Fun Factor- an unlikely comparison

It was a nice warm (50's) day here in reno and dry so i decided to take the old EX500 out just to get some new fluids in the carb, some cleaner and such for the winter. While i was out on it i remembered somethings about that bike since i have been riding the Z1000 so long now.

Z1000 Vs EX500 Clutch:
The Z1000 is smooth, and doesnt like to shift clutchless at high revs.
The EX500 shifts flawlessly at high revs, and thus pulls hard at every shift.
The clutch engages like a double plate heavy duty offroad clutch, almost all or nothing..makes for a invigorating ride.

Z1000 Vs EX500 Launch
Mainly due ot the clutch the EX500 was actually more fun to launch. The Z1000 is so smooth engaging a off the line wheelie is harder to do, takes aobut 5 feet of forward travel before the wheel lifts. Granted im sorta afraid to redline the Z and dump it where the EX500 running at high elevation is overly rich and loses a significant amount of power at hte elevation. But hwne u do dump it it rips ya in the seat harder then the Z1000 off the line

Overall: The Z1000 stomps the EX500 on the dragstrip for a ET...who knew right? But put the times and trap speeds aside and the fun factor at the strip of the Ex500 is a thrill, wheelie at the line and hard firm shifts that make u feel like u are going much faster. It is the winner in a all around fun at the strip comparison.