[Doc_nikhil]

Ok, if you were one among the 39,094 people who read my post way back in 2016 about how I TD-ed a bunch of motorcycles but never heard from me again, here is the part two and part three of that saga. For the rest of you first-time viewers of my writing, expecting to read a fantastic story woven deftly with lots of light hearted fun, let me tell right off the start that I have no such talent in me. But I assure you, I will try not to bore you. Also, for the TL;DR guys, I’ll leave a gist at the bottom.

Where shall we start? How I miserably failed to convince my folks to let me get a big capacity motorcycle? How I literally fell at their feet to at least let me get a mid-segment bike? Or how I ended up with the bike of my dreams this day?

Prologue:
Let’s rewind 2 years back in time. Just finished with the exams for life. Successfully too, I might add! Full of hope and expectation to the future. This josh led me to think I could do the invincible; Get myself a big bike without any hiccups or setbacks. Did the TDs as mentioned earlier (in case anyone wants a recap, you can check it here – https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...big-bikes.html (Cure for insomnia: My story of meets, helmets & affordable big bikes) ). But reality, as always was a polar opposite experience. Sat down my folks and started talking about my plans of getting the Z800. The more I spoke, the more they looked at me like how I watched interstellar after three beers.

Confused was too mild a word, baffled would be more like it. There was this touch of “where is he getting these ideas from” and that general feeling of “what’s he talking about / does he even hear himself / Ok, I’m sleepy let’s get out of this” from them. My darling wife and my dear mom, ever on my side like true comrades, sat with a poker face till I stopped speaking. I then waited for my dad to say the resounding “Yes son, if that’s what you want, go for it”. He went for a nice crisp “No” and just left the room.

A small idea about my dad for most of you guys who haven’t met him, He is like our PM. No, he doesn’t do a lot of foreign tours, but when he says something, whether we like it or not, we do as he says. There is no bargaining with him, its either “Yes” or “No”. and we don’t cross the line drawn by him. What I thought would be smooth sailing for me, turned out to be the middle stump wicket in the opening ball. The Bike plan was out. I just curled up and cried myself to sleep that day. And days passed.

Let’s go forward a year down the line, I started the topic again with the person who gives the least resistance to whatever I say; my mom. She was clear, Dad wouldn’t want me to spend that kind of money on something I hardly get time to use. Which was true. I was a Junior Consultant in the busiest department (cardiology) in one of the busiest hospitals in Tamil Nadu. There were days when I was on duty for 36hrs straight. I would get back home, sleep for 6 hours and get back to another 12hr duty again. I used to lose track of days. Weekends would start on Sunday morning and before I knew it, it was Monday already. How could I find time to ride a motorcycle in this schedule? So, I told her, I’d get a small motorcycle first, and try to see if I can ride it and do justice to the biker in me. If the biking emotion is strong even after I finish my EMIs and If I could ride some decent kilometres on the bike, I should be allowed for a bigger motorcycle. The message was passed on to my dad and he was sure I would fold by the end of EMIs and lose interest in biking, so it was a “Yes”. Booked a MY2017 Duke 390 the very next day. Got it by August 2017. At last getting to something other than my sob story. The Bike. Named it Citrus.

The bike earmarked for me once the showroom got their new bikes.



The bike taken out for a PDI.



Citrus, in all its bubble wrap and shrink tape.



Of course, my four year old son had to see for himself if I had booked the correct motorcycle..



..and, the last of signatures before delivery.



Citrus – the orange madness:
I have ridden the old gen duke 390 and that was like sitting on a temperamental horse. It was dull at low revs and once the revs increase, suddenly you are off the line so fast that you leave your own shadow behind. Also, the vibes, man would they tire you out! The next generation one came along and the KTM guys, in a breath of fresh, honest, no BS air, really did raise the bar! TFT display, Bluetooth connectivity, USD 43mm forks, slipper clutch, lovely all LED headlamps and what not. This time around the vibrations and the general hot bloodedness was tamed down to an extent. Mind you, if you still wound up the throttle too quickly, you had a good chance of flipping the bike over. The power was still there, but it wasn’t like an on/off switch anymore. Did the test drive, booked the bike, and got it earlier than expected. There were no technical modifications to it, other than removing the saree guard, rear tyre hugger and the handlebar knuckle guards (made of plastic, they broke the first week when I tried adjusting by turning them a bit too much).


Visually, I hated the white tail bits so got them completely blacked out with 3M gloss black wrap. And the headlamp shroud also got some wrap on it to reduce the overall orange overload. And now I loved the way it looked. Just the right amount of crazy orange mixed with black bits to sober it a bit. It received a lot of appreciation and some actually told the duke should have come from the factory the way it looked after the wrap. That made my day, month and the year for me!








I would use it after 12AM, when the whole city and my family had slept off. The baby scalpel, myself and the empty roads with the cool wind howling around my helmet made me feel that the struggle to work, earn the salary and pay the EMI was worth it. I did regular runs 40km almost three times a week. And contrary to the popular notion that biking in rain is fun, for me, it would be physically painful to see that clean lines and the sticky Metz getting dirty with slush, so if it rained, I wouldn’t take it out. If it was crowded like a festival weekend, I wouldn’t take it out. But as it is with all material things and relationships in life, we start getting used to seeing something with us, that we so badly wanted at one point of time. I got comfortable with it. Took it for granted even.







And then slowly the riding ebbed and citrus was reserved for group rides and such. Another change that happened was I quit my job at the city and moved to my town, 40km from Coimbatore. Here, we had three dogs, and they would go crazy and start howling if I start the bike, so the night rides completely stopped. But the good part is, the roads in and out of my town are wonderfully laid, smooth and twisty. It also helped that the hill station Valparai was just 30km from my home. So, I started doing morning rides whenever I could get up early. Most of you who quit their corporate jobs to be their own bosses would understand the next bit. Work started getting hectic. We also had a new member in the family, my second son. You see where this is going right? The morning rides also completely dried up. I would take citrus out for an occasional blast down the back roads in the late afternoons (my theory was that the hot afternoon sun will keep jaywalkers and jobless people indoors and also, the metz would grip like a leech on the hot tarmac). Used up all my free time to shuffle between riding and driving for fun. Also, we did do a couple of Valparai climbs on those lovely ghats. The Duke outshines most of the <500cc bikes here. Its so damn nimble and flickable. I’d think I’m going in too hot into a corner but those beautiful brakes on the lightweight machine would somehow make me feel like I was braking early. Loved every metre I covered on the duke.










I also had an opportunity to do a track day at Kari under KTM track days program in July of 2018 and boy was it an eyeopener. We had Mr. Emmanuel Jebaraj, a racer on national circuit with more than 40 wins under his belt, teaching us the basic aspects and baby steps of track riding. He divided us into groups; 1 – Us, the first timers on track, with equal theory classes and track time following each class demonstrating what we were being taught about and 2 – the guys who had been on track before (they had more track time, and slightly advanced teaching on late braking, changing the corner lines based on the surrounding traffic and such). I did learn a lot that day and it was definitely something I wanted to do again. The track day was proper VFM, with just 800/- for registration and another 500/- for racing leathers rental (a fresh KTM leather suit, new, cos my size was XXL and there weren’t many of that size on the track that year) inclusive of lunch and basic tech support. We were given GPS trackers too, but we never go to check out our lap times.




The track day taught me one thing, I needed to shed a lot of weight. Every braking manoeuvre would result in longer braking distances due to my weight and cornering was also taking a hit. So, I resolved myself to slim down, get myself a track suit and the come back again. The track day was done when the duke had around 2500km under its tyres. And the track being clockwise with right hand corners outnumbering the left turns, the right side of the rear tyre was shot.





The front tyre was minimally affected by the track, with more even wear out pattern, it was the rear that took the brunt of the acceleration out of the corner with my heavy frame compounding the problem. So, after a few more afternoon rides which panned over a year, it was time to change the rear tyre. A customary burnout done, and I got a new Metz on the rear rim.





I guess my riding luck ran out and for the next four months I could log not more than 100km on citrus. It was lying unused, except for the weekly general maintenance and monthly wash, it was a quiet couple of months for the bike, under its covers. It was about this time my dad would keep asking now and then, why am I not using the bike. And I was not ready to accept that his prediction has come true, I was no longer finding time to ride it. So, nearing the end of my prologue and the story of my citrus, let me recount the best and worst bits during ownership.


Best bits:
- The bloody brilliant engine and the chassis on the duke, one word for it, excellent! Every corner made me smile and every long straight suddenly seemed too short. All I had to do was, plan my line, brake into the corner, dip in and power out. If I was in first gear coming out of the slow corner, and sometimes in second gear, the front wheel would do some airtime before kissing the ground again. All this without any effort or clutch popping. Traffic starts would be hilarious, with the bike usually flying out of the crowd without any pressure and staying ahead till the next stop. It made you understand what the motorcycle reviewers were gushing on about when they were uttered words like “razor sharp handling”, “flickability” and “fun to ride”. Almost like a revelation. Like how you have been listening to Linkin Park all along but suddenly you turn 30 and their lyrics make so much more sense? Yeah same to same feel, bro. The refinement too, at cruising speeds were quite good, when compared to the older gen. And I did not miss the tuk-tuk sound of the previous model too. I preferred this one’s noise compared to that tuk-tuk sound.

- The TFT screen with its Bluetooth function, gave me a lot of info on the go. I had paired my Sena with the phone and all I had to do was use the answer button on the left-hand side of the handlebar. With the caller ID and info being displayed on the screen, I did not have to worry about missed calls and spam calls anymore. The display is adequately bright and legible even in direct sunlight and with automatic day-night feature built in, the night rides were easy on the eyes too. You could set up two of your favorite info lists into the quick access keys and pull them up anytime of the ride you want to. The screen also displayed my music info, but this feature was nearly useless because I don’t play music much while I ride. And even if I played the music, I would hardly hear anything with my ear plugs and the wind noise.



- The brakes, oh my god, were they good! Bybre. Most of us know it’s the abbreviation adapted for brakes BY BREmbo and used mainly for local assembly and such. They were fantastic and fade free. All that power means nothing if you can’t stop. The 320mm single disc up front with radially mounted calipers did a wonderful job in reining in all the madness when needed and they did it without any fuss! The 230mm rear disc really never felt like it was needed but it was reassuring that it has its own ABS channel too. Be it dry or wet, no matter however bumpy the road is, as long as you were not being too stupid with the throttle, you could confidently stop exactly at the spot where you wanted to. Combined with the metzelers M5 H shod on both ends and the mosquito rivalling weight of the bike itself, there was never a single time where I wished for better brakes. You could plan a specific dot on the road trajectory to stop and the rest is almost telepathic. The brake modulation is quite easy too, with progressive braking made easier rather than the on/off braking seen in a few bikes. Also credits to the dual channel ABS, it worked silently but efficiently in the background during panic braking, without breaking sweat, making sure you don’t have to wear the brown pants.



- Adjustable levers, both clutch and the brake lever have adjustability, 5 levels at that. You could get your reach tailored to your fingers’ length, even if you were as big as an ape (I was) or as small as a pixie. I never realised the need to have adjustable levers till I set mine to my comfort levels. It makes a huge difference during those spirited rides where the fingers on both hands are hyperactive (dirty minded fellows, I hear your mind voice, totally), reduces the overall stress and makes it more comfortable.

- Slipper Clutch: it makes its presence felt during those aggressive downshifts, I’d say its very useful and prevents those deadly rear wheel hops. I’ve been unfortunate enough to experience it on a Benelli 899 and also fortunate enough to have not crashed, and let me tell you, it is damn scary! The Duke’s gearbox, though tightly wound, it is very forgiving for a noob rider. You wouldn’t end up breaking it, thanks to the slipper clutch. Brownie points to KTM for offering this tech even at a beginner level naked sport motorcycle.

- Ride-by-wire (RBW) throttle. I once heard someone say how they like things being properly analog, but I personally felt, on this bike, the RBW throttle feels so much smoother than the first gen duke. No snatchiness and its all smooth revving up. Fuelling feels linear too, but on the flip side I also feel it is one of the main reasons the explosive performance on the higher revs is lost. I could be really wrong, I don’t know, I’m just guessing.


- The bike revels in its ability to make even the grumpy cat on the memes page grin like its on Prozac. There was never a dull moment on the duke, it was either happy times or manically grinning / WOT times. Loved every minute of it while riding! Very, very few bikes in that price range have that character. And it oozes tons of it, along every cut, crease, nut and bolt holding it together. Not a lot of things have it these days.



Not-so-good bits:
- There was very little to not like on the baby duke. But like everything, it did have a few shortcomings. The heat was one. Though it was much better managed compared to the older gen one, it still has long strides to go before we can say it’s good at it. Also, the radiator fan would kick in at every given moment, and whine loudly like a badly behaved kid, so much so that It would drown out the exhaust. I believe the 2018 models have a sort of metal plate on the chassis near the leg and improvements have been made on the radiator fan too, maybe that has improved the heat management now, newer model owners need to clarify that part.

- Another thing was the vibes. Though it was definitely far better from the previous gen model, this one still had vibes, especially on the handlebar grips. It wasn’t too prominent in lower revs but beyond 7k rpm, it would start its buzz. This was a bit problematic on long highway rides, where holding a steady highway speed at 110-120kmph meant you would get down at tea/pee breaks with your fingers and toes buzzing like a bee’s nest. This was with proper riding gloves and boots. I can’t imagine how the buzz would be if we were riding without gloves. Heavier bar ends may have solved the problem but I never got around addressing it, the usage being so less.

- The headlamps. I know, it looks all great and really futuristic, heck it was one of the things I fell in love with when I got it. But, it’s not worth its salt once the sun dips below the horizon. It could be that the other road users opposite to us have headlamps too bright that it makes this one look bad. Or maybe it’s the poorly marked roads and camouflaged potholes and speed bumps in our infrastructure that’s giving it the impression. Whatever it is, the illumination is strictly average. Unless you are on well paved, divided roads, with proper reflective lane markings and a light barrier for the opposite lane, you’d wish you had daylight to help you out.



Frankly I am just nit-picking with the Duke, it was and I dare say, it still is one of the best VFM motorcycles you can buy in India right now. It packs so much punch with superior hardware to back it up. It still boggles me that you can access so much stuff reserved for the more expensive bikes at such a price point. Then why did I give it up? Simply put, it wasn’t my dream set of wheels. Yes, I did take care of it like it was my blood relative, but I never had the urge to park it in my living room just so that I could have my coffee, meals and everything in between just to drool at it. That’s how the human mind works, eh? You have something good, but you want something better.


Roughly at this point of time, I was casually browsing the Tbhp classifieds. I do that. A lot. Just to see the lovely exotics on sale. That’s when a specific ad piqued my interest.

[Doc_nikhil]

Dreams do come true – part 3 of my write up:
This specific ad was about a well kept Z1000. It was a 2014 model, with dual akrapovic megaphone slipons and had done around 9000km pretty much within Mumbai. The ad pics seemed good, and the Z1000 being the dream bike I always wanted to buy ever since I test rode one in 2016, I was following it. Kawasaki India had stopped accepting bookings for the Z1000 way back in early 2019 itself, and the only way I could get a Z1000 for myself was the preowned route. Lateral upgrade as our Bhpians say. The initial price quoted was around 10L. and as the months wore on, the ad stayed there. I wondered if it did not have any takers. Later I learnt that the owner did have some offers but nothing went through or in his words “did not feel right about the sale to the potential buyer”. Come November 2019, on rather depressing night with lot of ER calls, a banging migraine and lost sleep, I revisited the classifieds just like that at 3:00AM. Something had changed. The price was now around 9L for the same Z1000. I usually tend to float off into visions of me riding the Z, the inline 4 howling away, the peripheral lines becoming a blur and all. That night, I had a different thought. Of me selling off my Duke and getting this. Surely my folks would resist, surely the banks would laugh at my loan request, surely my EMIs would go through the roof and my income/expenses ratio would tilt into a downward spiral. But what if it all worked out?


Clutching to that sliver of hope, I slept fitfully till daybreak. Next day, first things first. Called the bank. Surprisingly, they did not laugh at my request for huge loan. They sent a guy over. After 10 minutes of doing some calculations, he said it could be done. So, that was the main speed bump cleared. It would mean I was at their mercy for the next 5 years, but the EMI wasn’t keep-me-awake-at-night scary. And if I spent/saved wisely, I could actually manage to foreclose it. The next main issue was to convince my dad on why I’m going to apply for a loan to get a bigger, more expensive bike, when I’ve miserably failed on his previous challenge. Meanwhile, I had put in a message on WhatsApp to Kartik, the owner of the Z. He was genuine guy and a Tbhpian himself, goes by the handle Fireblader85. I stuck a good rapport with him immediately. After a few back and forth messages, he finally made a really sweet deal which made my heart skip a beat because, it really put the Z into my easy reach. I asked him time till next day so that I can talk with my father and see what he says, to which Kartik agreed. I Already had spoken to my wife and mom that morning and they were like if I can convince my dad, then I can go ahead. You know how they say, when you want something so bad, the universe does a swell move and lets you have it? Yeah. Long story short, if I could manage my expenses, and not look for extra help for my EMIs, my dad was like, why not? Go ahead. This was the moment I had been dreaming for. Everything aligned so perfectly that it felt too good to be true. It was 2AM, but, for me it was like the sun had risen early and I was covered in its warm glow. I felt inexplicably happy, like I had peaked a mental mount Everest. I was so over the top and hyperexcited about the turn of events, that my dad thought I’d gone crazy. Though it was middle of the night, I just messaged Kartik about the green light, and surprisingly he was awake too. Both of us were happy that we could now start discussing about the logistics and the finer details.


The bike was in Mumbai, I was in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. I had this crazy thought of riding it back all the way, but common sense prevailed. Sudden step up in power, unfamiliar roads and territory, post monsoon period and no backup for 1400 odd km made me decide we would truck the bike. Also, my wife would leave me for good if I ever rode that distance alone. Spoke to Kartik and he said he knows a guy who does bike transports regularly to MMRT and Kari motor speedway. Next up, paid the advance and the Tbhp classified ad disappeared off the list. Ah, that feel when you have finalized your dream, it is really something! Got the bank formalities done, tickets were booked to and fro Mumbai for the final look at the bike before I signed the cheque off. I got to tell you guys, getting a good bike is nice and all, but when the owner is as nice and friendly as Kartik, it makes you feel better about the whole thing. He was open about all the niggles and flaws it had, he was very receptive to my suggestions and he was adamant I see the bike before he does any corrections to it. However small, even something like fitting a rubber beading around the rear number plate light, it would be done only after I see the bike in “as it is” condition. After a very slow week, the day of departure to Mumbai came. My folks now were completely convinced I was mad, because, here I was, packing my riding jackets, gloves, pants and what not but hadn’t packed my toothbrush. The Helmet needs a special mention because Kartik said the airlines allow us to hand carry it, but my other friends were sure they wouldn’t allow it. Called the customer care line, and the guy confirmed that we cannot hand carry them and they need to be checked in. I got this stupidly big looking bag, stuffed it with all the rags and bubble wrap I could find and then with my helmet cocooned inside like a baby inside its plastic womb, I was finally good to go. Reached Mumbai late in the night, checked in and couldn’t sleep a bit, damn was I excited!


The next day morning, Kartik was there waiting at the lobby. A quick breakfast later we headed to have a look at the bike. It was inside his friend’s garage. Most of the Mumbai guys would have known Zubin from Zubinn design, I was at his place to lay eyes on the Z for the first time. He rolled out the bike, and Kartik pointed out all the minor issues (tail lamp vibrates a bit, a small scratch here and such) and finally I was time to start her up. I thumbed the starter and the bike woke up with a growl and a rumble. Man, the Z1000 even with the stock exhausts sounded great, but the Akra slipons made it even better. If the stock exhaust was like standard whiskey, the Akras on this were like single malt. Helmet and stuff on, I took her out for a test ride. The moment I started rolling, the bike felt tight and nice, not like a 5-year-old bike but more like it was fresh off the assembly line. Brakes were good and the clutch was nice and crisp, no vagueness or anything. After a half hour test ride around Mumbai with both open roads and traffic for experience, the deal was sealed. Went back and immediately finished off the rest of the payment. Now, the bike was properly mine! Named her Absynthe.




Kartik gave the bike a thorough go-over with Zubin. We got the tyres changed as the older ones had a few small cracks on them due to age, even though the tread was good for another 5k km. Changed them to Metzelers sportec M7 RR ones. After the swap, the difference over the older and newer rubber was easily felt.






On day 2 in Mumbai, the main work left over was getting the chassis prints for the NOC and name/address transfer. The problem is that the chassis number is printed on the front neck, beneath a myriad of wire looms. Screwed down too, for a good measure. At the number was so finely printed that we could not manage to get one decent print out of it. Finally did some adjustments and got that behind us. At 5pm the truck arrived. Being just a single bike for transport, a modified bolero pickup was sent, and I should say, it was quite good. Tethered down with four anchoring points and fully covered, I was fully satisfied with the transport. Once the shutter went down, I bid my goodbyes to all the new friends I’d made over the last 2 days and got on the flight back home.






A special mention for Mr. Zubin, his garage might be small but the variety of big bikes that came to him for his magic touch, my god, too many to count. Multiple Multistradas, two Honda CBR fireblades, Triumph, Suzuki, Kawasaki, what not. Even Shubhabrata Marmar of team Powerdrift (big fan of his writing and his sarcasm) trusts Zu for his bike mods. The color scheme you see on his beloved Multistrada, Feroci, was designed inhouse by Zubin. And another bike that was then currently being worked on was a BMW S1000RR. It was being drag prepped for the Aamby valley run, with an extended swingarm, slicks, race clutch and the works. It was very interesting to see Zubin toggle between various bikes, juggling the work around, and not skip a beat in maintaining a conversation with all those around him. He is very modest and looks very silent but he is quite the genius. He doesn’t say no to any requests or mods, however crazy / stupid / outlandish they may be, as long as they don’t hamper the safety. His work is very meticulous. You can just blindly trust him to do the best thing for the most VFM price. And his garage is not just a place of work. I met and made so many new friends there, College kids would just drop in for a chat, riders of all sorts and various backgrounds would come to him for a quick hi and hello. I met an offshore professional diver working for an oil corp, a film producer who was also a diet / fitness guru and also a very eccentric preacher who rides a CBR fireblade as a daily. Zubin and his team of young mechanics are really a hidden gem for Mumbai bike owners. If you know him, you already know what I’m on about. An all-round great guy, I keep telling him that I need a clone of him in Coimbatore, because, he has set the bar so high on how a bike doctor should be! I’m not much for stickers on my vehicles. But, this time, I requested him for his garage’s sticker, and I am happy that my Z gets to flaunt it on its wings!



The Bike doctor Zu and Kartik.


Made a bunch of new friends that day. Lots more than just the guys in the picture.



The plan was to get the bike dropped off at Chennai for a detailing and PPF session and then onward to Coimbatore. I understand it adds to the cost of transport, but if it was any other bike, I wouldn’t have done so much. Being my dream come true event, I made sure it received the best of care and TLC. The detailing in Chennai was planned at OCD (obsessive compulsive detailers) run by a good friend, Mr. Niranjan. You guys need to check out their insta page (handle: ocdaboutcars) to see the exemplary quality of work they do. Niranjan was initially doubtful of the seamless finish of PPF given the numerous creases and folds on the body panels, but I trusted him and boy did he deliver.










Some of our friends were saying it was the joke of the year that I would spend so much on detailing the bike as I don’t ride it at all, but hey, I’d rather have a clean bike than a dirty one, be it a daily driver or not. We went to Chennai once the work was over and got the bike to Coimbatore. Now, it was very close to home. It was raining on the day it reached Coimbatore, so I left it at another Tbhpian (Quicksilver)’s place. Quicksilver is a guy who has grown very close to me and I consider him to be my elder brother so I was happy it was in safe hands. The next day, I planned on riding it the last 40km to my home town, Pollachi. Surprise of surprises, my dear wife said she would accompany me on the pillion for the home coming. What else could I have asked for. Fortunately I had a spare set of riding gear with me, So after both of us gearing up, surrounded by multiple stares from the onlookers (A fully geared up rider is enough for people here to think they are seeing an alien, but two fully geared beings on a big bike, they would have been sure it was an alien spotting), we reached home. The MY dream bike was finally home!

[Doc_nikhil]

The Absynthe Experience:
Shifting to a 1043cc inline four from a 390cc single cylinder was scary, to say the least. There were times after the deal was finalized, when I would think if I was too trigger happy about the buying decision. But once I started riding the bike, it slowly began to feel comfortable and at home. Yes, I needed to exercise some caution and a lot of restraint while opening the throttle. This bike could become a freaking unicycle in third with same ease the duke did in first. I wasn’t the one for outright drags anyway so my riding pattern was always mellow. If there was traffic, I just cruise lazily in third or fourth. It makes it easier to react / predict the traffic flow and also helps to avoid unnecessary attention. I have now ridden around 3500km on it and have adjusted my riding style for a smoother on-road experience. Let me briefly tell you guys about the different aspects on this beautiful brute.

- Model: 2014 Z1000 ABS (Used)
- KM done before delivery: 9300km.
- Mods / Accessories already fitted: R&G frame sliders, R&G radiator guard, Puig windscreen, Akrapovic slipons (stock exhaust tips were given in a properly sealed box).
- Small issues rectified by Kartik before delivery: the front fork end tips had some paint loss which was repainted black. The rear right indicator was broken and feviquik-ed back by some unknown person long back, it was changed to a new unit before delivery. Tyres changed to new ones. All fluids checked and replaced as needed. Mirrors adjusted to my riding posture and line of sight.
- Issues faced after delivery: None immediately. After 1000km of riding, the front fork seal was leaky and it was replaced at Kawasaki Coimbatore. Fidgety ignition lock. Rear brake pad fell off mysteriously after 2000km of riding, but took this oppurtunity to replace all the pads with EBC.
- Riding gear (these were already being used since my duke days):
o Bell Qualifier helmet
o Rynox riding Jacket / riding pants.
o For city riding - Joe rocket riding jacket / riding denim pants I got off revzilla (it is better than regular denim in abrasive resistance and does have impact absorbent pads along the hips and knees).
o Sidi full length riding boots / BBG half-length riding boots
o TBG riding gloves / Alpinestars riding gloves (full gauntlet, both of them)
o 3M memory foam ear plugs (disposable). I got to tell you the difference they make, its drastic. And do not worry about losing out on hearing, its like driving with your windows rolled up, you still get to hear all the necessary sounds, while cutting out on wind noise.


The looks:
I mean, just look at it. You either love it or you hate it. But one thing, we got to admit the Z1000 has a very powerful image. Even when it is colored grey, with its green highlights, it looks like it is ready to bite your head off if you mess with it. It wouldn’t be out of place in the wild Amazonian forests but also looks sexy enough to be parked up a posh hotel’s lobby. When looked at from the front, the Quad LED projectors with the mean predator-ish cowl is quite intimidating. It would be quite a jump, looking at it in the rear view mirror, accompanied by the animalistic exhaust howl, blasting past you moments later. The designers have even somehow managed to make the quad projectors look like a predator’s slit eyes when seen at a certain angle.







The whole bike silhouette looks likes a big cat crouched on its front paws ready to pounce. And why wouldn’t it? The Japanese guys adapted and really owned the Sugomi design philosophy. Sugomi means the embodiment or spirit of a predator on a hunt and ready to strike its prey. And by the looks of it, seems like this was the brief given to the designers when they decided to reinvent the Z1000’s image in 2014. I can almost imagine them saying “Sore wa chōshoku no tame ni hoka no ikimono no tamashī o taberu yō ni, sore o kuso jaaku ni misetekudasai!”. Yes, I’m fluent in Japanese, no, google translate had nothing to do with it. What I’m saying is, there was nothing in the market that looked like it, heck even now, I can say that holds true somewhat. So much so that a certain Italian manufacturer, with name starting with ‘D’ and ending with ‘ucati’ seems to be inspired by it for its naked street fighter version of the V4.

just check out that sillouette and see predator stance for yourself!


The whole in-your-face design is carried on to the beautifully sculpted 17L fuel tank which looks like the cobra’s flared hood when see from the rider’s view.




The rider seat is low, etched with the Z logo into the upholstery, and the tail is kept tidy and small, much like a Doberman’s rear. When viewed from the rear, the tail lamp looks similar to the ZX10R and the whole tail section looks like a starter template for the mighty H2’s rear look. Though it might not have the flair and sexiness of a single sided swingarm, the lower rear section holds its own with the massive 190 section tyre and the dual exhausts completing the no nonsense look.



Even something as mundane as the rearview mirror stalks have been crafted with such quality and they fit the butch looks of the bike. Hey, you can’t have the build of a bull and have horns of a baby goat, right? The rearview mirrors are encased in a wind proof frame, a simple but very much appreciated feature, though adjusting it is a bit of a struggle between the thumbs and the index finger. But once adjusted to your riding position, they do not budge even the slightest bit.




The details put into the finish of this bike are impressive, from the clear brake fluid reservoir to the “Z” motif design seat cover, almost nothing has been overlooked. The radiator shroud tapers down to the belly pan and adds character to the side profile. The hand and foot levers are all powder coated black. Raised Kawasaki and Z1000 logos sit neatly above the high quality metallic paint (with beautiful metallic flakes visible in direct sunlight), green rim tape adds finish to the black wheels, and the brake calipers finished in dull gold matching the front beefy looking forks are etched with Kawasaki lettering

Tank paint with metallic flakes.


Butch looking front end.


the golden finish Brake calipers.


This thing is such an attention magnet. I remember once I had stopped for a breakfast stop at a popular vegetarian restaurant chain in TN and even before I could remove my riding gear, there was a crowd of onlookers around the bike. Even in traffic lights, I’ve re-calibrated my brain to accept random selfie requests (of the onlookers and the bike, not me), and I try to answer the questions that are lobbed at me with patience. I totally understand this because, two years ago, I was on the onlookers’ side. For me, the looks were basically the biggest attraction. It stirs inside me such emotions that even now, I wake up and pinch myself, thanking god that I have this beast in the garage. Off late, I feel the Kawasaki guys have diluted the Sugomi looks for more conservative styling. Look at the Z1000 and the Z800, and you definitely know the styling team has changed for the Z900 and later models. Let me put it this way. If the 2014 Sugomi models were the predators, then the newer models look like the same predator but like it looked at its prey and suddenly realized it was vegan.




The Engine / gearbox / chassis:
As you turn the key on, the instrument console makes a ceremonial light show while the fuel pump primes in the background. Then, it patiently waits for you to thumb the starter. Do that, and you are greeted with an angry bark that settles into an idling burble, characteristic of an inline four engine. This specific one, was with the slipons sans the DB killers, so the aural assault is amplified quite a bit. More than once have I startled the bystanders at the fuel pump while starting her up after refuelling. The DB killers are with me, and I am planning on getting them in sometime this week. I just want to see how much of a difference it makes. I usually let the bike idle for a bit if it’s a cold start while I gear up. Slot her into first and there is a nice firm thump from the gearbox. The clutch action, despite being an unassisted cable driven one, is pretty linear and smooth. It is a bit firm but that’s expected in a bike of this size. It is easy to manipulate in traffic, but frankly with so much torque available at such low revs, I hardly need to juggle the clutch even in slow moving traffic. Once we start rolling, the weight of the bike just disappears, it feels as nimble as the duke above speeds of 20kmph. Anything below that, and if you need to make a U turn, you definitely feel the heft of it.






The engine is a gem, the throttle response for the 2014 model was enhanced via a tweaked EFi/ECU and revised intake funnels, while extra mid-range grunt was gained with no top end loss through new cams and oval header link pipes. Ok, I admit, I stole that off a motorcycle website, but in real world what it means is that it has good low end and mid-range pull which makes it easier on the street than the track. The 1043cc all aluminium inline four cylinder engine pushes out 143bhp, and makes oodles of torque as the revs climb (111Nm of it). There were changes made, compared to the older Z1000, with bigger throttle bodies, redesigned intake port and air box to make the bike more tractable and easier to ride on the street. It is not back breaking in traffic but open roads and twisties are where the bike comes alive. Wring the throttle even halfway and better be prepared for what’s going to happen next. The bike just lunges forward like a panther prodded with a hot prong, a predatory intake howl raising to a crescendo accompanied by the wail of the dual exhausts, while the scenery transforms to a sci-fi blur. The world around you focuses out except the pinpoint L.O.S ahead of you and the staggered dashes on the highway become a blur and begin to form a solid line. Squeezing the throttle, you continue to push as your speedo tells you that you are going faster than Mr. Flash. The engine feels buttery smooth and never are you under the impression that you are stressing it. It easily goes through the rev band without feeling wrung out, much like how Daniel Craig does his fight sequences as 007 and looks almost bored doing it. You go through gears so fast, that in no time you are already crossing the 200kmph mark, with still two gears left to go. At the same time, when you hop onto this motorcycle, it is as if you form a bond with it. The power, while immense, doesn’t slap you across the face as long as you half respect its enormity. The gears shifts are positive and precise under full chat, but in slower speeds, on some occasions I did have to coax it in. The torque available is so fat across the rev band, and the gearing is short except the final gear, so it is not uncommon to find yourself shifting into 6th even at 60kmph without any stress. The heat has to be expected, this is a big bike with a big engine which wasn’t meant for traffic duties, so it had to be a mobile thigh / calf tandoor, right? Actually, I personally felt that as long as we are moving, anything beyond 20kmph, the heat doesn’t bother you one bit. In fact, one thing I noticed was that, the faster we go, upto 140kmph, the heating actually is bare minimal, the coolant temperature displayed rarely went beyond 90 deg F on the highways and the even in peak traffic it would hesitate to breach 100 deg F. only after a hard run, when I park it for the cool down process before I turn off the engine, the temp goes up to 101 – 102 deg F and then within a minute, it ducks below 99 deg F. the radiator fan works exceptionally well, and maybe it’s the loud engine but I haven’t physically heard it coming on and going off. This makes my old Duke’s radiator fan noise seem even more unpleasant.



The suspension does feel a bit too stiff for comfort, but hey this is a super naked we are talking about, not a touring motorcycle, so I guess it was kind of expected. The Showa separate-function big piston forks come with preload adjustability on the left tube and damping on the right. They are great at keeping the bike sticking to the tarmac when its smooth, but if you get to a bumpy section, you better slow down if you do not want your spine pulverised. I once had to stop and pick up bits of vertebrae off the road after I crossed a particularly long overbridge with so many expansion joints, yeah, it is that stiff. The chassis being an aluminium twin tube frame around the engine, paired with stiff shocks makes the Z a great handler thanks to the lower centre of gravity point, despite the 220kg kerb weight (Wet). Cornering is sharp, fast sweepers are taken more with authority than courage and you do feel very much in control despite the weight beneath you.


Brakes:
When you want to slow down, you have a really good set of brakes on offer too. The 310mm dual discs, (petalled, perforated, baptised, what not for better heat dissipation) paired with radially mounted 4 piston monobloc Tokico calipers do a sensational job in shedding speed. The rear disc is 250mm single disc and it is there, and that’s about it. They reminded me of myself during my anatomy dissection classes, where I would always be visible to my professor’s gaze, but do really nothing beyond being there. With so much weight transfer to the front, the rear brakes barely register their attendance during braking. The stiffly sprung suspension does help in preventing front end dive and this helps in slamming the brakes at the last moment and still be able to hold its line. The more expensive Kawasaki Z1000R launched later in 2017 had the Brembo M50 braking system which were virtually fade free, but frankly, after experiencing the brakes already on this one, I don’t know how much of a difference they would make in real world conditions were we aren’t always riding like Tom Cruise in his impossible mission movies. Not once during my early morning riding sessions did I feel the brakes were fading or heating up. May be experienced riders can make out the minute difference. But you know what would have made the difference? Slipper clutch. My baby duke had it and I was spoilt by it. This bad boy doesn’t have one and did not have one till they stopped selling it here. Not that I’ll be ever riding this one as hard as the duke, but the feeling that the rear wheel might hop and skip like a kindergarten kid during her play break really keeps me grounded, I exercise extreme caution in short open stretches whereas on my duke, it would be met with a proper W.O.T knowing I can bang down the gears for engine braking, at the end of the stretch. The Dual channel ABS really works well and silently in the background. I don’t know if it’s the ABS or the brakes as such, but you could literally pull stoppies just with two fingers and proper timing. All in all, no complaints on the braking department, whatsoever the speed we are doing. Even at properly eye watering speeds, all I needed to do was deploy my air brake. I’m kidding, by that I meant I just had to sit up from my tuck position and my excessively large frame would help with the braking duties.


Riding comfort:
Having done close to 3.5K km after getting it, I can positively say this isn’t as uncomfortable as the other super naked motorcycles it goes against. The seat isn’t very narrow, so you can comfortably do 200km without stopping for a break. After 200km you will be forced to stop, not due to the discomfort, but more for refueling. The vibes are very well contained, amply helped by the excellent damping points and the butter blob of an engine. There are some vibrations around the 7K rpm mark, but that’s more of a blip on the vibe radar than a full blown assault, eventually smoothening out once past 7K rpm. The rider triangle is comfortable so you aren’t sat ass up to the sky but more erect which helps to relieve some stress of the wrists.





First time I did 500km, I had real issues with right palm cramps and wrist pain. But I realized it was more due to my wrong sitting posture, and also, I would twist the throttle and keep my wrist hyperextended, so that was causing all my pains. On the return leg, I had rectified the posture and the throttle grip and I no longer had any issues. It greatly helped that I took 3 to 5 minute breaks every 200km and also properly amped up my hydration, that definitely helped. My friend who did around 300km on the Z also felt the bike wasn’t as difficult to ride and sit on as expected. The windblast is another thing all together. Any speeds above 150kmph and even a full tuck wouldn’t help much. The wind blast was so severe that my breath deflector inside my helmet carved out a proper ridge on the bridge of my nose. Sitting up straight in a tourer position was possible only of you are staying below 130kmph. Go full bonkers on the throttle and it felt like you were cutting across a thick swab of cheesecake with your upper body and not air. Prolonged exposure to high speed riding is definitely bound to give us all neck pains from straining against the wind blast for sure. My Z came with a Puig wind screen which was very nice, but I wanted to enjoy the Z in its proper naked form for a while and removed its crown. Maybe the next time I think of touring with it, I will put it back up, it isn’t so hard to fit it back on, any ape (that would be me) with allen keys should be able to do it. The exhaust with the DB killers in doesn’t intrude much. With the right set of mods, this can be a good tourer. But again, If I was looking to tour on a motorcycle, why would I not get one made specifically for that purpose?

The instrument cluster:
If I have to sum it up in one word? Minimalistic. The whole instrument console is hardly 3inches tall, and is split into the upper LED tacho bar for 4K rpm and above, and the lower actual console with basic info being displayed. It is back lit in cool white. The left hand side of the display shows stacked RPM meter upto 3K rpm and the far right is reserved for the digital fuel gauge display. The speedometer is displayed legibly in the centre and below that is the info that can be toggled. You can choose from coolant temp, distance to empty, average mileage, current mileage, trip A, trip B and a clock to choose from. Only one parameter could be set on the display, no multifunction / multicourse spread buffet here which I was used to on the Duke. Let’s put it this way, if the info available for the rider on the Duke was a Sidney Sheldon novel, then the display on the Z1000 was like the safety instructions card we read on the commercial flights, only the necessary info is displayed upfront. The instrument console is slightly lower than the rider’s line of sight but we need not shift our gaze for too long to check out info needed because you don’t have much of a choice to look at other than the speedo and the fuel gauge.



The toggle info buttons are set in the upper left corner and frankly are quite difficult to operate on the move with a gloved finger. We also have the routine LED indicator lights for the high beam, ABS, turn signals, CEL and such. Also, there is a small LED light that lights up if there is an error in the diagnostic check at the start. The tachometer split up had a lot of negative reviews when it was launched but I personally like it. As long as you are inside town, you can pretty much ride comfortably through the gears even without the upper LED bar lighting up. I like to call this the lazy side of the tacho. The tacho above 4K rpm, in the LED bar? I call it the crazy side. That part of the tacho I generally use when I get a nice open road and I get to make gallop a bit.





Anything beyond 6K rpm and you are in serious pace now, covering ground really fast, sometimes with the front wheel floating a couple of feet above the tarmac, so you better be paying attention to the road and not on the instrument console.




Post 8K rpm the power usually tapers off even though the redline is at 11,000rpm lit up by red LED, I rarely have stepped into that territory. Oh, before I miss it, there is this ECO indicator that comes on when the bike thinks you aren’t riding it hard enough. Frankly I find it stupid that someone on the R&D team thought this would be a good idea, to put a ECO light on a litre class supernaked. I can’t imagine anyone who would be riding it and thinking “mm the eco light is on, goddamn I must be getting real serious mileage now” and feel all warm and fuzzy about it. It’s a superbike dude, its not something you’d stick a sticker that says #mileagematters on it.

Mileage:
I am not kidding you when I say I haven’t ever checked the mileage on this one, ever. The fuel gauge tells me when its time to refuel and replay the fun I had burning the said fuel and I do just that. I know guys who really worry about mileage, I mean, we are the population that made tincan cars popular just because they gave more KM to the litre of unleaded; to hell with safety as long as we can have lesser fuel stops on the way to heaven, right? Let me tell you something, I am not one of them, especially when I’m riding this bike. I have a diesel TDI yeti which really gives some serious mileage but even on it, I don’t check the mileage much. I have a Polo TSI too, and I definitely don’t check the mileage on that too, because I’m having too much fun! I do not bother about mileage and that’s not because I’m super rich or something, I am definitely not. If I was super rich, I would have bought a brand new bike and not a used one on a personal loan. I firmly believe all the internal combustion engines and the fuel that powers them, their time on this planet is limited. We are either going to run out of fuel or the EV revolution is going to happen soon. Or maybe both. I certainly do not want to be the guy that worried too much over stretching that litre of fuel over an extra few km and not enjoying the potential of the machine within my limited capabilities. Isn’t it better to reminisce our riding / driving days as more of a smiles per gallon than miles per gallon? And particularly on this litre class fun, the mileage and the silly ECO indicator is pointless. It is as pointless as knowing if Sunny Leone is good at cooking. I mean if I wanted a good cook, I’d hire someone who has experience in the food industry and not the... film industry. Frankly. Even if she was good at cooking, anyone who hires her is rarely going to let her cook. Wait, we have side tracked a lot. Sorry about that. What I’m saying is, if I want something to stick the #mileagematters sticker on, I’d do myself a favour and get a bloody activa. And for those who really started reading this paragraph expecting a mileage figure, I did ask the service guys and they told me its somewhere between 15-16kmpl if Buddha is riding it. So, there you go.

Bad bits:
Coming to this part, let me be clear when I say the negatives. Those were the things that I noticed and are completely my own observation. No one is perfect and that’s the case with the Z1000 too. Here are the bad bits of the bike, in no particular order.


- Lights: The Quad projectors looked really stunning and did light up the road well, or so I thought. One ride on a single lane road and I had to rethink my decision. Yes, its better than the Duke’s lighting but that’s like saying the boy doing his fifth standard can write faster than a kid doing his second standard. The LED temp color also doesn’t help much. Thankfully, I am not going to be touring on this one and my runs are limited to late night ones on deserted roads or daytime rides, so this is not going to be much of a problem.


- Stiff suspension: Have I told you how I had to pick pieces of my spine off the road after a bumpy ride? This is one area which it could really need some improvement. I am looking into possible alternative options now and will update you guys if something solid turns up.



- Halogen indicators: Really? On a bike that was near 20 big ones on-road when bought new, we got halogen indicators. While the <3L duke 390 of the same vintage had LED indicators. The indicators I think are still halogen ones, only the MY2020 Z models have been given LED units. I have replaced the halogen units with LED ones of, yeah, the KTM lineage, I found that the ones on my old bike were very good in terms of illumination and styling.





- Fidgety key: Okay, I guess this is really due to the fact that mine is a used example. I’m 100% sure a brand new motorcycle be it a Kawasaki or a hero shine would not have this issue.



- No slipper clutch: Really miss this one. I think I have ranted enough about it; I am just listing it for the TLDR chaps.



- Gear position indicator: This one found its way in on the 2017 models and later and definitely a useful addition. Yes, no matter the gear it is in, the bike would pull like a dog on leash, that had caught scent of food nearby but there were several occasions I have tried shifting into an imaginary 7th gear or tried taking a tightening corner in 6th thinking I was in 4th. The torque makes it easy but sometimes the bike falters at low speeds, necessitating frantic downshifts to prevent a drop. Talk about knee down, but not in a good way!



- Rattles / mirror buzz: This was quite surprising, especially for something that has its roots firmly in Japan, which is an OCD in form of a country. The rear view mirrors have this gap between the aluminium stack and the metallic finish plastic bit, and it does rattle a bit when we start off. Beyond 2K rpm, its non-existent. But you can hear it every time you roll off the clutch. Also, the rear number plate light had this massive gap between the stem and the light, making the light wobble quite a bit. Even the tail lamp had some play. All these were immediately addressed by Zubin, even before the keys were given to me. A nice rubber gasket around the number plate light gap, three bits of rubber pads between the tail lamp and the frame, and the mirror gaps later, the bike was rattle free. The mirror bits have worked themselves loose, but otherwise the rest of the dampers are doing a superb job now.



- No riding modes / TC: The Versys 1000 and the Ninja 1000 launched alongside this bike had traction control and power modes. The Versys and the Ninja 1000 had slightly different maps for cruising comfortably rather than outright hooning around, but it is essentially the same beating heart shared by the 1000 brothers. I really do wish I had some safety net of some sort, maybe power modes / riding modes / traction control; something to work along with the Bosch ABS unit. I am not Rossi or Marquez to make the motorcycle dance to my tunes, I am an average middle aged guy with an above average weight, making for the lack of grab handles on my Z1000 with my own set of love handles. I am pretty sure; I would be better off with some sort of electronic riding aids reining in all the power. We humans make mistakes after all. All it takes is one second of misjudgement or that fraction bit more throttle than needed at the wrong place and time and the motorcycles, especially the big ones, can potentially hurt and maim our bodies more than our egos. One thing I have noticed is that is the guys who claim they don’t need riding aids are usually the ones that really need them.



- Ground clearance: This was one segment where most of the reviews were banging about. But unless you have a (really unhappy) person (with a sore bum) on that small patch of foam this bike calls a pillion seat, this one doesn’t scrape the speed bumps at all. At least the sensible bumps, not the ones that look like drainage pipes cut in half. This could be the shorter wheelbase of the Z1000 at work. And I for one wouldn’t be taking this bike on roads with craters which would put the moon’s surface to shame, so maybe I haven’t really had a chance to sweat the bike through the bad stuff.



Technical info:
Basic technical info, for the guys who get that fuzzy feeling reading complex details. Just don’t ask me what the abbreviations mean, because I took this off one of the manuals and I frankly cannot even loosen a nut without being called one.
2014 Kawasaki Z1000 ABS Specs
ENGINE
• Type: Inline-four
• Displacement: 1,043cc
• Bore x stroke: 77 x 56mm
• Compression ratio: 11.8:1
• Valve train: DOHC; 4 vpc
• Cooling: Liquid
• Fuel injection: Four 38mm Keihin throttle bodies w/ oval sub-throttles
• Ignition: TCBI with digital advance
• Transmission: Six-speed
• Final drive: Sealed chain
CHASSIS
• Frame type: Aluminium backbone
• Front suspension: Fully adjustable 41mm inverted Showa SFF-BP forks; 4.7 inches of travel
• Rear suspension: Horizontally mounted shock w/ spring-preload and rebound damping adjustment; 4.8 inches of travel
• Front brakes: 310mm petal-type rotors w/ radial-mount 4-piston monobloc calipers
• Rear brake: Single 250mm petal-type rotor with single-piston caliper
• ABS: Standard
• My current shoes – Metzeler Sportec M7 - Front tire: 120/70×17; Rear tire: 190/55×17
DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES
• L x W x H: 80.5 x 31.1 x 41.5 inches
• Wheelbase: 56.5 inches
• Rake: 24.5 degrees
• Trail: 4 inches
• Seat height: 32.1 inches
• Fuel capacity: 17L
• Curb weight: 215kg (I have the Akrapovic slipons which have helped in some weight loss)


Other points About the Z:
- The side stand has a safety cut off, so that if first gear is engaged and you try to start the bike by holding the clutch, the bike will not start if the stand is down. Nothing special about this, just something I noted.

- The foot peg and the gear lever are quite close to the side stand kickdown aid and I have, many a time, put it in first instead of getting the stand down.

- The headlamp assembly looks da bomb, and it costs a bomb to replace it too, if at all something should happen. The cost? A cool 1 lakh INR to get a new unit.

- The nylon/synthetic weave around the coolant pipe (is it that?) is slowly coming undone. And checking out other reviews of factory fresh bikes revealed that the weave was never completely fastened down right out of the factory. This was unexpected for Japanese product.



- The ignition key is recessed into the front part of the tank, but it is quite easy to grab the key with your gloved fingers. This was in contrast to what others had written about this bike, that the recess makes it difficult to reach the key with gloves on.




- The rear swingarm is double sided but the placement of the rear brake caliper is on the lower edge. This makes it very difficult to get the paddock stand holders to sit, it takes quite a bit of a struggle to make sure the caliper doesn’t bear the weight of the bike. The only way around this was to get paddock stand bobbins and alter my paddock stand to have the C clamps for the bobbins. I got that done, but now the C clamps scratch the swing arms every time I put the bike up on the paddock stand. Can’t help it though!




- The low beams stay on throughout, we only have an option of toggling the high beam on and off. No headlamp off switch. This was way before the AHO rule came in.

- The hazard lights don’t need the ignition to be in “on” position. This is similar to the Z800. It has a separate anticlockwise turn after handlebar lock which will operate only the hazard lamps even without the key.

- I have noticed that the bike requires more frequent chain cleaning and lubing compared to my duke. Could it be because of the fatter tyre throwing up more muck? Can anyone clarify?

- Despite the heavy weight of the bike, it is surprisingly easy to ride. Credit goes to the lower centre of gravity by making use of light weight components and chassis.

- The horn is present. But it hasn’t been used since I checked it before taking delivery of it. It is as useful as throwing a paper ball at the Hulk, thanks to it meek sounding tone.

- The gearshift lever has a positive neutral finder. In standstill, it will only shift into N from first. Very useful at traffic lights.

- The gaps in the rear view mirror stalk have proven very useful. No, I am not talking about the aerodynamics. It gives me a place to strap down my Fitbit Versa so I can see who is calling me. I can also choose to answer and cancel with the watch face itself. Pretty useful, huh.

The rear view mirrors tend to vibrate a bit, especially around 6-7K rpm band. Anything higher or lower and its crystal clear.

- The intake howl on this model was revised compared to the older gen one. The developers wanted an intake sound to match the looks of the vehicle and modified the components to make it more baleful and deeper.


- I’ve gotten a tent kind of cover for the bike, this helps to maintain the paint and avoid scratching due to conventional covers and is also a ten second job to cover the bike. Pretty useful. Got it shipped from Polyvault from mumbai. Assembled it myself.






So, there you have it. For the TLDR chaps, here is the gist. The story was how I traded in a nice, lovely, small bike which I had no time to ride, to a beautiful brute which I am finding excuses to ride, even if it means losing out on sleep, food and compensating on family time. If this isn’t addiction, then I don’t know what is! Cheers, until he next update, ride hard and ride safe, fellow riders!


Last but not the least -

Rahul aka Batterylow on Tbhp, thanks to him for his invaluable editing and trimming.

Prashanth aka Asta_la_vista on Tbhp, thanks for accompanying me on the chennai trips and the innumerable times I couldn’t have done anything without your help.

Shriram aka Quicksilver on Tbhp, thank you. if not for him this bike would still be in my dreams. Thank you for pushing me, guiding me, helping me and most importantly, being there for me, however silly or mundane the need was!

Keshav, a good friend and great automotive photographer who shot a few pics for me. All the pro level pics you see here are his!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Superbike Section. Thanks for sharing!

Your Z1000 is going to our homepage shortly. Ride safe, have fun

[Doc_nikhil]

Thank you, GTO. Hope this brings some distraction to readers during these covid lockdown times.

[bigron]

Looking good!

I like reading motorcycle ownership posts. This is a wonderful machine from Kawasaki. So purposeful and still gives a grin when you go WOT.

I had one for a few weeks, a loaner from a friend years ago. I liked most things about it. Great brakes/clutch action/instrument cluster/ and completely usable power. It was devoid of any electronic wizardly, which some like some dont, I do.

I did not like the suspension set up . It was set up too hard for everyday city rides. Playing with the damping made it more palatable. YMMV.

You should see yourself having a great time with this. It is more bike than one would ever need.

Have fun!!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Congrats on the new purchase Nikhil.
I am someone who does not like the naked bike segment a lot, but the z1000 was and will always be an exception. I haven't seen a more menacing looking bike from any angle.

And those photos of the front where the headlamps just look like snake eyes with those slits. Can't get enough of it.

Wishing you lots of happy miles with the bike and I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it. Hopefully, I'll spot you on the Coimbatore-Salem highway on a weekend during one of my frequent trips along that route

Cheers
Krishna

[abbyanish]

Congrats on the beast Looks fantastic and at utmost pristine condition. Did you change your number to TN yet? I also have a plan to buy a pre-owned superbike but most options are coming in from other states. If you had already changed the plates, can you let me know on the process and charges incurred? Thanks

[deepfreak15]

Congrats on your new bike, wishing you many kms of fun filled riding. Lovely pictures!

[Tgo]

Amazing photographs chronicling the ownership. It was a great read. Thanks for sharing.

[dkaile]

Congratulations and welcome to Kawasaki family. Ride safe, ride hard... ATGATT

Cheers

[vignesh.cv]

Love the photography and your writing. Safe riding !

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Congrats!

Z1000 is such a desirable machine - IMHO, one of the best-designed supernakeds of the modern era - and the absolute best of Kawasaki's Sugomi design philosophy! Combined that to the brilliant 1000cc inline4 from Kawasaki - would have loved to own one at some point.

Have heard a lot of complaints on the ride quality though! And your review seems to agree with that fact. Hope it is not too much of a burden, given the smoother roads down south? Would love to see this bike munching miles!

PS: Brilliant photography as well! Never noticed the LED projectors actually had cats-eyes to go with the predator design!

[rohitoasis]

Lovely write up and wonderful photos. Was getting bored with the two wheeler section in the forum pretty dry for the last few days. It is a treat going through your words and those beautiful shots of the beast. Thanks for the treat!
Remarkable beast you have purchased here. Would love to join a ride when possible, though i would struggle to catch up in my D200.

Here i was itching for an upgrade when i found your D390 in the classified. I was biting my lips every day staring at that waiting for the Ukkadam flyover to get completed before taking the plunge. I am assuming that is sold now as i cannot find it in the classifieds now.

[krishsreedharan]

Congrats once again doc! It was indeed a pleasant surprise when you rolled in on this brute to catch up with me on the day the bike reached Coimbatore. Happy riding!!!