ZX7R

[Fire99]

Morning All,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We did a run up to Cambridge on the bikes yesterday morning and apart from it being flippin cold, was a good day out.

Back to the subject... Now i've owned a good number of bikes including a gsxr1100 and a C1 model ZX-9R etc and currently running a TL1000R..

But does anyone have any experience of the ZX7R? I've heard good reports on the stability and handling and only negetives are weight and not huge power by todays standards...

So come on Biker chaps.. Any experience with this bike?

Cheers,

Nick

[AlexHancock]

Owned one for about 5 years. Great bike - plenty of power (for me at least), handles well and very stable. I never noticed the weight. I used mine infrequently so the only problem was fuel going off and blocking the carb jets - that would have been the same for all bikes with carbs so I knew I'd have to have an injection engine. Some people suffered from carb icing in the winter but there was a fix for that.

I think you'll love it - it always remains popular with the journos.

[Fire99]

AlexHancock said:

Owned one for about 5 years. Great bike - plenty of power (for me at least), handles well and very stable. I never noticed the weight. I used mine infrequently so the only problem was fuel going off and blocking the carb jets - that would have been the same for all bikes with carbs so I knew I'd have to have an injection engine. Some people suffered from carb icing in the winter but there was a fix for that.

I think you'll love it - it always remains popular with the journos.

Thanks for the info.. I would be interested to know how it compared power wise to a C1 and above model zx-9r since i previously owned one of those.

How about comfort? Is it reasonably comfortable to ride..(cramped legs etc?)

[F.M]

Chris Walkers antics in the `99 BSB series have got me smitten on ZX7`s...A future classic methinks...power wise I`m sure it won`t be quite as brutal as a `9` but easily fast enough for sure on real roads...you might be dicing with the (`06 models) 600 supersport boyz on trackdays though...(although 600`s give most 1000`s a run for there money though these days..)
Gotta be green, silver or black though...never really thought the red ones suited...

Nice ZX7 fan site..

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/webzxr/z

Edited by F.M on Monday 13th November 15:32

[AlexHancock]

I've never ridden either of those bikes so I can't help there. Have a look at the manufacturers figures to get some idea - I'd expect those bikes to have more torque but I doubt there'd be that much in it. I found it comfortable - much more than my MV.

[Fire99]

thanks guys.. it seems alot of bike for the money..
May need to downgrade the current stead and i've always had a soft spot for the 7!!
They still look ace now!

[Mad Dave]

I'm currently running one and I absolutely love it! It handles very well (pegs down on the road), has plenty of power (have seen 170mph on the clocks and it was still pulling) and it stops pretty well too. Mine's a little long in the tooth now, so i've been considering changing it - was actually looking at a T plate TL1000R today, tempted to trade it for that but not sure i'd want a twin...

[Fire99]

Mad Dave said:

I'm currently running one and I absolutely love it! It handles very well (pegs down on the road), has plenty of power (have seen 170mph on the clocks and it was still pulling) and it stops pretty well too. Mine's a little long in the tooth now, so i've been considering changing it - was actually looking at a T plate TL1000R today, tempted to trade it for that but not sure i'd want a twin...

Does sound good.. Well i've got a TL1000R (as shown in my profile) but i couldnt say how good a standard one is as mine has had a fortune spent on it (fortunately most of it by the previous owner) and is probably running atleast 150bhp at the crank.
One positive note about the TL is it gets loads of appreciation by passers by as it looks quite unusual compared to the crops of cbr,R1's and gsxr's etc.
(oh and very loud too! )

[DennisTheMenace]

ah he's replied , i was going to say crazy dave's pootling about on one

[huffy]

Fire99 said:

Morning All,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We did a run up to Cambridge on the bikes yesterday morning and apart from it being flippin cold, was a good day out.

Back to the subject... Now i've owned a good number of bikes including a gsxr1100 and a C1 model ZX-9R etc and currently running a TL1000R..

But does anyone have any experience of the ZX7R? I've heard good reports on the stability and handling and only negetives are weight and not huge power by todays standards...

So come on Biker chaps.. Any experience with this bike?

Cheers,

Nick

There is a review of the various ZX7Rs in this months Ride (the January 07 edition! that has a Bandit on the front) - may give you some info and they still like them

[Leadfoot]

I went from a 7 to a 9(C1) so here'e my thoughts:

The 9 has a much more comfortable riding position, the 7 has much lower bars & footpegs that always seemed too far forwards for me - 5'11'' but with short legs - which often led severe knee & calf pain after an hour in the saddle.

9 has a lot more power that the 7, low down torque being the most noticeable difference.

7 handles better than 9, the front end on the 7 is fantastic, whereas on the 9 I always found it a bit vague & never really trusted it.

7 steers more slowly, the cure used to be to replace the rear tyre with a 180 (instead of the standard 190) & fit dunlop 207gp's which had quite a triangular profile. I dunno what they're like on current tyres.

I had both fitted with full akrapovic race systems & the 7 howled like a racer, the 9 just sounded like a noisy road bike to me.

The C1 model of the 9 had some potential gearbox & crank faults IIRC. Mine used to send my hands numb with vibes thru' the bars after a while, bit I was never sure if this was down to the exhaust headers resonating or the engine.

HTH

[Fire99]

huffy said:

There is a review of the various ZX7Rs in this months Ride (the January 07 edition! that has a Bandit on the front) - may give you some info and they still like them

Thanks mate..
I'll take a look..

[Fire99]

Leadfoot said:

I went from a 7 to a 9(C1) so here'e my thoughts:

The 9 has a much more comfortable riding position, the 7 has much lower bars & footpegs that always seemed too far forwards for me - 5'11'' but with short legs - which often led severe knee & calf pain after an hour in the saddle.

9 has a lot more power that the 7, low down torque being the most noticeable difference.

7 handles better than 9, the front end on the 7 is fantastic, whereas on the 9 I always found it a bit vague & never really trusted it.

7 steers more slowly, the cure used to be to replace the rear tyre with a 180 (instead of the standard 190) & fit dunlop 207gp's which had quite a triangular profile. I dunno what they're like on current tyres.

I had both fitted with full akrapovic race systems & the 7 howled like a racer, the 9 just sounded like a noisy road bike to me.

The C1 model of the 9 had some potential gearbox & crank faults IIRC. Mine used to send my hands numb with vibes thru' the bars after a while, bit I was never sure if this was down to the exhaust headers resonating or the engine.

HTH

So the multi million dollar question.
Which did you prefer??

I really rate the looks of the 7 and i've heard the front end is meant to be something special. My only concern after riding a C1 zx9 dynojetted etc and my TL with pretty big power is that the 7 may feel a bit underpowered...

No doubt a decent test ride would help no end..

[Mad Dave]

Im 6'2 and have done a few 300mile+ days and still been able to walk. re Tyres - stick some Michelin Pilot Powers on, jack the rear up and drop the forks through the yokes 5mm (yet to do this last one actually) and it should steer in quickly enough.

[Leadfoot]

[quote=Fire99So the multi million dollar question.
Which did you prefer??
[/quote]

Well every now & then I have thoughts of getting another 7..........

IIRC it made 125bhp on the dyno with the akrapovic.

[catso]

Leadfoot said:

I went from a 7 to a 9(C1) so here'e my thoughts:

Never had a 7, although I've ridden a mates ZXR750, which was pretty good in it's day, but I had a ZX9R which was a bit of a lardy beast but what an engine! - addictive intake roar a real licence loser.

IIRC some bike mag built a 'best of both worlds' a ZX7R with a ZX9R engine......

[F.M]

My garage has never felt complete without something green & mean...I want one now too........