Johns Hill Lookout                        September 9th 2001

 

CBR929RR     Ben Warden                 ZX9     Rhys Williams                     GPz500      Lee Mahoney

CBR919RR     Ian Payne (leader)        R1        Geoff Jones (rear rider)

 

Friday noon and I can't wait anymore. Into Elizabeth Street with the ZZR600, credit card, bank card and hopes high. Today I will trade up. Ben, my son, has given me a model R1 for Fathers’ Day the week before with a note on the card about motivation. Daughter Melissa says “Go for it” and Val, the boss, is not saying yes or no. I take it as a yes. I am now a salesman's dream: cashed up and out of control.

  

The Kawasaki ZX9R has been on my mind since the Rhys machine joined the Club and words like "grunt",  "awesome", "light", and "nimble" are bandied about. The Kawasaki way of doing things had appealed as I had had a trouble free time with the ZZR and still love the sound of that ram air intake. But keeping up with the more modern bikes was showing as high fuel use and lots of time near the rev limiter on the 600. Time for a change.

 

Visiting the Trading Post and BikePoint web sites to get a feel for the prices and age of the larger sports bikes indicates that I should get one of the big three: Kawasaki ZX9R, Honda CBR900RR or Yamaha R1 of about 1998 to 1999 vintage for around $10,000 private or $11,000 to $12000 from a dealer. So, what to do? Place an ad in the Trading Post for the ZZR and wait for a response. One week and nothing. So into the dealers and enduring all those reasons for not getting anything like the price hoped for on the ZZR. Forget the actual price, focus on the change over price.   1998, September reg R1, showing 11,000 km for $1 per kay. Deal done. New Dunlop 207's, 12 months reg., $2400 for the ZZR (ouch) and I am in the land of grunt!

 

Sunday morning and Melissa stirs the pot with "Go on the ride and show it off Dad". So despite the weather radar showing a wet patch right on top of Johns Hill I suit up and head for Hallam pick-up to join Ian, Ben, Lee and a gentleman on a VTR who had been in the Club 10 years ago. I was, as rear rider, concentrating on being smooth, as we headed for the Dandenongs and the rain band. We toured around the hills, stopping at Emerald for morning tea and finishing back at Hallam after visiting Johns Hill Lookout and looking out, as you do.

   

At the lookout Ian put it on me for a write up and my reaction to the new bike. Riding position is head down, bum up. But I did not feel too bad after riding the 300 kilometres home to home. Next weekend may prove different, Bombala etc. Time will tell. The bike feels light, nervous and so powerful. I left it in high gears and let the torque do all the work. On filling up back in Melton with 220 kilometres on the trip meter it took 11.6 litres or about half the amount the ZZR would have used.

  

After the solid block styling the ZZR had - you could not see through the thing from any angle, the minimalist feel of the R1 lets the workings be seen. A "knee bone connected to the thigh bone, connected to the hip bone"  look. Quarter turn fasteners allow quick access to things inside the fairings which, incidentally, are very light and flexible. No sound deadening material to be seen. The suspension has lots of adjusters to fiddle with. I dug out a "Performance Bikes" and set up it up as per their recommendation. New brake pads, sintered Bendix as suggested by Sunbury Yamaha, Motul oil and filter change, chain lubed, workshop manual ordered from Tech Book Shop and the rest of the time spent just looking at it. It is the same colour as my RZ350 and it is a Yamaha. It even has a power valve in the exhaust! I must resist the fiddle temptation that was part of the RZ experience, although there seems to be many web sites full of gear for the R1 so who knows!

 

See you on a ride soon. I will be the fat git with large bum in the air and a terrified look on my face.

 

Geoff Jones  (Yamaha R1)