Z1000sx riders opinions on the bike

[voyager600]

I have my eye on buying a 12 plate Z1000sx. Are they good pieces of kit as standard and what are the essential modification that need to be done?

What is the tyre life and what's you preferred hoop- Pilot road 4s Angel GT or something else?

Any other pertinent information would be gratefully received

Thanks!

[vonhosen]

They are a nice good value bike, I quite liked it.
I found it reasonably light, but feel like you have to Rev the nuts off it to get anywhere which makes it a little bit like hard work if you ride it for a long time.
Not speaking as an owner of one though, just a few outings on one.

[ilovequo]

My dad had one for a few years...
Didn't take much revving!
Ballistickly quick cross country machine. Superbike speed with touring comfort...

[trickywoo]

vonhosen said:

but feel like you have to Rev the nuts off it to get anywhere which makes it a little bit like hard work.

Compared to what? Its 140 bhp and quite a long way from a peaky sports bike. Its got 65 lb/ft at 7k rpm and a fair wedge of that from 4k rpm.

[vonhosen]

trickywoo said:

vonhosen said:

but feel like you have to Rev the nuts off it to get anywhere which makes it a little bit like hard work.

Compared to what? Its 140 bhp and quite a long way from a peaky sports bike. Its got 65 lb/ft at 7k rpm and a fair wedge of that from 4k rpm.

Compared to the other sports tourers I've ridden (people's populars such as K1300S, ZZR1400 etc).
Gearing on it just feels short.

Admittedly I've ridden them in circumstances that most users wouldn't normally be riding them in too.

[hebegb]

voyager600 said:

I have my eye on buying a 12 plate Z1000sx. Are they good pieces of kit as standard and what are the essential modification that need to be done?

What is the tyre life and what's you preferred hoop- Pilot road 4s Angel GT or something else?

Any other pertinent information would be gratefully received

Thanks!

Out of interest , what sort of money are you looking at paying for the '12 plater ( mileage? ), many thanks.

[Renn Sport]

I have one but its being sold as I type.

This is a very surprising motorcycle and is hugely capable. I found the bike slightly heavy coming from sport bikes but on the move the bike is really very good indeed. The riding comfort is much maligned but I found mine to be exceptionally comfortable. Lowish pegs and upright bars make it a great riding position. You do feel a bit Judge Dredd riding a lawmaster on it.

Initially I was annoyed at the vibes the engine produced from 4000 rpm... but and you initially feel it and because of this, you think the bike wont want to rev. Nothing could be further from the truth. This bike is very well designed and the vibes you initially feel as annoying become quite characterful and part of the bike. Odd as that sounds... also the bike revs and will rev quite hard propelling you toward the vanishing point. Its a 200+ kg bike and with near 140bhp its plenty quick. Not superbike quick but still very quick for what it is.

The great thing about this bike is that the torque curve is flat and you fund that your in 6th lugging it around before you know it. It some how encourages you to short shift when you really needn't.

Its a great bike to wheelie off the throttle and great fun. Take some precise clutch pinging to get it up in second as its pretty heavy monster. Still very fun.

I ran Metzler M7RR tyres with a 190 55 17 on the rear, which helped put the bike on its nose. Exceptional tyres and transformed the bike.

Personally I would go for a 2013 model, which comes with the slipper clutch, riding modes and traction control and not to mention ABS. Not sure if this also has gear position indicator but it does have a few bhp more.

I ran twin brothers exhausts and it sounded a bit of a beast.

Great bike and if it wasn't for the fact I don't want mine nicked outside of work I would still have mine.

[terry tibbs]

i did 40000 in two years on one but it was the up-graded 63 plate. Seat needed to be changed for a sergeant seat - std mod.

used mich pr4 and got up to 10 000 out of them. Easy to work on, fairing a bit of a pain to take off, need to be careful with tabs but makes my zzr look a doddle.

buzzy at motorway speeds but changing the sprocket/gearing a tooth sorts that, people usually change the std exhaust for after market end can, panniers on the 12 plate a bit naff and stick out too far, the upgraded tourer are neater but they still got bashed. some people change the tyre ratio from 55 to 50 or 50 to 55 (not sure which way round). headlights are bks - people usually upgrade the bulbs. Service intervals short but high mileage just stuck to 7500 miles and missed intermediate

all in all not a bad bike, i'd have another

big community forum with loads of help just google z1000sx forum

[abarber]

I test rode one. The handling feels so-so, certainly a step behind the sports tourer competition. Steering at low speed, not great either.

It's true, you do have to rev the motor to get it to go, compared to a Blackbird and especially a 1050 triple. It's plenty quick enough when you do though.

Maybe the later models are a bit better, but it felt budget in places to me.