2010 Kawasaki Z1000~ Can it compete against the "naked" European market?

With a history that can be traced all the way back to the early 1970's, with its archetype KZ900, Kawasaki is surprisingly reintroducing the Z1000 after a one year absence from their sportbike line-up. A resurrection that could make former Zed owners and those alike, a believer once again!
Kawasaki took that year to do a complete redesign by mirroring the same ideology as the original Yamaha FZ1 and the auspicious ZX-10R, in an attempt to provide the customer with a superbike-class performance in the new innovative 5 piece aluminum chassis, that doesn't require yoga-like contortion to enjoy!
Even though there has been an obvious passion for naked bikes by motorcyclist world wide, the prosaic sales from the Japanese market compared to the European competitors gives a clear indication what riders are universally asking for in a naked bike. To actually deliver a retro naked bike with full-on state-of -the-art technology and engine performance that will look the part as well as act it and not some dumbed down speedster that just looks fast! Clearly the European market has the edge, with manufacture Success stories like Ducati, with their Monster line up, Triumph's Speed Triple and Aprilia's Tuono, to name a few. Could it be Kawasaki has finally stepped up to the plate and quite possibly created the perfect contender for a "naked" competition!

Even though the truth remains, that I have only sat on this bike, but not gone so far as to personally ride this seemingly impressive machine. I cannot ignore the repetitive grand reviews on the obvious transformation of the Z1000's past customary performance!
So why do I, as well as so many other reviewers think the 2010 Kawasaki Z1000, a Japanese heritage naked bike, can contend with the European market?
Lets start with the Chassis and suspension; from years prior, Kawasaki has drastically improved the handling, with an all new five piece aluminum chassis, which is over 8 pounds lighter and 30% more rigid than the former steel frame. The Zed also has a removable 3 piece die cast aluminum subframe that was designed to be an integral part of the bikes retro style. But the main theme in the design was to infuse a mass centralization to the chassis, with a wheelbase of 57 inches, 24.5 rake and 4.1 trail, it does the job nicely.

Kawasaki engineers back-linked the suspension system that places the Showa shock and shock linkage horizontally, above the swing arm, an added feature to make the preload and rebound damping adjusters easily within reach. The Z1000 offers a cushy and controlled ride that doesn't phase the rider even with small bumps to large potholes, reinforcing the "fun" factor in a smooth ride.
Gone are the days of a "mushy" braking system, now the 2010 Z1000's have been fitted with dual Tokico four-piston radial mount calipers on the front wheel, and single Tokico piston caliper on the rear wheel, allowing the braking action to be strong, without being "grabby". A five spoke cast aluminum rim houses the Dunlop Sportmax D210 tires (front:120/70ZR17 and rear: 19050ZR17) that are squire to this particular bike, with precision machined edges and holes in the spokes to enhance the look of the wheel and tire.


With a 6 speed, chain driven, 1043 cc displacement and a 16-valve in-line 4 and almost 50 pounds of torque at 2250 rpms, the Zed will generate plenty of excitement for the rider when rolling on the throttle! The Kawasaki engineers also placed the crackshaft lower in the engine to allow the use of longer rods while maintaining the engine height, delivering a bore and stroke of 77.0 x 56.0 mm. The engine also features a secondary balancer in front of the crankshaft to reduce engine vibration.

The Z1000 exceeds in eronomonic comfort with narrower bars, a smooth clutch action and a seat that forces the rider to lean just a bit further forward for a more comfortable fit for longer rides. Even with a 32in seat height, it's as comfortable for a tall person as well as a shorter stature person. But, not so for the passenger seat, Kawasaki went to great lengths to streamline the look of the Zed's tail section by integrating the grab rails into the tail and purposely making the rear seat white to appear smaller. Based on passenger comfort, you will probably be riding solo a lot more often than two-up!

On the down side, the side mirrors are set to far inward offering a minimal view and mainly of the riders shoulders! the spoiler on the headlight is more of a decoration than a working deflector. And while the 3 point adjustable digital speedometer is easy to read, it's bar graph tachometer is a waste of time, offering more of a "modern" look than a functioning analog tachometer.

I gotta tell ya, even though the right-side "quad" muffler exhaust system is unique in it's design by creating a pre-chamber, routing spent gases from the four head pipes into two pipes, then into it's two "radically" shaped shorty mufflers, keeping the "Z" clean as well as green, it's still blazing ugly!!

But, lets face it, the down side reasons for not purchasing the Z1000, with it's edgy looking character and a razor-sharp powerhouse performance, are few and most definitely not worth mentioning if you base your purchase purely on handling and engine performance. This bike has what you're looking for.

As a strong European contender, you get a lot of bang for your buck, reveling in the euphoria of it's monstrous mid-range torque, frolicking to and fro in it's featherweight handling in the twisties, while simultaneously inflicting a powerful, yet smooth braking action and plush controlled suspension, all for a sticker price of $10.499 msrp.

Kawasaki, consider your proverbial European bar raised!

Footnote: If you are interested in another hypothesis on the 2010 Kawasaki Z1000, I would highly recommend you check out Further on Down the Road, a blog by @Reyzie, who is a former owner of a 2006 Z1000 and impressive when it comes to motorcycles.

~Cindi~

Erik Buell: You say goodbye, I say hello

Riding friends that know me, are well aware of my personal feelings about Buell motorcycles. The several demo rides that I have taken on the 1125CR, 1125R and the XB9SX have left me repeatedly disappointed in the rough handling of the motorized machines. But, in saying this, I have a great respect for the master mind behind these iconic creations. A down to earth guy with a grassroots upbringing, Erik Buell epitomizes the all American motorcycle enthusiasts, with a side of crazy thrown in! And I have to admit, I'm going to miss the line up of Buell motorcycles for 2010.

Though Buell would not necessarily be considered a household word like Harley Davidson or Yamaha, but to us avid motorcyclists, we know the familiar name all too well. For the last 26 years Erik Buell and his Wisconsin based team have been on a credulous mission to resurrect the passion to enthusiasts about what a motorcycle should represent. But, unfortunately, his over zealous enthusiasm was to be the beginning of the end to his demise by his unrealistic expectations of what Buell, the manufacture was to represent.
His daring innovative creations like the under slung mufflers, ZTL brakes and fuel in the frame concept was unique and on-the-cutting-edge to many dedicated Buell owners, but to the vast majority, ultimately, were just not willing to invest hard earned money into his ingenious, approach.

Inevitably on November 20, 2009, Harley Davidson dissolved Buell in a ditch effort to save their own corporation with the ever expanding economic down-turn.
But, with every sad story comes a silver lining, and in this case, the launching of Erik Buell Racing. An independent motorcycle race shop specializing in the supply and race-use-only of Buell motorcycle parts and race preparation services for engines and motorcycles , along with the fabrication and sales of the Buell 1125R for race use.

The real cincher, is that Harley Davidson will be assisting Erik in establishing the business and to continue to support the race efforts that he is so very passionate about, clearly an affiliation that will never go down easily!



As said by a one-of-a-kind motorcycle enthusiasts, that will most certainly go into the history books:

" I'm looking forward seeing racers competing for wins and championships in the 2010 season and beyond and to helping Buell racers keep their bikes flying!" ~Erik Buell~

Cindi

Part 3 Riding Colorado and the AMA Women & Motorcycling Conf.

Day 5 Keystone CO

Today was to be an early day for Ellen, Laura, Cathy and I. We had to be at the Coach 2 Ride dirt bike school in the Tenderfoot parking lot at 8:30AM. While waiting for everyone to show up, I was able to sign up for a demo ride for later that day at the Ducati tent to finally get my chance to ride the Streetfighter, a very fast and aggressive bike. I signed up for the noon time slot, thinking that would give me plenty of time on my return from the dirt bike class that was scheduled to finish at 11:00AM.
A dozen or so women lined up on the 250 dirt bikes in preparation to go down to the dirt lot that was just down the street, to practice the rules and techniques of dirt riding. A quick 5 minute ride and we were soon standing in a half circle listening to Andrea and her assistant, Carolyn give us the needed instruction to get us started.
After gearing up and firing up our bikes, we did a lot of slow maneuvers, using the clutch and throttle. We learned how to lean and steer, stand and steer, counter balance, and ride over obstacles, among other things.
Andrea and Carolyn were great in their teachings, especially in such a large group, being we were the last class of the conference. Because we were a big class, it was taking longer in between turns and I had too much gear on for a progressively warm day. I would take my jacket, helmet and gloves off while waiting my turn, but with only one bottle of water per person and the consistent loss of fluids, I was starting to dehydrate.
At one point, I thought I was going to have to bow out and go back to the Tenderfoot parking lot. But, I had come too far and I made a commitment to complete my goal, so I pulled it together and headed for the hills with the rest of the girls!
After several hours of practicing the techniques, we were ready to then ride to up to one of the chair lifts at Keystone ski resort at the 10,000 ft level, it was pretty amazing, standing most of the way. It was mind blowing, how the center of gravity shifts when standing, the new experience had all of us beaming with big grins on our faces as each one of us arrived at our destination.
It was quite an experience and I am so glad I participated, even with being as uncomfortable as I was. Unfortunately, because we were a bigger group, it took us over our time frame and I missed my highly anticipated demo ride on the Streetfighter.
After losing out to my ride, I then went to the conference building to attend some seminar classes again. And once again, I had no success.
Feeling frustrated after losing out to my demo ride and not coming out any smarter, just hot and bothered, I rode back to the "funky" house to join everyone else. It seems, they were a lot smarter than I!
Later that evening, Laura, Cathy, Jane and I went to the closing ceremony to the AMA Conference. We had a great dinner, chitchatted a little and listened to a few of the speakers. One , was Lois Pryce, a very funny British woman with bright red hair and English lisp! She has written several books, her first being "Lois On The Loose", where she rode from Alaska to the very tip of Argentina. Traveling over 20,000 miles in 10 months on a Yamaha 220 motocross motorcycle....ALONE!
Lois was quite an amazing lady, with a very entertaining wit. Another fun filled day and we were ready for bed, so we headed back around 10:00PM and crashed!

Part 1 of Riding Colorado at the AMA Women And Motorcycling Conference

Day 1- Novato CA in route to Keystone CO

As I awoke to the blaring sound of my alarm at 3:00AM in the morning in the attempt to make a 6:15 AM flight, I thought about how full my day was going to be. In the realization of what little sleep I managed to get, I was worried and excited all at the same time, I better be up for it, because I was going to be riding the Rockies in just a few hours!

I arrived at the Oakland airport right on schedule, schlepping all my "stuff", but proud of the fact I managed to pack all my motorcycle gear and clothes for a week into two small bags. I was to meet Jane from Connecticut at the gate and fly out to Denver together. I waited and waited for her, but no Jane. They called our flight for the second time, still no Jane. I went ahead and boarded thinking maybe we got our wires crossed and she wasn't taking this flight at all, but another one. It's funny how the mind can dream up crazy crap at 6 AM in the morning!

Still, as I sat in my seat, I watched every person who boarded, looking for the familiar face that I had not seen in two years time. Finally, there she was looking frazzled and relieved all at the same time. Seems her hotel shuttle was late. Thankfully, my mind wasn't playing tricks on me after all and soon Jane and I where off to Denver to rendezvous with Cathy from Michigan.
Jane and I found Cathy in baggage claim after a cell call, collected our gear and just as soon as we united, we found ourselves parting again. This time Cathy and I on one shuttle to Tourbikes on one side of Denver and Jane on another shuttle to Eagleriders, on the other side of town. We planned to meet at the junction where hwy 70 and hwy 6 meet.

We arrived at Tourbike rentals, Bill, the owner approached us with a perplexed look on his face, this made Cathy and I nervous. When we announced who we were, he explained he wasn't expecting us until the next day. Cathy and I found this odd, since we both separately confirmed out dates online. Fortunately, the bikes we requested, the BMW F800GS and the Honda VFR were there, so the only inconvenience was a time delay with paperwork that hadn't been filled out in advance.
Now the challenge at hand, loading the bikes with all our gear and making it fit! Some how we did it, but in the mean time, the sky was looking more and more threatening. Big black clouds were forming, then the thunder and lightening came, being from California, this was not something I was used to. And down came the rain to follow, I did not need this!! A motorcycle I was not familiar with, along with being loaded down by all my gear with a vague idea of where we were going to meet up with Jane.

As Cathy and I pulled away from the garage, I could hear Bill, the owner of the Tourbikes voice echoing in my head "it's not our fault if you kill yourself!" I would have taken this personally, if I hadn't already heard him say it minutes prior to the guy that left before us!

As the rain came down and temporarily turned to hail, I was struggling to see, even after I had made sure to rain guard my visor in preparation for such a situation. What a waste of time that was! I did manage to see Cathy's BMW tail light and for the most part, everything else. With every stop light we hit, we would look at each other, with this look of what the hell did we get ourselves into? No words were necessary, we both were on the same page!

Through fighting the elements, struggling with the unsteadiness of a motorcycle that was a little too tall, in addition to the weight of my gear and now the stop and go traffic on hwy 25, we managed to make our way to Jane. Finding her Harley Davidson Softtail parked outside a biker bar called Susies off of hwy 70. How she managed to track down a biker bar outside of Denver in a matter of minutes is still a mystery to Cathy and I! There must be some kind of universal homing device on all Harley's that we were unaware of???

Susie's was a typical funky biker bar where everyone was friendly, even though we did get some stares as Cathy and I pulled up on our BMW and Honda, not your typical motorcycle fan fair, I would suspect around these parts. Or the fact that we were girls riding bikes. Either way, we had fun, chitchatting with the locals, having a much needed bite to eat and went on our way, climbing up hwy 70 making our way to Keystone.
The gods must have been with us, or that we had a chaplain in our midst, but the rain stopped as we headed up the mountainous horizon, feeling much better about the ride to come. After about 60 miles, passing through the 2 mile Eisenhower tunnel, the weather definitely took a turn from one end of the tunnel to the other. Maybe it was the Continental Divide marked by a bright yellow sign half way through the tunnel that hastened the shift in weather? Regardless, coming down the steep grade into the Silverthorne Valley, we were feeling the difference with the drop in temperature and the strong headwinds.

Ignoring the change in conditions, my attentions quickly diverted to the magnificent views I witnessed with each sweeping turn I took on the bright red Honda. Jagged , rocky peaked mountains that seemed to reach out and touch the sky, giving an enveloping feeling to the small city of Silverthorne, below. Breathing in all the beauty as we came upon our exit all too quickly.
Minutes later, arriving at what I would come to affectionately call the "funky" house, that was to be our home for the week, we were greeted by Ellen , her husband, John, Laura, Ted and Jon, all of which rode up from Huston Texas. It was a multi level styled 5 bedroom 5 bath house that was odd in it's design, but perfect for our "roommate" needs. Cathy, Jane and I shared a room with two sets of bunk beds, me being mandated to sleep on the bottom bunk, below Cathy. And Jane getting a bunk bed all to herself. It worked out perfect, with plenty of room for our gear and a sitting room off the bunk room to sit and relax, when given a chance.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the girls playing "catch up" and the guys sitting outside smoking cigars.

We all called it an early night around 9PM. It had been a long, but exciting day. It was comforting to know we all made it safe and sound. I remember falling asleep thinking how this trip had finally arrived after months of planning and waiting, it was truly an amazing day!


Day 2- Keystone CO

Arising to a beautiful crisp day, I decided to take a run/hike around the existing area of the "funky" house. I found a fantastic view at the top of a hill over looking the Keystone Golf course, I remember thinking, what a wonderful way to start the day!

After breakfast, Jane, Cathy and I decided we wanted to our money's worth out of your rental bikes, so we passed on the seminar that was to kick off today and head out hwy 9, south off of hwy 70. We passed through Breckenridge, a small quaint town I had been to several year before, spending the a week skiing every day. It looked so different without snow!
Winding up into Pike National Forest at the 11,000 ft level and back down into a very small, old town by the name of Alma and then on to our final destination of Fairplay CO. When we first arrived in Fairplay, it looked hauntingly like a ghost town, there was no one around at first glance. As we dismounted off the bikes and started to walk up the sunny narrow street, we then started to notice people milling about. We discovered a little sandwich shop called Milloni's, and had lunch overlooking a picturesque creek nestled in the hills.

After lunch, we walked up to the end of the street where Fairplay had an exhibit of what the town looked like from days gone by, called The South Park City Museum. For a small fee, you could walk through, getting the feel of what it must have felt like in the mid 1800's.

Fairplay takes it's name from gold prospectors who settled in 1859. They had staked more claims than they could work, hence giving the small town the name "Fairplay", giving every man an equal chance at staking his claim.

We headed back to Keystone, hoping to catch some portion of the seminar we were most likely missing! In my 2 days here, I had heard from several locals about how frequent motorcycle accidents occurred when riders drift off the road or into on coming traffic from being distracted by the awesome scenery. As I rode back, I could completely understand why this could happen and made sure to pay close attention to what was in front of me.
I was getting more comfortable with the VFR, we came into some twisties and felt confident enough to pass Jane and take the turns more at my own pace. It was nice to break away for a brief moment!
We caught the last 45 minutes of Carla King's talk about her solo travels, she and I met a month prior after she consented to doing a review on my Style Saver Scarf. We instantly hit it off and I wanted to make a special effort attend her class and personally say "hi" to her afterwards. She greeted me with a friendly hug and we talked, catching up on her recent trip to the big island of Hawaii.

From there, Jane, Cathy and I rode down the road to catch the AMA's president Rob Dingman and his cocktail party he was hosting. I had heard that Rob Dingman had been receiving a lot of bad press about his "my way or the highway" method of doing things, since taking his presidential position two years ago. So, I was a little predisposed on his reputation and found his reticent speaking abilities less than entertaining. It was like listening to latex paint dry!
Cathy found one of her Free Spirit chapter sisters, Joy from Michigan sitting with two women from Dallas Texas. Much more entertaining than Rob! We munched on quesadillas and sipped margarita's talking shop and learning more about motorcycles and the diverse women who ride them, it was fun and I enjoyed the experience.

At 7 PM we rode back down the road, to the conference hall for the opening ceremony to listen to some of the most awe inspiring women motorcyclists to date. Ashley Fiolek, a teenage motocross rider who was recently signed professionally representing Honda. As she stood to the right of the podium "signing" as her mother translated from the podium. It was clear this talented, determined young women was not going to let being deaf stop her in any way from accomplishing her dreams of being one of the first female professional motocross racers.
Leslie Prevish, Harley Davidson's women's outreach manager was full of energy and it emulated across the auditorium infeciously. She was an entertaining speaker, who's main focus is to create a vibrant community of female riders. She talking about some of the pioneer women riders of the early 20th century, such as Vivian Bales and Adeline and her sister Augusta Van Buren.
Leslie Porterfield, a very attractive young woman with long golden hair, that holds 3 land speed records and a member of the Bonneville 200 mile club. She also owns High Five Cycles in Dallas Texas, where she resides.
Feeling a little "small" after listening to all the incredible stories, we went back to the "funky" house and promptly crashed in my lower bunk bed!

Cindi


To be continued.......