Trying to top all the fun we had aboard two of Orange County Chopper’s motorcycles during Day 1 proved pretty darn difficult. The sound and vibration of their S&S V-Twin engines mixed with the raw, direct feel of its steel chassis and limited suspension make it the perfect bike for just hitting the streets in Daytona. But we tried, this time on a pair of bright green Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and ZX-10R sportbikes.
 
Without a doubt, riding a sportbike at Daytona this year is potentially the most hazardous type of bike you can ride. This year the law enforcement contingent is simply out of control. Everywhere you look there is a police officer idling in their car, truck or motorcycle just waiting to write you a ticket. And with Florida’s wacky new laws including $1500 fines for lifting either the front or rear wheel of the ground, it makes for an exceptionally nerve racking ride.
 
And it’s a real shame, because Kawasaki’s newest Ninja sportbikes have plenty of potential especially on the streets. Even cruising around at a painfully slow street pace really emphasized just how friendly of a motorcycle the ZX-6R and ZX-10R are. They are just as capable of putting around at 30mph through stop-and-go traffic as they are blasting around at 150mph on the racetrack. Impressive indeed.
 
After all the attention we received on the OCC bikes, I was surprised that we attracted as much interest as we did on the Kawi’s. When we pulled up at downtown Dayton’s Main Street, even hard-core tatted up cruiser dudes were caught jocking our Ninja’s.
 
As Florida’s bright sunshine pushed up the temperature to a more comfortable level more and more motorcycles funneled into the area. This caused traffic to start jamming up on International Speedway Boulevard—Daytona’s main drag. So we decided to do some exploring through some of Florida’s back roads. 
 
And we’ve got to hand it Florida, they do in fact have some really smooth roads. Only problem is they’re flat as a Daytona cop’s sense of humor not to mention completely straight. Considering how boring the roads are out here not to mention the oppressive levels of law enforcement, it boggles my mind that motorcyclists even make the trek to Daytona for Bike Week.
 
Perhaps, the saving grace to an otherwise dull day of putting around was a full-on stunt show put on by the folks over at Riders-of-Kawasaki (ROK), a motorcycle club for Kawasaki pilots. Across from Speedway, Kawasaki transformed the parking lot of Hooter’s restaurant into a makeshift stunt track. Jason Britton’s Team No Limits along with Kawasaki’s Kane Friesen wowed the crowd with their crazy mix of stunts. Although I’ve seen them perform plenty of times on television, in-person the stuff the do is insane! Wheelies, endos, circle burn-outs, full-on drifts—these guys are the real deal.
 
For those looking to experience what it’s like to wheelie around a modern sportbike, ROK brought out a brand-new ZX-10R and strapped it to a wheelie machine allowing a rider to literally practice wheeling while the bike runs on a dyno-like machine. An operator watches your every move and prevents you from looping out like I witnessed some dude do yesterday. Overall it was a killer event and big props to ROK for the good time.
 
So that’s it from Day 2 at Daytona. Be sure to check out my partner Bryan Harley’s Daytona Bike Week reports and stay tuned for some racing news from inside and outside of the speedway.