Eric Bostroms next excuse will be....

Itoh hit it on the head.

In 1996 or 2004 the ZX7 has always been a heavy under powered bike.

A LOT more was needed to make it the accomplished racing platform that Chandler raced and won on (or that E-Boz won races on).

Most would agree Kawi did not keep the 7R virtually unchanged because it was soo good and didn't need it. Rummors had floated for years as far back as 2000 that they had a prototype new 7R in the works...but waited to see the direction if sales and racing before devotion of full on production to the bike.

And as we know the middle class really took a hit as liter bikes became lighter and more agile .....and as racing went that route also. Kawi made the choice not to update instead scap it for what sells.

And yea....the gsxr750 does sell, but look at the local gatherings of streetbikes these days....its liter bikes, even more so than 600's like it use to be.

Not saying the ZX7R isn't a good bike.......but in stock trim or even stuperstock trim its near a bottom pile. Superbike....its okay...but what isn't.

 

You suffer a head injury? Does your doctor require that you wear a hockey helmet 24/7?

 

I will have to agree on the 7RR being to heavy in street trim. I owned a 96 7rr and loved how stable the thing was and the brakes were awesome. But the thing could not even power wheelie 1st gear.

Then I bought a 96 GSXR750 a couple of years later and saw the light on how less weight can really help a bike out.

Still as my first 'superbike' I do have very fond memeries of the 7RR. Plump as she was...

 

He would never leave if his stated goal was to do better than Hopper.

If he can't get a bike that will win, you guys are stuck with watching him win.

 

well I'm happy to say that I have one of these Heavyweight "plumpers" and It is in superbike form .....If wera would allow it into some kind of Vintage race...it would be on top... It is just as light as any gxsr 750 (I know you must think i'm crazy) and Huffdaddy should get some real power out of it...thinking around 160 and change....

 

Some potent crack you've been smoking, my friend.

In 96, Muzzy said that they started out with less power than they had in the 95 superbike. That pig was in catch-up mode from birth. And no matter how you look at it, the street bike was 75 lbs overweight.

What E-Boz did with that thing was special. It was all E-Boz. Ask Yanagawa.

Based on what I saw my buddy's 2 Raptors crank out (a 750 and a 850), I think I'd like to propose a little wager. $100 to the Airfence says your 750 won't make 160 hp (without nitrous or a turbo). And it doesn't count if it makes 160 and blows up.

 

well its one of your "buddys".mr brown....do you know somthing I dont about those raptors???? he claims his 750 was making 150 at the wheel. and i'm going bigger than 750

 

I don't know any secrets. I just know your 750 won't make 160 hp. If you go bigger than 750, it's no longer a 750, by the way. My wager offer was for a ZX-7RR.

 

if your 7RR is so nasty and a "GSXR killer" take it out in B Superbike, HeavyWeight Solo and see whats up !

and if it were V7 eligible, we'd be racin heads up in V7 HW the plump 7RR vs. a factory road racing 250 smoker!!!

 

I can say gladly that I owned a Kawi 7R, and wish to this day I had never gotten rid of it.

You can argue all you want about Bostrom and the Kawi. The real deal behind it is Kawasaki had years of development behind essentially one bike. The differences between the 91'7R, the 93'7R, and the 96'+7RR were really not that big. Kawasaki claimed a redesign, but when you put all three bikes next to eachother, the frames were very, very close. As well as brakes, ergo's, weight etc... The motor was not that much different either. Same clunky tranny, same incredibly smooth power delivery, but low HP and low torque compared to the competitors. The ZX-7 was never a bike built on HP, but more on stability.

Saying that, you put a aggressive, very talented rider on a bike that has almost a decades worth of information, diagnostics, testing... it's bound to win races because it's damn near as perfect as it is going to get. Truth be known, between EBOZ and the 7RR were just a match made in heaven.

I will say this though, you can get HP out of the Kawi, but it will not stay, and it isn't reliable unless you take the ZX9 motor and put it in an older chassis. The Raptor was a good thing for Muzzy, but even back then a Full-Blown Raptor with the 850cc motor would have a very difficult time beating a Superstock GSXR of the same model year.

 

I had a 94 7R and feel the same way. But objectively, it was no match for the 96 GSXR7 I replaced it with.

 

I'm 50/50 on that. The GSXR was a better bike in almost every facet except for stability. The GSXR750's had more and BETTER HP, turning, etc.. It was simply a better built racebike. But as far as stability in turns and hadling, I have yet to ride another bike other than my TLR, that is as stable. But I am willing to assume that the heavier the bike, regardless, may always be the more stable one???

 

.....as lame as the rest of them

 

Agreed.

 

Well like I said ...this is not a stock 7RR and is no longer fat....and with a motor over 160 would be somewhat quick and VERY stable....What are the 96 gsxr 750's making horsepower wise?

 

It depends on what you are comparing. Comparing your Muzzy Raptor to a Yoshimura Superbike of 99', I would say there is little comparison. The Raptor kit had flash and spunk for it's day, but your talking about a bike that was between $60K-80K... 7 grand of that was in the single sided swingarm. And you can lighten the green machine all you want but the proof is on the scales. The Yoshimura superbikes were always tipping the scales right on the edge between 4-6lbs of the minimum weight. The Kawsaki Superbike was close, but not close enough. The crank, rods, pistons of the GSXR superbikes were far above that of the Kawi. Granted Doug Chandler won the Superbike championship that year, but look what happened in the years to follow. Kawasaki had a bike with nearly 8 years in development and lost to a brand new RC51 V-Twin, and consecutively to a GSXR that was of the same design. Suzuki stole the championship back on a bike that was 3 years in development, not to mention they didn't even run their newest model in 2000 and still won more than the Kawi.

I think the largest and most fatal flaw in your argument is your trying to compare your Raptor to a Superbike, which in design it may be intended, but as a finished product is not. The Raptor wasn't even in comparison to the AMA bike, in many ways, it wasn't even close. And up against a GSXR superbike (unsure of what bore Yoshimura actually used) the Raptor would fail...A much as I hate to say it even..

 

Seems like Eric and Ben beat themselves up better than anyone, in direct opposition to the likes of a Mladin or a Hacking. While I find it damn near impossible to appreciate the whiners, I find it almost equally as hard to hear my favorite racer tell me what a piece of shit he is each and every race. While I appreciate the modesty, it seems they lack some esteem. Can any of these guys find a happy medium?

 

I'm using a RR frame with Kit swingarm not the RAM swingarm...also just got off the phone with a guy running a ex-SBK and he claims 177HP.....HUMM ....This bike I have is a mix and is not set-up like a raptor. My raptor frame is on the wall...catching dust

 

Most folks with solid dyno claims post the dyno sheets......
It becomes less speculation after fact is raised.

 

I agree with those who side with the ZX7R being dated by the time it was released.

Everyone remember 1998 when the ZX9R new model hit the schene. I recall it came out a bit early and all the magazines and pretty much everyone who rode it was in sheer awww over its power and such.

Until.............a few months later when the Yamaha R1 came out and literally destroyed it in all catagories.

To me this is the same sort of comparo of the 96 ZX7R and the at the time new generation GSXR750. It was very VERY clear that in 1996 the GSXR750 was opening a whole new box of worms that all others would need to follow to keep pace. And sure it was not as "stable'" as the ZX7R or for that matter the 95 GSXR750.....but that lack of stability was the outcome of a bike that could corner sharp for its day.

Now this is my opinion but anyone who feels a ZX7R of 1996-2004 is a better bike than any GSXR750 from 1996-2004 is not looking at the numbers. Bike weight, hp, torque, acceleration figures, 1/4 mile times, top speed......and even lap times in stock form. Hands down the GSXR out perfomed(s) the ZX. And as each consecutive generation of GSXR7 came out it just made the dated ZX look worst and worst on the street or even the track in the hands of the average racer. All the factory support truely don't count being there were something like 4 of them.