Kawasaki
Bikes used and abused by the gang, some for weeks some for years, with our views on the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Got a bike and you want to help us help others send in your photo and some words on whats what and we’ll look to add it.
ZZR1400 (2009)
The green machine companies answer to the iconic Hayabusa it came it saw and it conquered, the ZZR 1400 hit the streets in 2006 to replace the quite frankly (in my opinion) ugly ZZR1200 and totally grabbed the headlines with its performance. The in line 4 1352cc engine made it the fastest production bike and took the crown for the poorly braked Haybusa. With a top speed limited to 187mph (as per the agreement between the Japanese big 4) this bike has a massive amount of torque and just pulls and pulls in any gear. As with the big Suzuki the ZZR is a big long and low absolute f****** rocket ship which will be the closest thing to you entering a time warp as is currently possible, the size helps the big Zee put the power down but also helps it feel stable, the downside though is when flipping from side to side you can tell its no light weight.
This bike is however comfortable and once you get used to the sporty riding position it is a bike that you could do big miles on if needed, the reason why you wouldn’t is the Kwacks touring brother the 1400GTR with its shaft drive, electric screen and luggage.
This is a bike you need to ride at least once in your life, owning one will surely see you licence under threat (70mph is a third way point on the speedo which it’ll say bye bye to in 1st) but there really is no comparison to big CC, fit a double bubble screen and hold on tight and it’ll be a ride you won’t ever forget, i surely won’t even if my ride out was on a cold damp and greasy December day which meant I had to feed those 197 horses in carefully. Big shout out to Bulbys mate Merv for entrusting Bulby with his bike.
Pro’s – Looks, Big CC = Power, ABS linked brakes
Cons – Big, Your License
Rating – 9/10
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H2R
When Kawasaki unveiled to the world the H2 and H2R the biking world took a deep breath and a step back. This super aggressive, monster powered hyper sports machine is like nothing else that has come before it with over 300bhp coming from it’s supercharged 998cc in line four. Owned by Mickey T it was a bike in his own words ‘was an animal’ and wanted to have it’s front wheel in the air at all times. Not for the faint hearted or inexperienced this really is a serious riders bike and it comes with a price tag to match.
While have the fasted, biggest power bike gives you amazing bragging rights in the local it does mean every time you ride it you have to be on your A game. Well equipped as you’d expect for a bike of this nature it comes with Kawasaki full electronics package.
While we wouldn’t describe it as a pretty bike (Kawasaki styling is very angled nowadays) like say a Panigale Superleggera it certainly is a show stopping head turner and with the supercharger whizz it’s a noisy , angry fire spitting animal.
Pro’s – Power, Power, Power, Supercharger
Cons – Always need to be on your A game, Cost
Rating – 9.5/10
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Z H2 -2020
As with nearly all of mickey T’s bikes the 2020 Kawasaki Z H2 had to be tricked up. As if 200BHP from the Hyypernaked wasn’t enough to get you noticed Mickey took the £20k mental machine, stripped it, painted some stuff and put it back together to give you this truly eye catching machine.
Pro’s – Bragging rights, it’s got 200BHP
Cons – Time to loose your license
Rating – 9.5/10
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ZX 6 -2006
Owned by a mate of Bulby’s this beautiful midnight black 2006 ZX6 is a real class act for a light weight 600. What Kawasaki did with this machine was basically cheat the class by adding an extra 36cc to the old machines in line four engine which saw output rise to 130bhp, what this did was add some real extra punch to the mid range and made it an eye watering 170mph rocket. Well equipped with a slipper clutch and petal disks the bike has super smooth fuelling to make it a delight to ride
Pro’s – Styling, the extra 36cc
Cons – Nothing
Rating – 8.5/10
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ZX10R -2011
This was Kawasaki’s answer to the BMW S1000rr and there start at dominating the WSB. When I heard about this and saw the designs and pre-production bikes on the net my wallet panicked..! and rightly so as soon as I heard it was 200bhp and tiny. I shot to Orwell’s and slapped my deposit on one as soon as I could and waited patiently for the delivery day. when it arrived I was gob smacked it was small, nimble, comfy and with the best mirror layout on a bike I have ever had(to date) they were great, rear viewing was just sublime. seat position and dash were great it felt like it was made for me the fit was great I could ride for hours and no ass ache at all. Then there was the way it performed it’s just seemed effortless and pulled constantly and with there all new self-learning 3 position traction control it took some of the pant tightening instances away 🙂 one time I decided to play with a lambo on the A road while we were going to a terminal velocity event when we arrived he ran over claiming I was nuts! my bike was leaving black lines and snaking away from him like mad apparently, I never noticed I just thought I was a hero.. ha-ha. So there you have it this was a great machine.. but also a big disappointment within weeks, I had to have all the side panels replaced after noticing they looked like I had sanded them! they were such a p*ss poor plastic they just rubbed up on my leathers this was not good. So as much as I loved the bike and loved owning it but never made it as a keeper, it was fast comfy and lovely to look at it just didn’t blow my skirt up like the R1.. so after three years and its first MOT I sold it (Review by DJ)
Pro’s – Size, rider position, comfort, smooth power and great mirrors. 998cc 199.8 Bhp & 114nm Torque, S-KTRC Kawasaki sport traction control.
Cons – rubbish screen protection, quality of materials, poor front light( why do they do it one high beam one low) and a little boring once your used to it ( pants to wheelie)
Rating – 8/10
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ZX6 -2011
This version of the green teams small CC sportsbike was in production from 2009 until 2012 and came with revised , sharper styling over the old model as well as a big piston front fork which gave it more front end feel and stability.
Kawasaki moved away from the slightly bigger 636 cc but were still able to deliver a very promising 115Bhp at the rear wheel which added with a reduction in weight made the small CC’d sportsbike a real pocket rocket. With it’s only real opposition at the time being the dated and under invested Suzuki Gixxer 600 or Yamaha’s revvey R6 this really was the bike to be on.
Pro’s – Big piston forks made all the difference, Power for a 600
Cons – , Styling
Rating – 8/10
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Z1000sx (2010 -2013)
The 1st generation of the Kawasaki Z1000sx saw the Japanese manufacture enter the upright , fared sports bike/naked hybrid market. With 120 bhp the ZX was quick but not blindly fast and was soon to be shown a clean pair of heels when Suzuki entered the same market with their GSXs 1000 and 1000f which boasts another 20bhp. The SX benefits from the Ackro GP cans as seen in the pictures of Bulbys bike above which not only help the ZX go on a diet but make it sound like a screaming bandshee……..
Pro’s – Comfortable. Sound with the Ackro GP cans
Cons – Standard equipment is lacking (not even a gear indicator)
Rating – 7/10
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ZX12R (2000 – 2006)
Kawasaki’s answer to Suzuki’s Hayabusa, with 175BHP and a top speed of 170 MPH they could and should have called this bike ‘The Enterprise’ as it is Warp factor fast. Built for 6 years the early bikes were carb fed but in 2002 the big Z’d was given fuel injection so these are the bikes to look for. This particular bike was owned by Babee Gee but Juicey also owned one and the big talking point with these bikes was how fast they went and how well they handles for a big, long and low hyperbike
Pro’s – Hyper Fast, responsive, comfort
Cons – Fork pitting
Rating – 8.5/10
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GTR1400 (2010 -On)
The 1400GTR is a weapon of a bike for crossing continents in warp speed in comfort with the big 1400cc in line four pushing out large amounts of torque through its shaft drive. This bike is based on its sister, the all conquering speed rocket, the ZZR1400 which in turn was built by Kawasaki to topple the Suzuki Hayabusa’s dominance as the fastest production bike made at the time. What a great job the green team made when they brought the GTR to the table, fats and comfortable this bike comes loaded with extra’s, electric adjustable screen, heated grips, cruise, integral luggage to list a few and makes a top choice for the person who wants to tour quickly, in comfort and isn’t likely to want to go near a dirt track. With any bikes of this ilk it is big, long and heavy and is slow to turn in the twisties and is now surpassed by bikes like the BMW 1600GT however if you haven’t got the near 20k needed for the new BM you could do a lot worse than looking at GTR
Pro’s – Very Fast, comfortable, Europe crushing, Smooth, Shaft drive. This colour scheme, Shaft Drive, European continent cruising ability, Wind/rain protection
Cons – Heavy bike, seat comfort and general riding position, turning circle. Handlebar grip size
Rating – 8/10
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ZZR 400
Kawasaki’s ZZR 400 was the softer version of the company’s ZXR range. Only produced in this country as a 600 and 1000 the 400 was a grey import brought into this country from the Japanese market. Like many manufactures at that time the 400’s from not only Kawasaki but other makes like Suzuki and Honda ( Babyblade) obtained the title of pocket rockets as boasting around the 60bhp mark were fast enough to be fun but as they were light you still really did need to ride them hard to get the best out of them. Find a good one nowadays and you can have yourself a lot of fun however good ones are hard to find, parts aren’t easy to get and prices are rising.
Pro’s – Great fun, pocket rocket, light and nimble
Cons – Grey import, hard to find a good one
Rating – 7.5/10
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Ninja 250
With the Ninja 250, Kawasaki were jumping on the bandwagon started by Honda with the CBR 125/250 of giving new riders something that was sporty and fun while looking like its big brother 600 and 1000s. While being a real alternative for a market that was really lacking anything much in this class it did give the rider something that looked a bit more like a proper bike. Limited in power the Ninja 250 wasn’t fast although you could get it to +100mph if you were brave enough and had time on your hands. The newer generations while gaining an extra 50cc also gained speed, style and really do look the part and the newer 300 bike is by far superior if your finances can stretch to it.
Pro’s – It’s got Ninja in the name
Cons – Slow, flimsy feel
Rating – 6.5/10
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