Kawasaki Z1000 Review

There are superbikes and there are superbikes. The Kawasaki Z1000 is the latter. This is one motorcycle which doesn’t try too hard to rank amongst the best machines . It is also pretty affordable at the same time. We lived with this kwacker for a few days, only to come out exhilarated.

Kawasaki Z1000 Design

Kawasaki has been popular for its Ninja series. The Z1000 happens to be the naked version of the Ninja 1000. This is a street fighter which is a four-cylinder high performance motorcycle. It has immense power and an impeccable naked design. The Z1000 follows the ‘Sugomi’ inspiration for its design. This makes the bike look like a predator, ready to pounce on its prey.

The first thing you will notice is the look, which means business. The front headlight console is set low giving it a crouching look. It has a twin set of LED lamps in it, resembling the eyes. The indicators are stalk type, situated on either side below the headlamps.

The Z1000 is one of the meanest looking bikes you will ever come across and has an intimidating stance. This allows it to command immense respect on the streets, despite not being as big in size as some other litre-class bikes. Being compact, the Z1000 is pretty maneuverable and has a comfortable seating posture, which does not make you lean too forward, thereby making it slightly easier to use in the city.

The mirror stalks are made of cast aluminium and are fixed.

These can be adjusted from within the frame. The field of the vision at the rear is nothing great, but manages a decent job. The instrument cluster has options providing fuel consumption, trip meter, odometer and range. The tachometer and is split into two parts and is an interesting one. A digital display is present upto 3000 rpm, beyond which a chain of LEDs light up, on top of the instrument cluster, 4000rpm onwards.

Kawasaki Z1000 Engine

The Z1000 is all about raw power and it uses minimal electronic gizmos. It’s in-line, four cylinder, 1043cc engine delivers 140bhp at 10000rpm and a massive torque of 111Nm at 7300rpm. The powerband is spread out very well and there is ample power available at all times, right from the word ‘go’. This beastly machine accelerates from 0-100 in 3.5 seconds and goes on in the same linear fashion. I was able to quickly reach 180km/h on the Mumbai-Pune highway and the bike challenged me for more. The Z1000 goes crazy, showing its true colours around 7000rpm and the wide powerband allows you to ride it effortlessly at any speed, be it pottering around in the city or cruising on the highway.  The Z1000 though, is best enjoyed in the mid-range.

Heads turn around to take notice of this bike not only because of its looks but also from quite a distance, by the way it humms. It emits a refined growl through the twin exhausts, not to mention the powerful LEDs that make it look extremely aggressive. Park the Z1000 anywhere on the street and it becomes a crowd puller. In fact, even a couple of traffic policemen posed with this bike for a selfie. The distraction that it creates around, is something that I have not seen much with other bikes. The menacing front cowl backed by the bulging fuel tank and short, smart tail is something one can not miss. The smart colour combination of green and dark grey further adds character to this muscled beast.

Kawasaki Z1000 Ride and Handling

The suspension setup in the Z1000 is very much that of a race track motorcycle. The bike has a rather stiff setup and is not softly sprung. What this translates into is keeping the bike quite nimble during hard cornering around twists and bends on the road. The bike remains sure footed always. However, you may not exactly enjoy riding on uneven roads, as the slightest of undulations are passed on to you. With most of our roads being infested with potholes and broken patches, the Z1000 finds itself uncomfortable managing such conditions.

Braking is as good as it can get, with precise bite at any speed. The ABS functions smoothly under hard braking, keeping the composure intact. It inspired a lot of confidence while pushing the bike to the edge.

The headlamps are incredible and the LEDs, which are DRLs (Daytime Running Lights), do an excellent job in lighting up the road. The high beam lamps are also placed besides the LEDs on the outer side and make life very easy during night riding. There is another LED lamp placed in the front portion of the instrument console.

Kawasaki Z1000 Price

The Kawasaki Z1000 is sold in India as a CBU (Completely Built Unit). It is priced at INR 13.84 lakhs (on-road, Pune).

Verdict

If you are looking for a litre-class bike and do not want to pay exorbitantly, the Z1000 would fit the bill quite well. This is a mean machine and will turn heads wherever you go. With its futuristic design, this is one bike which will not age too soon either. Seldom do you ride a bike that can launch the front wheel in the air even in the third gear. The best part is that it announces itself from quite a distance!