Kawasaki Z1000 Review - again

I was horrified to read Pyro's ramblings on the new Kawasaki Z1000 that he was lent by a mate and bumbled around on for a whole hour! - Not what I'd call an objective test! - So this is an effort to reverse his decision (this man is for turning!) and to give you, the motorcycling public, a more balanced view of what these bikes are really like by someone who understands bikes that were made after 1972!

1. What is it? - It's a factory streetfighter my good man - just look at it - race seat, funky exhausts, high bars and a small bikini fairing, fat back tyre and a superbike engine - what else could it possibly be??? - I admit that it's not a pure, hardcore streetfighter in the vein of a crashed Gixer or Blade with Renthalls but if it was then they wouldn't be able to sell the buggers.
   Oh - and he mentions that the same guy who designed this bike designed the Mazda MX5 - like this is a bad thing! - The single most successful sports car of all time. Now I have to admit that as well as owning a Zed Thou I also own an MX5 as a daily runaround so I think I'm, in a position to comment - firstly I am not a girl and I can't give you a short back and sides - what I can tell you is the ONLY people who knock the MX5 are people who have either never driven one or are homophobic and therefore just don't understand the concept of a lightweight, reliable, fun car that's cheap to run but that looks slightly effeminate - in fact you can draw a direct comparison to this car with the 1969 Honda CB750 as it all but killed the small, British sports car market on its release much in the same way that the CB750 sounded the death knoll for the British bike industry when people realized that oil on the drive and a calf muscle like Fatima Whitbread didn't have to be the norm.
2. Jake also mentions the engine (which makes 127PS or 125BHP in old money) and like all good streetfighters it dominates the riding experience (as it should) - 125 ponies are not to be sniffed at but with a power commander (it's fuel injected not your crappy old carb malarkey) and a set of less restrictive pipes and you should see the thick end of 140bhp which should be more than enough for most riders. Let's not forget however than this is not a light bike at 198 kilos dry (that's 435lbs for you oldies) so although there is stomp available in any gear at any speed it's doesn't feel like it wants to add the clocks to your face jewelry every time you open the throttle in first or second (unlike my TL1000 which will try and kill you if you try the same) - there is a huge torrent of torquey power that just keeps building to about 7000rpm when it takes off so quick I was convinced that the clutch was slipping - this thing doesn't hang about but I have to agree with Jake that there are quite a few vibes through the pegs and bars, probably as a result of the engine being a stressed member and not being held in a frame made of licorice like the things that Jake usually rides.
3. Now here's the rub - Jake admits that he's an old school kinda guy but I have found out myself that nostalgia rarely lives up to the memory - Embassy No.6 do not taste good, neither do sherbet dip dabs, Babs Windsor may have tickled your fancy when her bra shot off in numerous carry on films but you would not want to be caught hanging out the back of her now! - This tends to be the same with old bikes - I recently bought a KH250 on AllSpeeds and K&N's which I'm sure to most of you sounds like heaven and it did to me as it was the first bike that I rode on the road at the tender age of 15 (on a private road you understand!) so when a mate had one for sale at sensible money the thick fog of nostalgia drifted down and clouded my judgement. It was bloody horrible, all ring ding ding, fag paper narrow power band with very little power, wooden brakes and a frame that felt like it had a hinge in the middle - rubbish - I was glad to see the back of it, mainly to smell the 2 stroke as it disappeared up the road, the new rider's hand hovering over the clutch lever.
   
   Now don't think for one minute that I don't "get" old vehicles, I run a 1964 VW Splitscreen camper van and whilst it's a great fun bit of kit I've spent the last 5 years modifying it to suit my tastes and modern traffic - and this is the beauty of any motorcycle, you can adjust them and add bits until they suit the way that you like it, or looks how you want it etc.
   
   With this in mind maybe if we took a new Zed thou and rattle canned it matt black, removed one front caliper, put 6 inch over front forks on it and slackened everything off so there was loads of play then Jake might think this the best bike ever!
4. Jake kindly shares his words of wisdom on the fairing as being a joke (if it's that bad then it could only be one of Jake's jokes!) but look at it, even through six pints of old cripple cock you couldn't mistake that for a fairing - it's just there to make the headlight look a little prettier, I don't actually think it was designed to protect anyone from anything. That's the whole point of a streetfighter though - no fairing means that you feel what's going on, that you have to work too hold onto the thing at three figure speeds and on today's speed camera riddled roads it means you are having more fun at lower, less license threatening speeds - which has to be a good thing in my books. I will agree with Jake on the mirrors, they are about as attractive as Bella Emberg and as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike - I have ordered some bar end one to address this problem (back to personalization).
5. Handling - Jake says he didn't have time to fine tune the handling and I would suggest that once he had it might not have seemed so bad. Mine is not soft on the front end and doesn't wallow about, it turns into corners well and lays itself on its side both quickly and confidently (I think this may be helped by a 180 rear tyre on mine instead of the stock 190). The short wheel base and steep rake coupled with the upright riding position that pushes you over the front wheel makes this a very sharp tool round town - not quite a supermotard but very agile for a 200kg bike. Everything works well up to about nine tenths of its performance but push it that extra 10% and it does start to show that it's not a sports bike - you'll keep up with most things but you'll not see a well ridden Gixer thou or R1 for dust through the Mickies (The Mickleham bends near Box Hill for our Northern chums). A little tweaking here and there and a Maxton fork and shock upgrade should see it perform better on a track day but for most of the people most of the time the Zed handles very well and is more than adequate.
6. Other bits! - The bike (like all bikes in my humble opinion) could benefit from a set of race cans - it's just too quiet for my ears and a K&N filter panel should release a bit of that induction roar that Kwackers are famous for - I know the style of the pipes divides opinion but I quite like them and would be happy with them being cut down to half their length and having the baffles removed. The gearbox is lovely and slick with a few false neutrals but not so many as to be a pain (unlike any Ducati ever built!), the brakes are good although they took a bit of getting used to after the 600 Fazer I've been riding for the last 2 years which has to have one of the best set‑ups I've ever ridden. There is a decent amount of luggage space under the seat and the clock and fuel gauge are nice touches - all in all a well equipped bike.

So I think it's clear that Jake has spend too much time riding big old whales that are masquerading as a motorbikes and has forgotten what a sharp, modern tool is all about.
The Zed thou is a great bike, yes it can be improved but show me a single bike that you couldn't make better and for me that's part of the appeal - a streetfighter is about individuality so I suppose a factory streetfighter really goes against the ethos of the breed ‑ but then you'll never see a marketing department ignore a money making opportunity once something has become in vogue (look at the success of the Mini and Fiat 500 - retro is in!)

So if you want a good looking, reliable, fast, well equipped, decent handling pseudo streetfighter then you could do a lot worse than a Zed 1000 - yes you could buy a Speed Triple but you won't find a 1050 for sensible money and the styling is getting a little dated now on the older 955i's and if you think about it what other alternatives are there? I looked long and hard to find a replacement for my beloved TL (which is streetfightered by the way) and this was the only bike that came anywhere close to ticking all the boxes.

I think that Jake has been inhaling too many of the fumes emanating from the blowing exhaust that seems to be a standard feature on all the bikes he rides (Eau de Unleaded is not an attractive smell Jake) and needs to stop reminiscing about kick starts and Belstaff wax jackets and start to learn the joys of modern motorcycling.

I hate him you know, as I said I only had it for an hour and didn't feel comfortable with it, I agree though that with fettling it could be a much better bike. Thanks for that mate, except for the insults, a well balanced and concise report.