Glugskiclumfum
Ex Member
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Er, further or no further...? I concur with the KZ1000 comment - a friend had a late seventies Kawasaki Z1R - it looked fantastic in white, and it really could move. But when I actually rode it, it felt like a dog compared to the TR1 I owned at the time. There seemed to be no low-down power, even though the magazines praised this aspect of the 1015cc Kawa engine. It felt like the throttle cable was damped, and made of elastic! The brakes felt wooden and extremely unresponsive, and the handling... well, the handling didn't inspire confidence - top-heavy and with a riding position that felt like sitting on a plank, a bit scary. No doubt after riding it for half a day or so it'd've started to feel ok, but as it was I was glad to hand it back. Going back to the TR1 was a revelation - the power was there when you needed it, not several seconds later, the riding position was much better - sitting 'in' the bike, rather than perched on top, and the suspension and brakes were a couple of generations better. Of course, the TR1 was a bike with 'modern' architecture compared with the kwak then, but I can't help feeling that moderns now have taken a couple of retrograde steps regarding riding position. My poor old knees wouldn't like the degree of bend required to ride even a modern 'naked', never mind a sportsbike. Even my beloved TR1 initially felt cramped in the knee department after my old XS850! Back to tyres (tires?), I'm still intrigued by the Dunlop Arrowmax GT501s and the Avon AM26s. I know the Bridgestones are good, but they have been around for a while, and the classic scene has made a bit more of an impression on the world of motorcycling in general lately (I think it's all those bad backs and cramped knees!) so one does wonder whether these tyre manufacturers might have started to put more thought into their tyres for the oldsters...? Maybe I'll be the first to put Avon AM26s on a TR1? Or perhaps the Dunlops? Or do I play it safe and go for the known quantity that is the BT45s... I'll report back, whatever I do.
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