RubberSideDown

I think you're going to have to flash the ECU to change the limiter- it's not an easy thing to do.

^^ Ok i see it now. I must be jaded as i never shopped for a bike based on it being a good value.....

Nor have I- I'm much more attracted to the 'Most Likely to Kill You' category.

The multi-award winning CB500F

just curious but which awards did it win ?

http://www.motorcycle.com/best-motorcycles-2013.html

Still dont see it? I see this "Motorcycle of the Year Honorable Mention: Honda CB500 Platform" i thought honorable mention is to make the non-winners feel good. Is there another link with more information about the award?

Click on 'Best Value'.

I read 'multiple'- I need to see at least one more.

This is called 'holding a line':

Edit- crap- won't embed- here's the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Wh8sZQlGE

They look like they use the same size wheels and torsion axles as bigger trailers- it would be insane to pull one of those things on a bike if there weren't additional brakes- I wouldn't do it...

"Nice but don't think it's legal here and what happens it you brake really really hard?"

Sorry I can't give you an answer. I assume most people would have brakes on the trailer.

PS: I just checked a few sites and no mention of brakes!

Inertia brakes are probably available- they're pretty common on trailers.

^

Side-mounted radiators means the bike will run hot- some of them have thermostat issues as well from what I've read.

I thought my bike ran hot when it hit 96* in traffic...

The bike runs rough under 4000 revs, but that is due to EU emission regulations that dictates the fuel-to-air mix. If you don't care about the environment, parts are available to fix this.

Motorcycles do great on mileage, but they are surprisingly bad when it comes to emissions- however, I sure wouldn't accept having the bike on which I just spent double what it's worth (which I also did recently) run rough under 4K (especially when it redlines under 11K) when there's a fix for it, or justify not doing it by saying those who do 'don't care about the environment'- I guess if we all really cared about the environment we wouldn't be on bikes over 125cc.

BTW- Kawasaki got me my green book and plate in a month- something is not right with your situation.

and sad really, cannot see that green/black version on teh roads! That color combo is waking my senses up even while looking at a photo!

Still, black is also good and you can get some green fairing from abroad to spicy up your bike if needed.

Don't worry too much about Green or ABS I guarantee

both will come.

It will indeed, given that the one in Rama 9's showroom is green and black and has ABS

Well, last year they had the special edition green ZX-14R on display at Rama 9, and that was never brought in for sale past the floor model (and when the model was brought in, only one color- midnight blue w/ABS- was made available), so it's not a guarantee (though I agree it probably will be brought in).

I like having ABS for the 'sudden stop' scenario when a car/bike/dog/buffalo/whatever pulls out directly in front of you with about five meters to spare- I've never seen the ABS light come on while riding my bike, and- with 20+ years of riding sportbikes behind me- I do know how to stop my bike without it. I've read more than a few accounts from people who have been riding for a long time and know what they're doing who said they felt ABS would have prevented their crashes- I've never read about a crash (off the track or dirt) where ABS was the cause of an accident, and- since most accidents are attributable to rider error (to which none of us are immune- I'm certainly not)- it can't hurt.

It's going to become the law in Europe for all bikes over 125cc from January 2016- it won't be long until ABS is standard on pretty much all bikes.

Nice bike, but, dam_n, that's got to be the worst passenger set-up ever- they should have made it monoposto.

I think rear cowls should be standard and rear seat optional. I guess i am the outcast as i prefer to ride solo.

I agree- I still haven't taken the rear-seat cowl off my bike, and I'm toying with removing the passenger peg brackets (or at least removing the one that isn't supporting my exhaust...)

Full coverage (including theft) on my 14R is 17,700 baht per year through Mittare Insurance- that was in line with other quotes I got fom other companies (they also insure my truck and I've had good experiences with them, which is nice a my wife is a wannabe demolition-derby driver;)).

Nice bike, but, damn, that's got to be the worst passenger set-up ever- they should have made it monoposto.

A friend has the 'S' (with the 1098 engine) in the US- he can't keep the front wheel down (annoyingly so- it's actually a bit of a problem as it comes up when you really don't want it to)- I would think the 848 has the perfect engine for the Streetfighter package.

The 14R can support E10 (95 gasohol is recommended) so I would imagine the fuel lines can handle any percentage of ethanol (though I wouldn't want to leave the bike sitting for months on end...)- the manual does state 10% ethanol is the limit, but I think that's due to the tune and not the hardware (either it's alcohol resistant or it's not)- I think any bike made in the last few years by one of the Big Four would be similarly outfitted- benzine is on the way out in most of their major markets.

I could be wrong, though- I've looked into it a bit, but not much past my actual application- the E85 tune was just something I found interesting, not something I planned to try out.

With a bike more than a few years old, unless gasohol is specifically approved by the manufacturer, I'd upgrade my fuel system before using it- an '07 might be problematic, but maybe not.

I've got an RF-1100 and a GT-Air- I would put either interior in the machine on the gentle cycle in a bag, but I understand what you're saying.

I have a shoei too rubber but cannot risk washing its 6500 thb inner parts in a washing machine which spins 1000 rpm.

I'll put removable pads in the washing machine- in a net bag on the gentle cycle (using detergent made for babies) is fine. Shoei even recommeds doing this.

^^

That's the first time I've ever seen a guy riding a track with no eye protection.

Not sure but i go everywhere that doesnt have a toll and never a issue.

It's never an issue when they can't catch you.

I don't think the PC3 was out in 2000- I'm pretty sure I used a PC2- it was very easy to load maps, though- I loved that bike and came close to buying a 2012 over here, but the 12R really grabbed me (though as you say it cost way more than it's really worth).

Bringing in a bike as 'parts' can be tricky- it helps to know someone who can help smooth the importation process.

I had a couple of GSXR-1100Rs in Japan- a '90 and '94- big monsters, but great bikes.

Before this bike, the only experience I had was adjusting fueling with a Power Commander (on my '00 Busa, which I had dyno-tuned in the States- the tuner found a bump of ~13hp peak, and ~15hp in the midrange).

The tune I just flashed into the ECU was mainly to open the secondary throttle plates earlier in the rev range and at less throttle- I didn't want to remove the plates entirely (as many have done, especially on first-gen models) as it screws up low-end throttle response pretty badly, though it gives a good midrange/top-end hit- I also had some ignition timing added- Kawi really neutered it a bit- it's possible they're holding something back so they can offer a new model next year with more power, and all they'll have to do is reflash it- who knows? I definitely felt an immediate difference- guys are reporting 20-25hp increases in the midrange, and the flash involves removing the seat, removing four bolts to move the toolbox to expose the ECU, and inserting a plug- including the upload, it's a 10-minute job- pretty incredible gains considering how easy it is to do.

Yeh mate....all good stuff. Definitely worth looking into. I take it E85 is fairly easy to get here then..?

No, it's not common depending on where you live (though E20 is easy to find). There's a tuning thread going on a 14R board where guys running the E85 tune have found ~5hp across the rev range- while it's not a huge gain, it's pretty interesting to see their results in the infancy of using E85 for performance reasons on street bikes. That wouldn't be enough to get me to switch over, though- the drop in mpg (on what is already a thirsty bike) would mean seeking out fuel too often in places it might be difficult to find- it's no fun watching bars disappear from the gas gauge at a rapid rate when you're in the middle-of-nowhere.

There's already a map for E85 for the 14R- it's supposed to make excellent power, but mileage drops something like 30% due to the different burning characteristics of the ethanol content.

I'll dyno the bike someday, but I'm not letting anyone dyno-tune it- I have little faith in the tuners here when it comes to my bike. 14Rs with similar mods and tunes are making 200-205rwhp.

Who cares about the milage? E85 is how much? It's gotta be 50% cheaper than E20?

Which year 14R'S support E85? I haven't seen any recent honda's that support E85 in the manual and I wouldn't even try it with an imported or older bike.

None of them support E85 from the factory- I'm referring to an ECU tune for the bike developed by Don Guhl, who has been working on the 14R for years.

Here's a video from May- he's probably improved the tune since then:

There's already a map for E85 for the 14R- it's supposed to make excellent power, but mileage drops something like 30% due to the different burning characteristics of the ethanol content.

I'll dyno the bike someday, but I'm not letting anyone dyno-tune it- I have little faith in the tuners here when it comes to my bike. 14Rs with similar mods and tunes are making 200-205rwhp.