RIDFAST OCTOBER 22

Engine:
The Zed’s traditional 948cc inline four-cylinder motor makes 124bhp
and 73ftlb or around 99Nm of torque. It really is a lekker engine, so
smooth with great gearing and fistfuls of grins up to the 10,500rpm
redline. The bike has 3 rider modes: ‘Sport’ has full power and the least
traction control intervention, ‘Rain’ has reduced power with lots of TC and
‘Road’ has full power and medium traction. And it’s all selectable on the
move. You can mix and match power and traction level in ‘Rider’ mode
for when you want less intrusion from the electronics, or you can turn it
off completely on the back roads and show off a bit on the back wheel.
There’s no quick shifter, (that keeps costs down), but the gearbox and
clutch are butter smooth. All the while, the stock pipe sings some great
tunes as it delivers great low down grunt.
This bike has a high end feel to it. The paintwork and build quality belie
rands needed to get a leg over this saddle. It has a comfortable, well
sorted rider triangle with a seat that’s wide at the rear and tapers nicely
against the tank, for a comfortable ride across a broad range of riders.
The engineers paid lots of attention to detail including the wavy discs, ‘Z’
shaped rear light and shaped bar ends. It’s a smooth, fast well balanced
ride. The suspension is firm and handles rough tar really well and even
when we picked up a nail in the rear tyre and lost back pressure, she
stayed in shape until we pulled into the garage to pop in a plug in order to
get home. Yup, there is a lot to be said for tubeless tyres.
The Zed is a sporty naked with a chassis and riding position that’s
perfectly mated to a smooth, high revving, 123bhp engine. It’s so much
fun to ride and such a great value proposition right now.
Get down to your Kawasaki dealer.
Footnote on tyre repair:
There’s a big difference between
an emergency fix, where you stuff a
rope plug or two into a hole and ride
slowly with your hazards on just to
get home, and what we would call
a long-term or permanent fix that
you can ride on like normal. Not all
tyre manufacturers condone repairs,
even in emergency situations.
That’s because just like riding
a motorcycle, there’s danger in
riding on a repaired tyre, so some
manufacturers will simply tell you
to call a tow truck and order a new
one. The integrity of your rubber is
really important, so a fresh tyre is
definitely the safest option, but it’s
not what you want to hear if you
just picked up a nail in a nearly new
hoop, (some of the better insurers
out there will actually pay for the
replacement).
The eligible repair area is limited to
the center 75 percent of the tread to
get you to your nearest tyre supplier.
That’s because the shoulders flex
too much and might spit the plug
out. The sidewalls are off limits
to plugs for the same reason.
Personally, we’d replace as soon
as possible, especially on a bike
capable of 200KPH plus.