Driving report Kawasaki Z 800

Posted on by admin

Menus

Driving report Kawasaki Z 800
Manufacturer

The 800cc naked bike from Kawasaki

Driving report Kawasaki Z 800

Mission: Check out Kawasaki’s new Z 800. Crime scene: southern France. Particular difficulty: continuous rain.

First impression

Thank goodness Goretex is in the luggage. A good decision. In front of the hotel lobby in Monaco, a dozen bikes in green, white and black can be rinsed off, because continuous rain is the order of the day. They are colors of the 2013 season. Colors of the Kawasaki Z 800, which will replace its 750 predecessor at the turn of the year and make it look old even when it was still standing. Honestly: In addition to the peppy 800, the 750 looks old-fashioned. The new one carries the stern higher and the look deeper and nastier. It’s important to Kawasaki. The Greens have sold almost 160,000 of the Z 750 models worldwide since 2004.

Buy complete article

Driving report Kawasaki Z 800

The 800cc naked bike from Kawasaki
Driving report Kawasaki Z 800

Z 800 like a sheep in wolf’s clothing. It hangs softly on the gas, reacts calmly to gentle turns of the throttle grip in the low-speed range and does not overwhelm anyone with poisonous snapping brake calipers when decelerating. While cucumbering on the autobahn, there is enough time to review the main changes compared to the lower-displacement predecessor: 58 cubic centimeters more displacement thanks to an enlarged bore. Tricks such as intake funnels of different lengths and longer intake ports are intended to optimize cylinder filling in all speed ranges. Longer bends are supposed to increase this effect. And then: lighter pistons, larger oil spray nozzles, friction-optimized timing chains and a cylinder bank made of die-cast aluminum in an open-deck construction.

Unfortunately, you don’t notice that here in the rain. Kilometer 20: light on the horizon. The water is now finger-high in the boot. I should send this Goretex suit back and buy myself a rain suit. 50 kilometers later. Nothing more highway. French curve landscape. Dumped my boots. Road half dry, rain break. Let’s see how the engine goes.

Engine and chassis


Manufacturer

Kawasaki Z 800.

Hell. At 4000 rpm he goes all out, 2000 tours later he fires, between 8000 and the rev limiter it explodes. At least symbolically. In other words: it can tour up to 6000 rpm. About sports. Compared to the 750, the bigger sister has a slightly shorter translation. At the rear there is now a 45 chain sprocket instead of a 43 chain sprocket. Whether it’s the aforementioned gimmicks, the larger displacement or the shorter secondary ratio – the new 800cc four-cylinder is definitely a big push forward. Has noticeably more ink in the fountain pen than the 750. Although you should hardly feel that on the basis of the technical data: The peak performance compared to the 750 increased by three hp to 113 hp, the torque increased by eight Newton meters. But the gearbox shifts unevenly, the gears click unclean – at least on the test machine.

Kilometer 80: dry road, black sky, pants biotope. Let’s see whether the “centralization of the masses” had the desired effect and the machine simply steers itself. Open the shower and gently turn on the brake. The game is repeated for kilometers. Point one: The Dunlop D214 does its job without any problems.

It steers cleanly, rolls off well, has a decent self-damping behavior and, above all, does not surprise with abrupt wet grip. Point two: the chassis remains stable even under extreme braking. And so that this is guaranteed, the new one has been given an additional connecting strut in the front frame area. The wheelbase grew by seven millimeters compared to the 750. But what ultimately has to do with the fact that a longer chain is used. Modified engine screw connections should minimize vibrations as much as possible. In fact, the engine runs quite smoothly. However, from 6000 rpm you will feel a gentle tingling sensation.

Open fire. In no time at all, the 100 km / h mark rushes across the futuristic-looking display, which incidentally lacks a gear indicator. Braking hard is required to get around the next corner properly. When it rained the stoppers were missing a bit of bite. Now, when warm, they shine with a decent delay and a good feeling. Sports riders will certainly complain of a lack of bite. But in everyday use and even for the fast rush over the home route, these ABS-assisted four-piston calipers are up to any demands. Release the brakes, gear fits, accelerate.

Oh, bumps. Treacherous thing. No problem if the Z 800 rolls over it in a vertical position. Because the suspension set-up was successful. Both spring elements respond cleanly, their design is somewhere between comfort zone and sport feedback tight. However, if you drive over the bumps in an inclined position, everything looks different. The 800 rises above the rear tire and directs unrest into the chassis. But not so bad that it rains the line.

Speaking of hail. It is raining again. And not bad. A few kilometers later it’s time to dump your boots again. Under an annoying wind, drumming drops, pitch black sky. Skyfall I think. One should go to the cinema again. And drive when it’s dry. Maybe another day.

Technical specifications


Manufacturer

Futuristic, but without a gear indicator. Tachometer difficult to read.

engine
Water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 34 mm, regulated catalytic converter, 420 W alternator, 12 V / 8 Ah battery, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain, secondary ratio 45:15
Bore x stroke 71.0 x 50.9 mm
Displacement 806 cm³
Compression ratio 11.9: 1
Rated output 83.0 kW (113 hp) at 10200 rpm
Max. Torque 83 Nm at 8000 rpm

landing gear
Bridge frame made of steel, upside-down fork, Ø 41 mm, adjustable spring base and rebound damping, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base and rebound damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 310 mm, four-piston fixed caliper, disc brake at the rear, Ø 250 mm, Single piston floating caliper, ABS.
Cast aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 5.50 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 180/55 ZR 17

Dimensions + weights
Wheelbase 1445 mm, steering head angle 64 degrees, caster 98 mm, suspension travel f / r 120/137 mm, seat height 835 mm, weight with a full tank 229 kg, tank capacity 17.0 liters.
Two year guarantee
Colors green / black, white / black, black
Price 9495 euros
Additional costs 180 euros

Throttled version


Manufacturer

Fork without adjustment.

The deadline for the new motorcycle driving license class A2 in Germany is January 19, 2013. Anyone who obtained their car driver’s license, the old three, before April 1, 1980, can drive motorcycles with up to 48 hp after having passed a practical driving test. The manufacturers hope for a small boom. And they are preparing for demand.

Kawasaki therefore also offers a so-called Z 800 e in addition to the Z 800. With a retail price of 8595 euros, it is exactly 900 euros cheaper than the open version with 113 hp. The most obvious difference is the cheaper spring elements. The fork is not adjustable, and the shock absorber of the e-version can only be adjusted in the spring base. The setting is also a bit different. The spring elements of the open version are of higher quality. With the 48 hp version, a top speed of 172 km / h should be possible.

But it’s not just the hardware that differentiates the two model variants. The throttling of motorcycles for the 48 HP driving license is only allowed in other European countries if they do not have more than twice the power (maximum 96 HP) when open. In Germany, one could theoretically throttle a 200 hp BMW S 1000 RR to 48 hp and then drive it with the A2. For this reason, the open version of the Z 800 e was only homologated with 95 hp. A further dethrottling of the e-version to the 113 hp of the open Z 800 is technically not easily possible, it was said when asked by the development engineers during the presentation. There are important differences in injection technology and electronics between the two model variants.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *