Specification
NGINE HANDLING
KAWASAKI Z650
(PCP£105 month, deposit £1090.27)
water-cooled, Bv, @ B000rpm trellis 6700rpm
old bike are immediately apparent. It's light, nimble and easy to ride, with both levers span-adjustable. At each junction, I can easily plant two feet reassuringly to the ground. With a 790mm seat height and a narrow seat and engine configuration it will prove popular with shorter riders (a taller seat option adds an extra 30mm).
The engine is incredibly user-friendly and will pull away with only a tickle of throttle and the use of the light clutch. Despite cleaning up the engine with a new exhaust and modifications to the throttle bodies and air-box duct, peak power remains the same at 67bhp @8000rpm. Torque is a fraction down at 47.2lb-ft@ 6700rpm from 48.Slb-ft@ 6500rpm, but it was scarcely noticeable over our two-day test ride. The 2650 can also be restricted for A2 licence holders.
I've always been impressed by the Kawasaki parallel twin. I still own a highly modified ER-6N race bike and know the engines are bulletproof and more than happy to live life near the red-line. On paper, 67bhp may not give you bragging rights down the local pub, but on the road it feels like more. There is a real punch in the low to mid-range; you can make real progress without dancing on the gear-lever and sending the revs to the red-line. I rode briskly, pushing the handling and performance limits on switchback coastal roads, and never hit the rev limiter once. Normally when riding hard on a middleweight you occasionally brush the rev limiter, but not on the 2650. Around town or on slow corners you can simply leave it in a higher gear than usual and chug around with ease. That said, if the mood should take you it will out-drag almost any car from the lights.
Should you want to stretch the cable, an indicated 120-125mph is
ABOVELEFT:No traction control puts you in chargeof the fun achievable. The engine even sounds good when used harder; there's a charismatic pop on the overrun during aggressive down changes and your ears receive a rewarding induction noise during large throttle openings. I adore the split personality of the engine: docile, easy-to-use, manageable, then wind her open and she'll deliver more fun than her on-paper power suggests. Without any rider aids like traction control it's all down to the rider; you are back in control of the fun.
At a quoted 186kg (dry), the 2650 is still light and thanks to a 160-section rear Dunlop it's easy to turn, despite having relatively narrow bars (that are close to the rider and easy to reach). Other bikes in this class have opted for a 180-section rear which does slow down the steering, but not Kawasaki. You can have fun on the Zed because it turns with minimal effort - you don't have to use your
body position or aggressive countersteering to get it on its side. Despite this agility, handling is stable and predictable, even at speed. The word tank-slap isn't in the Zed vocabulary.
There is only pre-load adjustment on the rear shock and the front 41mm forks are non-adjustable, but are more than adequate out of the box. Both ends are controlled, predictable, and I'd only want to change the pre-load after adding a pillion, luggage or both. From carving up city streets to even an occasional track day, the 650 can do it all, but I would want to change the rubber before heading out on the track.
The new Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 tyres are an improvement over the old Sportmax rubber, but they took forever to warm up, and weren't confidence-inspiring. I couldn't drive into a known corner with the peg-down levels oflean I was hoping for. However, in Kawasaki and Dunlop's defence, I was riding outside the bike's design parameter.
Like the suspension, the 300mm petal disc brakes are more than adequate for the job. Their feel is excellent, progressive and not too grabby. The rear has a nice feel to it
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too, and can be used with precision around town. Like the old model, a slipper clutch comes as standard, controlling any aggressive or mis-timed down changes.
COMFORT
Kawasaki provided us with two days of testing and even after long days in the saddle, there were very few complaints from anyone on test. At legal motorway speeds, 75mph or so in Spain, the engine is revving at around 6000rpm, with the redline at 10,000rpm. There are noticeable vibrations, but only just noticeable. Increase the speed and obviously the
established1962
is an upgrade over the old model, but it's not a giant leap, more of a nip and tuck. However, the changes they have made are significant, most notably the new colour clocks with Bluetooth connectivity.
The Z650 remains an attractive, easy-to-ride, entry-level bike, which is also fun to ride, has character and is an authentic member of the famous Zed family. However, the biggest problem for the Zed is that it's in a highly competitive market, going head-to-head against some excellent bikes like Yamaha's MT-07, Honda's CB650R and Suzuki's SV650.
will be interesting to see how it goes when we get all the bikes together for a group test.