Road – Kawasaki Z750 vs. Yamaha FZ8: the 2010 match! – 3rd set on the road: Z750

Posted on by admin

Kawasaki Z750 vs. Yamaha FZ8: The 2010 Match !

Road - Kawasaki Z750 vs. Yamaha FZ8: the 2010 match! - 3rd set on the road: Z750

Unbeaten for 5 years, the Kawasaki Z750 sees the appearance this year an opponent to its size: the Yamaha FZ8! Cubing a little more and offering a compromise more oriented towards comfort, can the newcomer win this decisive match? ? Duel !

3rd road set: Z750

The most awaited event of all bikers arrives, that of the road! The real road, departmental or national, it doesn’t matter, as long as it twists and lets appear from time to time a few stretches to let go of the horses: 106 to 10,500 rpm for the Z750 and 106.2 – there it is. is holding ! – 500 laps earlier for the FZ8.

Unfortunately – and it becomes a constant at MNC, "Chat Noir Maudit" in verlan -, the weather did not allow the motorcycles to express their full potential during a long part of the course … Made under threatening skies and on an extremely greasy-wet road, our first kilometers even took place at very low speed !

The daring MNC testers were however able to confirm the smoothness of the injection of the Z750. Concentration and precision are more rigorous on the FZ8, which reacts more nervously to the demands of the right grip.

At the beginning, the braking of the Kawasaki is more docile and "frank" than that of the Yamaha because on the Zed, the right lever is hardly pulled when the Nissin calipers are already activated: the feeling is immediate !

On the FZ, the dead travel of the lever being a little longer – but the effectiveness of the golden jaws at least as high – the braking is drier. This feeling of excessive bite is also accentuated by the sharp dip of the handlebars..

On fast surface

Fortunately, as the kilometers go by, the road starts to dry out and allows more and more gas and brakes to be applied. On a perfectly flat surface, you quickly realize that the Z750 is the easiest – intuitive, obvious, pleasant, you’ve got it … – to take along.

The powerful accelerations of the 4-cylinder "made in Akashi" are perfectly managed by the front axle. When exiting turns, while the "green jacket" pilot opens wide, the "blue helmet" can be more timid: the Yamaha slumps more on its rear end when the "made in Iwata" 4-legged Express.

Let us note on this occasion that the engine and the pot of the FZ8 go up several notches in the esteem of sports bikers: relatively discreet at idle and at low speeds, the Yamaha lets out a particularly hoarse and powerful clamor past 6,000 rpm. min. The R1 legacy, certainly !

Always on clean and smooth asphalt, the trajectories of the Z750 are shown to be more precise than those of the FZ8: while a slight brake or a wipe of gas has little influence on the general behavior of the Kawa, they greatly modify that of the Yam ‘.

Pushed to their limits – well, they are kind enough to let us believe it – these two bikes have two different profiles: the Z750 is predictable, docile and efficient, while the FZ8 seems more unruly, restless and … devilishly. effective anyway !

On slow surface

When the state of the road deteriorates, the gaps narrow: under these conditions, the rigorous Z750 becomes too slick while the FZ8 re-asserts its more versatile side. Afterwards, as Fabienne and Richard sing: "it’s a question of feeling"…

While attacking on small bumpy roads, some will criticize the incessant rebounds of the saddle – even the stalls of the rear wheel – of the "thoroughbred" Kawasaki, while others will rail against the front a bit wandering and the rear nodding of the Yamaha "rocking horse".

The first will praise an FZ8 on which we can keep an ultimately very high pace – far too much according to the police – whatever the coating and will rejoice in the lively, even combative side of the FZ8 piloting..

The second will object while a Z750 allows you to attack with confidence, especially once adjusted "tip-top" and mounted in Michelin Power 2 CT (password at your dealer: "I want the same settings and the same tires than on the test model borrowed by Site in this anthology duel ")…

However, it must be recognized that jostling the Z750 is more exhilarating than rolling strongly on the FZ8. The majority of followers of sporty mid-size roadsters will therefore prefer the Z on small roads: third set for the little sister of the Ninjas !

Related articles

Leave a Reply

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