Howdy and welcome to The Southern Distance Moto. I'm passionate about exploring the twists and turns of Southeast United States, from the epic mountain roads of North Carolina to the sandy trails of the Florida coast.I'll take you along for the ride, sharing my experiences with dual-sport bikes that conquer any terrain, modern classics that blend old-school cool with modern performance, and niche sport motorcycles.
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Motorcycle Roster: 2022 Suzuki DR650 2023 BMW R Nine T Urban GS 2024 Kawasaki ZX-4RR
The weight is heavy, Kawi cost cutting is embarrassing as the lower triple clamp is steel, shift and brake pedals steel, cheap looking steel swingarm, heavy steel sprocket. I dumped 11 pounds off mine with Graves slip on, Suprlite steel sprocket, carbon heel plates and carbon seat cowl. Love bike but needs that flash for extra power😎
Greetings from Iceland thank you for excellent review of the 390, I downsized couple of years ago to the 2022 KTM 390 and it brought back the fun factor in adventure riding. Agree with you on the handlebars and foot pegs, waiting for modification parts on that issue.
SDM, 4th gen Honda vfr750. V4 engine, gear-driven cams (sounds fantastic), and carb’d. Single-sided swing arm. I just sold my 5th gen (1st year with EFI….’PGM-FI’ was a ‘98. I had a ‘98.
Yes, mid ‘90’s. Mine was the 1st year for the 5th gen (‘98) with fuel Injection. Loved it. Only let it go due to my age. But the 4th gen, I know, had carbs. Go get one.
SFM, I do like your JNS headlight. I, however, have decided to go with bajadesigns dual (side-by-side) S-1 pod lights for a headlight setup and throwing some of Thumperjockey 3k lumen pods on the Evo tapered handle bars.
I've watched about every zx4rr review on youtube and brother, you knocked it out of the park! Hitting so many different topics that no one else talks about (I.e. interface and seat). You have a subscriber for life mate. Keep cranking great content!
I have no problem finding neutral on mine. It has a positive neutral that will go right into neutral at a complete stop. You can't be rolling and get it into neutral. The clip ons are actually below the top plate. 4 cylinders way more. 22 lbs. is a lot more then a few. I guess you can sell it. Or you can buy some cheese to go with all that whine.
Thx for the comment. I think it's a great bike but those are my critical thought about it. A summary of all of the things I love about it will be coming out soon!
Here are the answers to all 5 issues. 1'st issue:- easy fix with ecu flash 2'nd issue:- skill issue 3'rd issue:- new tech haters(personal preference) 4'th issue:- its a sports tourer 5'th issue:- reaching for excuses (strict emission norms is the reason)
@@tsdmoto again, finding neutral is not difficult when you are riding the same bike for years, it becomes difficult when you ride multiple bikes and adjust along to their shift mechanism, and about the tech, its personal preference, some like it some don't its not a con to be pointed out.
very nice. but imported to europe it is twice as much as SC project. I have the euro 5 street legal SC carbon which is not loud, I like it but many could/would say it is boring. There are SC race slipons avail even with less cost, however. The street legal SC carbon has deeper tone and revs nice but I like to listen music thru ear plugs so I dont really need a loud exhaust.
Import duties and exchange definitely shape out choices. I didn't realize the Yoshi pipe was made in the USA, with the name and logo, I would have thought it would have originated in Japan.
How are they ergonomics on the bike is it comfortable riding for many hours? I know super sports aren't designed for comfort just wonder how this one is?
Legs will get cramped if you're close to or taller than me, seat is miserable after an hour or on bumpy pavement. You'll also need to learn to support yourself with your core , if you don't your wrists can get sore.
I have a 2022 myself and have not experienced any issues with the bike with just under a 1,000 miles on it. The throttle feels solid and responsive. Appreciate you sharing your experience. Always nice to get a heads up on potential issues.
Also, to the author here. Steel frames Can be more résilient and stronger given its weight. Its probably stronger and only slightly heavier than the aluminum frame. Bicycles ran into this issue long ago. Cracks in aluminum arent healthy. Suzuki recalled the GSX 1000 . Remember?
That's a great point about steel and bicycles. But for 400cc I4 approaching 10k USD, it deserves something nicer, if steel, than something along the lines of a KTM or Ducati style chassis. This frame looks a bit low rent.
Can one of you blokes over the pond please post the euro ECU part numbers for us handicapped amurikans?. Id like to order a euro mapped ecu and buy the 4 year warrantee. Swap em out if the warrantee is needed.
@@jedadiahtucker2132 Yes! I’ve done 7 hour tours and cruise would be great! I use a cramp buster but if you want to have fun you gotta make sure to rotate it so it doesn’t interfere!
I'm probably not the BEST judge of how vibey the z900rs is as I love thumpers and Ducati twins. I would say this is one of the smoothest motorcycles I've owned, if not THE smoothest. Since vibe sensitivity is a concern then I would encourage you to find one and test ride if possible.
Hey mate just some information confirmed for you, America overall has a lower EPA guideline to work from when you look at all the states. However, Because a lot of your laws are state wide and not Fed level some states are extreme. So therefore all the vehicle manufacturers go to the most extreme factors and then deliver it for the entire country, the European Union do have a strict EPA commission however in comparison it's not as bad as some of your States individually are. For example in Australia we actually receive the European variant of all bikes, my 2016 KTM 450exc is a perfect example of this. You guys in the states have the same bike it's just called something else, I believe xcw. It might also be called an exc, could be wrong tho... For example the year model of my bike in the US has a carbon filter, and the sensor mounted on the exhaust. Your version is also slightly restricted on power. Here in Australia I don't have any of that, not a single extra sensor on the bike, straight through exhaust. no silencer etc and no carbon filter. One of the reasons for this as well is because the bike is not sold as a vehicle that necessarily goes on the road, there is a long process to get a vehicle on the road here in Australia and it's not just buying the bike, chucking a plate way below the rear tire and then off you go. Because the bike is considered an off-road bike not necessarily going on the road, they can get away with other things not being on the bike. Whether it's from noise emissions, pollution etc. there are certain things that do not need to be mounted onto the bike. As the years have gone on, it has gotten worse for everyone but specifically the US. I will say I don't believe it is fair to have a go at Kawazaki or any vehicle manufacturer that offers vehicles within the us because it is a State-wide issue within your country. It's something that needs to be sorted out within your own space. The rest of the world doesn't necessarily have this problem, it's only because of the US and their policies. In the European Union for example the bikes are featured with Euro 5 or Euro 6 compliant Motor, it's not state to state it's an overall certification within the area.
I agree about the fact that they detune this considerably vs rest of the world and it was more about noise regs than emissions so uncork it and gain the extra 25 horsepower from it, Now as for the Engine failure that has to do with the spark plugs which was manufacturing issue for 2023 and some early 2024 model which on recall, I have no problem find neutral, By the way it called a super sport bike not sport bike as for UI read the manual, And the clip on door in a perfect place just like most of the other bikes Not too high and not too low for me. Oh I own one I absolutely love it
Ok don’t listen to this guy. He doesn’t know what he’s say, he’s just say negative to get views. 1. The tune is such an easy fix and isn’t Kawasaki’s fault. Just tune it, it’s 250 bucks. It’s only there for noise 2. This bike has the positive neutral finder. Meaning it’s impossible to go into second at a stop. I know people that know bikes must be looking at me shift into neutral so fast and be amazed. I had a different bike for 9 years and cannot shift into neutral faster than I can on the zx4r. 3. I spent 3 mins setting up the tft and it’s all set up. Idk why you need to change the screen layout to have fun on a bike? It just really needs to show your rpm and speed, the rest is gravy. Like how often are you changing the screen from white to black? 4. If y’all are complaining about the seat, y’all are a bunch of little b*tches. The seat is pretty big and has cushions. I’m not saying it’s the most comfortable, obvs it’s not. But it’s no where to being in the category of “uncomfortable”. Like have you never sat on a wood picnic table at a park? Or the plastic chairs from your school days for 6 hours straight? Never sat on dirt to watch fireworks? There are dudes that ride road bicycles for hundreds of miles, the seats on those are like 2.5 inches across. What’s uncomfortable would be having weight on your wrists for a long period of time. I did a 6hrs ride on this bike and the seat was perfectly fine. 5. The weight. Nobody is buying this bike cause it’s light. People want a small inline four. If you’re looking for the lightest bike, with aluminum frame with more power, then you’d never be looking at a zx4r. Nobody is buying a zx4r to be the fastest, people want a unique experience. Like if I want an old camcorder to make retro videos, I don’t care how much better the Sony mirrorless dlsr cameras are. They want a very specific experience that only this bike can give. And the people who want the experience of having the fastest, lightest, they are never even batting an eye for this bike. This is like complaining that a rolls Royce isn’t fast around a track. You’re totally missing the point of this bike.
It should be considered false advertising to hand out "80hp" flyers but send 56hp to your door. The bike might be worth it with 80hp to your door, but you have to re-tune it, which costs money, and Kawasaki dealerships told me "the tune voids the warranty". So I don't see why a new rider, an intermediate rider, or an advanced rider would buy this. It's no disrespect to Kawasaki. I bought a ninja 400 and might get a zx6r. I was excited about this bike, but it's got too many red flags that don't even fucking have anything to do with the bike itself. Bureaucratic shit have made the bike worthless
I ❤ love it's sweet SOUNDS.... I heard that this " ONLY 400cc " bike could really gives Tough competition to higher cc bikes of 500cc/600cc/700cc .. ??? 😊👍🏻
I am blessed and I've also worked hard to be so. :) I don't really compare bikes for their performance, I don't ride on a track, at least not yet. I'm more into the way a motorcycles makes me feel. If this motorcycle was flashed, it could probably take on 800cc and below twins in situations where the track or environment would allow the rider to spin it up and keep the revs up at the top. But if you're riding in situations where tighter more technical turns are common, or in traffic, the torque of the twins would be easier to take advantage of. Compared to a 600cc inline 4 such as the ZX6R or GSX-R600, the ZX4R wouldn't have a snow ball's chance in hell of keeping up.
Is not comparable to inline 4 600, is comparable to twin cylinder 689 (r7) Probably smoking 500's, not smoking most middleweights but will hang.. and it's unique, sounds amazing. But doesn't have that low torque to rip out corners or pop the slow wheelie.
After a year of ownership I don’t recommend The ZX4RR to anyone because it’s not for everyone. It’s definitely overpriced and has its quirks. I don’t regret buying it though because I love riding it. It really compares to the R7 and the Ninja is just so comfortable to be on. I hated the sound of the 180 twins and I love a 4cyl but a 1000 is overkill and 600’s were uncomfortable. I’ve toured and I commute with it everyday. 52mpg is a hard thing to part with too. 😁
Thanks for the detailed feedback about your ownership experience. Agree on all of these points. Wish Kawi would put a 270 degree crank engine in their twin powered bikes !
@@S1k18 Don’t get me wrong, I love a liter bikes but when I get in the twisties, I realize that 200hp is just too much. I already doing double or triple the speed limit on a backroad with a bike that has a quarter of the power. More power isn’t going to be any more fun unless the road is straight.
From my understanding, the tune is more about noise regs than emissions. Europe measures it differently than North America, hence the two different tunes.
Not sure if a RapidBike Evo is an option or if it would fix the lack of puff past 11k. I'm pretty happy with mine. I got it so I could get incremental upgrades (velocity stacks/air filter/header/slip-on) without worrying about a dyno tune or ecu flash all the time. It piggybacks and modifies the O2 sensor signal the ECU sees and auto adapts the fueling. Smoothed out the throttle and made the bike a little quicker, but more predictable (no hard data to back that up). I think you can remove it for warranty purposes without it being detected, but you should ask RapidBike about that. Surprised about the steel frame. I think my D675 weighs just under or right around 400lbs wet. after the slip-on. I'm at 16k miles on it and my only peev is the new coolant I put in it bubbling out of the overflow tube of the tiny reservoir with the 100degree temps right now. I ordered a Motion Pro plastic coolant reservoir that I will try to add in-line with the drain tube if I can fit it under the fairing...
@@tsdmoto A shift shaft support might help. I didn't really notice a difference when I put my Racetorx unit on....but N was always easy to find on the D675 (except when the shift detent spring broke).
Kawasakis all have a positive neutral finder. You have to be stopped and in first gear, then lift up on the shift lever and you will pop into neutral. It's basically impossible to hit anything but neutral if you do this. Now if you're used to putting it in neutral while you coast to a stop, you'll probably be frustrated. It's just a Kawasaki thing.
Not a Farkle, but an actual improvement: go down one tooth on your counter shaft sprocket size. It makes a huge difference when starting on a hill or in loose terrain. If you're going to ride it off road or on steep twisties, this is the way to go go. If you're just going to use it as a street bike, don't bother. you can get the sprocket as well as the smaller diameter retainer ring at pro cycle for under 30 bucks. Huge improvement.
The Z900RS is the Goldilocks bike for this older rider. Not too short and squatty, not too tall, not too heavy or too light, flat seat makes it easy to throw my leg over (as opposed to those banana shaped seats that rise up high in the rear). Super easy to change oil and do basic maintenance, it’s just a sweet / simple / stylish ride! It doesn’t take up a lot of room in the garage either since it’s short and narrow. 😁😁😁 It’s just what I was looking for!
I think your torque figure is way off way low. The reason you find the torque on the bike so low is because you're not revving it out yet, you're actually lugging the engine Both the torque and power at are at much higher RPMs.
