Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Z Ownership approved!

Congratulations both Niranjan and Satya bhai.
Now time to treat us with some pics and ride reports.

P.S - Moved from Motorcycle ownerships section to SBK section.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Thank you so much for the fast approval. Check some pics in this post. A rather long post is under process. Just an update: The delivery of our Z800 takes the tally of Z800s to 4 in the Pune clan with two more expected to join soon. Wonder if Kawasaki had priced this a bit lower, it could have taken the market by storm.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Hey many many congratulations bro! I am eyeing this bike since a very long time but didn't find any true owner reviews. Checking out the street triple too..but my heart goes put for the Z800! Actually it's got 'Z' written all over it and my nickname is also Zee giving me a feeling that it's made for me. I know that's a lame reason..but it's in addition to the bike's capabilities also which I recognize

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Congratulations to both of you! Regarding price of the bike, Kawasaki MD said to us in Kawasaki Meet in Nagpur that they want to dominate the market with Z800 and I guess they feel this is best price for the bike!

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Whoa i was just going to start a thread myself. Booked a Z800 and made full payment today, expecting delivery soon. Was told 2 were delivered yesterday, little did i know both were of xbhp members. Congratulations and good luck.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Heartiest congratulations, Niranjan. It is a good evolutionary step up from the N250 to the Z800.

Do post a review - bank loan (if any) details, dealer experience, initial ride etc.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Thank you Maneesh! Yes, this is a good evolutionary step forward and a decision which I think was made correctly. What about your Bonnie? When are we hearing from you?

As regards to the bank loan and dealer experience etc, expect several posts over the next few hours/days.

Hey, congratulations. When are you getting the delivery?

Thank you Sachin! True, this bike has the potential to dominate the market due to it's price.

Thank you Bro! If you are checking out the Street Triple as well, check out my post coming in some time which rationalizes the choice. Hopefully, it might prove to be useful to you for making the choice.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Am told the delivery would be by the 30th of this month, hope it is sooner.

Glued to this thread, would love to read your thoughts on the bike, first riding experience et al while id relive those moments within a couple of weeks.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

The story so far...

The decision to buy something more powerful and fast was done sometime last year but there were other priorities to be catered to. More than priorities, it was the existing large stable which made my family skeptical of a new addition. However, I managed to convince them into letting me buy one more with a promise that I would have to sell at least two of the existing ones.

Then started the hunt for the right choice. Honda has machines up to 250 cc and then direct jump to the CB1000R and the other models. Likewise, other manufacturers have large machines but there is no intermediate choice. However, there is one manufacturer, Kawasaki, which has a large portfolio that consists of 300, 650, 800, 1000 (Naked and Touring), 1000 (Super Sports) and a 1400 (Hyperbike). In addition to this, there is one more new player Triumph which has a lot of choice in the intermediate category.

I am fond of faired bikes (most of us are) and a super sports like the ZX10R, Fireblade, R1 or the Gixxer were immediate favorites. However, on thinking deeper, I found that the super sports machines are bought either as a poser tool or for serious sport biking. The latter group is probably just 0.1% of the total sales of these machines. On talking to a few acquaintances who own sports bikes, they expressed fear of damaging their bikes more than anything else which prevented them from doing what a sports bike can best do. Moreover, for everyday use, a sports bike is not the ideal choice. With the aggressive seating positions that are the "in thing", a naked would seem much more comfortable for everyday use and that occasional blast on the highway.

In addition to this, I had a talk with Vishwas (TrustVishwas) a few months back when he got his FZ1 and we discussed the exact same lines as written above.

Looking no further, the choice became narrow and I had the following options

1. Kawasaki Z800
2. Kawasaki Z1000
3. Triumph Street Triple
4. Triumph Sport Triple.

Finalization: I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my friend Ashwin who looks after the Triumph Dealership at Pune. He was forthcoming to allow me to test ride the Speed and Daytona (was not in my list but still wanted to swing a leg). The initial impressions were positive. The Street Triple felt comfortable from the word go. The power delivery was linear and not threatening, the arrow exhaust made the bike sound really well, brakes were good, easy for some spirited cornering and in general, did everything that a bike should do and more. However, something felt amiss and I could not really get myself to finalize the Street Triple. I liked the Speed Triple but unfortunately could not get a test ride. Those few days, I did some immense R&D on the review and reports of these two bikes. While almost all the reviews pointed out that the Street Triple is THE bike in this category, the Speed Triple had mixed reviews. So then, the Speed Triple was struck off the list.

Next was the Kawasaki Showroom. It is a great pity that Kawasaki does not offer test rides. Confidence in your product is a good sign of arrogance. I was bitterly disappointed with this part and was quite vocal about it at the showroom. The only option given was to ride the bike in the smallish premises of the showroom (which I did not take). Having looked at both 800 and 1000, I tried the seating position and the general feel and found the Z800 a tad better. The 1000 seems compact and small as well. However, the imposing stance and the seating position, the slightly unconventional looks of the Z1000 plus the huge difference in the price (almost 4.65 lakhs) tilted the decision in favor of the Z800. Some R&D again and almost every site was talking of the following good looks, vastly improved engine, superb mid-range, shorter gearing and huge weight. Most of the reviews also put the Street Triple ahead of the Z800 due to compactness and nimbleness.

The final

Triumph Street Triple

Pros:

1. Small and compact - easy to manage and maneuver
2. Good Engine and manageable power delivery
3. Worldwide reviews were good and marked it out as the best in it's class
4. ABS - (was ill informed about this aspect and I posted this in the cons first)

Cons:

1. Small and compact - Does not have the presence nor the looks
2. Engine - three cylinder and 675CC. I was aspiring for an inline 4.
3. Triumph - Unknown service and quality aspect
4. Almost equivalently priced

Kawasaki Z800

Pros:

1. Large and immense presence
2. Engine - An inline 4 as I wanted
3. Worldwide reviews were favorable and put the Z in second spot
4. Kawasaki - Service and quality levels were known
5. ABS - huge plus
6. Price - equivalently priced with the Street Tripe

Cons:

1. Weight - quite a handful

With this, it becomes a no-brainer and the choice is obvious.

Next post: Booking and Delivery

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Congratulations NV. Hope to see your new ride in our next ride or G2G. I am also struggling with Street Triple vs Z800 dilemma and will be eagerly watching this thread before I make my decision by the end of the year. If I am not wrong street triple comes with ABS standard as well. Please check.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Sir, I think the Street triple has ABS. Read it in shadyabhi's ownership thread of the street triple

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

Noooooooo....
Tell me You guys just didn't bought a Z in black instead of green.
Hehehe.
Congo to you guys,,,
And it is a great machine,
Having ridden the z 1000(2014) ,I'm sure this 800 would be just arms stretch behind, and frankly, litre class bikes are not made for India, neither they should be brought anywhere else in the world (they make you lazy etc etc, even experts favours non litre class bikes in real world scenario) .
Have fun and Lagfree ownership.

Sent while Riding a 10sec bike.

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

4 Z800 in Pune. Heartiest congratulations NV. A butter chicken treat paije ata!!! Wish you many more buttery chickeni miles on the Z800..

Re: Kawasaki Z800 - Dream Comes True

If what you say is true, then I am ill informed or did not take care to check this aspect properly on the Street Triple. My bad. However, you can still refer to the other points.

P.S: I have modified my earlier post to reflect the ABS availability on Street Triple. But even then, the final outcome would still be in favor of the Z800 (at least for me)

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Thank you! Sure, you can look out for the Z800 band tomorrow.

Thank you!. True that, most of these machines produce power which cannot be utilized in our conditions.

Thank you Eshan! Butter Chicken? or is it Fish Curry?