I've ridden both quite a bit. The CBR wins in every possible way.
BUT......The ZX7 is still a nice bike if you can get on with the riding position which is a bit more extreme (unless you're talking about a 1990 ZX7 which is like a touring bike by comparison). The ZX7 is really stable and feels like a tank...
Ding! But to me that's a plus and what I liked about them.
A bit of muscle to get it over, but if you're riding streets, ramps, cottage country roads with ruts & divots...you might get bumped over a bit but the ZX7 will just stay leaned over and hold it's line as steady as you like. Let's face it, in Ontario it's all sweepers & dodgy pavement.
I dunno ... I certainly don't like working on carb'ed bikes with pressurized airboxes. And early FI systems are pretty simple themselves - the thing that most people actually don't like about FI vs carbs is that it's more complicated to tune.
I know you could argue this about nearly every sportbike in existence, but doesn't the ZX7 have a reputation for a weak transmission?
The Honda has pretty sorted FI for what it is, but it's still a simple open loop FI. Carbs mo'bettah, once you get over the initial frustrations of working on CV carbs. And don't let them sit for months.
I don't know if I would give the reliability award to the 929 over the ZX7, there is something to be said for anvil simple with the only electronics being the CDI box. Some of the wiring connections may go bad if it's a bike that's been parked outside or had teenager wannabe wrenches slicing & dicing through the wiring harness. But I've never found a ZX7 dead by the road, and even if it has a dead battery it will still get you home. And parts are everywhere, and plenty cheap (well, unless you buy from Zdeno's, hee hee)
They don't have "weak" tranny's, but there is a bit of a trick to them. 90's Kwak's have possibly the most positive neutral finder ever put on a bike, it's kind of neat with a pair of ball bearings that work on centrifugal force. If you're moving, you change gears, if you are stopped, bang straight into neutral. The downside is they have a loooooong 1-2 shift, half *** it and you start munching dogs. The best, first, mod you should do is adjust the shifter to your foot, no probs then.
There is something about the ZX7, you either get it or you don't. But one thing that everybody agrees on, it is probably the most distinctive bike shape on a SS. Every other SS just blends into the background.
And Kwak motors sound pretty snorting.
Throw on a set of flatslides, and every old fart will turn their head when you are on it.
Loved that bike, even more than my current R1!!!
