TheDiabolicTutor's Bikes

[TheDiabolicTutor]

My 2009 K1300S and some shots of her random adventures so far:











Done about 500 miles in 15 days of ownership so far, absolutely loving it.  She just makes some wonderful noises.  And despite the fact my knees and wrists hate me a bit, I love the ergos too.

[TheDiabolicTutor]

My 2020 Ninja 1000sx:









Done about 1550 miles so far in 2 1/2 months.  Definitely a more relaxed and comfy ride (except for the stupidly wide seat at least).  Really don't get on with the screen, need to revert back to the standard one or just get a smaller screen honestly.

[black-k1]

Both bikes looking good although, I must admit, I don't like the look of the screen on the Ninja!

How do the two compare? How are you finding the handling on the K1300S? They can sometimes take a while to get your head around and to learn the techniques that allow for progress to be made.

[TheDiabolicTutor]

Yeah, I'm putting the standard screen back on the Ninja when I remember, that Puig thing just doesn't work for my height, turbulence is awful.

It's funny, at this point I can see that if i had bought the K1300S first, I wouldn't have bought the Ninja.  There is something about the riding position, controls, everything just suits me down to the ground.  Aye, there is no question the Ninja is the more nimble and easy thing to throw into corners, but the K13 is so stable and more comfortable to cruise at progress speeds.  Even just little things like its seat height is slightly easier on me, I'm not mega flexible at 6 2, but the Ninja can be a pain to swing over sometimes.

The Ninja is still a lovely machine for a backroad scratch, but for now, the Ninja is the only one I have with luggage so longer trips with gear will be on her, but I'll give it the rest of the year and see how much mileage I'm putting on each bike and that will probably tell its own story no doubt.  I can see it getting chopped in for a ZZR to be honest!!

[black-k1]

To me, A ZZR (I assume 1400) is a strange stablemate for a K1300S. Both are long, heavy hyper-sport tourers but, having now owned two Kawasaki's, I can say I'm very impressed with their quality and reliability (take note BMW!)

[Matt]

Nice pictures! I'm glad you're finding the value in the K.

I do agree with David regarding the ZZR. In my experience (I'm sure I rode one the same day I tried the H2 SX and the Z1000SX) I found the ZZR slower steering than the K. I used to think it the better looking though, when compared to the K1300S. But I was a sucker for the traditional Japanese hyperbike styles. That's gone now and I see the K1300S (so often!) as the one that's aged best in the looks department.

If you're relatively new to bikes I suggest picking one and learning to ride that safely, properly, progressively. That took me about ten years though! 

Of course, having just come back from France, Luxembourg and friends, I am trying to remember that everybody wants different things from motorcycles. I spent my years trying to learn to get more out of whatever bike I owned, whereas some of us just want to ride a bike, be free, smell the air, admire their bike, and not wear down tyres in less than 5k miles.

So ignore everything I say, as most have already learned .

[TheDiabolicTutor]

Aye, I'm sure your both right about the ZZR, I'm going to give it time and not rush either way and just enjoy the experience. 

Yeah, I am new indeed to biking so every ride is a learning experience for sure!

Got a few days enforced break here as the K is in at Morpeth Motorcycles getting some new front brake discs & pads, but Tony there is spot on and will sort her out properly.