Our VFR800 V Tech was five years
old and although we loved it to bits,
Ian felt it was time for a change. We’d
been riding VFRs for over ten years
and were now clocking up around
6,000 miles on the continent each
year so you’d think we’d be looking for
a touring bike.
Well, yes and no. Ian likes the riding
position of sports tourers and I like a
bike to look good as well as have a
degree of comfort. We had considered
BMWs but I really don’t like the look of
the GS and would need a ladder to
get on the back. Absolutely everything
you require for touring (like panniers)
is an extra cost. Also, our VFR always
carries oil but it only seems to be the
BMWs that need topping up. So, last
July, we made a list of bikes we
thought we’d like to try, with BMW at
the bottom, and then started ringing
the bike shops to arrange a test ride.
First up was a Kawasaki ZZR1400
supplied by Laguna, Brunswick Road,
Ashford. I had no preconceptions
about this bike. I knew nothing about
it. When I saw it my first thought was
it wouldn’t be comfortable, although it
was beautiful to look at with its
pearlescent green finish: a proper bike
in my estimation. Ian liked its power.
We went for a ride. We kept going. It
was fantastic: smooth as silk, very
comfortable, got everything Ian
wanted. We came back to the shop
grinning our heads off; it had virtually
sold itself. However, we discovered
that delivery was around 6 weeks; we
had a tour coming up in September, it
is not recommended to fit a top box on
this bike and the panniers were rather
small. We were extremely
disappointed that we couldn’t take it
on tour, but liked the bike so much
that we went back a few weeks later
and bought one anyway. Incidentally,
we were impressed by the helpful
