PS Tuner GP: Racebike Holy- Z 1000

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PS Tuner GP: Racebike Holy- Z 1000

Race bike: Holy-Kawasaki Z 1000

Tuning bike Kawasaki Z 1000 from Holy

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Holy’s tuner first lets us participate in his philosophy before we get our hands on the Holy-Kawasaki Z 1000 race bike. But the long wait for the motorcycle is rewarded with a thrilling driving experience.

The longer the foreplay, the greater the enjoyment – Holy tuner Dieter Briese probably thought to himself when he wanted to explain his tuning philosophy to me in the box. Unlike my usual try-and-error method, this time I listened to his words before the first trip, in awe of the vigorously pepped up Kawasaki Z 1000 kneeling.

Briese celebrates every screw. He is not satisfied with screwing on parts. He questions the meaning of the construction, the weight and any potential for improvement. And so I became part of this foreplay and the bearer of the hellish tuning philosophy.

Strongly crouched, ready for the jump: The aggressive exterior of the Holy-Z 1000 turns on, driving it is awesome.

It starts with the engine: revised intake and exhaust ducts, polished valves with rounded valve seats for a dense, punctiform support, polished camshafts and higher shims to allow longer control times, i.e. more filling of the combustion chambers, are important for a good air flow to generate. Pistons and connecting rods were weight-optimized and polished. The now too heavy crankshaft was adapted to the lower rotating masses and finely balanced. The balancer shaft, which has become superfluous, came out, which not only saves weight, but also allows the engine to rev up faster. On top of that, the alternator was turned off to intensify this effect. Dieter Briese also planned the cylinder head and increased the compression to 14.5: 1. Now the four-cylinder sips fuel from 102 octane.

In order to get even more air into the revised injection, the radiator has been lowered. Side effect: the center of gravity is lower, which increases stability. Exhaled is through an Akrapovic titanium system – shortened of course, and the injection and ignition are matched to the new challenge with a Power Commander 5. A mechanical chain tensioner is installed to permanently apply the tightened timing to the valves. Can we start then? Not yet!

The body also needs to be machined, so most of the screws have been replaced by specimens made of titanium and others have been hollowed out. Stress tests followed – Briese is a pedant.

For more air in the mixture, the cooler moved further down. A carbon hood leads the fresh air directly to the throttle valves.

In terms of geometry, handiness was paramount. The rear was raised and an Ohlins fork was installed, which, like the shock absorber, was revised by MS Motorshop. The chassis tuner himself adjusted the chassis in countless laps before I was finally allowed to turn it. But we’re still not there, the Holy-Kawa has even more parts. The engine mounts came out and lighter ones, milled from aluminum, came in. Tinkerer Dieter Briese borrowed the swingarm including the extended deflection from a ZX-10R and installed a fork bridge from Gilles Tuning with an eccentric clamp. After all, the Z stands on extremely expensive Dymag magnesium rims with Bridgestone R10 types 3 and 2 in sizes 120/70 17 and 190/55 17.

Are you finally getting started? “Do you know Emil Schwarz?” Asks Briese. No? So listen: all bearings in the chassis were converted to backlash-free precision bearings from that very same one. This allows the steering damper to be omitted, saves weight and is super daring, but works awesome – which I was only able to find out much later! Briese has perseverance. So further: weight is a big issue. That’s why all the plastic was replaced by carbon and an ultra-light Li-ion battery was used, the gear ratio was shortened and a low-friction, lightweight racing chain was installed. Brake discs and calipers also have too much grease. So put Morbidelli pliers on the back after the cutter slid over the holder – minus 800 grams compared to the original! R1 monoblock radial saddles and a 19 mm Spiegler pump were installed at the front. The fully adjustable Rizoma rest system also saves a few grams. The result of all these efforts: a Z 1000 filled with an incredible 180.5 kilos! And be careful: 164 HP on the rear wheel (171 HP / crankshaft)!

The tuner: Dieter Briese from Motorrad Holy (www.holy.de).

Madness, I can hardly believe my luck, finally I’m sitting on the green beast and doing hellish laps at Hockenheim. The bike has an almost nervous, but nevertheless successful handling. The engine revs up super fast. The chassis including the ZX swingarm is simply poignant. I briefly interrupt this desire to have the front spoiler removed. The racing tires build up such a high level of grip that you can bend the bike to the maximum and thus scratch the valuable carbon keel. Now the tire can be driven to the edge and the lap times continue to tumble. The only downer is the somewhat bland front brake, which is definitely sufficient for the road, but requires too much manual force on the race and prevents late braking.

The motor, on the other hand, lets you forget about the brakes quickly, because it catapults the only 180 kilos towards sunset. The otherwise honest Z is now a monster. Finally I have the promised climax and experience a firework of the senses. And for those who don’t believe it: the motorcycle is ready for a test ride, can be purchased from Holy Motorrad GmbH and is actually street legal.


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Measurement data of the Holy-Z 1000 (performance on crankshaft, measurements on Dynojet roller test bench 250).

Data

Weight: 180.5 kg
front / back: 54.3 / 45.7%
Power: 171 hp
Price: 19,990 euros

Holy does not imitate that so quickly: 180.5 naked kilograms full of fuel and such a revving four-cylinder poisonous dwarf. The pilot does not feel the slight undulation of the power curve. The torque is at a good level even below 6000 rpm.

PS Tuner GP: Racebike Holy- Z 1000

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PS Tuner GP: Racebike Holy- Z 1000

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Product test: exhaust systems for the Kawasaki Z 1000


Accessory silencer for Kawasaki’s naked bike


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