Deal's Gap - Summer 2007

After four years, I returned to the Deal's Gap area this past weekend. I made the road trip with Keith, from Raleigh. We met up with some other friends from Virginia. I did a total of 1175 miles in four days -- WAY more than ever before. The ZX did great and we had a great time riding. Lots more details and pix to follow.

Mods for the road...

I've added a few items to my bike for the roadtrips I'll be taking. First, I installed a set of risers from Heli-Bar. Also, I will be changing my grips to a set from BMW and I will be trying a Throttle Rocker. I've ordered a Tank Protector and Bag from Bagster and, hopefully, they will arrive before my trip at the end of the month. Finally, I installed a set of swingarm spools to make it easier to get the bike on my rearstand. Pix of all the mods will be up soon.

I have decided NOT to make any changes to the exhaust or throttle plates until I can see a bike - in person - that's had these mods done. I just don't want to lose any of the smoothness that this bike has.

2007 Kawasaki ZX-14

Well, my troubles at CMP left me trying to figure out what type of riding I really need to be doing right now. Even though I love the track, my mind and body are telling me that maybe I shouldn't be to doing trackdays right now. I wanted to get a bike that would allow me to enjoy "sport" riding and still be able to strike off on a long ride in relative comfort. I talked to lots of people and I rode a couple of sport-touring bikes. I settled on the big Ninja. This is my first non-Honda motorcycle of any kind so while some things are a little different, I think I made a good choice. This bike is very powerful, very smooth and very comfortable. We will get our first long ride experience later this month with a ride TO and ON the Tail of The Dragon!

I plan to keep the bike stock until the first service. At that time, I will probably add a Power Commander and get the secondary throttle plates removed. This mod is supposed to bring the power curve down from ~6k rpm to ~3k rpm. While I can shave nearly 25 pounds by switching to a full Yoshi or Muzzy exhaust, I really like the look and relative quiet purr of the stock setup.