Rennie Scaysbrook | December 7, 2015
Dramatic, menacing sky meets responsible, green wind farm.
If you’re a motorcycle manufacturer, you’d be aware of how important the midsize naked bike sector is. This is the one area of the market that hasn’t seen massive price rises over the past 15 years and as such is one of the hardest places to make a buck. It’s a sector that’s seen new bikes popping up like mushrooms in the Yamaha FZ-09/07, Suzuki GSR750, BMW F 800 R, Ducati 821 Monster and Scrambler et al, and now Kawasaki wants a piece of the pie in the new Z800.
This bike has been available for the past three years in Europe and Australasia and only now has it finally made its way to U.S. dealers. But not every dealer. You won’t be able to register this machine in California next year as Kawasaki has to remanufacture a new section of the gas tank to prevent fuel venting to the atmosphere (Californian law states the fuel vapor must be captured), so Cali riders will have to wait until 2017 before they get their hands on the Son of Z.
The Z800 is thus a very important machine for Kawasaki and represents a potentially huge chunk of market share. It’s not an overly complicated machine and based largely on the Z750 predecessor that started its life back in 2003. The inline four-cylinder engine is a bored-out version of the 750’s with capacity now sitting at 806cc, the aluminum backbone chassis remains largely unchanged, the suspension too, and there’s no variable riding modes or traction control. But it does have a completely new face and aggressive styling, a genetic modification of its larger brother in the Z1000.
Canyon carving or traffic, the Z800 is up for anything.
Our test ride for this latest member of the Z dynasty was, with a touch of irony, at Palm Springs in California. The desert location, renowned for golf courses whose lush green fairways are completely at odds with the sparseness that surrounds them, Palm Springs nevertheless is the gateway to some brilliant canyon roads that take you way up into the mountains and away to a simpler time.
On first appearances the Z800 certainly appears larger than many of the bikes it’s up against in the midsize naked sector. Looks are not deceiving. It’s actually 22 pounds heaver with an inch taller seat than the Z1000 and you feel this just at standstill.
The taller seat means riders over six feet shouldn’t have too many issues fitting on the 800 (the 1000 can be a bit cramped for me at 6’1”). Kawasaki made a point of telling us they worked hard on the ergonomics to make this bike accessible to as many people as possible, and on the 800 they’ve created a spacious, comfortable riding position that means you can pound out a 100-mile stint without needing the chiropractor at the end.
The cockpit is minimalist, with a digital tacho sitting in the middle of the speedo on right and trip info on left. I’m not a fan of this design because not only is the speed hard to see on the right, the whole dash is hard to read if you’ve got the sun behind you. It’s tiny, and you get an almost a dirt bike feel when you’re on the 800, there’s nothing between you and the atmosphere, just that small digital panel tucked in front of the handlebar.
Once you’re up and running the standout feature, in traffic at least, is just how smooth the engine is. Kawasaki has got the fuel injection mapping pretty well spot on with the 800 and it’s certainly better than the Z1000. Initial power delivery is smooth and precise, making darting in and out of traffic in road work-riddled Palm Springs a breeze.
The 806cc inline four is matched to a brilliantly mapped fuel injection system.
Get out of the traffic and up into the twisties and the 800’s engine will play canyon carver just as good as in traffic. The power is spread pretty evenly across the board with a kick at around 7000 rpm as the revs climb out of the midrange into a top-end that’s not roaring strong, but still lets you know you’re moving.
No one is going to say this is the fastest thing on the road because it simply is not. There’s plenty of go on tap to get you in trouble but unlike the Z1000, Kawasaki is aiming this 800 much more at the commuter, the guy riding to and from work. Here is where the 800 makes sense. It’s comfortable, with excellent fuelling; a bike you’d be happy with for quick weekend blasts and riding to a restaurant at night.
There’s still a bit of tiger in there—the engine is matched to an ultra-smooth gearbox action and an induction roar via the multi-length intake funnels that’s one of the great things about Kawasaki four-cylinder machines that have even a hint of sporting potential.
But the sporting potential is not really high on the list of priorities with the Z800. The suspension is basic (rebound and preload adjustment on both ends), and you’ll start to reach its outer limits quickly when the pace picks up and you start to throw the bike around. Keep the pace at a sensible speed and the rear shock does a good job of ironing out road corrugations (it’s especially nice and smooth in traffic at slow speed), push it in and out of corners and 800 can start to pogo its way around the bend, especially if you’re not hard on the rear brake.
Overall the chassis is stable without being very dynamic. It won’t steer with the speed as the Z1000, and side-to-side direction changes are a much more concerted effort than something like the FZ-09 Yamaha, but that extra weight means midcorner the chassis is planted and happy to work its line. It’s only when snapping form side-to-side at higher speeds that the work really begins.
Another area that is lacking, and this will affect its commuter prowess, is the steering lock is too small, making tight U-turns a pain to complete.
The brakes, like the suspension, work very well at slow speeds but under sustained high speed riding and heavy braking you’ll get a bit of fade at the lever, which can be pretty off putting. Nothing a set of braided lines won’t fix, and if you use the bike for the commuting purposes Kawasaki intend you’ll most likely not have this problem.
Cafes and kickbacks: this is the kind of environment the Z800 will shine in.
Aesthetically, I think Kawasaki is onto a winner with the Z800. It’s angular and sharp but the complete lack of any form of screen or front bodywork means you become a real windsail at high speeds. Regardless, the headlight and Z-pattern rear LED taillight (and Z-pattern seat) look the business, although I can’t understand why Kawasaki has made this bike as black as it has. There’s so many angles and nuances in the bodywork, cool little touches, that get hidden behind the mass of the color black. When this bike was released in Europe three years ago they bought the Son of Z out in a cool Kawasaki green/black paint job that showed off the many angles of the bodywork. Bummer we don’t get that here.
You’re getting a solid, quality bike for $8399 in the Kawasaki Z800. It doesn’t have the brute presence of the Z1000 but is conversely more bike than something like the Suzuki GSR750. Its primary job should be as a commuter weapon, much like the old Z750 was, but with a bit of suspension tuning you can have a pretty handy canyon bike, too.
SPECIFICATIONS
2016 Kawasaki Z800
Engine: Inline 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valves per cylinder
Displacement: 806cc
Bore x stroke: 71 x 50.9mm
Horsepower: Not given
Torque: Not given
Compression ratio: 11.9:1
Transmission: Six-speed
Front suspension: 41mm inverted cartridge fork, adjustable preload and rebound damping
Rear suspension: Single shock absorber, adjustable preload and rebound damping
Front brake: Twin 310mm discs, Nissin 4-piston calipers, ABS
Rear brake: Single disc, Brembo Nissin-piston caliper, ABS
Front tire: 120/70 ZR17
Rear tire: 180/50 ZR17
Rake: 24°
Trail: 3.9 in.
Wheelbase: 56.9 in.
Seat height: 32.8 in.
Overall height: 42.5 in.
Overall width: 31.5 in.
Overall length: 82.7 in.
Fuel capacity: 4.5 gal.
Weight: 509 lbs. (curb, claimed).
Color: Metallic Spark Black
MSRP: $8399 MSRP as tested
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