2019 Kawasaki Z900 ABS

[pdedse]

400-mile ride today, up to Monitor Pass, back around Lake Tahoe, then Hwy 49 to Downieville and back to Roseville. Doing the 600-mile service tomorrow. I went a little too far today, so the bike now has a bit over 700 miles. I usually try to get that first oil change in before 600 miles, but oh well.

Zinged her up to redline a couple of times today, and spent a lot more time than before in the upper midrange. I can safely say now that the powerbands and engine characteristics are very different between the Yamaha and Kawi. The Yamaha is punchier down low, and smoother from the midrange to redline. Less engine vibration. The Kawi is smoother down low, say, below 5K rpm. Also, the Kawi's sixth gear is a true overdrive gear, so it doesn't pull as hard as the Yamaha does in sixth, but it pulls just as hard or harder in all the other gears, once the tach is in that 7-11k rpm range.

Keep in mind, the Yamaha has a full Akrapovic carbon system, with a matching ECU reflash. The Kawi is bone stock. On the dyno, the Yamaha now makes 112.4 rwhp and 60 ft-lbs of torque, while the Kawi generally comes in between 113-115 rwhp and roughly 68 ft-lbs of torque. My Yamaha was down to 420 lbs wet, vs 463 for the stock ABS Z900.

Basically, they're a wash. I think the Kawi might ultimately be a hair faster on top, but the Yamaha punches harder down low. Even so, the Kawi is still plenty torquey down low. It's just that my piped Yamaha was a monster. It pulled so hard, right away.

The Kawi sounds rowdier than the Yamaha, once the tach rises. The Yamaha has a higher-pitched ripping tone, while the Kawi has this unique growly roar that comes from the airbox. Never heard anything like it. Kinda reminds me of the Hemi sound of a Dodge Challenger.

Fun-wise, I think I'd have to go with the Kawi, because it's easier to ride anywhere. It's definitely better at slow speeds, and around town. At racier speeds up in the canyons, it just plain handles more easily. It turns in quicker and feels more planted, even though it is significantly plusher. The Yamaha has less brake dive, but then the suspension is also stiffer and harsher, and the seating position with the bar risers is much more upright, so there's less weight over the front end. Also, even though the Yamaha has radial-mounted brake calipers, vs the Kawi's conventional units, and despite the fact that I added steel lines and race pads to the Yamaha, the Kawi's stock, low-spec brakes are better. They certainly grab harder and seem more powerful.

One enormous difference between the two is that it's much easier to get to the edge of the tire on the Kawi. It just has the racier chassis, despite the Yamaha being stiffer. I backed out the rebound on the Kawi's suspension to make it plusher, which I could never achieve with the Yamaha's suspension. For track use, which I will never do on this bike, I've made it too soft and sproingy. My goal was to make it more compliant and less jarring over the sharp-edged bumps I encounter on so many of my favorite roads. I could probably increase the rebound back to stock, or even a bit slower-firmer, and it would still be plusher than the Yamaha.

More confidence inspiring, in large part due to the sportier riding position, and the Kawi's superior overall refinement.

I prefer the Kawi's instrument cluster to the Yamaha's, since it's larger and includes everything on one screen, plus it looks cooler. At this point I also prefer the overall looks of the Kawi. Even that elevated tail section no longer bothers me. I kind of like it now. In person, it looks better than in the pictures. In person, it just looks right.

Still hate the look of the one low-beam headlight being off, though.

I managed 400 miles today, and my reconstructed neck only offered a few twinge-of-pain complaints. I consider that a pass. Overall, the seating position is less comfortable than the Yamaha's, but it fits me better than the Honda. I didn't need to stand on the pegs and stretch as often today as I usually do on the Honda. That being said, I definitely consider the Honda my 'touring' bike now. With the Yamaha, it was tricky. The Honda was smoother, for the most part, with way better mirrors and superior carrying capacity for luggage, but the Yamaha had the more comfortable seating position. All in all, it was difficult to choose, as to the better bike for long trips. Now, with the Honda and the much racier Kawi, the delineation is more clear-cut, in favor of the Honda.

Initially, I thought the Kawi was just as smooth as the Honda, especially down low. Nope, I was wrong. The Honda is smoother everywhere. They're close down low, but the Honda is smoother. The Honda's vibey patch between 3,500-5,000 rpm isn't as vibey as the Kawi's midrange buzz, which can definitely be felt in the knees, through the tank. No vibes in the feet, but certain RPM combined with the additional weight on my hands did make my throttle hand get a bit tingly sometimes, and the Honda rarely does that. Also, as stellar and buzz-free as the Kawi's mirrors are, especially in comparison to the blurry Yamaha mirrors, the Honda's are still better. Elbows don't take up as much of the mirror space, and the CB's mirrors are literally vibration-free, at all RPM. The Kawi's are nearly so, as well.

I expected the Yamaha and Kawi to be more different than they really are, performance-wise. Instead, nope, they're very close, with the Kawi's main edge being that it's easier to ride, more neutral, more refined, and, as a result, more confidence inspiring. The Yamaha's two main advantages are its prodigious grunt right off the throttle, and its ability to remain utterly unruffled when you slam on the brakes, charging hard into a corner. The Kawi brakes harder, more fiercely, but in doing so it tends to collapse the front end more. With the Yamaha, you never even notice any front-end dive.

Still, with the way the Kawi turns in and locks in, it makes you feel like a hero. Right away, you feel totally in control, and eager to rip. With the Yamaha, you always have that slight awareness that you'd probably better be a bit careful with her when hard on the gas in the corners, lest she bite back. No such worries, with the Kawi. You always feel as if you can just keep feeding more and more power to that rear tire, even without any traction control or riding modes. The connection between your wrist and the tire feels so clean and direct.

That's a very big thing. They did a great job there.

Oh, and by the end of the ride, most of which was at altitude, hard on the gas, the fuel mileage had bumped up to 43 mpg, vs 41 mpg at Mosquito Ridge. Still a hair down on the Yamaha's consistent 46 mpg, but then the Kawi does have a 4.5-gallon tank, vs the Yamaha's (debatable) 3.7-gallon tank.

Here's the biggest thing, however. Similar to the Honda, I loved the Kawi from the very first moment that I rode her. Not so, with the Yamaha. Right away, there were things about the Yamaha that I wanted to change, and even though I fixed them to work better for me, I never was completely enamored with the XSR. I respected her, and had lots of fun with her, but I was never fully satisfied. I never felt truly settled. I was always thinking of potential replacements.

Not so, with the Kawi. Especially not at that price. Even disregarding the low price, I feel more in tune with the Kawi, more immediately at home. My degree of satisfaction right out of the box is far greater.

The Honda is a solid 9 out of 10 to me, losing a full point due to the never-ending brake squealing, and its latest issue, an obnoxious cracking sound that is loud and clear, and is felt through the bars, every time I hit the brakes firmly at low speeds. It's the opposite of the squeal thing, which only occurs when feathering the brakes while rolling to a stop. My local dealer and American Honda just took another look at my bike and decided, "That's just the way they are. Floating rotors are noisy. Deal with it."

No, floating rotors don't cause nasty cracking sounds that can be felt through the bars.

Whatever. I'm through with American Honda, and my local dealer. I'm through chasing this. Either the bike will stop doing these things, or I'll give up and get used to it, or I will never get used to it, never accept it, and end up selling the bike. That would be a real shame, too, since the Honda and Kawi really do make for a well-matched pair of stablemates.

I have the consistent "feathering the brakes" squeal, although I've made no attempts at a fix since reading of what you tried. However, I haven't noticed (yet) the low speed "cracking sound" with firm braking on my '17. Do you brake firmly at low speed to avoid the squeal produced by feathering? A new brake crackling that develops because one tries to avoid a squeal from brake feathering--that would be a bit ironic. I think I've learned to live with the front squeal. My concern might be that if I ever wanted to sell the bike...how to convince a buyer that the squeal is "normal". Solution is to not sell the bike?