All Tests – Kawasaki Z800 test: the extra Zest – Baptism watered in Monaco …

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Kawasaki Z800 test: the extra Zest

All Tests - Kawasaki Z800 Test: Zest and more - Baptism watered in Monaco ...

Kawasaki launches a new Z800 with a more threatening look, a swollen engine and revised cycle part to succeed the Z750 which retires at the end of the year, with an eighth title of best selling motorcycle in France. Is the bet successful ? First try !

Baptism watered in Monaco…

It is under fine droplets but on a soggy bitumen that Site got to know the brand new Z800! Fortunately, the handling of the Kawasaki is not very complicated, especially when you know the Z750.

The modification of the handlebars, slightly flatter and higher, goes almost unnoticed and the rather remote position of the footrests (without gums or weights, as on the Z750 R) naturally inclines the pilot to the front of the machine: like the good old "Seven-and-a-half" !

The more pronounced notch of the new tank is on the other hand very sensitive: it allows to tighten the legs more and to become completely one with the machine. We just regret that the cover – in matt black plastic – is not perfectly flat…

Indeed, at the end of a day of driving spent tense up around the tank to bypass the puddles and avoid beautiful but dangerous "rainbow" tasks, or to arch to protect yourself in vain from the deluge for miles of highway, you end up feeling a slight discomfort in the thighs !

However, the discomfort is much deeper in the buttocks: like the Z750 – especially second generation -, the Z800 does not take great care of the buttocks of its pilot. The latter is always driven towards the tank, where the saddle is the roundest and finest. And the phenomenon is accentuated by wearing a wetsuit in rainy weather !

The comfort is still not the strong point of the "Zed", and it is not the rear shock absorber which makes it possible to correct the shooting: the small imperfections of the road continue to be restored with too much force to the pilot’s hindquarters. The latter therefore carefully circumvents bumps, joints or other small urban traps.

This exercise of avoidance has some good, however, since it allows to discover the first progress made by the Kawa ‘roadster: although a little heavier than the old version – again! -, the "little" Zed (229 kg all full) does not mind changing course !

Fitted with the new Dunlop D214 compounds, the Z800 instantly gives its driver confidence thanks to a neutral front axle and progressive angle grips. Particularly commendable qualities on the greasy wetness of Monegasque tunnels…

Likewise, we appreciate the continued docility of the "made in Akashi" roadster: the clutch lever – not adjustable, unlike the brake lever – is pleasant to handle, like the selector which controls a fast and precise gearbox..

However, it is useless to abuse the six reports: the third is enough to move in town, while the sixth allows you to wind efficiently on the road. It is logically in the second case that the combined effects of the two more teeth on the crown and of the additional 58 cc are the most notable..

But the increasingly dense rain on this first day of testing does not encourage us to open the throttle fully … In these conditions, we focus more on the work of the ABS! Let us note in the preamble that by avoiding excess, the driver of the Z800 will not defeat the grip of the D214 in the wet..

However, if something goes wrong, the rider can count on an ABS that is both efficient and pleasant. Teased by MNC, the front brake reacts very well: the wheel locks only very briefly, and the calipers do not release their grip excessively afterwards! At the lever, the intervention of the Nissin system is discreet, therefore reassuring.

The action of ABS on the right pedal is much more marked. In general, moreover, the rear brake is hardly convincing, the fault of a too long dead stroke and a dosage of power far from obvious…

While waiting for the return of the sun scheduled for the next day, which should make it possible to assess the dynamic performance – engine and braking – of the new Z800, MNC is embarking on a route of around one hundred kilometers on the motorway to reach Frejus in Monaco…

The opportunity for us to check that the motorcycle hooks the 120 km / h "counter" when the digital tachometer displays the bar of 6000 rpm, and reaches 135 km / h when the one above (6250 rpm ) darkens in turn. At this speed, the vibrations of the new Zed are confined to the levers and footrests..

It is only beyond the speed limits – never so! – that the crackling of the 4-cylinder goes up to the crotch. But it is clear that in this area, the Z800 does better than its predecessors: the work on the lower part of the frame seems to have borne fruit. !

Although the result is not yet perfect, the rider of the new Z is now better isolated from vibrations. At the end of a long journey, we now plague much more of his buttock ache, and almost no more ants that invaded the hands and feet on the Zzzz750 !

Thanks to its new instrumentation, the Z800 spoils its pilot a little more by informing him of the number of kilometers that can be completed before the next refueling. You can also scroll – by means of a button on the meter, and not on the commodo, unfortunately – the instant and average consumption.

To complete this idyllic picture – fuel gauge, odometer, two partial trips and clock are also displayed – a shiftlight and a gear indicator engaged. "To integrate this function, we would have had to remodel the engine casings more deeply."Big boss Yamamoto told Site..

For your information, the Z800 driven by Site posted at the end of its 198 km journey an average consumption of 5.5 l / 100km (thank you rain!). However, this data could not be verified by MNC, the Kawasaki staff having refueled the machines while the testers were recovering from their day of driving in the rain. !

Fortunately, the next morning, it was under a "real" azure sky and on some dry sections of the famous Route des Adrets that the presentation of the new Kawasaki Z800 was able to conclude. On the way !

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