Spaghetti Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 Some mechanic told me Kawasaki bikes tend to have less damage during low sides or other moderate crashes: apparently their frames and forks are more resistant. Other Japanese brands, like Suzuki and Yamaha "shred" more easily and end up costing more in repairs. Can you confirm these claims? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 That's because they are made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktk_ace Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Motorcycles are not built for crashing imho. that said, steel chassis bikes are much more resilient to minor knocks imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 I think it depends on the exact model. I suspect you talk race replicas, of which I know little. When my XT600 went down, only a mirror broke despite the bike having a huge 30 litre fuel tank. If you plan on crashing, you should buy a dual purpose machine or a motard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted August 25, 2014 Report Share Posted August 25, 2014 I'm not sure about that. I saw a completely demolished Kawasaki at Barber once after a nasty oil slick on the track. I could not even tell what model it was because it was so broken. Personally which bike crashes better is not very important to me. I care a lot more about myself than any of my bikes and I'm probably a lot less durable than any of them. Not crashing at all is a much better solution. Sometimes it can't be avoided I admit. Making an investment in education and training is a good first step to prevent a LOT of crashes. There's another benefit as well. Confidence and speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Kane Posted August 25, 2014 Report Share Posted August 25, 2014 Personally which bike crashes better is not very important to me. I care a lot more about myself than any of my bikes and I'm probably a lot less durable than any of them. Not crashing at all is a much better solution. Sometimes it can't be avoided I admit. Making an investment in education and training is a good first step to prevent a LOT of crashes. There's another benefit as well. Confidence and speed. RC!Finally someone gets to the heart of it. Rainman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghetti Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 I agree, but you know the saying: there are two kind of riders, those who went down and those who will. It would be deceiving for a new rider to think she will never crash. It can happen even to those who never make a mistake: oil, rain, cold tires... But, to stay positive I've seen dozen of crashes on the track with people walking away without a bruise. Oh, btw: http://www.complex.com/sports/2013/07/the-10-types-of-motorcycle-riders/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balistic Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Some mechanic told me Kawasaki bikes tend to have less damage during low sides or other moderate crashes: apparently their frames and forks are more resistant. Other Japanese brands, like Suzuki and Yamaha "shred" more easily and end up costing more in repairs. Can you confirm these claims? Yes I can confirm that Kawasaki is the toughest of the Japanese sport bikes without a doubt! Current bikes may be the exception as my experience with them ended in 2009. The one thing that was a major difference was the tail frame. Kawasaki stayed with tubing when the others were going to castings that simply explode! I am very happy to report that BMW saw fit to use tubing o the S1000RR and surprise, they crash very well and are easy to repair when bent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 So. I'm interested. In regards to design philosophy, are the cast frame decisions that some Japanese makers made based on weight, flex, price or perhaps a combination of all three? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktk_ace Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 So. I'm interested. In regards to design philosophy, are the cast frame decisions that some Japanese makers made based on weight, flex, price or perhaps a combination of all three? My 2c on the 1000CC race replica's Kawasaki: Most of kawasaki's bikes are not light by any measure = they use older tech and dont put so much emphasis on weight reduction/mass centralization. Just look at the ZX6/10R end pipes, its still pretty traditional one piece by the side ( unlike the panigale/RC8R ) benefit is its more rugged + repair friendly Kawasaki's emphasis has always been more horsepower and aerodynamics (ram air ) and recently, Traction control. Their marketing has always been the most power for a given price (most bike for your buck). Yamaha: mostly lookers + motogp marketing (Rossi anyone?) , funny that the current R1 has the best motogp related engine (crosshaft crank) and best USD swingarm but worse weight /mass centralization of all big4 bikes. the 2 end pipes under the seat looks badass but in terms of mass centralization is utter rubbish imho. Its a looker but its hell unbalanced in the 2014 crowd imho. I guessing alot of Yamaha's bikes profits go to the Motogp program... Honda: Motogp Motogp Motogp... Honda wants you to pay out of your pocket and socks for Mass centralization and nothing much. (maybe HRC colors lol) Their unit pro link isnt even used in their motoGP program... Suzuki Poor Suzuki , I have no idea what in the world are they doing these past few years with the GSX-R besides price cutting and cutting and cutting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Gixxers tend to wreck easiest, Kawasaki's seem more resilient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktk_ace Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 An interesting article on kwasaki's 2013 WSBK winning ZX10Rhttp://www.sportrider.com/sportbikes/kawasaki-world-superbike-zx-10r-racer-test-green-new-gold?src=SOC&dom=fb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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