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Completing the set
(Travels with Guido 368, Mar 2023)
Adding number three to the lunatic
end of the shed
It was time to revive the fly-ride
program. The catalyst was re-reading our
2020 profile on Kawasaki's mighty ZX-12R and
noticing there so far wasn't one in the shed. And there
needed to be.
You see I'm a fan of 1990s-to-early-2000s big-statement
performance motorcycles, such as Honda Blackbird and
Suzuki Hayabusa. Examples of which are in the fleet.
From a performance hound point of view there was one
bike missing, namely Kawasaki's ZX-12R – or the premium
Ninja in some markets, launched on the cusp of the
century.
Why not? Well, I've been busy...distracted.
Was there also a Yamaha that
qualified, to complete the 'big four' Japanese group?
No, not really. I've owned a couple of FZR1000s, but
they are from an earlier era, while an R1 (lovely as it
is) also belongs to a different set, namely pure sports
bikes.
At the time we're talking of, brand Y didn't really have
a full-on sports tourer monster in the 290-300km/h club.
The closest model was the ultra-capable FJR1300, but
that didn't really cut it in this company. Fast, but not
hero fast.
Anyway, as a serial obsessive, I kind of started searching the online world for a good ZX-12R. Some of the ones on offer are rubbish, as they've been mistreated. That's the fate of many performance motorcycles – each rider down the ownership trail is less and less well-funded, and the owner often less and less informed. What once started as someone's pride and joy becomes yet another second-hand bike that's kind of kept going.
That's not a criticism – I've been there.
But here's a bit of advice for would-be sellers: Don't
try to tell me how terrifyingly fast it is – I already
know; And don't show me a bike with obviously dodgy and
cobbled-up mods without some explanation.
What I'm looking for is a motorcycle
that has a reasonable history, with some explanation of
its mods. Preferably with the original parts as part of
the package. And I found one. At Au$8000 (US$5300,
GB£4400), it was one of the more expensive examples on
the market and it had a claimed odo reading of 62,000km
(38,500 miles).
What really got my attention was I was
dealing with the first owner, who had all the books,
keys, and original muffler – it's now wearing a Muzzy
unit.
A little chat on the speaking trumpet
convinced me the bike was genuine, though I wasn't
entirely up to speed on a couple of his recollections of
its mechanical history. No matter, as a whole it stacked
up and we agreed I'd pick it up some weeks later.
Have I done the right thing? The owner will never win an
award for photography, but I'm nevertheless reasonably
comfortable with the prospect.
Okay, another little note here: Who on
earth started this thing where vehicles should be
photographed on grass? Unless it's a lawnmower, you've
cocked up! Find a goddamn bit of bitumen or concrete.
Anyway, moving on, the plan is to fly
to Brisbane and ride it back Melbourne, a mere 1800km
(1100 miles) or so. This is part of muggins' ongoing
fly-ride program, will be the sixth bike I've done this
with in recent years and I can recommend the experience.
Or not – it may depend on how the latest acquisition
goes.
As for the Kawasaki, this kind of fills out a mental gap
in the shed: Blackbird, Hayabusa and ZX-12R. It should
be a nice set of top-order predators from the
nineties-noughties era. That makes sense, doesn't it?
We'll let you know how we get on...
See our Kawasaki ZX-12R profile here
Our other fly-ride bikes:
BMW K1100LT
BMW K1200LT
BMW R100GS
Honda Valkyrie
Interstate GL1500CF
Kawasaki
GPz900R
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More Travels with Guido
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