Here ya go Grn!

My beloved '08 right before I balled it up. Dug that matte black Darth Vader look.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 11/13/2012 @ 7:00 PM *

"Thanks for the inputs guys, the BMW is definitely at the top of the food chain in the literbike world, been #1 or at least in the top three of every shootout since 2009. For some reason it doesn't flip my switches though, might be the asymetric styling,IDK"

Yeah, in some ways it's no beauty queen, but I find it sexy as hell in a weird kind of Teutonic way:) More importantly it truly is a brute and just "feel" like a notch above the Japanese bikes. That from someone who LOVES the 11-12 ZX10-R and CBR1000. Also, no lottery this year:) Just seemed to be a year that I got a little goofy and the new market intro's kept tempting me:)

Here we go Kruz...Nothing earth shattering but my friend stated the fueling problems were related to the 2012 models overseas but the US only received the 2013 with the fueling problem already corrected. Funny thing, he already has it on ebay for sale asking 12k cash down 5300 miles. I have an email to him asking why but on ebay he state priorities have changed. He's an honest dude and probably looking at the HP Beemer.

2013-MV-Augusta-F3-used from Wilmington, MA.....Nice bike!

I've been doing my homework on the 848 Evo, a few compomises on that bike as in typical Ducati torture rack ergos, toasted thighs, poor suspension setup for anything but glass smooth roads, regrettably in short supply in my area.
Yes that white F3 has stolen my heart I'm afraid. Wonder what the real story is on why he's selling it? Once I buy a bike it's a keeper, one exception being the '08 ZX-10R pictured above after I wadded it up. Bent bikes are not my cup 'O tea.

Also, no lottery this year:) Just seemed to be a year that I got a little goofy and the new market intro's kept tempting me:)

Dang Jagman, sure glad someone has that kind of money to burn through in this economy. I'll have to do a lot of Hamburger Helper to fit that F3 into my budget....lol!

@dragking, do you have your liter bike yet? I know you were thinking of a CBR1000RR, good choice for street or track and it won't break the bank.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 11/13/2012 @ 7:11 PM *

That top one...that's a 6R?That thing is NICE...way nice.Keeper fer sure.I can imagine that puppy rails big time;)And you DO need to get your F3....go for it....it's a really cool bike...I doubt you'd be sorry.

@dragking, do you have your liter bike yet? I know you were thinking of a CBR1000RR, good choice for street or track and it won't break the bank.

Sadly getting through school with zero loan became the priority for me! I'm still looking tho... I have narrowed it down to a couple and the HP4 is at the top of the list. 1 hp to carry every 1.93 lbs, the best power to weight ratio ever sold to the public. When you think about it a 14 would need 270 hp to come close. BMW has great financing option and I have a substantial deposit, the only thing is that I don't think I deserve such a bike. There are a lot of better riders out there with lesser bikes. Consequently, I may just buy a track ready CBR 1000 but first I have to do a couple of track days and see if this is something I wanna do in the long run!

That top one...that's a 6R?That thing is NICE...way nice.Keeper fer sure.

This one? It's my 2011 ZX-10R, I'll post up a pic of my 6R here in a minute, it's in the Kawasaki Lime Green.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 11/14/2012 @ 7:02 AM *

Here ya go Grn, the 6R is....Grn!

Well Drag, in the end it's all about balance when your hustling down a twisty road or railing a track and you can't go far wrong with a Fireblade. All of these bikes are so good nowadays it pretty much comes down to what you like. I don't think anyone builds a bad bike anymore and in the right hands and on the right track they're all winners.

Grn, consider a literbike, you'll be a hero on those twisty Montana roads.

@Kruz - He's selling the bike only because he got sooooo many tickets over the past years that if he gets another its a 4yr license suspension. This is the only reason-too tempted to speed with it so keeping the RR for track until everything settles for him. I know you like the white but if you're interest I can connect you with him.......

I love the 11-12 ZX10-R Kruz. I rode the crap out of the 11 and loved it, and almost bought a 12 before the S1000RR bug bit me. Difference is more of a linear power delivery on the ZX10 vs the blast of power at 10Krpm from the S1000RR. Even though the S1000 for 2012 has made the fueling and throttle response more linear in all three modes above Rain, (sport,race and slick.)
I think the ZX10 is bit more pliant on the street in terms of suspension, the handling and ability to hold a line is damn close, with perhaps a nod to the S1000, but high speed straight line stability, at least for 11-12 is in favor of the BMW. That may change with the auto speed damper on the 13 ZX10.
I think BMW made a master stroke with their price point for a bike that offered 4 levels of fueling/TC/heated grips,unprecadented HP, and top notch fit and finish for about $1200-$1500 more than the nearest Japansese competitor.
Sorry I know this thread isn't about the S1000RR. A couple of things I do know:

-It is still amazing how good the Japanese are at making sport bikes. To the point where folks have started taking them for granted and accusing them of having no "soul". Kind of like a BMW 5 series example vs a Lexus ES I suppose. Fact is they have perfected the art of making inline 4 cyl sport bikes to where it's hard to find ANY faults.
-I agree that the MV F3 is stunning and I'd love to own one:)

Well Drag, in the end it's all about balance when your hustling down a twisty road or railing a track and you can't go far wrong with a Fireblade. All of these bikes are so good nowadays

The 6R is very cool....but your 10...it's killa.I REALLY like that 10R.

Honestly....I'd get myself killed or someone else with a literbike here.The 14 is bad enough.The weight...I need that.To remind me.To slow down....pay attention...ride like I intend to live a tad longer.I've got bigger things now to be concerned about than just railing all out.I'll leave that to the pros.But I DO love the 14.I need at least ONE thing that I can do and have fun at that's just 'me'.I can get out and ride my ride...and feel good about things.

I go back to work Dec 1st...this has been a helluva year...things aren't anything like I had imagined or planned for.It's very different now.

You get that F3....hit those canyons...rail.Can't hardley wait for some pics Kruzerman.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 11/14/2012 @ 10:35 AM *

Jag it sounds like you've found your bike in the Beemer, I'd hold on to that one, sounds like a keeper. BTW did you ever do the ECU re-flash on your ZX-10R? There is a wire cut mod out now on the forums, clip a wire at the ECU and it derestricts the '11 and '12 model. About a 30 minute job I hear, completely free and it unleashes 24 rear wheel HP at the redline, 15 HP at peak. I haven't done it yet, added just the Yoshi slip-on to mine with no PowerCommander, just enjoying the smooth power and knife edge handling for now. This bike is so incredibly smooth and the headshake the old 10s had now seems to be a thing of the past.

To the point where folks have started taking them for granted and accusing them of having no "soul".

It's tough to beat one of these on a twisty road, the engine has tons of low and midrange punch with just right gearing for accelerating hard off the corners and there's enough top end to scare you when necessary. Handling is nuetral, headshake is not in it's vocabulary and it's got the perfect balance of flickability and stability.

Grn, I hear ya, I was just thinking of expanding the horizon a bit and trying something with glass edge handling for those occasional twistie roads but you gotta go with what works for you. It's hard to pass up that instant gratification you get when the 190 HP hit on a 14R comes on line.

F3 is on my wish list but it's still a ways off before I feel comfortable enough to jump in and drop the cash. This economy has me worried right now like a lot of other folks and re-electing you-know-who hasn't helped matters much.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 11/14/2012 @ 12:20 PM *

The Beemer is a the top of my list mainly because it has taken over for the moment. Ten years from now even if it is not relevant anymore, people will remember!

Well it's the perfect storm, BMW brought the S1000RR to market right when the Japs were played out and couldn't fight back. The Big Four are still trying to re-group these days and just stay alive in a world that has changed, possibly forever.

Kawasaki is the only one firing their main guns in the Land of the Rising Sun and they've captured a large portion of the market share back from the others by entering the fray with the ZX-10R version 4.0 and the ZX-14R version 3.0. Everyone else seems to be on the ropes, sipping their saki, counting their yen and trying to keep the factory doors open. Five years ago when two year develpoment cycles were defacto, who would have thought we'd have the same old Honda Fireblade, GSXR1000 and R1 with "minor updates" in 2012?

In the meantime, BMW is not resting on their laurels, the '12 version addresses all of the issues of the original model and the HP4 promises to be more of the same.

How long before Honda gets off their duff and releases a RC212V MotoGP bike with lights and clobbers everyone? Don't think it couldn't happen.

For now at least, the BMW is a hard act to follow, the factory did it's homework when releasing that thing and developed the S1000RR according to a "formula". They knew exactly what it would take to capture market share and win shootouts and developed the bike to hit those targets.

Ducati blew it in my humble opinion with the Panigale 1199. This could have been the bike to beat but it's flawed, soemthing that everyone is going to realize when the smoke clears. That bikes biggest shortcoming seems to be the stressed airbox monocoque concept that failed miserably on their GP bikes. How to get chassis feedback at lean through such a short, stiff load path seems like an insurmountable problem but Ducati was already committed, they had to bring it to market and somehow make the thing work.

OK, enough prattle, I want that F3 so I can hum "Ole Sole Mio" in the shower...lol!

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/2013-bmw-hp4-price-msrp/

Certainly not the prettiest face on the block but you can't argue with the spec list, should be a scorcher.

Certainly not the prettiest face on the block but you can't argue with the spec list, should be a scorcher.

See..thats why there are different bike designs:). I think that bike is gorgeous. And you're right about a scorcher, but beyond fast the adaptive suspension is supposed to really work for a first year model. I'm sure that will find it's way to the S1000's coming up. I agree with you that Kawasaki is the only Jap bike that is even competing right now. That doesn't mean that all of them aren't good bikes. They are all GREAT bikes, electronics and gizmo's be damned. BUT things like tacking on adapative suspenstion, (another ground breaker) to the sports bike world is making it that much harder for the Japs to catch up.
I was smiling when you were talking about the smooth factor of the ZX10 and the CBR with the low/midrange, (too bad it poops out at 11K) because while the Beemer is smooth, it's not docile like those bikes feel a bit. Well I really can't call the ZX10 docile, lest say, more civilized? Not even sure that works, but heres the point. Getting on the extremely well appointed and screwed down BMW just feels like something special. When you start it, it feels and sounds angry before you let the clutch out. There are a few more vibes down in the low rev ban till you push past them, but all in all it feels like the hot rod of the bunch, and I REALLY like that. I just put an Akrapovic slip on, Pazzo blue levers w/red adjusters,blue Cox oil cooler and radiator guard and a belly pan made by a company out of Germany and I'm stoked at the moment. There isn't a lot of sound difference with the slip on, although to me it does sound a bit richer, but it looks killer with the carbon heatshield and tip, and does really smooth out the power delivery. No PC here but I can feel it breathing a lot better with quicker revs and smoother power delivery. Nothing as nice as my Brocks setup on the 14R though:) I'll throw a pic up with all the add on's after I get a chance to take a few. I'm still amazed that we can actually buy bikes like the S1000RR for the street. It's that good. And that hit on top...Good Lord!
LOVE the CBR pic by the way!! I really really hope Honda wakes up and delivers a home run to keep thing interesting:)

Ya...I'm likin that CBR as well...;)I think it's got plenty of 'character' looks wise anyway.Oh Sol a MIAAAAAAA.... .

Wonder just what the heck those Germans were thinkin when they came up with those headlamps!LOL!!!I mean...that's just wrong;)

Them there turn signals..."wot's 'sup wit dat?"...geez....someone in the design department found some of that WWII German Meth?Sheesh.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 11/14/2012 @ 7:58 PM *

Wonder just what the heck those Germans were thinkin when they came up with those headlamps!LOL!!!I mean...that's just wrong;)

Them there turn signals..."wot's 'sup wit dat?"...geez....someone in the design department found some of that WWII German Meth?Sheesh.

LMAO Grn, yer crackin me up there fella!!! No, the BMW styling is not for everyone but I'm with Jagman here and have to say that HP4 styling is starting to grow on me a bit. Not fluid and flowing like an Italian design but more of a hard edged Teutonic look, like the kind of bike Arnold Schwarzenegger would be riding in the Terminator. BMW's design studio had to do something different styling wise and so chose the odd asymmetrical look.

Anyway, when you're the baddest kid on the block I guess you don't have to worry what everyone else thinks about your looks.

Many thanks on the CBR looks Grn, it is a classic design methinks and Honda went back to it in 2012 after those butt ugly ones they built from '08 to '11.

I'm looking at this HP4 and the styling seems busy, as in maybe too much going on, no central theme you can focus on and then let your eyes sweep over it like the F3. However, this is more the style the young folks are into these days, very aggressive, think how diverse modern tennis shoes look today compared to what we had as kids, i.e. white Converse Allstars..you get the picture! Anyway, I wouldn't mind having one of these parked in my garage alongside the F3 if I could afford the payments.

"hard edged Teutonic look"...exactly...minus the Teutonic(I guess)...look at the front fender...the squarish flat edge along the front sides...How in the world could THAT be good for high speed aerodynamics?I know...it hauls azz...yes...brute force.I don't think I saw any at the TT...not that really means anything...but....It IS a nice looking bike...to a point.Having something OTHER than Japanese sets ya apart anyway...I think.I'd like to ride one...one of each...the F3,the V4,the 898 and that terminator look alike;)

Every summer...I see guys from Canada(usually)ridin through on their way to wherever...riding Ducs.They seem to really like em.Personally...the one I did sit on....it was way too squished feeling for me...it was one of the bigger ones...IDK how many CC's..but it was the bigger of the pack(maybe a 900...something like that).Red.This guy was cruisin the Northwest on it.Sheesh...not me.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 11/15/2012 @ 8:45 AM *