Well, she finally got here. (Had to have it shipped to me.) Had my first ride this morning at 8:00 AM when it was still nice and cool outside.
I LOVE THIS BIKE!
Got rid of my 1999 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 late last year. It was just too tall and too heavy for me anymore, particularly for mountain riding with its steep parking lots, gravel roads and side-leaning stops. Been looking for a replacement since, and the NT7000V looks like it will be perfect for me.
It's about 90 pounds lighter, much less top heavy and, with the Corbin seat, I can flat-foot both feet at stops even with my 30" inseam! Can even paddle it around like Fred Flintstone in a parking lot if I have to. Couldn't do that with the Concours!
Got to flip the bike around some twisties for a bit on some back roads near me. Very light handling, goes right where you look, and is easy to ride the twisties fast if you want to. Got out on the highway for a bit and got up to 75 MPH just to see how it handled and how the wind protection was. Very stable at speed, and was turning 5,000 RPM at 75 MPH. I kind of expected that it would be turning much faster than that at speed. Not too much vibration, but a little. I did learn that it really doesn't like to run at much less than 3,500 RPM in any gear or there's not much torque available.
It's got 2" handlebar risers on it, which I find really helps with my riding position. My days of riding leaning way forward with weight on my arms and wrists are long over, so my old back really appreciates them!
Regarding the Corbin seat: The significantly lower seat height makes all the difference for me compared to the stock seat. I can flat-foot at stops with a bend in my knees! I normally don't like Corbin seats since they've always seemed very hard to me with little padding, and I've got very little "natural padding". But, this one is going to be OK. The rider's portion has a good curve to it and it kind of nestles your butt comfortably in place.
I gave the bike a once-over when it arrived yesterday. It's in great shape, and has been well cared for by two previous owners. It just had $1,200 worth of scheduled service done to it last Spring. I've got all the maintenance records back to when the bike was new. Nice to have those.
I was surprised to see how much some of the plastic was sun-faded, particularly the side covers, fairing side covers, and fairing pocket covers. Based on the bits of those that are covered by other pieces and not exposed to sun, they were all originally black. Even the rear fender is sun-faded quite a bit. It's gray, but underneath the license plate it's nice and black. I've read on this forum that the best way to deal with that is to just paint them with Krylon Fusion paint for plastic. I've used that paint to paint body panels before, so I think that's what I'll do with these pieces.
So, bottom line: I love this bike! (It will serve my 2-wheeled riding needs just fine for when the wife isn't going along on the Gold Wing trike.) It's a keeper!
Will probably be looking to add some farkles as I have more time with it.
I LOVE THIS BIKE!
Got rid of my 1999 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 late last year. It was just too tall and too heavy for me anymore, particularly for mountain riding with its steep parking lots, gravel roads and side-leaning stops. Been looking for a replacement since, and the NT7000V looks like it will be perfect for me.
It's about 90 pounds lighter, much less top heavy and, with the Corbin seat, I can flat-foot both feet at stops even with my 30" inseam! Can even paddle it around like Fred Flintstone in a parking lot if I have to. Couldn't do that with the Concours!
Got to flip the bike around some twisties for a bit on some back roads near me. Very light handling, goes right where you look, and is easy to ride the twisties fast if you want to. Got out on the highway for a bit and got up to 75 MPH just to see how it handled and how the wind protection was. Very stable at speed, and was turning 5,000 RPM at 75 MPH. I kind of expected that it would be turning much faster than that at speed. Not too much vibration, but a little. I did learn that it really doesn't like to run at much less than 3,500 RPM in any gear or there's not much torque available.
It's got 2" handlebar risers on it, which I find really helps with my riding position. My days of riding leaning way forward with weight on my arms and wrists are long over, so my old back really appreciates them!
Regarding the Corbin seat: The significantly lower seat height makes all the difference for me compared to the stock seat. I can flat-foot at stops with a bend in my knees! I normally don't like Corbin seats since they've always seemed very hard to me with little padding, and I've got very little "natural padding". But, this one is going to be OK. The rider's portion has a good curve to it and it kind of nestles your butt comfortably in place.
I gave the bike a once-over when it arrived yesterday. It's in great shape, and has been well cared for by two previous owners. It just had $1,200 worth of scheduled service done to it last Spring. I've got all the maintenance records back to when the bike was new. Nice to have those.
I was surprised to see how much some of the plastic was sun-faded, particularly the side covers, fairing side covers, and fairing pocket covers. Based on the bits of those that are covered by other pieces and not exposed to sun, they were all originally black. Even the rear fender is sun-faded quite a bit. It's gray, but underneath the license plate it's nice and black. I've read on this forum that the best way to deal with that is to just paint them with Krylon Fusion paint for plastic. I've used that paint to paint body panels before, so I think that's what I'll do with these pieces.
So, bottom line: I love this bike! (It will serve my 2-wheeled riding needs just fine for when the wife isn't going along on the Gold Wing trike.) It's a keeper!
Will probably be looking to add some farkles as I have more time with it.