Thoughts on ZX9
#1
01-10-2012, 06:34 PM
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Clarksville, OH
Posts: 3,350
Thoughts on ZX9
I know there are very few posts on the ZX9's anymore. That makes me sad.
I was cleaning the bike last evening, after riding to work daily over the past two months in all kinds of weather. She was pretty grungy. The more I cleaned, the more brewskies went down, as I appropriately listened to the "hits from the 80's and 90's" radio station. I got thinking about the relatively old days of Wes Cooley, Eddie Lawson, Bubba, riding their iron monsters on skinny tires. I remember seeing Eddie, Scott, Doug Polen, Freddie, and others at Daytona in the early 90's in some of the greatest racing I've ever seen, and talking with those same guys like they were just friendly neighbor kids.
I got looking at the ZX, and it occurred to me why IMHO it is so visually appealing to me. (The '94-'97 model) is a "bigger-is-better" ZX7; like it was old iron superbike-inspired for a racing class that was not meant to be. It's the stylistic end of an era. A final hurrah for a ZX7 model on steroids. The exclamation point on the end of the Muzzy-Russell-ZX7 era. The early ZX9 is the big brother that didn't make the team. The ZX9 BEFORE the designers and bean-counters realized it was obsolete, and turned it into a "commuter" in '97. It was all wasted tooling after that.
The '94-'97 ZX9 is classic because for a brief shining moment, it was arguably King of the Hill. I think Cooley and Lawson and Russell would agree.
I was cleaning the bike last evening, after riding to work daily over the past two months in all kinds of weather. She was pretty grungy. The more I cleaned, the more brewskies went down, as I appropriately listened to the "hits from the 80's and 90's" radio station. I got thinking about the relatively old days of Wes Cooley, Eddie Lawson, Bubba, riding their iron monsters on skinny tires. I remember seeing Eddie, Scott, Doug Polen, Freddie, and others at Daytona in the early 90's in some of the greatest racing I've ever seen, and talking with those same guys like they were just friendly neighbor kids.
I got looking at the ZX, and it occurred to me why IMHO it is so visually appealing to me. (The '94-'97 model) is a "bigger-is-better" ZX7; like it was old iron superbike-inspired for a racing class that was not meant to be. It's the stylistic end of an era. A final hurrah for a ZX7 model on steroids. The exclamation point on the end of the Muzzy-Russell-ZX7 era. The early ZX9 is the big brother that didn't make the team. The ZX9 BEFORE the designers and bean-counters realized it was obsolete, and turned it into a "commuter" in '97. It was all wasted tooling after that.
The '94-'97 ZX9 is classic because for a brief shining moment, it was arguably King of the Hill. I think Cooley and Lawson and Russell would agree.
#2
01-11-2012, 12:52 AM
hahaha, yeah, my wife stopped asking me why I still have my "old" zx7. Just one of those things. You fall in love with a ride, you nurture it and it pays you back with what you really need in life. I never experienced the zx9 since I was still running my zx7 on the track during that time. (my baby)
But I too felt that the zx9 was a commuter more than the track ride. (don't hate me) It is tough to compete with an undersized ride on the track. Look at the 6r running in the 750 class as another kawi example. Yes, I have to agree with you on that the zx9 is a classic and well worth the attention to keep it alive since it does do many things well. I just never had the pleasure of riding one.
But I too felt that the zx9 was a commuter more than the track ride. (don't hate me) It is tough to compete with an undersized ride on the track. Look at the 6r running in the 750 class as another kawi example. Yes, I have to agree with you on that the zx9 is a classic and well worth the attention to keep it alive since it does do many things well. I just never had the pleasure of riding one.
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