The Look!
This has happened twice now….I get a funny look when the subject comes up that I am riding a Kawasaki ZRX1200R.
The ZRX is a naked bike, a UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) a throw-back to 1970’s when the bikes were devoid of fairings and low handlebars. The Honda CB 750 was the first of these bikes. Some consider the CB 750 to be the first superbike. It was too, then came the H1 Kawasaki two stroke triple, the CB900F, the Z-1000 Kawasaki, and so on!
The nickname for the ZRX is the Z-Rex. The implication is that the bike is much like the T-Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex. A dinosaur, a relic from a past time, but at the same time a very powerful relic!
The first time I got the look, I had gone to a local motorcycle shop to get a rear paddock stand for the ZRX. The place was busy on a Saturday afternoon. I got my turn at the counter and asked the guy behind the counter if they had the a Pitbull rear stand for a bike with spools. The guy asked me what bike it was for and I told him for a ZRX1200R. From the look on the guys face you would have thought I was holding the place up. A real deer in the headlights look. I looked about behind me to see if there was someone back there with a mask and a gun! He kinda stuttered out the question, “That’s your bike?”
I’m 57 years old and I look it. I’m pretty well bald, what hair I have is gray. I guess I don’t look like the typical guy that rides a ZRX1200R. I asked him if that was a problem? He said, “Oh, no, no problem, that’s a nice bike. You say it has spools?” Barbara was with me and she got a hoot out of the guys reaction. She said, “I guess he didn’t expect an old fart like you to be riding that crotch-rocket!”
Last Tuesday, primary election day in Georgia, I was standing in line waiting for the polls to open. The guy in line behind me noticed by Harley-Davidson jacket and asked me if I had a motorcycle. I answered yes and we got into a conversation about riding and motorcycles. He was a rider too, his wife rides a bike. He was riding a Yamaha cruiser but wanted to move up to a sport bike. His wife didn’t ride much any more and he wanted something with a bit more performance. I told him that in addition to the Electra Glide (also probably more appropriately known as the Geezer Glide) I had a ZRX1200R Kawasaki. There was that look again. His was a little different, his mouth was hanging open. He said that he heard that the ZRX was a really fast bike, and that mostly kids rode them…..Yep, that’s what he said, kids. I guess he couldn’t figure why this old guy was riding a Z-Rex!
Actually, the ZRX is a really nice bike. Since it is not truly a crotch-rocket it has higher, wider handlebars and a more upright seating position just right for an old guy like me. It has only a small “bikini” fairing around the headlight so the motor is exposed unlike its sport bike siblings. And, visually, the motor on the ZRX is big looking!
Despite its old school looks the bike has some fairly modern technology. Fully adjustable suspension on both ends, dual disk brakes up front with six piston calipers and a single disk on the rear. (the Nighthawk, although a great bike, had a mechanical drum brake on the rear…very old school!) Very sticky radial tires and overall a nice riding bike.
The engine just makes gobs of torque making the bike very easy to ride. It has very good low and mid range torque that makes the bike accelerate in any gear, without having to make the motor scream. It is quite docile in around town cruising. But also, it does have a bit of split personality. When the RPMs get upon the motor it starts making some pretty good power. It will accelerate smartly if you grab a hand full, not that I would know, I’ve just heard!