Kawasaki Z800

Having seen a couple of these in the flesh.. Its a nicely aggressive looking machine..
 
Saw these today in Kawa Chiang Mai.
Price confirmed at 375,000 baht which, to me, seems very reasonable.
Some-one wrote on another site that he's ridden one and wasn't impressed but didn't give reason(s) why! :roll:

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Apparently this bike does not come with ABS and it can not be fitted retrospectively.
 
Thats going to make the 1000 a very hard sell...

Nice aggressive look.. Had a good close look at one tail tidied etc and its got a modern (plasticky) transformer look thing going on.. With this and the ducati both around the 400k mark theres interesting options for riders going past the er6 and CB500..
 
They are probably very restricted as it's Thailand, and even more probably very easy to de-restrict.

Thanks god they come without ABS, one of the first things I did on my er6 was to disconnect it, it kicks in far too fast before the wheels lock. On dry roads difference in braking is day and night!

Also I think this will blow the ducati away performance wise, but that's just an assumption. Went on a trip with a guy on a monster and he said he pushed it hard but couldn't keep up with the er6 even though I'm not a good road rider. Even on a straight it wasn't faster (both around 200).

Edit: from what I read here my assumption is more than correct, 64hp for the ducati and 113hp for the z800 (not sure those are the exact models):
http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-reviews/ducati/2012-ducati-monster-795-ar125539.html
http://www.kawasaki.eu/Z800/Specifications
 
RE: poor handling Z-800...
I rode one too, in conjunction with a test ride of the new 1000 Versys. I would agree that the Z-800 was not very impressive. Power ok, but I did not feel at all comfortable leaning the 800 into a corner. very vague and unstable feeling, chassis never seemed to 'settle'. It was a short ride on a good twisty road that I know well' Back to back rides on the 800 and the Verysis 1000 showed the Verysis a clear winner in cornering aptitude, I liked the Verysis except for the super light pull on the 'assisted' clutch, Ieasily operated the clutch with 1 finger, but it was hard to judge the friction engagement point. Granted the Z-800 was a rental, with a set of pretty well pooched Pirellis on it.
 
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