Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

front housing the twin multireflector headlights and tiny air deflector on top. The rear end of the bike features the flip-up styled tail section housing new LED taillights and comes with both the passenger seat and the matching seat cowl cover. There is also a swingarm-mounted inner fender to further enhance the bike's aggressive look. The ZIOOO has a newly designed instrument cluster very similar to ones fitted to the recently released ZX-6R and ZX-6RR. One thing that the clusters on those bikes don't have is the LED fuel gauge, which is much easier to read than the stupid little light on those two bikes. The cluster has an LCD tachometer and speedometer and is then surrounded by the typical collection of idiot lights. Last but not least are the high-rise motocross-style handlebars that are as much a part of the bike's personality as anything. The Z1000 . . . N1111ook.... $2000 worth of plastic. The consumer wants the same power as his ZX-9R (or whatever), with 20 pounds less weight, and the same high-quality brakes and components that the high performance sportbikes get. Now that's the recipe for fun. For a few years Kawasaki has had the IlRI200 "retro" naked bike and the entry-level IR-7S, neither of which really fits the roll of a streetfighter. Then out of the blue comes the new Z1 000, a bike that at least on paper meets all of the requirements of an urban brawler and is touted as a direct descendant of the company's original I-I from 30 years ago (admittedly before my time). So let's take a look at the modern interpretation and see if they hit the nail on the head. horizontal location, primarily to improve the appearance of the motor (the same reason that the watercooled motor has fins on it, appearance). The camshaft profiles have been altered from the IX-9R and are now ground for more low-tomidrange torque, and power. Both camshafts are hollow and ride on five ball bearings each to reduce frictional losses. The cam chain gUide has been redesigned and is now lighter and helps to provide more accurate timing. One thing that the Z1 000 beat the IX-9R on was attaining fuel injection (further proof that the 9R will be updated next year). The system features four 38mm throttle bodies with sub-throttle valves (secondary butterflies) for smooth fuel delivery. The system is fed by an in-the-tank fuel pump and is controlled by the all-new 32-bit ignition/CPU. The system also features Kawasaki's K-TRIC (Kawasaki Throttle Responsive Ignition Control), which takes the information from the throttle-position sensor and feeds it to the CPU for ideal fuel and ignition mapping. The ignition coils are the stick type integrated with the spark plugs. One feature that really stands out on the Z1 000 is the four gold-heat- Z1000 TECH STUFF Kawasaki decided that the 899cc motor out of the IX-9R would be a great motor for the II 000, but one thing was missing, like say 54ccs of displacement. So they gave the allaluminum cylinder block a 2.2mm bore job and Nikosil plated the cylinders. The head is DOHC with four valves per cylinder and features reshaped combustion chambers to accommodate the larger bore. The intake ports were moved into a more 130 70 2OO:l ZIOOO DVNORUN.OO3 treated stainless steel mufflers, which feature Kawasaki's KLEEN (Kawasaki Low Exhaust Emissions) catalyzers in the junction between the midpipes and the four canisters. The chassis features a high-tensile steel diamond frame, which uses the engine as a stressed member for added rigidity. The steering head uses caged ball bearings for lighter steering. Up front are 41 mm inverted forks, which have provisions for preload and rebound adjustment. Out back is Kawasaki's UNI- TRAK rear suspension with a single piggybackstyle nitrogen gas-charged shock with provisions for preload and rebound adjustment. As for the brakes, the front features twin 300mm discs with four-piston calipers, while there is a single piston caliper squeezing the single disc out back. The Z1 000 rides on 17 -inch rims front and rear with a 120/701RI7 Bridgestone on the front and a 190/50ZR 17 in the rear. The rims' surfaces are polished, while the spokes have been painted red (in the case of our bike), which looks really cool. The Z1 000 veers away from the retro look and redefines what a naked bike should look like. The first thing that stands out is the bikini cowl up 2003 ZHIOO OYNORlIH,003 120 110 ~ 100 90 / ~ 8.80 ~ / 65 ~ 60 / 55 ( / ~ ~ 70 ~ I~ ........,.. V RIDING IMPRESSION The day that we received our Z1 000 test unit was rainy and crappy, not the kind of day that begs you to go for a spin. So it wasn't until a few days later that I finally had the chance to go for an eagerly anticipated ride. The very first thing that I did within a block of riding the I was throw the front wheel toward the sky in a big honking wheelie. That is, after all, what this bike is all about. One thing that was instantly noticeable on the Z1 000 was how light the bike feels or is it just a product of the really light feel from the steering? Either way, the combination of the fairly light bike (486 wet, full tank of gas) and the leverage from the wide bars makes the bike cut through urban congestion like a quarter horse cuts through cows. You have to pay attention from time to time because the ZIOOO doesn't have a steering damper, and the combination of the bike's power and light front end can make it lively up there. If you whack the throttle open while exiting a tight turn in first gear, it's really easy for the bike to wheelie off the shorter side radius of the rear tire (the slightly shorter gearing on the side pushes the RPMs up a /~ ' - ...... ~ '\ / V I'! "'80 50 40 ( ·30 I~ V 35 ( 20 3 4 5 6 7 8 RPM (111000) 9 10 11 12 30 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 RPM jll.1000) cue' e n e _ S • MAY 7, 2003 39

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