Kawasaki Z1000 India review, test ride

There’s no doubting Kawasaki has thrown caution to the wind, switching to offensive mode while moving at lightning pace to attack the Indian market with all they’ve got. Realizing the importance of speed, the Japanese bike major has been on a launch spree all of last year, bringing us one new big bike after another, including their flagship ZX-14R; the fastest accelerating production motorcycle ever. Even that however didn’t convey just how seriously they are eyeing India, when compared with how urgently they have brought their cutting edge naked streetfighter, the latest version of the Z1000 here, weeks after the world first set eyes upon it last Nov at the EICMA show, Milan.

You could be forgiven for thinking the really distinctive looking Z1000 were well and truly alive and breathing, as it meanly glares out from the garage, a menacing looking predator with taut, muscular lines and an aerodynamic, edgy body. Macho, brutal and compact in the flesh, the Z1000 sports a couple of design cues that may remind Yamaha enthusiasts of the V-max. Its exceedingly low set, LED fired twin headlights are a highlight, making for amongst the very meanest snouts in the business, and also doing an effective job of turning night into day with a broad, bright throw of white light.

The Z1000 rider is greeted by a compact, informative, space-age digital instruments console, mounted on the motorcycle’s near flat, alloy handlebar. All the usual suspects are in place, with a tachometer, speedometer, trip counters and fuel-gauge in attendance. A neat touch is how the cascading bar rpm counter lights up, to easily allow riders to segregate higher revs, from closer to idle low engine speeds. You get a nice set of switches, reach adjustable front brake lever, supple, really comfy grips, and really top-drawer mirrors that work well on the go.

Then there’s a Kawasaki trademark, green strip that flows from the front, to neatly bisect the bikes mammoth tank, blending into the rider saddle, which is also smartly textured. Another exceptional design element can be seen in how the body coloured pillion seat blends in perfectly to resemble a tail-fairing. This is one motorcycle that isn’t ever going to call for an after-market ‘tail-tidy’ kit.