Kawi Demo Day

[merc16]

[merc16]

[klaviator]

I did make it to this event.  I got there around 11:30 and stayed till almost 2.  I took advantage of the free food, Spent some time with the Bamarides members who where there as well as some possible new members.  I also took advantage of the Demo rides.

Some pics and details.

One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was that they had some scooters on the showroom floor.  As the resident scooter dude I was real happy to see this.  Steve told me they had sold a few this year.



While sitting and eating Johnny and I ended up talking to a couple of riders about Bamarides.  Maybe we'll see them here in the future.



Zach and Vanessa stopped by.



Kawasaki supplied a couple of demo bikes, A Z800 and a Vulcan 650.



I took the Z800 out first.



While I'm not in the market for anything like this right now it's always nice to get a chance to try out bikes.  I was pretty impressed with the Z800.  I prefer more upright bikes but it was still pretty comfortable.  Handling was light and neutral.  It felt much better than the FZ8 I rode a couple of years ago.  The motor felt smooth and make plenty of power.  The tranny shifted smoothly.  I'm not a big fan of all digital dashes but everything seemed easy to see on this one. 

So, if you're looking for a midsize naked sportbike the Z800 is worth looking at.

Then I rode the Vulcan.  The Kawasaki rep told me that this bike was aimed at new riders.  Being a 650 it's probably also aimed at women and shorter riders.  Tim (tiimbo64) is much shorter than me and said the riding position was about perfect for him.  I'm 6-2 and expected to be cramped but that was not the case.  I enjoyed riding this bike.  I thought it performed pretty well.  Good power, nice handling, and pretty comfortable.  I don't think it's only a beginner bike.  For an experienced rider who prefers the cruiser riding position but likes to hustle in the twisties this bike would probably outrun most cruisers regardless of size.  The motor in this is basically the same as my Versys.  I have heard the Versys called a "poor man's Multistrada"   If that's the case then the Vulcan is a "poor man's Diavel. 

One last comment.  I liked the dash and instruments on the Vulcan better than the Z800 because of the analog tach.  Come to think of it, most cruisers these day don't seem to have a tach so this was a nice feature.

A lot of people brought in their classic Kawaski's for a bike judging. 



.



Got a pic on Tim on his Harley.



I'd like to thank Steve and all the folks at Allsports as well as Kawasaki for an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

Before I left I picked up some oil and an oil filter.  I was happy to hear they had a 15% discount for this event :)

[merc16]

It was good to meet up with you klav' . I really appreciated Steve and his crew for hosting the event. The Z800 was nice. It seemed like a well sorted bike for the price.

[klaviator]

It was good to meet up with you klav' . I really appreciated Steve and his crew for hosting the event. The Z800 was nice. It seemed like a well sorted bike for the price.

Good seeing you again as well.  Hopefully we'll be able to get together on a ride one of these days.

[Chuck A.]

I was on my way at 11:00 this morning and stopped to help out with a troubled bike. Set under a tree through 4 rain periods(2 major pour downs) and went back home, soaked. Hope it was a good time for all who made it.