- Week Kawasaki Demo Rides

[klaviator]

My local Kawasaki dealer arranged to have the Kawasaki Demo truck for a couple of days last weekend so I took advantage of it. Temperatures for the rides were in the 40s which kept the number of demo riders down and probably kept away less committed and experienced riders. I ended up riding 9 different bikes. Here were my experiences and opinions of those bikes:

The ride over to Decatur, Alabama on Friday and took some pics when I got there.

One of the lead riders was going to be late because he was flying in from California and his flight the previous day had been cancelled. This delayed the start of the ride giving me some time to kill. I checked out the demo fleet.

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I also checked out the showroom. It was completely packed with bikes. It seems like most of the supply shortage of bikes is now in the past. Royal Enfield and Triumph has been getting bikes here for a while, Recently Kawasaki sent over a bunch of inventory. Of the brands sold here only Yamaha still hasn't figured out how to get inventory over here.

Until recently small dual sport bikes were next to impossible to find in showrooms but they had some here.

A new gray KLX230.

Even a KLX300.

 

[klaviator]

Soon it was time for some demo rides

I wanted to ride the new, fourth gen 650 Versy since I have a second gen 2012 model. I decided to wait until the next day since I rode over on my scooter and wanted to compare them back to back. So I started on the Z900RS.

I've been wanting to ride one of these since they came out a few years ago and this one didn't disappoint. The riding position was pretty good although I'd prefer the bars a bit higher. The seat was comfortable. Getting underway was a bit awkward because I didn't have a feel for the clutch engagement and throttle response at low RPM was a bit jerky. Once up to speed the engine was awesome. It's been a long time since I had ridden an inline four and this one sounded and felt great. The cafe fairing was about perfect directing air at my upper chest and leaving my helmet in clean air. I also liked the old style analog guages.

The demo route wasn't great but did allow us to get up to around 70 and had a few curves on it. The handling seemed good but it would be interesting to ride this bike on some of my favorite roads without being held back by the demo group.

This bike has a claimed 113 HP and weighs less than 500 pounds. That compares pretty well with the 125 PH and 550+ pounds of the 84 Yamaha FJ1100 I owned back in the 80s.

 

[klaviator]

Next I rode the KLR650. I owned a first gen KLR650 from 2005 to 2019. I sold it because at 400 pounds wet it was just too heavy for me. Sure it was fine on the street and gravel road roads but it was a handful on more challenging trails and just too heavy for me to pick up by myself. I would be riding a 3rd gen KLR. I never rode a second gen.

The 3rd gen is about 60 pounds heavier than a first gen and then most owners will add crash bars to protect all the bodywork making it even heavier.

The riding position, like my 1st gen, was fine for a tell guy like my, Upright and plenty of legroom. The seat felt comfortable. There was a lot more bike in front of me. The dash was now a small digital one.

This bike was much smoother and more refined than 05. Riding it was easy. The engine was smooth and torquey but just made modest power. The handling was easy but felt disconnected and vague. The brake were much better than the 1st gen but I had put a bigger front disc on my 05. The screen caused turbulence and noise at my helmet and I thought that not having a tach was really carrying "cheap" too far. Overall I wasn't impressed with the KLR and thought it was a boring ride. I guess if you want a budget adventure bike that will get you there, the KLR might be a good choice.

 

[woods]

nice. I had every intention to go to the one that was up here, but a botched doctor's appointment (cancelled then rescheduled later that day) screwed it up. There was an Ninja 1000SX that I wanted to test ride.

 

[klaviator]

Because of the limited number of riders I could return from a 15 minute demo ride and immediately sign up for the next ride and be back out 10-15 minutes later on another ride. After the KLR I signed up for the Z650. Same engine as my Versys but in a very different package.

This was a fun ride but the seating position was cramped for a tall guy like me. Because the Versys is a much more practical package I couldn't see buying a naked sportbike like this but it would be a fun bike for short rides on twisty roads. The 650 twin was smooth and made plenty of power. The brakes had more bike than my older 2012 model.

Next up was the Ninja 400. I have always thought that if I were to buy another sportbike this would be at the top of my list, just not in the boring gray this one was in.

IMO, a ninja should be in Kawasaki Green. The riding position was more cramped than the Z650 and the bars a bit low for me. The seat was a brick. However this was just a short ride so it wasn't an issue. I was really impressed with the engine. I could put it in sixth gear and 4000 RPM and it pulled just fine. At higher RPM it pulled even better. This bike was a blast to ride, partly because of the great engine and partly due to it's sub 400 pound weight. This thing would be much more fun on the tight, super twisty roads that I prefer, than a bigger more powerful sportbike. Despite being a 400, it felt just fine at 65+ MPH and would do just fine on the interstate. At 70 MPH the engine was turning 7,000 RPM but was smooth as glass at all RPMs.

A seat pad and taller bars would make the bike a lot more comfortable and fix the only complaints I had about it.

Overall this bike was the most fun to ride of the day with the Z900RS being second.

That was it for the day. I could have ridden more but I wanted to beat rush hour traffic home and I would be back again on Saturday to ride more bikes.

 

[DJ_MI]

Good times!

Thanks for the reviews.

 

[klaviator]

On Saturday I rode over again on my 2012 Versys. I got there shortly before 10 and was the first one in line to sign up.

It was right around 40 degrees but a few other riders also showed up. Most were guys I regularly ride with.

I signed up for the 650 Versys. I wanted to see if it was really improved over my 2nd gen 2012 bike.

Right away i could tell that the seat had been improved, different styling with a bigger fairing and adjustable windshield. It had ABS brakes and a digital dash vs my analog tach with the rest digital.

Then it was time for the ride briefing. There were some pretty shady characters there looking to do some joy riding

After the briefing they made us all pass a breathalyzer. Then it was time to ride.

This wasn't a great pic but although I normally prefer analog over all digital screens, this one was pretty nice and I could certainly live with it. Taking off the Versys felt a little more refined than my older bike but still very similar. The windscreen still caused some turbulence and noise at my helmet but it was better. I did adjust the screen at a couple of stops and it was never perfect. The handling was about the same as my bike but the brakes were improved. While I'm not planning on trading my 2012 for a new one, the new ones are better bikes IMO.

I came back and snagged the Z400 for the next ride. I got a pic of the dash but forgot to get a pic of the bike. It looked a lot like the Z650 I rode the first day.

The Z400 was a blast to ride as was the Ninja 400 the day before. It's a great engine and the bikes weigh less than 400 pounds. Without a doubt, of all the demo bikes the two 400s would be the most fun on a tight twisty road. It would need a little work to be comfortable for me but I think a seat cushion and bar risers would make a big difference.

 

[klaviator]

Next I rode the Z900. It was just as cramped as the Z400. This bike had a great engine with a ton of power but between the Z400, Z650 and Z900, the Z900 was my least favorite. Although the engine in the Z900 seemed to work better than the one in the Z900RS, the Z900RS engine had more character and sounded better. The RS was also much more comfortable and IMO looked much better.


I did take a few pics on this ride. David was ahead of me on the Vulcan S. It looked odd because the rear of the bike is so low.

There was one road with some curves on it.

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When we returned we found out the Kawasaki guys came over and checked out the two Italian Bikes ridden by two of my friends. They didn't get a pic but I did take a pic of those two bikes with my versys.

 

[klaviator]

There was a break in the rides for lunch so I went to lunch with a bunch of my friends.

Then we returned for more rides. I started with the Versys 1000.

This is a really expensive, high end bike but I wasn't that impressed. The seat is wide and looks comfortable but it slopes forward and then the reach to the bars seems longer than on the 650 resulting in more forward lean than I like. There are a ton of features including heated grips which I took advantage of. At speed the windshield offers good wind protection but is still noisy. I adjusted the windscreen but that didn't help. The engine has plenty of power and the bike handled well and had great brakes but overall I like the 650 much better.

By now I had ridden most of the bikes. One of the few I hadn't was the Ninja 1000. I had taken a pic of it on Friday with another rider on it.

Despite being a Ninja it has a reasonably upright riding position and is much more comfortable than a hard core sportbike. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed riding this bike more than I expected. The engine was perfectly tuned and made a ton of power. The riding position was sporty but still reasonably comfortable. The turbulence from the screen hit my upper chest, not my helmet. It's way more bike than I need but if I win the lottery and want a high performance and very fast bike, this would be on my list. This bike reminds me of my 84 Yamaha FJ1100 but it is better in every way.

 

[motocopter]

That's the most bikes I've ever seen in Allsport!