CA Frolicking by Mike Emery ~ Photos by Billy-no-mates

Of course, we all know that Al Gore invented the Internet, but a little known fact is that it was me that invented the Streetfighter? It's true I tell ye.

My own personal venture into the US naked bike field was through a brand new 1996 ZX7R. I loved this bike - it made a nice honest 110+bhp to the rear and with 40-odd pounds of black plastic removed from the frontal area and with my favorite set of Renthal jet ski bars installed, a nice bike (in my eyes), was created.

Twas' about this time that Suzuki joined the fray with the venerable Bandit. However, there was a certain something missing. Sure, by using the old tried and trusted GSX-R1100 motor and a revised (and lighter) frame, it had the potential to be the king, but it lacked the arse-kick that the original Gixxer 11 had. It had also been neutered for an enhanced midrange rush and it lacked the top end that made the Streetfighter class exciting.

Next up was Kawasaki's own ZRX1100. Had they been peeking over my garden wall? Nope. Again revised cam timing and smaller carbs saw an engine reduced from the ZX1100 based flame-thrower, down to the equivalent of a Zippo lighter. Moderately fast? Yes - Streetfighter scary? No.

It was left to me to continued the crusade. My next project saw me attacking the legendary scary, 97' Suzuki TLS. Again I dumped the plastic, added my bars, a quality damper and took off on one wheel. That was me - happy for a while, it was still a tad heavy but it had bite. I later improved my odds still by taking a 98' Yamaha R1, adding the aforementioned gear and living happily-ever-after on a steady diet of 150 mph wheelies, super light weight and great ergo's. Rubbing my nose in it still, Yamaha proceeded to develop and market the FZ1. True, it had more power than the previous OEM naked's, but it still lacked the angry attitude that I'd found in my own streetfighting R1.

To their credit, Honda got pretty creative with some aspects of this bike. It features a monocoque-style box frame that forms a solid backbone that wraps around the engine fore and aft using the engine as a stressed member. The swingarm seems plenty beefy enough and holds a decent looking 5.5-inch rear wheel - that in turn holds a 180/55 tire, thank you very much. Up front, a pair of 43mm cartridge forks has been sourced from the Honda parts bin but due to the interaction of the bean counting department are nonadjustable with no preload, rebound or compression adjustments… so no fiddling there then. The rear did, however, offer an easy ramp-style adjuster for preload.

Due to the limitations in airbox location (it's moved rearward instead of the traditional above-engine locale) the tank sits high. The shape is extremely good though, if not attractive. The useful five-gallon unit is very sculptured and your knees aren't in the wind, rather they are tucked in reasonably tight. The overall color scheme got mixed reactions from fellow riders, I liked it though, and it fit the bike.

The seat is one of the most comfortable around; it's shaped right for this particular British arse. Passenger accommodations were adequate with a decent size grab rail. Underseat storage is sadly lacking though, due to the airbox and battery. However, I did manage to get a rain jacket in there, even if it did impede the seat latch a little. Instrumentation is old school, but good, they are prominent as are the basic array of idiot lights. So no complaints there either. Cosmetically the bike had some well thought out and nicely made pieces.

So what's it like to ride? Oh dear - The bike comes stock with a set of Michelin TX25/15's, now I'm no GP rider, but even I can feel the advances that the tire manufacturers have made over the years. The TX felt like a fossil, maybe they'd been left out in the sun too long... If you like a little more sport in your sport tire then look no further than Michelin's own Pilot sport or Metzler's sporty Sportec M1 to repair this defect.

The frame has the usual Honda "tuned flex" and I'm hoping that a set of tires would cure the wobbly wobble that I'd experienced with this thing under pressure. I'm into a do-it-all motorcycle, that's why I like the streetfighter genre. If I want a relaxing ride to work, it's here - but if I want to do battle on a Sunday ride: then that needs to be do-able too. The bike is nice and composed up to about 7-10ths, from there on up it takes a little coaxing to help keep its composure. All talk and no walk? Not exactly, but it's not as angry as a streetfighter should be. However, (I'm going to show my age here) the bike has qualities that far outweigh any negativity.

For starters it has a real and proper size gas tank. It takes a full five gallons of Saudi's finest and endows the bike with great long distance riding capabilities. I had been doing a 40 miles commute, morning and evening, on this bike and it's both frugal and comfortable in equal proportions. The bike does nearly 200 miles to the t(h)ank full at a cruising speed in excess of 70mph. The seat is bum shaped but still allows for a little movement to avoid a numb bum on longer journeys. Slap on some soft luggage and you could be chasing down the sport-tourers, minus the ground clearance problems that they usually suffer from.

I would probably swap out the bars for some with a little less rearward sweep. I kept having to pull myself forward for comfort and for some aerodynamic efficiency. The stock bars are acceptable for the masses, but I'm a fussy, cantankerous old geezer set in his ways. They felt a tad too narrow with too much of that rearward sweep. I like to ride with my elbows up and a new set of bars would cure my only ergonomic complaint.

Kawasaki Z1000

For those old enough to remember the Z1 the name conjures up a pretty radical "naked" bike. In its day, it was fast, powerful and fast. It was the first bike I ever saw wheelied and has been partially responsible for my delinquency ever since.

Fast-forward to 03' and this is the latest evolutionary version. Like the Honda, Kawasaki too saw fit to offer some neat styling points during the manufacturing stage of this bike. The premise? Same as the big H, take an existing motor, in this case the ZX9R, and add some up to the minute styling cues from the Ninja series ZX6RR/R. The styling looks very fresh and it particularly looks like one of today's flavorful designs. The Z1000's frame is of a traditional layout and made of thin-wall tubular steel. The engine is a stressed member and the cheeky little monkeys at Kawi' have added a plastic piece to hint at an Alloy construction and it also features an ever-so-groovy front cockpit fairing and a pair of gold superbike bars - Voila, instant nekked' Streetfighter.

One nice thing about this bike is that it's been neutered, but not to the same degree as the Honda. Sure it's got altered cam timing but it also got a 50-odd-cc overbore to compensate somewhat, horses are up around the 120 mark. The motor has a set of faux fins to accentuate the liquid cooled motor and this thing flies - and on cheap gas too. The new aluminum head is configured to be happy on regular gas and it was. My first taste of this bike was zinging traffic en-route to a CA bike night. The thing is a search and destroy weapon when it comes to carving inner city traffic.

My second taste was on the Ortega highway where I went hunting three spotty yoofs on sporty GSX-R's and a 996. I managed to nip by and say my good-byes due to the Z's easy point and shoot engine character. At speeds above 8-10ths the only shakes I ever felt was me laughing at the site of those sporties being left behind. Now, I'm not saying that this is as capable in the twisties as a hypersports, I'm just saying that if grandpa's got his head down, you better bring your best game.

Handling was enhanced, I'm sure, with the addition of the 41mm inverted forks. Adjustment is available with preload on one side and rebound on the other, strange… more parts bin parts? Steering angle is 24° and helped in turnability (I swear, I make up a new word every day).

So where are the beans coming from? Well, say to goodbye to carbs my two-wheeled fiends, this bike also features digital fuel injection utilizing 38mm throttle bodies and sub-throttle valves to promote a nice smooth engine operation. However, rolling off at low RPM at lower speeds, it sometimes felt a little jerky, and not the beefy sort that I like. That was my only real complaint, a tendency to stand up a little mid-corner due to that rather abrupt off throttle, slowing the rear rebound helped, but being decisive mid-corner helped more.

The seating on the Z1 is ever so tippy looking but at speed is quite a nice work area. The speedometer - tachometer - fuel gauge - yada yada, it is a very difficult piece to get used to, but you won't need to keep an eye on it to row that gearbox properly, just ride the torque and change gear accordingly.

Tire-wise the Kawa suffers from a tad overkill to the rear. The big 190 Bridgestone needs dieting down to a 180 - more grip and even better turning to boot - methinks. Those stock Stones' were quite grippy, and I'm no big lover of these rubber bands, but they did no wrong whilst I enjoyed myself. The brakes were great too - borrowed from the ZX9R, thank you very much.

I better mention those zorsts' too. Every one who spotted the bike was drawn to those four pipes. The look is both traditional (70's flairs, anyone), radical and distinct. I expect the aftermarket bunny's to have a field day here.

Honda 919

Kawasaki Z1000

Price-wise the Honda retails at $7,999 and the Kawasaki $8,499

So, which one would I spend my hard earned on? I think the Honda looks superb and would offer a great canvas for my ultimate ride. The bike can be found and bought for good money too. To address the bland paintjob comments - Honda has seen fit to add this silver paintjob for 2003 to go with the current asphalt color. There's also a gazillion hop-up bits available for the 900RR power-pack and with a little tweaking and cam swapping, I think this could be enhanced with a character above and beyond the typical naked bikes. However the Z Kawi gets my vote because it will do me "as is". I could sit and stare at this bike, pretend all the styling cues were my idea and spend all my go-faster money on flashy riding kit and cheap gas. MikeE

 

Naked By Numbers

Engine Type	919cc liquid-cooled DOHC inline	953cc liquid-cooled DOHC inline
Bore and Stroke	71.0mm x 58.0mm	77.2 x 50.9mm
Compression Ratio	10.8:1	11.2:1
Valve Train	four valves per cylinder	16 Valves (err' four too)
Carburetion	36mm Programmed Fuel	38mm throttle bodies
Ignition	Computer-controlled digital with three-dimensional mapping	Digital
Transmission	Six-speed	Six-speed
Front Suspension	43mm cartridge fork; 4.7-inch travel	41mm cartridge fork, rebound/spring preload Adjustability 4.7 inches
Rear Suspension	Single shock with seven-position spring-preload adjustability; 5.0-inch travel	UNI-TRAK®, rebound/spring preload Adjustability 5.4 inches
Front Brakes	Dual full-floating 296mm discs with four-piston calipers	Dual semi-floating 300mm discs with four-piston calipers
Rear Brake	Single 240mm disc with single-piston caliper	I lost my measuring stick
Tires FR/R	120/70ZR17 -180/55ZR17	120/70R17 - 190/50R17
Rake/Trail	25.0 degrees/3.9 inches	24.0 degrees/4 inches
Wheelbase	57.5 inches	55.9 inches
Seat Height	31.5 inches	32.3 inches
Dry Weight	427.0 pounds	437 pounds
Fuel Capacity	5.0 gallons	4.8 gallons
Colors	Asphalt, Smoke	Black Pearl, Pearl Blazing Orange

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