Big Doggies
Big Doggies
Kawasaki ZRX1100 and Suzuki Bandit 1200s in a sport-standard shootout
NICK IENATSCH
OKAY, YOU ALREADY KNOW YOUR next ride will be a liter-plus sportbike, but the desire to pile on seri ous mileage makes choosing a repli-racer a bit like visiting the mother-in-law's for dinner: food's good, but you couldn't handle it every day. Because we care about you, and also because more than a few CW editors find themselves raving about Kawasaki's striking ZRX1100 and Suzuki's powerhouse Bandit 1200S, we paired these two terrific big-bores in an effort to convince the world that clip-ons and rearsets aren't the only answers when the questions concern look `n' lunge.
On paper, the specs appear amaziiEigly imilar. Both inline-Fours have a pair of cams actuating 16 valves; :~k both breathe through 36mm carburetors and exhale into 4-into-i exhaust systems; both get by with five-speed tran nies. Neither pretends to be an ultra-light racing weapon; both carry at least 5 gallons of fuel and coddle the rider and passenger on a comfy seat. They have chain final drives, electronic fuel gauges, trustworthy fuel petcocks and upright riding positions that remind you of 1982 (if you're too young or too old and forgot, the 1982 refer ence means comfortable ergonomics). Either one will shock you with gynormous amounts of acceleration available from anywhere on the tachometer.
Both the ZRX and Bandit carry engines made famous elsewhere. The liquid cooled lump between the Kawasaki's twin downtubes is a torqued-up ZX-1 1 engine, retuned for midrange and less top-end surge. The Bandit's oil-cooled four-banger, surrounded by a tubular steel perimeter frame, is a direct descen dent of yesteryear's GSX-R1 100, revised for monster midrange, and nobody can doubt the inherent reliability of that lineage. In either case, you're get ting proven technology that in slightly revised form has led the two-wheeled world in performance. Not bad bloodlines for a pair of $7200 motorcycles. But there are differences.
Kawasaki ZRX1100 vs. Suzuki Bandit 1200
Suzuki's Bandit is a monster, pulling the wheel off the ground easily and blasting past 100 mph with license-eating ease. The oil-cooled engine buzzes the footpegs and handlebars slightly, but only enough to let you know something's happening down there. Our low-mileage Bandit shifted a bit harshly, but as this engine breaks-in, the shifting should become world-class, and the clutch will withstand serious abuse. Trust us. And if the Bandit's not fast enough for certain speed-sickos, anything that bolts onto a GSX-R1 100 will work here, too, though our guess is that few will find this package disap pointing in the "go" department.
The Ka;i's engine pales inadirect seat-of-the-pants com parison to the hard-hitting Suzuki, as it takes a bit more effort for those block-long wheelies. The CW dyno tells the real story, though, as both bikes spun the drum to the tune of around 95 horsepower and just under 70 foot-pounds of torque, with the ZRX having a slight advantage. Kawasaki's K-TRIC system adjusts igni tion timing to throttle posi tion and engine rpm to provide a wide and smooth power spread, that the Suzuki can't quite match. And finally, the Kawi had the same minor vibrations as the Suzuki, though it shifted well from the git-go (even if we don't understand the loss of the ZX il's sixth cog).
Kawasaki
ZRX1100
$7199
On the ZRX's plus side is a marvelously adjustable sus pension that immediately jumps ahead of the Suzuki's basic pieces. Kawasaki bolted on a fully adjustable, catridge-style 43mm fork and matched it to a pair of Kayaba rear dampers that also offer compression and rebound damping along with spring preload. That's nice when you must suffer through 30 minutes of rough freeway to reach your favorite canyon road-three minutes with the tool kit and you've dialed in your bike for the coming corners.
Meanwhile, the Bandit rider waits patiently with toosoft fork springs that allow the front end to bottom under heavy braking even when set near maximum preload, the only adjustment Suzuki trusts you with. Out back, the single shock offers ramped spring preload adjustment and four-position re bound damping, but it's safe to say the Bandit is tuned more for comfort than heeled-over perform ance, a trait that becomes more clear when ridden alongside the tighter, firmer ZRX. If your riding entails more cruising than sport riding, you will be impressed with the Bandit's bump-eating sus pension settings, but we needed more chassis con trol for our favorite bits of serpentine pavement.
The Bandit is a great choice for taller riders, offering more legroom than the ZRX and the same upright, comfortable riding position. The Suzuki feels big with a seat height of 32.9 inches, about an inch higher than the Kawi, yet it steers with a refreshingly light feel and a quickness you wouldn’t expect. It surprised us to find the Bandit measures 57.0 inches between axles, about .4 of an inch longer than the ZRX, though the conservative steering geometry of the Suzuki (4.2 inches of trail and 25.6 degrees of rake) helps damp the flickability of the short chassis. Most testers preferred the more aggressive geometry numbers of the Kawi (4.1 inches of trail and 25 degrees of rake), which offered more front-end feel. And as for twin shocks versus a single shock, we all preferred the adjustable ZRX two-shock system over a, the underdamped Suzuki single unit.
Both bikes haul ass, can cover close to 200 miles between fill-ups when cruising at freeway speeds, carry passengers in comfort and wouldn’t break even if subjected to 10 years of magazine testing. But which one floats your boat? If you score the bikes on performance, the race is a virtual tie. But if trickness carries much weight in your personal scoring system, as it does in ours, the Kawasaki wins handily. The bikini fairing, the piggyback shocks, the polished finning on the engine, the six-piston front calipers and, finally, the braced tubular aluminum swingarm simply outshine the soft, rounded curves and basic components that Suzuki chose to surround the big GSX-R engine. Kawasaki nailed the look, adding details like the black-chromed handlebar and a spin-off of the familiar racinggreen paint, complete with bluish-purplish graphics. In this world of full-fairings and lookalike splatter paint, the ZRX just might be the most visually stimulating machine Japan will produce for ’99.
Meanwhile, Suzuki's mondo Bandit presents itself as a capable big standard, with no strong styling hits or misses, though we did like the painted frame that color-matches the bodywork and integrates the bike nicely. Despite the scintil lating engine, though, the bike appears bland when parked alongside the strongly styled Kawi. If you only care about looks from behind the handlebar, neither of these big doggies will disappoint. But if you value the view of your bike from across the garage and have a fondness for comfort and a hunger for performance, Kawasaki has built the best standard bike since standard bikes were standard.
Suzuki
Bandit 1200s
$7199
