Thoughts on bike upgrade ZX9 - RF900

[Retep5]

Ok so I'm looking at moving up to a bigger big now. Would like some opinions on bikes.

Currently moving from a Ninja 250R with 25,000kms of riding.
I'm 72kg 6 foot and will have a pillion of similar weight but shorter 5,10.
Budget once I've sold my Ninja 6,000

Looking for a sporty bike but still comfortable for pillion so probably something that's a sports tourer leaning more towards sports.
I will not be doing any serious track days but would like to be able to comfortable do 300 - 400 kilometres a day.
May use for light touring with soft panniers etc....
Would like something that is not a slug but doesn't have to be the fastest thing on the road.

Currently been eyeing up the Suzuki RF900 and the Kawasaki ZX9.

Any other bikes I should take a look at.

Cheers

[EJK]

Earth to Drew, come in Drew... We have a thread for you.

[White trash]

I've got a MINT 98 ZX9R with 22,000km you can have for $6K. It's the best one I've ever ridden and while RFs are nice, the ZX9 is a different level in terms of performance. Possibly not as comfortable long distance though.

[Warr]

Hornet 900 gets my vote for ... some reason ... and I own one too
The others you are looking at are heavier, older.. have carbs.
Hornet get more bang for your buck. Injected .. trouble free and going for good prices.
Easily able to do the pillion thing with ease & also comfortable for pillion too.

[fridayflash]

ive owned an rf, and whilst i liked it id prefer the zx9 (ive ridden one a fair bit)
im also 6' and found the suzuki a bit uncomfortable, the kwacka had more of a
crouch posi but comfortable with it...and a lot more in the way of performance
and handling imo

[blackdog]

Loved my ZX9R to bits. SWMBO didn't one little bit.

Both models are getting on in years a bit now, maybe throw a newer/lower mileage SV1000 or Firestorm into the mix for similar money?

If it's step up from the wee Ninja, neither will disappoint.

[ducatilover]

I'd go the RF, because they're cheaper

[mossy1200]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-622034312.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-610137207.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-617584680.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-618880982.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-610390324.htm

[Drew]

Earth to Drew, come in Drew... We have a thread for you.

Hahahahahaha, nice.

The ZX9 is more capable for sure. Slightly less comfortable to tour on for the rider, lots less comfortable for the pillion.

They are getting on in years now, so for reliability I would expect the RF to be the better bet. What with that Suzuki motor being fucken near indestructible...Trust me, a slide needle has made a trip through the intake/combustion chamber/exhaust on mine, and it's still going strong even though I didn't even try to find what was left of it!

Problem with the RFs though, can be finding a non restricted one. New Zealand was never on the export list as I understand it, so we got leftovers from all over the world. The difference is like night and day power wise. 'Pussy' from this place knows which is which, all I know is that my UK one is full power and DOES keep up with an '05 CBR1000RR with standard gearing to 160k's

Couple motivational pics for the musings...Because I like showing off.

[fridayflash]

im with you on the restricted models, my mate had the original 'manta ray' bike (93-96) they were usually single colour bikes
the next ones from 97 onwards were mostly canadian and usa market models and were a lot cheaper..$10,990 new
difference was about 100hp vs 120hp, altho to make it even more confusing there were other low (88) hp models
mine was a bit of a dud..a mint 99 model but im certain it was a low horsies model..it was quick..faster than my mates
bandit but felt gutless..compared to my mates 94 model which was thoroughly grunty! having said all this..rf's are cheap
and you get a lot of bike for the money...i sold mine to a bloke who owned zzr1100 and he thought the rf was real quik!
so maybe its a perception thing?

[baffa]

No love for the CBR900?

Admittedly I have not ridden an RF or ZX9, but I can tell you from experience the CBR900 will tick all the boxes in terms of handling and performance, and is really good to pillion on.

Im 6'2, the gf is 5'11, and we were quite happy on that bike.
She hates the CBR1000 unfortunately.

Looking to sell my 900, its on this site somewhere if you wanna have a look.

[Retep5]

Cheers guys awesome info.

Gives me a few things to check out and lookout for while I'm selling my current bike.

[tigertim20]

what others have you considered, as the links someone posted above show, there is a huge variety in the 6k region, some absolutely fantastic bikes to be had for that kind of coin.

Test ride time!!!

[SPman]

ZX9R all the way - good comfy bikes that can still get around pretty quickish! My 2000 model dynoed at 139 rwhp - an R1 at the same time did 137!

[Drew]

ZX9R all the way - good comfy bikes that can still get around pretty quickish! My 2000 model dynoed at 139 rwhp - an R1 at the same time did 137!

Are you implying that your ZX9 had more power than an R1, or that the R1 was fucked? Even a '98 R1 should have over 140 at the tread, especially on a dyno optimistic enough to rate a ZX9 at 139 at the tread.