Kawasaki Z800

[LivinLOS]

Having seen a couple of these in the flesh.. Its a nicely aggressive looking machine..

 

[2wheels]

Saw these today in Kawa Chiang Mai.
Price confirmed at 375,000 baht which, to me, seems very reasonable.
Some-one wrote on another site that he's ridden one and wasn't impressed but didn't give reason(s) why!

 

[2wheels]

Apparently this bike does not come with ABS and it can not be fitted retrospectively.

 

[LivinLOS]

Thats going to make the 1000 a very hard sell...

Nice aggressive look.. Had a good close look at one tail tidied etc and its got a modern (plasticky) transformer look thing going on.. With this and the ducati both around the 400k mark theres interesting options for riders going past the er6 and CB500..

 

[MastaMax]

They are probably very restricted as it's Thailand, and even more probably very easy to de-restrict.

Thanks god they come without ABS, one of the first things I did on my er6 was to disconnect it, it kicks in far too fast before the wheels lock. On dry roads difference in braking is day and night!

Also I think this will blow the ducati away performance wise, but that's just an assumption. Went on a trip with a guy on a monster and he said he pushed it hard but couldn't keep up with the er6 even though I'm not a good road rider. Even on a straight it wasn't faster (both around 200).

Edit: from what I read here my assumption is more than correct, 64hp for the ducati and 113hp for the z800 (not sure those are the exact models):
http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/ducati/2012-ducati-monster-795-ar125539.html
http://www.kawasaki.eu/Z800/Specifications

 

[XR399]

RE: poor handling Z-800...
I rode one too, in conjunction with a test ride of the new 1000 Versys. I would agree that the Z-800 was not very impressive. Power ok, but I did not feel at all comfortable leaning the 800 into a corner. very vague and unstable feeling, chassis never seemed to 'settle'. It was a short ride on a good twisty road that I know well' Back to back rides on the 800 and the Verysis 1000 showed the Verysis a clear winner in cornering aptitude, I liked the Verysis except for the super light pull on the 'assisted' clutch, Ieasily operated the clutch with 1 finger, but it was hard to judge the friction engagement point. Granted the Z-800 was a rental, with a set of pretty well pooched Pirellis on it.