Kawasaki Z H2

[Mick_J]

Forecast for next week is pants so I decided to take out the Kawasaki ZH2 out on Friday.  So down at the dealers got everything signed up, had the brief on the controls and off I went.  First thing I noticed was how small the bike felt but how fat the tank is, pushing my knees out quite wide.  Seating position was quite neutral, everything falling to hand easily.  Riding through traffic was easy, the weight of the bike didn't seem to be a problem, clutch was light and throttle well behaved.   Once out of town I picked the pace up a little and was surprised at how high it revved, I soon found myself looking for a seventh gear, must rev about the same as a 750, it is quite low geared.   The switch gear is very easy to operate although I found the menu switch to be slow, you have to press and hold before it wakes up and the indicator switch felt a bit cheap.  TFT was nice and clear though.
Out of town the bike felt really solid, not as flickable or sporty as the KTM but stable and well-mannered holding your chosen line with ease, it had plenty of pull that just keeps coming.  I have finally found a bike with a quick shifter that does what it says on the tin, it quickly and smoothly shifts gear without any jumping and lurching around with no or banging noises coming from the gear box.  I had the chance to open it up a couple of times and it can catch you out if you're not ready, it just pulls to 6k before going fucking bonkers, reminds me of the original ZZR1100 I rode many years ago, fine up to 6k when it turned into a wild beast.  Well this is the same but more, much more but I still found I was looking for more gears as I was over 6k and we still not doing a ton (on a bit of private road I found).  The brakes were very good with plenty of power and feel both front and back so slowing and stopping was not a problem.  The controls and TFT were well positioned with easy to use menus.  The display had the usual stuff on display with revs on a bar over the speedo reading which was quite big at about 1" high, it had fuel gauge, air temp and engine temp readout then an inclinometer so you could see how close you were to falling off.  There are a couple of selections to look at trips, fuel used, tank range etc.  On another display option it also added a brake pressure gauge and an accelerometer readout to see how the balance of the bike changed with acceleration and braking, fun to play with but why?
The riding position was slightly compromised for me as when viewed from above the fairing (or what there is of it) does not fold around the tank equally on both sides.  The right side stops 1/3 way down the tank but the left side has an air channel to the supercharger so continues 3/4 the way down the tank.  This dug into my knee so made it a little uncomfortable, someone with shorter legs probably wouldn't notice it.  The rider seat is quite thin and firm but the rear seat wouldn't look out of place on a push bike, totally useless.  Bars were a bit low but there was plenty of scope to rotate them as they were set low but the peg to seat ratio was a bit cramped for me.  Overall not quite as cramped as the Superduke but it did become uncomfortable, especially with the air pipe for the supercharger digging into my knee.
The bike was real fun to be on for a short ride out, the power above 6k is mental as the bike went ballistic, it's a thrill but I would soon get bored with that.  I ride big bikes so I don't have to chase the tacko around the clock face to make progress, big and lazy using the minimum revs to get to my destination is my preferred style, this thing is a bit bland below 6k but above its nuts.  (I was never a fan of the 250/350 LC's). 
Back at the dealer he was busy taking a cash payment for an Ninja H2 st so I didn't have much time to give him my thoughts but the lack of gears and too many revs came up and he said that's what Kawasaki were aiming for, a nuts bike that lived for the red line, not for me.
So the best bike I have ridden this month (apart from my own) is the KTM Superduke R, so I'm going to look into what I have to do to make it fit, while still looking at other options.

[Irish in Oz]

I was with McWilliams yesterday he reckon's the 890 is a good one to try.

[VladTepes]

Cool insight, thanks.