2010 Kawasaki Z1000
MSRP: $10,499
Engine
Type: Liquid-cooled, transverse inline 4-stroke four
Displacement: 1043cc
Bore x stroke: 77.0 x 56.0mm
Compression ratio: 11.8:1
Induction: Keihin EFI, 38mm throttle bodies w/oval sub-throttle assemblies, single injector/cyl.
Transmission: 6-speed
Chassis
Front suspension: 41mm inverted cartridge fork, 4.7 in. travel; adjustments for spring preload, rebound and compression damping
Rear suspension: Horizontally mounted single shock absorber, 5.4 in. travel; adjustments for spring preload and rebound damping
Front brake: 2 radial-mount/four-piston calipers, 300mm discs
Rear brake: Single-piston caliper, 250mm disc
Front wheel: 3.50 x 17 in., cast aluminum alloy
Rear wheel: 6.00 x 17 in., cast aluminum alloy
Front tire: 120/70ZR-17 Dunlop D210F J Sportmax
Rear tire: 190/50ZR-17 Dunlop D210 Sportmax
Rake/trail: 24.5 deg./4.1 in. (104mm)
Wheelbase: 56.7 in. (1440mm)
Seat height: 32.1 in. (815mm)
Fuel capacity: 4.0 gal. (15L)
Weight: 483 lb. (219kg) wet; 459 lb. (208kg) dry
Instruments: LCD panel for digital speedometer, bar graph tachometer, fuel gauge, clock, odometer, dual tripmeters; warning lights for EFI malfunction, turn signals, high beam, neutral, coolant temp, oil pressure
Performance
Quarter-mile: 10.55 sec. @ 130.71 mph (corrected)
Top speed: NA
Roll-ons: 60-80 mph/2.45 sec.; 80-100 mph/2.69 sec.
Fuel consumption: 25-37 mpg, 34 mpg avg.
Opinions
Steve Mikolas
I really enjoyed riding the newly designed Z1000, even if it is a bit hard on the eyes. No matter what Kawasaki produces, it always seems to own the muscle-factor and the current Z model is no exception. The power delivery from bottom range to top is quite impressive and never disappoints, save the extreme upper end beyond 9000 rpm. Despite the fact that it's a standard with no wind protection, this Kawi is notably comfortable for the longer haul to your favorite stretch of twisties. I'd like to see the bars a touch narrower and maybe a bit lower, but that's nitpicking really. The Z1000 could definitely benefit from a steering damper. That being said, the all-new and funky street fighter is extraordinary and a huge improvement over the older version. This Kawasaki can handle just about anything asked of it and you definitely get your bang for the buck!ng and thrill for the buck!
Troy Siahaan
Kudos to you, Kawasaki, for sticking to your guns with the Z1000. Truth be told, I wasn't a huge fan of the original model (ok fine, I hated it). But this? This is the Z1000 we should have been blessed with back in 2003. The engine is an absolute ripper and it finally complements the rest of the bike, whereas the previous hopped up ZX-9R engine always felt out of place to me. As an added bonus one can save on the cost of front tires, as it will probably be up in the air most of the time anyway. Speaking of tires, on the old bike I felt that the rear tire was too wide for the bike, causing it to turn with the quickness of a cruise ship. With the new bike the rear tire dimensions are the same, but the rest of the bike has changed to make it handle like it's supposed to. Thanks for listening to me, Kawasaki (even if I wasn't the spark that influenced the change). I think the only hurdle now is whether U.S. consumers actually flock to the naked-bike market. I'm not holding my breath...
Kent Kunitsugu
Although we constantly get letters from readers stating that they'd be first in line if the Japanese OEMs would just strip the bodywork off and mount some upright handlebars on their literbikes, unfortunately the majority of naked bike buyers (read: Europeans) apparently don't want monster supersport-style power in their machines. Believe me, if the market demanded unbridled power, the manufacturers would deliver. Americans just haven't saddled up to naked-bikes in any real numbers, and that's a shame.
That said, I certainly hope that they at least take a spin on the new Z1000 to find out how much fun a naked standard bike can really be to ride. Here is an inline-four naked that not only finally delivers on the promise of performance, but does it without forcing you to put up with the common pitfalls of previous Japanese naked bikes, or the various annoying idiosyncrasies common to most of its more sophisticated European brethren. Well, except that tiny LCD instrument panel, maybe.