My wife's bike!!!!!

[rauchman]

First off, it's great to have this site up and running again.  Anyway, I took my wife's Kawi Z1000 out for a spin this past weekend.  This is the 2nd time out with her bike.  I started w/ a 2002 SV650S (in silver, I so miss that bike), then moved to a Yammie Roadstar (word of advice, never buy a bike based on peer pressure and what your spouse is riding at the time).  The Roadstar is currently up for cosignment.  I'm looking to get back to a sporting ride once more.  About a year and a half ago, my wife had a get off on her birthday.  Fortunately, she was ok, but her bike at the time, a Honda 750 Shadow ACE, was declared totalled.  Even more fortunately, she has since gotten the used Z1000.  I was really thinking I'd like to get a SV1000S, but I have to say, the Z1000 is confusing things for me greatly.  What a fantastic bike, comfortable, handles great, good suspension (best suspension I've been on), and fast (without a doubt, the fastest bike I've ever been on).  Having never been on an I-4 prior to this, I had no idea what to expect.  You hear the Twin crowd always saying that the twins make more torque down low and excel at the low and mid rpms.  I had absolutely no complaints with the performance of the Z1K engine (outside of some buzziness).
 
decisions......decisions......

[Sock Puppet]

If the Z1000 has the mid-range punch you want I would choose it based on suspension alone. The suspenders on the SV1000 are fairly poor in comparison.
 
You may also want to take a look at the FZ1 and new Triumph Tiger.

[jeepinbanditrider]

Its pretty hard not to go with any modern bike nowadays.  Pretty much all of them will outride their riders and offer performance that outdoes most cages. It comes down to your personal prefrence in the end.

 My wife has an 04 SV650 and while it dosen't have the torque and power of the Bandit I have no problem riding it it rocks.  If I had to own ONE bike it would probably be it.  My Bandit would be a contender also.

[Morgan]

As the owner of a 1st gen naked SV and the new owner of a 1st generation FZ1, I can totally feel you on the world of I4 Literbikes.  I had never been on one until the day I bought my FZ1.  Since that day, I have been riding both bikes and happy as a pig in feces.  The more I ride the FZ1, the more impressed I become.  It handles mountain passes with easy agility and feels very sharp.  I can't find a situation where it feels slower than the SV (maybe top gear at 50 rolling on to 55mph...then it just takes off in a way the SV can't imagine).  It's smooth as butter, gets great mileage (50mpg best to date), is cheap to insure, and is all day comfy.  Plus it has a centerstand and over 130hp.
 
The small what's not to like list can be inferred by the white-out hash mark I put at 90mph on the speedo.  It gets there so fast, I need a bit of further warning to remind myself how stupid I'm acting

[sv1rider]

If the Z1000 has the mid-range punch you want I would choose it based on suspension alone. The suspenders on the SV1000 are fairly poor in comparison.
 
You may also want to take a look at the FZ1 and new Triumph Tiger.

 
Suspenders on the Sv1000s are quite good.  With a few clicks here and there it's track ready and a few clicks in the other direction its ready for the street. The ride is firm but not harsh and it does a good job of soaking up the small stuff. The sag needs to be set because its set-up really firm from the factory. Once you get the sag set correctly...the difference is huge. I ride the bike pretty hard and it has yet to get out of shape in any way. The new FZ1 is an awesome bike and it will eventually end up being my primary street bike and the SV will be for track days. The Z1000 is a great bike but it doesn't compare with the SV or FZ when it comes to suspension...it lacks adjustibility. The SV650 has low budget suspension but it works well for what the bike is intended for.

[MarcS]

I think torque is a myth. My two bikes -- an R1200GS, and a ZZR600, are basically opposite. The GS and ZZR both make about the same horsepower, but the GS has half the cylinders, twice the displacement, and twice the torque. It's a bit heavier, but it's still lighter than a VFR.

Neither feels dramatically faster than the other. The ZZR is easier to pass on thanks to a hot top-end and wider gears. The GS is still soggy below 3k RPMs, just like the ZZR, there's definately more power, but the ZZR wins in the 0-60 and the quarter-mile.

Second gear on the GS tops out at around 65-70mph, just like first on the ZZR. And it's definately easier to get the ZZR moving in first gear than it is to get the GS moving in second, no doubt thanks in part to the wet clutch on the ZZR.

Even in the twisties, I'd be hard pressed to declare one bike faster. The ZZR has better suspension and better brakes, giving me more confidence, but the GS, with the narrow tires and wide bars, has a much faster turn-in with less effort.

[Morgan]

I think torque is a myth. My two bikes -- an R1200GS, and a ZZR600, are basically opposite. The GS and ZZR both make about the same horsepower, but the GS has half the cylinders, twice the displacement, and twice the torque. It's a bit heavier, but it's still lighter than a VFR.
 
Neither feels dramatically faster than the other. The ZZR is easier to pass on thanks to a hot top-end and wider gears. The GS is still soggy below 3k RPMs, just like the ZZR, there's definately more power, but the ZZR wins in the 0-60 and the quarter-mile.
 
Second gear on the GS tops out at around 65-70mph, just like first on the ZZR. And it's definately easier to get the ZZR moving in first gear than it is to get the GS moving in second, no doubt thanks in part to the wet clutch on the ZZR.
 
Even in the twisties, I'd be hard pressed to declare one bike faster. The ZZR has better suspension and better brakes, giving me more confidence, but the GS, with the narrow tires and wide bars, has a much faster turn-in with less effort.

 
I think you hit the nail on the head with this post.  I've been thinking the same thing for a long time.  The magazines make even the most miniscule difference appear HUGE.  I've fallen for it to some extent as I'm sure most have.  They have to find some reason to justify their existence.  But I discovered your reality when I bought my FZ1.  I spent 5yrs/50K on my SV650 and had read TONS about the 1st Gen FZ1.  I anticipated a slow turning, heavy yet stable, blindingly fast bike.  When I took it to the mountains for the first time I was absolutely blown away  by how easy it was to ride very fast.  Frankly, it felt little different than my supposedly supernimble naked SV.  It was a touch heavier in the really tight stuff, but it turns in fast, holds a line well, and isn't any harder to toss around.