the minions, sales folk and owner. Lots of talk about a head to head between Hayabusa, ZX 14 and K12.

BTW Kawasaki has a limited edition ZX14 in Maroon/Granite colors and a 'Busa style graphic package. Very hot looking. When you turn the key, the LED lights up and says, " Lose License in 3, 2,1"

The new 'busa is bad ass, too bad it's too cramped for me, seat to peg wise...

Yeah....... I had a look at the new Busa in the flesh for the first time yesterday. It sure has one sweet looking arse. They only had a black one, which at first I confused for the old model from the front. Love that shape, but the overall quality/look still seemed a bit disposable. I'd like to see a black/orange one. Also liked the black B-King, but that wide fuel tank reminds me of some fat chick I decided I shouldn't ride.

Damo

Damo wrote:Yeah....... I had a look at the new Busa in the flesh for the first time yesterday. It sure has one sweet looking arse. They only had a black one, which at first I confused for the old model from the front. Love that shape, but the overall quality/look still seemed a bit disposable. I'd like to see a black/orange one. Also liked the black B-King, but that wide fuel tank reminds me of some fat chick I decided I shouldn't ride.

Damo

If a 'Busa is in your future, or anyones, there are some words you must loose from your vocabulary: quality, comfort, fit and finish.

I already had a 2000 Hayabusa, and your BMW is made no better. Just slower and more comfy. I'm on my second BMW and I don't believe for a second my bikes are a better quality than the Jap bikes I have owned...but if knocking the Jap bikes makes you feel better about dropping more money on a BMW, then babble on.

big papa wrote:I already had a 2000 Hayabusa, and your BMW is made no better. Just slower and more comfy. I'm on my second BMW and I don't believe for a second my bikes are a better quality than the Jap bikes I have owned...but if knocking the Jap bikes makes you feel better about dropping more money on a BMW, then babble on.

Fit and Finish on a Jap bikes is not up to the Fit and Finish on the likes of Aprilla, BMW, Ducati, and Harley Davidson. The quality and layout of the controls on the Beemers is far ahead of the Japenese, and if you've ever test rode a Buell....okay, their bad when it comes to using a cheap looking controls, and a really bad motor, IMHO. I think, had I false teeth, they would have rattled out on that test ride.

Also, the people looking to the 'Busa, ZX14, et. el. are not interested in the quality of fit and finish. I don't know what it's like on the South side of the 49th, but here BMW Motorrad dealerships are far better at customer service and product knowledge then any of the Japanese bike shops, AND Harley dealerships.

I'm not knocking Japanese bikes, just stating fact. I have no problem with Japanese bikes. The Japanese build bikes for a demographic I'm not in

I have no intention of losing anything. I have have owned several bikes. Two of them have been beemers. As this is BMW domain, I praise their virtue. I also love the rush of extreme speed, and hate excessive babble.

Cheers

Damo

dwayne wrote:
Fit and Finish on a Jap bikes is not up to the Fit and Finish on the likes of Aprilla, BMW, Ducati, and Harley Davidson.

This has got to be one of the single most biased and untrue "statement" I have ever seen on this board.

The fit and finish on my Honda RR is far superior to my BMW RR. Same goes for the paint as well. This was true for my previous Honda, a '98 VFR800FI. To actually say that the fit and finish on "Japanese"(my choice of word, not yours) bikes is not as good as the BMW is one thing but never have I ever heard anyone "state" that the fit & finish on a Aprillia, Ducati, or H/D is better than on a Japanese bike.

Based on my own personal experience (a miniscule sample to be sure), I'd put the fit and finish of my '04 Rockster on a par with my '99 Ducati, and a small notch below my '05 Kawasaki and the many Hondas I've owned.

The BMW and the Ducati both show signs that Dieter was hurrying to leave on another vacation, or Paolo just got back from a long lunch with vino rosso. Hiro san, by contrast, seems very focused on his work at all times; as if he would rather die than produce an imperfect product.

Still, all of the above are very well built these days. The small negatives that diffferentiate them appear only when you get down into the details.

I don't have enough up close and personal experience with Harleys to rank them, though I do note that many of them still shed their presumably well-fitted parts while underway.

reidmct wrote:Based on my own personal experience (a miniscule sample to be sure), I'd put the fit and finish of my '04 Rockster on a par with my '99 Ducati, and a small notch below my '05 Kawasaki and the many Hondas I've owned.

The BMW and the Ducati both show signs that Dieter was hurrying to leave on another vacation, or Paolo just got back from a long lunch with vino rosso. Hiro san, by contrast, seems very focused on his work at all times; as if he would rather die than produce an imperfect product.

Still, all of the above are very well built these days. The small negatives that diffferentiate them appear only when you get down into the details.

I don't have enough up close and personal experience with Harleys to rank them, though I do note that many of them still shed their presumably well-fitted parts while underway.

LMAO!

I didn't realize the fit and finish on the Ducs were on par now with Bay Em Vay. I guess they have come a long way since the days of the infamous fly inbedded in the fiberglass tank in the SS featured in Cycle World.