Investigating the Ninja

2983 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by wcwills, Mar 4, 2015

replacement

Discussion Starter · Jan 15, 2015

I have not had a bike for about the last 10 years. I came up from a nighthawk 700s to a cbr1000f and owned that a Harley and a interceptor 500 chick bike all at the same time. I loved my 1991 cbr1000f.

So now I am a little fatter and a lot older. I am looking at the ninja 1000 as carry over 2013 model.

QUESTION - do I want the ABS?

QUESTION- what are members here seeing for pricing on the carry over 2013?

was told by a large dealer here in Ohio that the 2014's are sold out and he has easy access to green 2013's both abs and non abs. Thinks he could find a white bike. I like the white.

So comments are welcome, Is this the right bike? ABS yes or no? I never been on a abs bike. I know I can not take an aggressive seating position as much as I would love an all out sport bike. What says the group.

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GaryK

· #2 · Jan 15, 2015

2014 was a significant overhaul.. power/traction nannies/frame redesign for the boxes. There are still some 2014's in ohio I saw a green one at Iron Pony in westerville 2 weeks ago.

I came from a 600 Hurricane sold in 99...13 years... 600 gsxr.. just bought my 14 in october and its awesome! You wont be dissappointed.

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Dezeez

· #3 · Jan 15, 2015

In October, I bought a 2013 ABS for $7995.00 out the door off a dealer in Petersburg, West Virginia. He still has them listed on ebay. For that price, you can add a lot of extras. I'm a bit old school, I have no interest in ABS, Traction Control and most of the other optional stuff that can break and cost a fortune to fix. The only thing the 2014 has that I like is the gearing change and you can work on that with new sprockets.

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cowasockee

· #4 · Jan 15, 2015

For me the cost of admission was worth it for a 2014 because of the panniers. They are so easy to take on/off and the bike looks great with or without the bags. I also think ABS is a bit overrated for an experienced rider though a great tool for the newer rider or one that rides in the rain a lot.

Either way you cannot go wrong. With a few inexpensive mods (handlebar riser kit if you're short like me and a new seat) you have a terrific all day sport touring motorcycle. Oh and ditch the OEM tires as soon as you can. They suck bad.

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replacement

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 17, 2015

wife getting ready as I type to go look at some bikes. I will report back. I also have looked at a used CBR1000f, I really loved my old CBR. I know is a Ninja forum. I am looking for something new that is the same type of bike, thus it seems the Ninja is the closest.

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Norskie

· #6 · Jan 17, 2015

ABS is nice. Regardless of your experience, surface conditions can vary greatly. The lack of ABS wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but get it if you can.

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rcannon409

· #7 · Jan 17, 2015

With what I've seen 14's discounted to.......well, I'll say this. No more new Kawasaki's for me. When I start seeing 3000 off sticker price, they can keep their new, current models.

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Chrispy

· #8 · Jan 18, 2015

Norskie said:
ABS is nice. Regardless of your experience, surface conditions can vary greatly. The lack of ABS wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but get it if you can.

I agree. I can count on both hands the amount of times the ABS has kicked in on my 2013. I love to hard brake and I'm pretty confident I could brake in a shorter distance on a non-ABS N1K in perfect conditions but it's in the non- perfect conditions the ABS is nice to have.

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rcannon409

· #9 · Jan 18, 2015

I also believe abs will help with re-sale. Anyone will buy a bike with it. It just doesn't hurt anything, even if you dislike it.

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Trider

· #10 · Jan 18, 2015

I seen the non ABS for $7999.00 and the ABS on e-Bay for $8999.00
I don't like ABS...

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Huff1050

· #11 · Jan 21, 2015

Hi guys.

Newb here. I'm having a similar debate in my head. There is a 13' sitting a local dealer that they are trying to get rid of for peanuts. And I'm not worried about ABS, and certainly not worried about the power modes. My main question, Gary K pointed out that there was a difference in the bags, can you elaborate on the differences?

Thanks!

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Norskie

· #12 · Jan 21, 2015

Huff1050 said:
Hi guys.

My main question, Gary K pointed out that there was a difference in the bags, can you elaborate on the differences?

Thanks!

The 2014 bags are much nicer and better integrated than the <2013 bags. The bike looks better both with and without the bags installed.

This article has more details:

New 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS: MD First Ride, Part 2 « MotorcycleDaily.com – Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews

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Warprints

· #13 · Jan 22, 2015

Trider said:
I don't like ABS...

What about ABS don't you like? Still reading old mags about how experts can stop quicker without ABS (when they know they are going to panic stop, and they take their best stop out of several attempts?)

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wcwills

· #14 · Mar 4, 2015

It's a lot of bike if you aren't used to liter bike acceleration. But it's a brilliant engine management program--very smooth. You do want the ABS. That's moromic insanity to say you don't. It's not like ABS in a Ford van. It's a high performance thing like a fighter plane and the programming is different. You also want the traction control. I put my bike into T1 and I can ride up my 400' driveway with the throttle pegged and it makes big surges but doesn't throw gravel. This can save your *** in states where they sand the road during snow but you can ride much of the winter. Like Indiana.

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