Kawasaki just yesterday launched a few bikes and what the Indian biker community at large saw was a spectacular Liter-class Z900 at an almost affordable price of 9L ex-showroom. Affordable and that word worried me.
Almost now a full 6 months ago-
probably just after the 2016 monsoons, I rode the Z1000 on a stretch from Dahanu towards Vapi. It had to account for being the most blistering of
rides I have ever done, and I do not think I look forward to out doing that
thrill again. Here goes that story and in it lies a big lecture on a part of
the superbike culture, if I can call it that.
It started with a conversation with a friend- and hence the format-
DJ: What are your thoughts on Z900?
KD: About the Z series? Well, one needs to graduate to those bikes
Give me some time and listen-wait.. let me type you a
song.
in my opinion, a sportsbike rider should start off spending
about bout 6 or 8 months minimum in a 600-650 environment before one
tries a Z800/1000 or now the 1000. The 1000 has a speed range from 60 to
270 in 6th gear and for once it had torque that made sure even on Indian roads
you did not have to shift out of gear to pull up to a faster friend, or for
overtaking- you always have the torque on tap.
A newbie will get seriously hurt in this machine. Very
quickly
Day 1 or day 2 at the outer would be my guess.
The 'sugomi'
inspires layout is extreme and you literally feel like you are leaning over the
front wheel which actually in real life looks/feels as if it is under the fuel
tank!
The last think you see in front is the upper edge of the
speedometer. It has astounding torque numbers from the word Go- unlike other superbikes that
have a nice high revving start... that give you some kind of warning- that
things are going to get quicker with the rising rpm needle.
These Z-bikes are get up and run from the min you touch
the throttle. So what happens for a new rider is - as if the bike has an evil
soul that screams "Surprise motherfucker" when you even stare at the
throttle. Reading specifications on bikes takes a whole new meaning as then you realize that
the bike dumps its 123PS power at a 'Low' 6000 rpm and would mean a almost
logarithmic power curve from 1000/1300 rpm to 6000- most/many other inline engine
bikes that can freely rev and have a more linear response compared to this.
Others will have stratospheric rev limiters and the peak power would come in a
shade before that. Not so with the Z1000, and I suspect the same with the Z900.
So the point here is-
Unless you know what stunning acceleration is
Unless you know what big bikes mean by throttle response
You need to start low and slow and work your way up to this bike.
I can almost see newbie riders and even those with a smidgen of 650 experience
smirking that they can handle the throttle and their wrist was lighter than
most Surgeons... and they would tame the right-and-tight curve in, and not
wheelie in 3rd gear (oh yes! this Z1000 could probably do that too.) It is a
very stable bike with and incredibly good balance, and an engine that is unobtrusive and
super smooth- the exhaust very subdued and unlike a Akrapovic that
would talk to you when gunned. The bike is uncomplaining at any rpm and
delivers a false sense of security at any if not all speeds. Everything
till now lulls a new rider who relates his security to the 'vibes' from the
machine, which are super nice, to put it mildly.
Bad Joss will happen. I found that it took
hardly about 100Km of easy riding to think that you had conquered the bike, or
if that's too strong, you feel you have been on this bike for atleast 6 months,
when it hasnt probably been even 60 minutes. This is when the fun starts. and
you start dropping a gear for sweeping bends and then most often loose count to
whether you are in 5th or 4th... or that you never shifted out of 6th. Its that
brilliant an engine. This is when you become complacent with the engine and its
acceleration.
If you have not been sufficiently overwhelmed by the acceleration then comes
the Brakes.
The brakes, if you just touch the brake levers you may
come off over the handle bars, its that superbly engineered- to put it bluntly.
I kid you not. So at say 160 or 170 which is actually
pedestrian and piddling for the Z1000, if you grab the brakes- you will have no
way of knowing what will happen next
It's not a newbie bike- bottom line
So stunning is the acceleration and absolutely
blistering the brakes. Amazing aggression. Fabulous bike. One will have to ride
a super bike category vehicle to figure out the sharp rake and how it steers,
how the bike leans in bends and how to power thru the
bends to be able to ride the Z900 and enjoy it.
If one buys it off the shelf and starts off to ride then
two things can happen.
1. Hurt
2. You will never figure out how to tame the bike (which
I don't think is possible anyways) and enjoy the machine.
Personally
I have ridden the Z1000 and beyond 185... I don't think
I had any control on what was going on- inside my mind. I was overwhelmed and I
think there is no shame in saying- I was more scared on two wheels than I have
every been on any other machine.
I down shifted to 4th from 6th for fun at 160...
And fun ended. The engine growled like s street fighter and the rpm climbed up
to some stratospheric level and the bike threatened to wheelie..... and I could
sense the front end leave the road- while throttle was down to ZERO.
I did not ride the bike again.
*Alert*
The fair way to lead your biking life - philosophy here- is to always experience new bikes and search for what
the other bikes did new... What are they better at.
Starting small- the KTM 390-
gear box and its 'click' gear changes for something sold in India. Going back
in time, the RD350 close-ratio best gear box, globally acknowledged as possibly
the best gearbox ever. Triumph Tiger- throttle cable redundancy (you must ask
me about this). Harley-Davidson and the money and time spent on exhaust note
tuning and the HD low
low end torque engineering. The Hayabusa, for being generations ahead of its
time- for its ability to hold stage even a decade after its launch. The guts of
Suzuki to keep the V-Strom unaltered
for close to about 5-odd years- saying 'this is a good bike.'
The list is endless but be practical and remember what's
good for what kind of road, what kind of trip and finally what kind of bike for
what kind of terrain are questions only you can answer.
Choose well, and ride safe my friend.
