[manson]

Originally Posted by highwayblaze

Partly because the newer gen kawasaki's are not the prettiest but they're definitely the cheapest to buy and give the most hp per dollar!

You said it bhuppi, not the prettiest. But surely the maddest!!
There are some who swear by the honda's reliabilty, some love the refinement the suzukis offer, some are nuts about yamaha styling, and yet there are few less than some who love their kwackers for their character

Infact i always thought the kawasakis were the most expensive of the lot, atleast till a little over a year ago when i was browsing through mrps on the US sites.

manson.

[dipen]

Originally Posted by manson

Infact i always thought the kawasakis were the most expensive of the lot, atleast till a little over a year ago when i was browsing through mrps on the US sites.

manson.

Prices for all litre class is almost similar for all Japs.
2008 CBR1000RR : $11,599
2008 GSX-R1000 : $11,499
2008 YZF-R1 : $11,699
2008 ZX-10R : $11,549

Maintainance could vary, but with years of RnD behind each bike, I assume more or less it could be same.

[Nitin]

Quite true,bhupi.
Among the lot,Kwackers are rare. I see more Honda/Yamaha bikes in Houston. Suzuki at # 3,and Kawasaki at 4. Thats how I'd rate them in terms of numbers sold.

[v1p3r]

Kawasakis are just the most brutal and cool machines ever. You ain't seen nothing till you seen a big-bore ZX-12R annihilate a Busa on a dragstrip!

I love Ninjas!

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

I love Ninjas!

Same with me. I've always loved the image that the Ninjas created back in the '90s. As for the Ninja 250R,thats another 'small' piece of marvel.

[netchef]

Originally Posted by Nitin

Ah..I love the way you ad- guys write! Fewer words, with a much better effect! In these days of SMS-lingo,and more colloquial style of writing,its a handful of guys on the forum that make the difference.

Quite true about the Kwackers. Not many of them seen around.

We do our bit, Sir. But there's a heap of knowledge and enthusiasm out there and it is a pleasure to chew the pages. Also lots of camaraderie. And buddy-system. Admirable, really. I think the forum works wonders to bring the youngsters together.

Originally Posted by highwayblaze

Its funny how kawies not just in india but even in the US, they're probably the least sold sports bikes. Partly because the newer gen kawasaki's are not the prettiest but they're definitely the cheapest to buy and give the most hp per dollar!

WOW HP/Dollar. New idea to mull.

Originally Posted by manson

You said it bhuppi, not the prettiest. But surely the maddest!!
There are some who swear by the honda's reliabilty, some love the refinement the suzukis offer, some are nuts about yamaha styling, and yet there are few less than some who love their kwackers for their character


Infact i always thought the kawasakis were the most expensive of the lot, atleast till a little over a year ago when i was browsing through mrps on the US sites.

manson.

First for me to hear 'Suzy refinement'... not that I think otherwise, but just that it's not a commonly-articulated association.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Kawasakis are just the most brutal and cool machines ever. You ain't seen nothing till you seen a big-bore ZX-12R annihilate a Busa on a dragstrip!

I love Ninjas!

Yeah. Ninja is evocative. Daredevil, maverick even dangerous. I wonder why they don't sell as much.

[highwayblaze]

Originally Posted by manson

Infact i always thought the kawasakis were the most expensive of the lot, atleast till a little over a year ago when i was browsing through mrps on the US sites.
manson.

Manson I see where you're coming from but dont bother with the MSRP's on the websites. Go visit dealers and they'll be dying for you to buy one. They'll cut you really good deals too. In 2005 when I was looking for litre bikes I found brand new Kawasaki's for 9500$ (05 model year) and that dealer also had brand new (04 model year) which he wasnt able to sell. Those were selling for 8400$ can you beat that.
Even today you'll see several dealers in Florida or some southern states selling their brand new kawies for just a little below 10K for 2008 models which yammies selling for 11500 and likes.

Other bikes mostly Gixxers and Yammies do REALLY well here in the US. Especially 600s. Chicks dig how yamaha's look and most 600's are bought by young kids who wanna pick up these chicks.

[highwayblaze]

Originally Posted by netchef

WOW HP/Dollar. New idea to mull.

Yup I always choose that as a filter to figure out which car/bike is most HP for the least amount of money spent so to make it easy I just coined this phrase "HP per Dollar"! In litre bikes its the kawasaki and in brand new cars in the US it'll be Pontiac GTO (not sold anymore however)!

[manson]

And i always thought the kawasakis sold best in the US, or they probably did till the late 90's, till the R1 era tookover.
Heck that changed the rules of the game, almost everything in the liter class besdies the R1 stopped selling, till probably the newer firebaldes started popping, 929, 954 and the likes. Through 98-02, the R1 rocked the sales floors, rocked so hard that the suzuki & honda guys probably never worked so hard, kawasaki was yet a second favourite to the R1, the whopping top end yet had its admirers.
2002-03 the competition started to get even with the newer blades, gixxers getting all fancy, but the R1 yet managed to stay at the top, and how!!
Came 2006, and there was a sudden outburst in the gixxer fan following, which has been on a rise ever since.
The R1 yet keeps gettin sexy by the year, the simple honda has its fair share of reliability seeking crowd, sadly enough the design team at kawasaki continues to sleep.

manson.

[highwayblaze]

Originally Posted by manson

sadly enough the design team at kawasaki continues to sleep.
manson.

I totally agree. Each time they roll out with an ugly one i keep waiting for the next one to release hoping this time it'll be better but NO!!

[straight6]

Originally Posted by manson

And i always thought the kawasakis sold best in the US, or they probably did till the late 90's, till the R1 era tookover.
Heck that changed the rules of the game, almost everything in the liter class besdies the R1 stopped selling, till probably the newer firebaldes started popping, 929, 954 and the likes. Through 98-02, the R1 rocked the sales floors, rocked so hard that the suzuki & honda guys probably never worked so hard, kawasaki was yet a second favourite to the R1, the whopping top end yet had its admirers.
2002-03 the competition started to get even with the newer blades, gixxers getting all fancy, but the R1 yet managed to stay at the top, and how!!
Came 2006, and there was a sudden outburst in the gixxer fan following, which has been on a rise ever since.
The R1 yet keeps gettin sexy by the year, the simple honda has its fair share of reliability seeking crowd, sadly enough the design team at kawasaki continues to sleep.

manson.

If you guys want to know what the sales figure is around the world then go to BikePics and see for yourself which manufacturer has the most number of pics posted. Click on 'Manufacturer' and then on 'Full List'. Not only amongst the four Japanese manufacturers but "ALL" manufacturers .

[netchef]

Originally Posted by highwayblaze

Yup I always choose that as a filter to figure out which car/bike is most HP for the least amount of money spent so to make it easy I just coined this phrase "HP per Dollar"! In litre bikes its the kawasaki and in brand new cars in the US it'll be Pontiac GTO (not sold anymore however)!

Cool invention. I chose my Blade in similar fashion though I'd never articulated the thought. I figured it this way: I like cars too, but bang-for-my-buck would have required 50 or 60 lakhs to get something with enough oomph to stir the juices. Came to 2 wheels and an affordable 5 lakhs got me BHP that could scare me out of my wits. What more could I ask?

Originally Posted by manson

And i always thought the kawasakis sold best in the US, or they probably did till the late 90's, till the R1 era tookover.
Heck that changed the rules of the game, almost everything in the liter class besdies the R1 stopped selling, till probably the newer firebaldes started popping, 929, 954 and the likes. Through 98-02, the R1 rocked the sales floors, rocked so hard that the suzuki & honda guys probably never worked so hard, kawasaki was yet a second favourite to the R1, the whopping top end yet had its admirers.
2002-03 the competition started to get even with the newer blades, gixxers getting all fancy, but the R1 yet managed to stay at the top, and how!!
Came 2006, and there was a sudden outburst in the gixxer fan following, which has been on a rise ever since.
The R1 yet keeps gettin sexy by the year, the simple honda has its fair share of reliability seeking crowd, sadly enough the design team at kawasaki continues to sleep.

manson.

I read somewhere that Honda marketing finally realised it was the 50-odd year old riders who were their biggest segment, so they redesigned the 08 Blade in accordance with more sober colours and contours...not for the brat pack.

Originally Posted by straight6

If you guys want to know what the sales figure is around the world then go to BikePics and see for yourself which manufacturer has the most number of pics posted. Click on 'Manufacturer' and then on 'Full List'. Not only amongst the four Japanese manufacturers but "ALL" manufacturers .

Thanks.

[straight6]

Originally Posted by manson

Thin, slightly short man? If so, then he must've sold it, remember him saying he wanted to trade it for a 08 busa.
Yup, Devil and D&D are known to be nice and loud, but this was certainly a few shades better than the best i had heard.
Had heard a Yoshi and a devil endcan on differen occasions on the same bike, a certain yellow & purple cbr 600 f3, the devil was so much deeper.
Heck, my Ace runs a Devil too

manson.

Is he the same guy who was riding a midnight roadliner when we went for the first ride of the season? He was with the Thane guys who met us at Kamats.

My favorite is the Two Brothers. They are loud but not high pitched like D&D's. They have this throaty bass to them. My next bikes going to have one for sure when I get one.

I think I know which F3 you're talking about. I've heard it with a Yoshimura. Somehow the older Yoshimuras were better because they were louder with a nice note. The new ones these days are such a waste. I wouldnt pay money to buy something quite, I'd much rather keep the stock exhaust.

[manishasrani]

just love the 954 in blue !!

[manson]

Originally Posted by straight6

If you guys want to know what the sales figure is around the world then go to BikePics and see for yourself which manufacturer has the most number of pics posted. Click on 'Manufacturer' and then on 'Full List'. Not only amongst the four Japanese manufacturers but "ALL" manufacturers .

My post was not really directed at sales figures, i doubt anyone would doubt honda being at the top with those.
Honda has done something that most have struggled to do, being consistent.
They have managed to have the best sales figures inspite of not having the best of performance or styling, but all their motorcycles tend to carry out an ideal balance between performance, styling and comfort, and this has been the case since forever.

Originally Posted by straight6

Is he the same guy who was riding a midnight roadliner when we went for the first ride of the season? He was with the Thane guys who met us at Kamats.

Yes, same guy with the roadliner.

Originally Posted by straight6

My favorite is the Two Brothers. They are loud but not high pitched like D&D's. They have this throaty bass to them. My next bikes going to have one for sure when I get one.

Yet to hear a two bros exhaust cautiously, your 'to be' ride could be a first

Originally Posted by straight6

I think I know which F3 you're talking about. I've heard it with a Yoshimura.

Yup, i thought you'd know, that one with the devil slipon sounded so good.

manson.