Having race prepped both, I'll take the R1 any day over the new ZX10. I didn't have any problems with the headlights. Shock swap on the R1 is the standard PITA though. Excited to see you coming back to the track btw. Missed ya out there
Just to confirm... Watching 25K slide across the track hurts! But... its like pulling off a band aide, once its done you can get on with riding harder!
Yep...April Barber date will be first time back on a bike. Also trying to revive Team Chouffe...in the immortal words of Elwood Blues, "We're putting the band back together."
I kind of want a new R1 as a street bike since I no longer have one. I need to adult some though so maybe in a couple years.
Nothing is a necessity for rippin right out of the box with any of the new bikes. They are all great with great components. Just whatever you are comfortable with and familiar with. Richard Harris was haulin the mail on a bone stock R1. He was lappin Barber doin times that would have got him on the MA SB grid.
Well I ended up buying Tims s1k that was for sale on here. I'm gonna hold off on the new bike for awhile :/ I mean, now I have some leftover money to actually use it...
The S1000RR is always a good choice too. Especially if you bought one used for cheaper and already has some of the mods you'd do anyway.
honestly go buy whatever you're comfortable on. the zx10 is easy to pull apart (now that they've removed the ecu from the air box) and there are many parts from the 11-15 zx10 that fit them as well, so a spare market is easier on a zx10. cost wise they should be the same (not sure why you'd want ABS on a track bike) if not the kawi sliding in a littler cheaper. both are great bikes and the odds of any of us mortals out riding them is slim to none. the r1 sounds just bad ass & the two bikes have very similar electronics. but what feels right to ya man its as simple as that.
The only real difference is the electronic suspension....I would just get a good aftermarket setup from K-Tech or Penske and be done on the Yamaha, flash tune, and a full Graves exhaust, body work and the R1 is ready to rock and roll on the track
Me personally, I wouldn't invest them money in a full exhaust. The amount of hp you get vs. how much you spend is not worth it to me. Stock headers are pretty good today.
...and I have a 2013 RSV4 for sale if anybody wants it. I bought it brand new, spent about $26k loading it with Ohlins suspension front and rear, exhaust, custom dyno tune, levers, rearsets, etc etc and only used it for about 5-7 weekends and now it has the street bodywork back on it (Matte black). It has 2300 miles on it and has never been crashed or dropped. It is still in new condition and now I am just using it to ride to the gym (it has been replaced with a Panigale 1299S).
To address the OP, between those 2 bikes I would go with the R1. Specs wise, they appear to be equal as far as HP, electronics, etc. They both have way more power than the average rider will be able to take of. So with all other things being equal, I give the nod to the R1 because of the crossplane motor design. It will be easier on the tires and will provide more mechanical grip (which means in theory you should get away with less electronic intervention). And the R1 has been out longer so there is more data/knowledge and parts circulating around for it.
Ok, so I rode the Demo R1 this weekend. My impressions (as an amateur): Pros: - The motor is AWESOME could easily skip the front tire halfway down the straight - Brakes great stopped well, easy to feel and modulate - Bike felt light, tipped in well and flickable Con: - I did not like the ride-by-wire throttle. It was way too twitchy to suit me. either 'on' or 'off' and the transition always created a flick in the rear tire, usually while leaned over. Maybe it's because I'm used to my gixxer, and maybe it can be tuned out. For this alone, would be reason for me not to want it unless that could be fixed (or I'd have to relearn it). The Bimmer does the same thing, but not nearly as strong. Sure wish they'd get that ride by wire to feel like a normal throttle... You might want to ask Andrew Buse; he has two S1000rr's, but he told me this weekend he sold one of them and bought the 16 ZX10R; said right out of the box it was the best bike he'd ridden. Said he'd have it at Barber next month.
Generally this is not the fault of the ride by wire, but due to the limitations of the fuel injectors. They will have a minimum quantity required to open, and on a stock bike they will be fully off when the throttle is closed (thank the EPA), so the transition from closed to open is always going to have a gap. That's something you can change with flashing the ecu and the injectors will never fully turn off. The last diesel injectors I was involved with put out somewhere in the 325 mg/stroke range (600hp), and the minimum was around 8mg/stroke. I want to ride a new R1 that has the auto blip downshift turned on. Got to ride the 2015 Panigale 1299 and it was smooth as butter.
Interesting note on the ride-by-wire. I don't think the system itself is at fault, but more in settings. The R6 has been using ride-by-wire for years and I never heard any complaints. Meanwhile, I had the same issues you described on an '06 CBR600 with cable throttle. It was very twitchy, with a "on or off" feeling. I never liked it, but learned to adapt after a few days. I test-rode a 1299S demo bike on the track last year and the ride-by-wire in that bike was awesome. I couldn't even tell the difference to be honest. It was very smooth...and the autoblip feature was pretty cool.