After threatening to buy one of these things for six years now, I finally picked up a ZRX1200R, a super-clean 2004 model with low miles and no mods. Of course, I immediately piped and jetted it. Survey says: AWESOME.

This muscle bike genre is a totally different animal. I had forgotten that. Where my ZX7R and ZX6R are scalpels -- surgical instruments of sheer precision and subtlety, the Z-Rex is a machete -- brutish and rude and scary, but in an immersingly addictive way.

Here's the best part: Almost 90 foot-pounds of torque. Holy crap.

Resultantly, the powerband on the thing is huge. The bike pulls crazy-strong from 3,000 rpm (it will wheelie off the throttle -- no clutch required) and pulls like a freight train all the way through 9,000 rpm (where it's still making 115 or so horsepower at the rear wheel). It redlines at around 11,000 with a quick rev limit thereafter. The motor is extremely smooth, and it instantly turns you into a throttle junkie because you virtually have all of the power you need all of the time in almost any gear.

I have to be honest -- I can't get enough of this thing. And it's not just New Toy Syndrome, either. I could kick myself for not buying this thing sooner. More info to come.

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