2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R vs. 2011 BMW S1000RR Shootout - Street

[Administrator]

Original Article:
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R vs. 2011 BMW S1000RR Shootout - Street

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R vs. 2011 BMW S1000RR Shootout - Street in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

[Duken4evr]

Any of the liter class bikes are utterly untaxed on the street. As the article correctly points out, little details like looks, comfort, etc matter a lot on bikes that will be ridden for hours and hours on the street. Given that, I like the Yamaha R1. Admittedly it is fat and missing some top end power and a spec sheet loser, but the crossplane engine sounds great and it feels "solid" on the street. For me it would be more "fun" to ride on the street than these two.

Ducatis are special. They manage to be "fun" by virtue of their 90 degree V-twin power delivery and sound, yet they are deadly serious too. Never ridden a new Multistrada, but it seems to me that bike would be loads of fun. Triumph triples are fun too. To be honest, these two strike me as ruthless generators of speed. Awe inspiring peformance for sure, tech sheet standouts, incredibly capable, but for me this kind of bike is not terribly "fun". Irrational perhaps, but that is human psychology for you.

How does one quantify fun? It probably can't be via objective measures. Like good sex, I know fun when I experience it. Whichever bike provides the most "fun" for the buyer has a real advantage. Nobody reading this board is in contention for a superbike title and few even do track days. Even for the track day rider, fun matters. Fun is the whole point. That and perhaps interfacing with the world on the baddest sport bike money can buy I suppose. Whatever makes the rider feel better about himself I guess. We all have our reasons for buying what we do.

My current ride is light years behind these things of course, and even it is untaxed on the street. By the time I get some real cornering loads into the chassis and am 'twistin' it, well the cops would throw me in jail and take away the key. That and given the remote areas that I engage in such hijinks, a deer could always decide to jump out of nowhere. That tends to cause the bursts on the gas to be shorter than I would like. At least it is comfy and reasonably fun when just riding around. A fair compromise for the lack of cutting edge but still considerable sporting ability.

Ya, do a track day. Been there, done that, liked it a lot, but the repetition gets a bit, ah, repetitious. Hate to sound squidly, but going at a good clip (safe but illegal just the same) on an open remote scenic public road is more fun than a track day for me.

Thank God for the dirt bike. At least on that I can still do wheelies, slide around with the throttle wound and generally ride like a loon and it is OK, and actually encouraged Even on the dirt bike, cross country vs. the confines of an MX track is preferred. A man has to roam - it is in our primal nature. A bike that encourages that is the most fun of all. Hmm. I should hang out on the ADV board more!

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

Any of the liter class bikes are utterly untaxed on the street. As the article correctly points out, little details like looks, comfort, etc matter a lot on bikes that will be ridden for hours and hours on the street. Given that, I like the Yamaha R1. Admittedly it is fat and missing some top end power and a spec sheet loser, but the crossplane engine sounds great and it feels "solid" on the street. For me it would be more "fun" to ride on the street than these two.
!

Yeah, the R1 is cool - it pained me to have it finish last in our 2009 shootout. But it's the least powerful and heaviest, which are two obvious demerits in a class of bikes so stacked.

Don't go to the ADV boards if it's gonna take your time away from this one!

[Morbo the Destroyer]

I like the new format of the reviews, with the "Next Page" sectioning of the material.

BMW wins on the track, Ninja wins on the street, but it's splitting hairs in both cases... Are we going to see a third and final installment that breaks the tie?

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Morbo the Destroyer

I like the new format of the reviews, with the "Next Page" sectioning of the material.

BMW wins on the track, Ninja wins on the street, but it's splitting hairs in both cases... Are we going to see a third and final installment that breaks the tie?

Yes. Either that or we'll flip a coin!

[neo1piv014]

Hell, I'm not sure you even need to do a tie breaker. The way I see it, if you spend the vast majority of your time on the streets, and you're not racing for a living, then the bike that's better on the street would be the winner (just in my eyes). Chances are, if you're just doing track days as a casual thing, then you can make up that split-hair advantage the S1000RR has by just getting to be a better rider. Still, these two articles were a really great read. Love the site.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by neo1piv014

Hell, I'm not sure you even need to do a tie breaker. The way I see it, if you spend the vast majority of your time on the streets, and you're not racing for a living, then the bike that's better on the street would be the winner (just in my eyes). Chances are, if you're just doing track days as a casual thing, then you can make up that split-hair advantage the S1000RR has by just getting to be a better rider. Still, these two articles were a really great read. Love the site.

Thx, neo, glad you liked 'em! Your premise makes sense unless you've got a place to run the Beemer wide open.

[anrajala]

“people want to buy something they’ll be glad to look at each time they open their garage.”

You need not to look for a tiebraker any further Morbo.

Every time anyone with even half a brain who opens a garage and stares his new Kawi purchase, and realizes that with extra 151 dollars MSRP he could have got 23 rwhp more, he feels an urgent need to put a bullet into his bloody head.

- cruiz-euro

[Morbo the Destroyer]

Originally Posted by anrajala

“people want to buy something they’ll be glad to look at each time they open their garage.”

You need not to look for a tiebraker any further Morbo.

Every time anyone with even half a brain who opens a garage and stares his new Kawi purchase, and realizes that with extra 151 dollars MSRP he could have got 23 rwhp more, he feels an urgent need to put a bullet into his bloody head.

- cruiz-euro

Anything over 70 hp is lost on me. Like you, I'm a Harley guy!

[anrajala]

Come on guys, I would gladly pay 151 dollars for extra 23 rwhp for my Harley - I paid much more for much less.

I have always wondered where the Screamin Eagle brand comes from. Its the noises your wife makes when she finds out how much you have blown on the upgrade parts.

- cruiz-euro