As I e-mailed Douglas Wednesday morning last week before heading into the office, I had gotten my ZRX fired up Tuesday night with it taking a little more effort than I thought it would. I don’t know why I thought she would fire right up as the fuel tank was almost empty when I parked her 4 months ago and with all the coil issues and misfiring I was going through just prior to putting her on the rear stand, I think a couple of the plugs had been wet-fouled and were marginal at best. In any case, after draining the battery trying to get her started, I put her on the charger and finally got her cranked up. After a few minutes of idling, she smoothed right out and although I wanted to take her out for a spin, it was late so I just put her on the trickle charger and closed the door to the garage with the sweet sound of the Kerker still ringing in my ears.
Waking up Wednesday morning, I had not intended to ride the ZRX to work as she was pretty dusty and I wanted to get her cleaned up, along with an oil and filter change, before taking her out on the streets but as I walked out into the garage to saddle up the Fizzy, she just seemed to beckon to me. Having a total lack of self-control, I asked myself “why not?”, dropped her off the rear stand, rolled her out onto the driveway and at the first push of the starter, she cranked right up. After gearing up and getting on the bike, I could immediately feel the difference in weight between the ZRX and the Fizzy as I rolled the bike around in the driveway. The ZRX is definitely more of a handful to maneuver around at rest but I managed to get her out into the street with no issues, got her pointed in the right direction, snicked her into first gear and off we went.
I have been off of the ZRX and riding the Fizzy for enough time that I had forgotten all the subtleties of my ZRX. First thing I notice is that my clutch setup with HD springs all the way around is a little absurd to pull. That combined with my shorty Pazzo clutch lever and it feels like I am setting a grizzly trap every time I grab for some clutch! Although I had been commenting on the smooth shifting on the Fizzy, the Armz’s shifter rod I have on the ZRX provides very accurate feel and minimal gearshift slop, much more precise than the Fizzy shifter. I now feel the shifting issues I have complained about on my ZRX are due to improper lever adjustment which I will address by dropping the lever a spline or two on the shaft. Also, I had the clutch set up on the ZRX to begin engaging almost instantly upon release whereas the Fizzy releases much later in the throw. A quick flip of the adjusters on the Pazzos and a nice compromise was found to bring the two clutch releases to a similar point. Another difference immediately noticed was the seating position between the ZRX and the Fizzy. Although subtle, when sitting astride the Fizzy, one feels encapsulated within the bike due to the lower seating position along with the wrap around fairing and gauge package. Sitting astride the ZRX is more like sitting on my dirt bike, you are sitting “on” the bike, not “in” the bike. Other than that, the ergonomics are comparable and I find both bikes equally comfortable.
Off and running and the first thing I notice is the sound! This thing sounds like a motorcycle should sound and the Kerker is everything the Akra on the Fizzy is not. It is crude, unrefined and screams "look this way NOW"! The second thing I notice is how it keeps wanting to fall over in every neighborhood corner I go around. Yikes! I had forgotten how much attention this bike requires at slow speed! Where the Fizzy has very light steering and almost seems on remote control at times, the ZRX has to be steered through the neighborhoods and needs constant attention. The third thing I notice is how bad the suspension on my Fizzy is in comparison to my ZRX suspension. The ZRX handling is taught but still soaks of the small road variations with ease whereas the Fizzy is like, to quote Douglas, “riding a go-kart”. It is that stiff and any decision of mine to keep the Fizzy would need to include addressing the suspension issues. In all fairness, I have not spent the time adjusting the Fizzy suspension to suit my weight but I am fairly certain it would never get to the level of the ZRX suspension.
Out of the neighborhood, I chortle my way along surface streets and take the long way to get to an entrance ramp I know I can hammer it on. I let the ramp clear, get the bike straightened up and hammer the throttle in first gear as I typically do on the same ramp on the Fizzy. It didn’t take me long to remember how bad an idea this is on the ZRX as the bike proceeded to launch itself straight up in the air. WOW!! The Fizzy is geared so much taller in first whereas it seems the ZRX is geared to pull stumps out of the ground. The rest of the ride to work was uneventful with the most significant difference on the freeway being the absolute butter smoothness of the Keihin CVK carbs, especially at very small throttle adjustments.
Trust me, I am aware of all the mystique the ZRX brings to the table when talking about torque but it is incredible how different the power delivery is on the ZRX versus the Fizzy. I realize I am overstating the obvious and preaching to the crowd but it was still stunning and I was grinning ear-to-ear all day at work! I had gotten a little taste of the ZRX torque riding Dick’s bike back from Mountain View but it was nice to be back in the saddle of my own ZRX again! When purchasing the Fizzy, I knew I needed to give myself enough time on the Fizzy to let the “new” wear off before I ever thought about making a decision that would separate me from my ZRX. I know now that I could never get rid of her, end of story, as the ZRX has too much character and too much of my blood, sweat and tears in her. This bike has a special place in my heart and will be with me until the end!
