#Kawasaki

Each year around this time the MO staff gathers to contemplate the new breed of tasty two-wheelers coming our way. This is also when each editor begins positioning himself for a particular press launch. Last year, Preemptive Editor, Troy Siahaan made it abundantly clear that only an act of God would keep him from the R1 launch. This year he’s communicated the same thing about the new Suzuki SV650, a bike that, democratically, didn’t even make this list (Ouch. -TS).

With BMW’s announcement that it will be producing a small-displacement, single-cylinder motorcycle – the G310R – aimed at newer riders and available come the latter stages of 2016, the German marque has signaled to everyone that it’s aiming at world domination. And if you’re familiar with South Park or internet memes, I’m imagining the plan goes a little something like this:

I must be getting older. It wasn’t that long ago I remember telling myself that cruisers weren’t my thing. Heavy and slow with limited cornering clearance, 20-something me really didn’t get the appeal. “If I wanted to go slowly,” I would say to myself, “then I’d just drive my truck.” And for the record, yes, I do drive my truck like a grandma. Mainly because gas is expensive around these parts, but also because I’ve learned to mentally compartmentalize my different modes of transportation. Two wheels means I’m free to be a little aggressive and wick it up a little (within reason, of course), four wheels means I’m either driving my truck or my wife’s Acura. And while the latter can be fun when the revs climb, my better half isn’t exactly impressed when I show her when the V-TEC kicks in, yo!

File this one in the “They still make that?” file. We’ve been bombarded with so many cutting-edge sportbikes and go-anywhere, do-anything adventure-tourers lately that it’s easy to forget about the cruiser segment of the market. And even among the cruising set, the sub-liter middleweight category hasn’t been getting much love. The attention usually goes to the big-displacement crowd because, let’s face it, cruiser riders have an image to uphold.

Motorcycle shootouts are a relentless procession of putting the screws to a couple or numerous models selected for similarities in performance, style, purpose, price and, of course, engine displacement. Two of our most recent shootouts, the Gentleman’s Hooligan Comparo and Japanese Mega Standards Shootout, pit four excruciatingly similar models from Kawasaki and Suzuki against one another in two separate competitions. At 999cc and 1043cc the GSX-S1000 ABS and Kawasaki Z1000 ABS were the Goliaths, while the 749cc and 806cc displacements of the Suzuki GSX-S750 and Kawasaki Z800 ABS were the Davids. Is it possible for David to defeat Goliath? Which motorcycle is the true king of Israel?

Us MOrons enjoy the luxury of working from home offices, but imagine an alternate world where we actually had an office to go to everyday. Clearly, this scenario won’t be hard for many of you to imagine as it’s your reality. And if you’re also the type to take the long way home after clocking out, followed by a lengthier ride come the weekend, you’re the type of rider Kawasaki and Suzuki are reaching for with the Z800 ABS and GSX-S750 – unless you live in California. Neither bike is currently being offered for sale in the People’s Republic. Intended for the sportbike rider who may be more, ah, mature these days with things adults call, um, responsibilities, the two still offer middleweight performance without the supersport ergonomic commitment. They are also more affordable, at $7,999 for the Suzuki and $8,399 for the Kawi.

Our Australian correspondent, Jeff Ware, was blessed with the jackpot of motojournalist opportunities: testing an important new superbike-class contender ahead of its official world launch event. Ware, author of our recent 1980s Turbo Bike Shootout and the test of a Cagiva 500cc Grand Prix racer, is one of just five journalists to have spun laps of Oz’s Wakefield Park circuit on Kawasaki’s latest ZX-10R, the most exciting new regular-production sportbike of 2016. Ware says he expected improvements, but what he experienced was stunning. —Kevin Duke

Kawasaki released its second concept sketch depicting a possible future for its motorcycle supercharger technology. Revealed at EICMA, the Soul Charger concept reveals a naked roadster with the now familiar red supercharger behind the Inline-Four’s cylinder bank.

In Europe, the Kawasaki model we know as the ZX-14 is called the ZZR1400, and there are two versions: the standard and the high-spec Performance Sport model. At EICMA 2015, Kawasaki announced small, but significant changes to the line, though it is still unclear if or when these changes will be implemented on U.S. ZX-14s.

Borrowing the looks and design of its bigger brother, the J300 (which itself is a re-branded Kymco Downtown 300i), Kawasaki’s smaller-displacement version, the J125, basically keeps all the amenities of the 300, but replaces the engine with one less than half its displacement to better meet the needs of the European market. The engine is still mated to a CVT, for true twist-and-go rideability.

It has been a year now since Kawasaki strung us along with what seemed like endless teaser videos for its Ninja H2 and Ninja H2R superbikes. Let’s revisit what made them so popular. Boasting 998cc from its inline-Four, the H2 brethren represents Kawasaki’s flagship motorcycle. Let’s not forget the supercharger attached to both models, giving them a healthy amount of torque without the need for an intercooler. The trellis frame, Brembo M50 brakes, and traction control, among other things, helped the H2 line handle about as well as it accelerated.

Almost two years to the month, we took our first ride aboard Kawasaki’s new-gen Z1000 ABS ( 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 ABS – First Ride). We were initially impressed, scoring the Z1K a 93% in its single-bike review. Then came our 2014 Streetfighter Shootouts ( 2014 Super Naked Street Brawl, 2014 Super Streetfighter Smackdown) where the Z rounded out the bottom. In all fairness, the Z1K was matched against the most exotic of European nakeds boasting more performance and costlier prices. Even then the Z1K nearly stole third-place podium finishes from the Ducati Monster 1200S.

Recently, we had the chance to sample the 2016 Kawasaki Z800 ABS at its U.S. introduction in Palm Springs, California. I approached the bike from a unique perspective, as I had already ridden it in Europe, where it was introduced in 2013. I came back impressed with the bike during my short track stint with it, but had no idea how it behaved on the street. I figured I wouldn’t get a chance to find out, as this was one of the many bikes available in other markets that I’d never get to sample on home soil. Luckily for me, I was wrong (a feeling I’m more than used to … sigh). Kawasaki has seen growth in the American market for mid-displacement standards, and figured the time was right to bring the Z800 here. So quick were Team Green to bring the baby Zed to the States, that it didn’t even bother to tweak it for CARB compliance in the Golden State: For $8,400 Kawasaki will give you a brand new 2016 Z800 ABS and a dollar back in change. Unless you live in California, in which case you’re out of luck.

Its 2:23 am and I am lying in bed wide awake. I have my hotel window open and I am listening to the rain coming down. Just two weeks earlier if you’d  told me I was going to be in a tiny hotel room in Alcaniz, Spain, I would have laughed. But that’s where I am, and I am filled with so many different emotions. Different emotions because I am here as a guest to ride World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea’s Kawasaki at one of my favorite tracks, Aragon.

I have a confession to make: I rode the Kawasaki Z800 in 2013, long before its U.S. introduction in Palm Springs, California this week. It was on a test track in Southern Italy during a new tire introduction, and despite the fact the track is not the Z800’s element – Kawasaki bills the baby Z as a streetfighter ideally suited for commuting or weekend blasts in the canyons – I came back pleasantly surprised. I remember the spread of power was impressive, the completely analog transmission shifted with buttery-smooth precision, the brakes never faded and the chassis was fluid and responsive. I wanted one but left Italy disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on a Z800 stateside.