[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by v12

NavinV8 - Thanks for your post and I agree with every word you said - including the Cafe Racer part For my daily use to office which is just 7-8 kms one way, I would only be using a jacket. For weekend / longer rides - yes a proper riding gear is a must.

v12 mate we Indian riders have just started to experience these world class motorcycles that come with the engine displacement of a small car and power that is found in our sedans. These motorcycles have a huge power to weight ratio and accelerate as fast as a blink of an eye. I remember those famous lines from the movie Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility". As riders it is our responsibility to protect our body for ourselves as well as for our loved ones. We should set an example before other riders to practice ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time). Glad to know that you will be investing in good quality and certified riding gears.

Coming back to the motorcycle, I wanted to know if this motorcycle has a flat torque curve wherein one can accelerate on top gear right from 30 KMPH to the top speed in 6th gear. I am asking this because I am sucker for flat torque curve power delivery. Not that I dont like changing gears but this really helps while riding in the city as well as highways when one has to brake while crossing intersections or due to some other reasons. Your feedback on this would be great.

I am a self confessed Kawasaki Fanboy for the offerings right from the iconic 1970's Z1000 DOHC to their latest turbo charged Ninja H2 R. This is one company I admire among the Japanese Big 4. I intend to buy my dream motorcycle the Kawasaki Versys 1000 as I love adventure dual sport motorcycles although I am also keeping my eyes peeled for the Honda V4 Crosstourer.

As for the Cafe Racer - all the best and do let me know if you require any help.

Sure man have send you a PM.

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

...

Coming back to the motorcycle, I wanted to know if this motorcycle has a flat torque curve wherein one can accelerate on top gear right from 30 KMPH to the top speed in 6th gear. I am asking this because I am sucker for flat torque curve power delivery. Not that I dont like changing gears but this really helps while riding in the city as well as highways when one has to brake while crossing intersections or due to some other reasons. Your feedback on this would be great.
...

Oh ! Yes ! Its as flat as it gets !
You could use the 6th cog from 30-35 kmph till 230-235 kmph and you won't feel a thing.
I ride in the city and I find myself in the 3rd almost all the time unless I am about to stop or in dead crawler of a traffic jam or feel like shifting gears.

Exactly as you say for the highways, going 3 digits and an intersection/small hump comes in, brake, 40-50 kmph and off you go again. She will happily oblige. The suspensions are plush enough to not rattle you like a stone in a tin can either.

I think it can be a super tourer with different tires, seat and a wind deflector.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by Sojogator

Oh ! Yes ! Its as flat as it gets !
You could use the 6th cog from 30-35 kmph till 230-235 kmph and you won't feel a thing.

Exactly as you say for the highways, going 3 digits and an intersection/small hump comes in, brake, 40-50 kmph and off you go again. She will happily oblige.

That's great to hear Sojogator. I had read some international reviews about the same feature but wanted to confirm with real life experience of a rider. Riding RE motorcycles (specifically RE Standard Bullet 350 heavy crank and Tbird500) over the years have spoilt me and made me a slave of flat torque curve power delivery. Ditto with my car the Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 Petrol where I can drive from as low a 20 KMPH to top speed on the top 5th gear. Not that I dont like riding/driving cars that dont have this feature it is just my personal choice. I mentioned this before that I am railway enthusiast as well. The diesel-electric locomotive like pulling power from high gears at low speed can't be defined in words.

Kawasaki makes some really good motorcycles and this model Z800 ups the ante.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

That's great to hear Sojogator. I had read some international reviews about the same feature but wanted to confirm with real life experience of a rider. Riding RE motorcycles (specifically RE Standard Bullet 350 heavy crank and Tbird500) over the years have spoilt me and made me a slave of flat torque curve power delivery. Ditto with my car the Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 Petrol where I can drive from as low a 20 KMPH to top speed on the top 5th gear. Not that I dont like riding/driving cars that dont have this feature it is just my personal choice. I mentioned this before that I am railway enthusiast as well. The diesel-electric locomotive like pulling power from high gears at low speed can't be defined in words.

Kawasaki makes some really good motorcycles and this model Z800 ups the ante.

In fact the Z series is designed to have superb low and mid-range torque/power. I won't be surprised if Z800 has better in-gear acceleration than the STriple. Unlike other I4 engines, Z1000 gets it's peak torque delivery even much earlier.

[Sting]

Congratulations V12. Wishing you many happy miles on your Godzilla!

An inline 4 is an inline 4.. No contesting that!

Cheers,
Sting

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

In fact the Z series is designed to have superb low and mid-range torque/power. I won't be surprised if Z800 has better in-gear acceleration than the STriple. Unlike other I4 engines, Z1000 gets it's peak torque delivery even much earlier.

Exactly. Adding to that, my observation is that kawasaki builds motorcycles, except for the supersports, that run very well at low speeds, including the ,mighty, ZX14R. Heck, the owner told he gets an efficiency of around 20 kmpl on his highway cruises on the ZX14R !!!

[vishal.jayakuma]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

I am a self confessed Kawasaki Fanboy for the offerings right from the iconic 1970's Z1000 DOHC to their latest turbo charged Ninja H2 R.

I believe you meant *Supercharged and not Turbocharged?
Common error.

[loki]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

I am a self confessed Kawasaki Fanboy for the offerings right from the iconic 1970's Z1000 DOHC to their latest turbo charged Ninja H2 R. This is one company I admire among the Japanese Big 4.

Of the big 4 Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki always seems to have the biggest family jewels

But seriously, bikes like the original H2 triple, the Z1, the 6 cylinder Z1300, the turbo-charged GPZ750, ZX11, ZX12, the 2004 ZX10, ZX14 and now the H2 redux have always been about showing who has the most chest-hair amongst motorcycle manufacturers (Jap atleast)

(With due respect to the other jap manufacturers of course).

[v12]

Sting - Thanks a lot for your wishes. Agree with you on the inline 4 part. I hope u read the response from Desmocedici.

Loki - You brought back some very dear memories. The ZX11 and the GPZ were one of my favorite Kawasaki's. I remember seeing a black ZX11 opposite my building years ago and would always admire it.

[v12]

Finally the RTO formalities were completed today. I reached the RTO and had a Z1000 and a Z800 for company - who had come for their registrations. We stood in the sun and chatted about our bikes, riding gears, previous bikes, long rides etc. And it was real fun. Nice meeting you guys.

Anyways so the RTO formalities were completed and I got temporary registration number to be used till I receive the permanent one after a few days. The whole process was smooth but there were many things that could be improved. The main thing being getting a chasis print of the bike. I mean when the whole of the RTO systems have gone digital, the chasis number is still stenciled on paper using a pencil. It needed 3 of us to ensure that the guy got the print right. One to hold the paper on top, one to hold at the bottom and one to hold the wires and take the print. And you could never get it right at the first instance. Anyways after having done that and having the bike inspected by the officer, I for my temp registration number. That meant I could now ride my bike without any worry. 2 things that surprised me :

• The temporary number I got from the RTO was a MH-12 one? Shouldn't Andheri RTO be giving out MH-02 them numbers?
• They do not give a challan or a receipt for the temp application. We had to take a photo of our document just as proof.

The Z1000 and the black Z800 on either sides of my bike. All 3 bikes manager to get a lot of wanted and unwanted attention.


Old School - Trying to take the chasis print.



Anyways I haven't even touched 100 kms on the odo. A few opinions / updates on the bike :

• I wish it had self cancelling indicators. Its very easy to forget that you have switched them on. Or maybe they could have added a buzzer as a reminder. The speedo is so much of a distraction that your eyes do jot notice the indicator blinking on either ends.
• My key gets hot after a 15 min ride. Not burning hot - but the heat can be easily felt. Is it normal?
• The horn is not very weak and not very audible. I guess being a CBU these bikes have to comply with sound pollution norms of the home country and hence , they do not come with a loud horn.
• The average is a bit low - 10.2 kmpl - maybe because I am doing very short rides. Will do a tank full of 95/97 and recheck.
• The fuel gauge shows a different reading while the bike is on the side stand. I believe this maybe due to the placement of the sensor. But once off the stand, it does not show an accurate reading immediately. It takes some time and probably behaves like a speedometer.

Anyways that's all for now. Sorry for the low res pics. Will tey and get some highres detailed pics over the weekend.

Thanks for all your suggestions and inputs!!

[vishal.jayakuma]

Originally Posted by v12

• I wish it had self cancelling indicators. Its very easy to forget that you have switched them on. Or maybe they could have added a buzzer as a reminder. The speedo is so much of a distraction that your eyes do jot notice the indicator blinking on either ends.
• My key gets hot after a 15 min ride. Not burning hot - but the heat can be easily felt. Is it normal?
• The horn is not very weak and not very audible. I guess being a CBU these bikes have to comply with sound pollution norms of the home country and hence , they do not come with a loud horn.
• The average is a bit low - 10.2 kmpl - maybe because I am doing very short rides. Will do a tank full of 95/97 and recheck.
• The fuel gauge shows a different reading while the bike is on the side stand. I believe this maybe due to the placement of the sensor. But once off the stand, it does not show an accurate reading immediately. It takes some time and probably behaves like a speedometer.

!

1. Self cancelling is still a desired luxury for this class of bikes, I guess.
2. That's a normal thing. No worries IMO.
3. Aftermarket upgrade is recommended. But warranty will be voided. So maybe an additional side mounted horn could be your best bet. Or there's always the option of abusing the inline-four orchestra to make your presence felt
4. 10.5? That's too less. Should probably improve to almost double that once you start with proper running-in.
5. Yes that's parallax error. Should be fine on the move. Will give it enough time to stabilise.

Cheers to one of the most versatile bikes.

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[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by vishal.jayakuma

I believe you meant *Supercharged and not Turbocharged?
Common error.

Yep it is indeed Supercharged, I got confused between Suzuki filing patent for their turbo charged motorcycle called Recursion.

[Desmosedici]

Allen, just keep riding. You will take time and get used to the non self canceling indicators, distractive speedometer, hot keys, slow fuel gauge etc.

Regarding your low FE, as you said you have not even done 100kms, so you should just ride and keep riding. It will even out eventually.

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by v12

...
[*]I wish it had self cancelling indicators. Its very easy to forget that you have switched them on. Or maybe they could have added a buzzer as a reminder. The speedo is so much of a distraction that your eyes do jot notice the indicator blinking on either ends.
[*]My key gets hot after a 15 min ride. Not burning hot - but the heat can be easily felt. Is it normal?
[*]The horn is not very weak and not very audible. I guess being a CBU these bikes have to comply with sound pollution norms of the home country and hence , they do not come with a loud horn.
[*]The average is a bit low - 10.2 kmpl - maybe because I am doing very short rides. Will do a tank full of 95/97 and recheck.
[*]The fuel gauge shows a different reading while the bike is on the side stand. I believe this maybe due to the placement of the sensor. But once off the stand, it does not show an accurate reading immediately. It takes some time and probably behaves like a speedometer.

Also, adding from my end:
If the red blinking light when you are parked is something that you do not want, you can get it off. Personally, I hated it as it draws attention for no good reason.

Note from Support - Please avoid quoting an entire lengthy post as it inconveniences our mobile users.

1. Turn on engine
2. Turn off.
3. Within 20 secs, press and hold both switches together.
4. This should have it off. Same process to get it back on.

[Caramba]

Originally Posted by v12

The whole process was smooth but there were many things that could be improved. The main thing being getting a chasis print of the bike. I mean when the whole of the RTO systems have gone digital, the chasis number is still stenciled on paper using a pencil. It needed 3 of us to ensure that the guy got the print right. One to hold the paper on top, one to hold at the bottom and one to hold the wires and take the print. And you could never get it right at the first instance. Anyways after having done that and having the bike inspected by the officer, I for my temp registration number.

@V12 could they get anything on the paper at all? When I went for registration they just took a photo of the chassis number as this is laser cut and there is no real indentation, hence it could not be stenciled onto paper.