Kawasaki Z1000 - Substance With Style
A Naked Bike That's Not Really Naked
WRITER: Brian Catterson
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Kinney Jones and Doug Linnett
Throughout their brief history, naked bikes have been just that: naked. They evolved from streetfighters-what the Brits called sportbikes after they'd crashed them, found out how expensive replacement parts were and simply stripped off the damaged fairing, bolted on a set of motocross handlebars and left them that way. Yet despite how stylish those bikes and their successors have appeared, none of them have ever really been styled.
None, that is, except the Z1000. Looking like one of the stars of the Transformers movie, Kawasaki's latest and greatest naked bike has enough folds in its origami bodywork and ray-gun mufflers to hold your gaze for a long, long time before you shut off the garage light.
The previous-generation Z1000 was a nice enough motorcycle, but it was universally panned for excessive vibration. Seldom has so much effort been expended on half-ass cures: Bar Snakes, Liquid Bar Snakes, foam grips, BBs and shotgun pellets have all been employed to damp the vibes. Kawasaki's cure is infinitely more effective-and odd in that there were few changes made to the engine itself. Instead, Kawi's engineers simply added a cast-aluminum subframe that connects the front downtubes to just above the swingarm pivot, and added another motor mount behind the cylinder block. Moving the motor mounts closer to the engine's center of gravity was found to reduce vibration.
It works! The new bike is indeed much, much smoother than the old one. Although the engine derives from the discontinued ZX-9R sportbike, Kawasaki is adamant that the Z1000 is a streetbike, focused on real-world performance. Thus the increased flywheel mass, smaller-diameter (36mm vs. 38mm) sub-oval throttle bodies, .5mm-smaller valves and new cams aimed at increasing low-end power. There's also a new transmission with revised primary and second-gear ratios and a few other changes aimed at improving shift action and longevity. Add to that an exhaust valve in the right-side pipe, plus no fewer than three catalysts.
The real challenge nowadays isn't to make more power, but to retain existing power while passing ever-tougher emissions standards. "It's easy to build a clean-burning motorcycle and it's easy to build high performance, but it's extremely difficult to do both," explained Product Manager Karl Edmondson.
Handling wasn't overlooked either, as the bike got a more upright seating position, new pressed-aluminum swingarm, optimized chassis rigidity and revised geometry aimed at increasing stability and speeding up handling.The suspension was also fine-tuned, with more progressive action than before. And last but not least, radial front brake calipers now grace the 41mm Showa fork.
Again, all of these change work, as the Z1000 is rock-stable at speed yet flicks quickly from side to side. But while the brakes work great, the bike tends to stand up under braking and resist turning in while trail-braking. More time to fiddle with chassis geometry and suspension adjustments would likely cure this.
Otherwise, the Z1000 is an absolute riot to ride. If you're looking for a street-focused naked bike with potent, real-world performance, look no further. And if you're looking for one with style, there really isn't another choice.
Price: $8649
Engine type: l-c inline-four
Valve train: DOHC, 16v
Displacement: 953cc
Transmission: 6-speed
Claimed horsepower: 125 bhp @ 10,000 rpm
Claimed torque: 72.8 lb.-ft. @ 8200 rpm
Frame: Steel-tube backbone with aluminum engine subframe and swingarm
Front suspension: 41mm inverted cartridge fork with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping
Rear suspension: Single shock with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping
Front brake: Dual four-piston calipers, 300mm discs
Rear brake: Single-piston caliper, 250mm disc
Front tire: 120/70-ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier
Rear tire: 190/50-ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier
Seat height: 32.3 in.
Wheelbase: 56.9 in.
Fuel capacity: 4.9 gal.
Claimed dry weight: 451 lbs.
Contact: www.kawasaki.com