Police presence on test rides
 

Bit of a moan but got to get it off my chest - called in at Oulton Park today as I saw on visordown that Kawasaki were offering test rides.

Also went to the Kawasaki site itself to check the details - all seemed fine.

Took my licence etc down as instructed and booked slots on both a Z750 and Z1000 - as I was about to set off, asked for my photocard back to take with me in case I got stopped and the staff member said 'oh, don't worry about that, you'll be accompanied by these guys; - gesturing at several police bikers lounging about who I'd presumed were just there on the usual 'biker outreach' safety awareness jolly.

Thought she was joking at first but oh no, you had to go out with plod on your test ride and also don an attractive hi-vis bib. As a result, it was a total waste of time for me - not because I was planning to go out trying to be John McGuinness, but because you want to spend a test ride getting to know a bike and trying out different roads and situations - not looking down at your speedo and watching to work out where another bike is going to go next (they led - you had to follow).

As it turned out, I managed to shake off the plod (completely by luck rather than design) but still had to follow an IAM advanced guy, who was nice but made some strange decisions which I had to go along with, like sitting at 55 on an NSL dual carriageway, causing several boy races to try and overtake, before suddenly accelerating up to about 110, meaning I had to suddenly undertake said boy racers to keep him in sight. I'm doing my advanced test myself, ironically.

Hate to harp on but it just p*ssed me off - especially seeing as the police appeared to be booking up all the test ride slots for themselves - sure they were sticking to speed limits on the ZX10 and ZZR1400s of course. Wouldn't mind and expect it's something that's been imposed on them (due to beer tents at race days etc) but nowhere in the promo literature was there any mention of this.

On a positive note, really impressed at how the old SV compared to the Z750 - was expecting a big step up in power but it felt rather lacking! Really missed the SV's instant throttle response and even when revving the 750 to the limiter, it didn't feel much faster so I was glad to get back on my bike.

Expect the Z1000 would have been a different story but threw my toys in the pram and cancelled the ride on that.

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

Better to just do a test ride via your local dealer, took an er6n out wednesday avo, photocopied my license, had to sign a form stating a £500 insurance excess, then that was it, off I went.

But er6, other than comfy was very slow compared to the sv.

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

Yeah just thought it would be nice to kill two birds with one stone - see some racing and try some potential bikes.

Am pleased at how well the SV compared though, even with mine having two teeth up on the front sprocket. Think I got it in my head that it's is a slow bike because of its beginner-friendly image but they're not such slouches after all - overtakes felt like they took ages on the Z750, even dialling in the required extra revs for a four,

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

Im totally hooked on v twins now, the power delivery suits my riding style. Once I got back on my sv after the er6 I thought the sv was much quicker, and more fun too.

It was riding the monster the next day that made me re evaluate :)

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

Ride a triple then, best of both worlds, low down power curve that doesn't level out :)

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

106 horses versus 72 horses... you weren't riding the Z750 properly and making use of the way it makes its power. I find the SV runs out of revs and puff way too quick for my liking - I refer the way non-V-Twins hang onto their revs for longer making overtakes less rushed and frantic.

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

Some hotter cams and other tweaks have them pulling right to the limiter :)

And if your overtakes are rushed and frantic have you considered some advanced tuition :p

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

I used to find the short gearing on the SV was a bit of an annoyance on overtakes as I often had to change up part way through, but it's fine now I've added some teeth to the front sprocket.

Don't get me wrong - I was changing up too quicky at first (thought the rev counter was broke!) but soon got in the hang of revving the Z to the limiter - still didn't feel like it was a third more powerful than an SV though.

I've ridden a Blackbird and that certainly did feel like all the extra power was there. Still think I'll stick with twins though.

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

I've ridden a couple of Zs and found them to feel soft, the engines have a much more raw character in the ZXRs that's more fun.

Re: Police presence on test rides
 

+1
love my zxr, do miss the instant sv power but it just feels much quicker and planted.
The z750 when i rode one was completely different and just more sedate, would have an sv over it any day.