Kawaski 250EX running costs

[ducatilover]

My main bike is a 94 ZZR1100. It has nearly been around the clock (like its owner) but I think it may go for ever. It is the best motorcycle engine I have ever known. You can ride beside a push bike & talk to its rider, or cruise it all day at pretty much any speed you like. I regard the handling as good, but there is better around. The c of g is a bit high, but it is a sport cruiser, not a true sport bike. At legal speeds (this is hard) it does about 4.7l/100km. This is actually slightly better than my Piaggio Fly 150cc Italian scooter can manage at any speed I have tried! I have had no electrical problems, and a previous owner must have stored it outside quite a bit. There is a bit of corosion around some electrical plugs. When I got the bike at 70,000 it had obviously had almost no maintenance done to it at all and that has made it a sweeter machine.
Ducatis are like Leggo - I like that - shall pass on to my mate at a suitable moment!

The only bad part 'bout them was early ones had soft cams and ate themselves easily, but 98% of those have been fixed. Lovely bike them.
That's using less gas than my 600 My ZZR was a very well maintained bike ('till I messed with it )

[EJK]

If Kawasakis are reliable, then how good is Honda?

[sootie]

If Kawasakis are reliable, then how good is Honda?

The last Honda I owned was a 1981 model I think. I sincerely believe that they have greatly improved their engineering since then. My last Suzuki was even earlier than that. I can tell you though that at that time the Kwakas packed more power per cc, were more reliable, had better electrical systems, and were just better engineered in everything I looked at including ease of servicing. I think they have always been marketed less agressively. Nowdays, I think all the major brands are pretty good.

I do find it interesting though that Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha basically make nearly all their money from motor vehicles. With Kawasaki it seems to be a minor offshoot of enthusiasts who associate with the aviation industry. You can see this in some of their engineering.

Incidently, Kawasaki hold a number of contracts for the Japanese military. One of them is for supply of a long range recconaisance aircraft to fullfill the role previously played by US supplied Orion P3s. A review showed that it beat the Orion on every point of evaluation. What I can't understand is why Japan has made no attempt to manufacture these for export. Again - typical Kawasaki.

[GSF]

Incidently, Kawasaki hold a number of contracts for the Japanese military. One of them is for supply of a long range recconaisance aircraft to fullfill the role previously played by US supplied Orion P3s. A review showed that it beat the Orion on every point of evaluation. What I can't understand is why Japan has made no attempt to manufacture these for export. Again - typical Kawasaki.

From what I understand the Japanese have had a self-imposed ban on military exports for the last 40 years. It's only been in the last few months they've been thinking of binning it due to some potentially lucrative contracts with Lockheed Martin.

[sootie]

From what I understand the Japanese have had a self-imposed ban on military exports for the last 40 years. It's only been in the last few months they've been thinking of binning it due to some potentially lucrative contracts with Lockheed Martin.

I guess that would explain it. The Kawasaki aircraft involved here though is mainly being used for long range search & rescue work. It sounds like a little honey of a machine which would sell very well to most countries if they ever get the OK. The Orions are a very old design now.

Kawasaki seem to have had a long history of getting themselves in to funny corners like this with aircraft and with motorcycles! Lockheed Martin (think Skunk Works!) are another interesting company with their new developments.