Cruiser vs sportsbike
IN AN ISSUE themed around the subject of speed, one of the standout stories was an unlikely comparison: the Kawasaki ZX-10R and the Harleydavidson 1200 Sportster Low.
One’s a red-blooded road-legal race bike. The other is built for chugging around and soaking up the vibes.
Steve Rose and Ben Wilkins rode from Peterborough to Scarborough and back, 154 miles each way, aiming to see what sort of fun the bikes could offer.
Rose noted that it took a few miles to get used to the extremely rapid Kawasaki, but it all started to fall in place on the B-roads between Boston and Brigg. “It lets me concentrate on getting it right. Fully focused on the lines, the traffic and the side roads. Riding a ZX-10R fast is a challenge. It’s fun in a blokey, ‘I’m better than the rest’ way, but there aren’t many laughs or (positive) memorable moments. I feel like a passenger. I feed it fuel and its tech keeps me wobbly side up. Deal.”
Its overtaking ability was astonishing. “The power and poise lets you find gaps in time that don’t exist on other bikes.”
Meanwhile, Wilkins was discovering the pleasures of the low-tech Harley. “Towns and villages are an opportunity to see and be seen rather than a hindrance to fast riding. Ride a Harley and it seems like everybody who doesn’t ride a bike wants to be your friend.”
They swapped over for the return journey. It took Rose a while to readjust, and to start sticking to his self-imposed rule that you mustn’t race against the clock on a Harley.
“Ten miles in and I’m already racing – frustrated because I can’t find those gaps that the ZX-10R made so easy. The Sportster will cruise at 90mph all day if you’ve got the neck for it, but it struggles to accelerate between 55mph (where the cars dawdle) and 65mph, where I want to be.”
But he soon adapted, and was surprised at how quickly the Harleydavidson could take all but the tightest turns. “It’s a different technique to the ZX-10R. Big, sweeping, wide lines, using all the road lets me take corners at 80mph, similar speeds to the Kawasaki… it’s more relaxing (and rewarding); less frightening too.”
Wilkins, meanwhile, was having a love/hate ride on the ZX-10R. “The bike is so rapid it makes me dizzy. It’s such a rush dipping into the post-8000rpm power, I can’t help myself and end up
accelerating manically to feed my adrenaline addiction… I can’t remember anything about the ride back apart from the fact it was too fast. In the end I don’t want to give it back. The power is beguiling and I’m not sure I can live without it.”
It wasn’t a race, but the journey to Scarborough took Rose two hours and 25 minutes on the Kawasaki. Coming back on the Harley took two hours and 32 minutes, at an average speed of 61mph versus the Kawasaki’s 63mph.