A6, Shap
Seascale
It’s been fun, though this June’s sunshine-and-showers weather’s unpredictability hasn’t helped nor has the wind. My ZX-4RR, 400cc, two wheeled four cylinder rocket has now had its first service and it’s free of the running-in restrictions.
The experience as the rider is full commitment, I feel intimately in touch with the road, the surface and the topography and that’s the fantastic thrill of riding the open road. The ZX4 isn’t a bike for poodling along and admiring the scenery.
I find the ZX-4RR is really happy on A roads with wide sweeping curves. It copes with B roads and slowing right down for villages but that’s not the main strength of the ZX4. The power delivery curve is smooth so there’s no sudden rush as the revs increase, as happened on many carburettor bikes before fuel injection and engine control electronics came along.
Of course there’s gear shifting to match the engine’s revs to the situation, that’s the sport and the skill of riding a high performance sportsbike, and therefore the satisfaction. But maybe the engine is more forgiving than I had anticipated after reading the reviews published by track riders.
The quick shifter is good for fast getaways but I’m still using the clutch a lot of the time for the finesse it gives. I’m not short of power when riding solo on the roads around here in Cumbria. The brakes and suspension are great, the ZX-4RR goes where I want it to: the ZX-4RR is a premium bike so its components aren’t the basic versions selected for economy.
Like my CBR600RR, I have a feeling the bike is better than I am, so there’s always an incentive to improve.
West Coast Main Line, Shap
Lowgill Viaduct, Yorkshire Dales
