Kawasaki ZR-7S reviews

This is a fun bike in town or on the freeway. It's pretty easy to handle and yet its 4 cylinders carry me as fast as I'd like to go. Many sportbikes can beat it but in turn it will outpace many cruisers. I just recently learned that this is called a "naked" bike because it's a sportbike with an uncovered engine. The rider position on this bike is less aggressive than a sportbike but more uncomfortable than a cruiser. This mix might be okay for some people but my passenger hates the seat angle, and I get tired on it after about an hour. I've gotten to the point where comfort means more to me and I am considering the Honda VTX 1300R. Show less

I bought this bike for my son who just turned 17. He took the MSF course and had no trouble getting on this bike. It's easy to flick around and you can get both feet down when stopped. The power is smooth and controlled. The brakes are great with EBC pads - OK without. I ride the bike to work often and leave my CBR1100xx at home. 2 riders at highway speed is no problem. I go 200 miles easy between fillups or 45mpg. The bike does buzz at some rpm. The buzz is amplified by the plastic. Some "fixes" exist. Show less

This has been a very reliable, easy to maintain bike. Plenty of power, great handling, better than average comfort, great fuel mileage, and inexpensive to own. Air/oil cooled eight valve engine is not the most modern, but overall a great package. My only complaint is the frequent valve adjustment recommendation by Kawasaki (I've only needed one minor adjustment). I used Mobile 1 motorcycle oil and plan to keep rolling merrily along for a good long while. Great motorcycle! Show less

At 58 years old and after 40+ years of riding, this is the closest I've come to finding an all around great street bike. Sure, it's not the fastest thing out there but it starts everytime, maitenance is inexpensive and Kawasaki builds in a lot of features others do not. I've added a custom seat, Piaa lighting, LCD taillights and handlebar risers. My lady still complains about lack of legroom, but for my 6 foot plus frame it's just fine. (Can't anyone make bikes with standard, low pipes anymore?) Oh, it also gets nearly 50mpg so 250 miles between fill-ups is a plus. Is it as comfortable as my Beemer? No, but I spent more on maitenance the last year of my K bike than I spent purchasing the ZR7. Now if I could just find a taller windshield. Show less

I bought my 2002 ZR-7S new in 2003. It has a lot of low-end torque, decent acceleration, handles well and gets 55 mpg on the highway. It also has a huge 5.8 gallon gas tank so I usually do not start looking for a gas station until I have hit 220 miles. Negatives: There is a buzz in the seat around 5K RPM and the cowl buzzes a little around 2k RPM (two widely reported issues). I also found the seat to be pitched a little too far forward. I was prepared to buy another seat so I first tried cutting out some foam in an attempt to level it, and that worked. Show less

I recently bought a low mileage, used 2001 ZR-7S. It came with an aftermarket header and muffler, a jet kit, a Corbin seat and a K&N air filter. It was certainly affordable, as I only paid $2700 for it. I've read before that these bikes are underpowered, but that's definitely not been my experience. If anything, my bike seems a little peaky and overpowered, as it's sometimes hard to drive smoothly due to the rapid surge of acceleration when rolling on the throttle. Part of this is no doubt due to the aftermarket mods, and the rest is probably due to my lack of experience riding this bike. Reliability has been great, with no problems whatsoever. It handles very nicely, and both the front and rear brakes are powerful and smooth. The front forks are a bit too soft, and I'll be looking into some progressive rate fork springs to replace the factory units. There's quite a bit of driveline lash when shifting the bike into first gear at a stoplight, and the trans can be a bit notchy when movi'ng through the gears, but from reading others opinions on this bike, these minor annoyances just seem to be the nature of the beast. It's not as light and nimble as my Honda CL450, nor as tossable as my buddy's SV650, but sometimes (like on the freeway) that extra weight and stability come in handy. Overall, I think I'm going to enjoy this bike. It's a solid performer in every category, and I doubt I could find more bang for my buck. Show less

I bought the bike for two reasons. One, I thought a 750 would be big enough to have some fun. Second, I loved the looks. Well that's been a couple of years ago and I still like the looks, but the power just isn't there. Good bike for around town, but stay off the race track. Handling is good for a naked bike, but not comparable to its sport bike cousins. The other plus is a comfortable riding position, no backaches or hurting wrists on this machine. Show less

I bought the ZR-7S on March 1st 2004 with 4500 miles on her. I've put 26,000 on her since. It's been dead reliable never missing a beat. I've been to Kentucky and back for a round trip of 2500 miles and had not a lick of problems even running her as hard as I could. The seat is comfortable for all day and night riding. The power, while maybe down from today's standards, is still enough to propel you to 140mph. Some may say that it doesn't handle well, but they are sadly mistaken. I regularly beat GSXR, R6, ZX6R and even R1 riders in the corners and leave them thinking "what just happened here?". The only problem with the bike I have right now is that the pegs are too low. I have scraped the feelers off completely and am now tearing the rubber peg up every time I take tight corners. Lets just say I make a good light show if you're behind me! I would recommend this bike to anybody: novice, experienced, touring riders, anybody. You just can't beat what you get for the price you pay. Show less

I bought my ZR7 new in 2001, and have loved it ever since. There is nothing like going up a steep hill at 60, pulling back the throttle, and just zooming up it like it wasn't even there! My only complaint is that it is very cold blooded, needing at least three or four minutes of warm-up to run properly. But once it is ready to ride, it is one of the best rides out there! Show less

After fighting the BMW maitenence wars for three years I purchased a Kawasaki ZR-7S on the suggestion of a mechanic friend. I have owned many bikes over the years and for my money, this is the best one ever. Stone reliable, great on long trips and a joy around town. Frankly, at my age the bike has kept me out of trouble more than once. My only complaint is that the stock seat is too soft. I've tried Corbin (awful and heavy) and Sargent, not much of an improvement. Best is to take the stock seat to a local shop and have them install a gel pad. My next purchase will be a decent set of luggage, the one thing I miss about our BMW. Local dealers are selling left over 2003's for under five grand and at that price I think the mid-side Kawasaki is a true bargain. Show less