Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

[Bikerwithacamera]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Congrats on your new bike! Hope you have great fun riding it. Actually even I was searching for a screen for the bike but the puig at 14k was the only option I found locally. I asked the Mumbai kawasaki dealer and he said they don't have the screen in stock and no plans to order it anytime soon. So the only option is to buy the puig or order from ali express and hope to get a good screen. I am leaving towards the puig but the cost is putting me off.

Also did you test the benelli tnt 600? Since you already had a benelli bike?

Thanks.

I've already seen options such as of MRA & PUIG (sports & touring) options in Windscreen, for my TNT300 i had faced some issues and during that time I ordered PUIG universal windscreen from a spare parts dealer in Mumbai. And trust me when i say this.. spending 12K for that windscreen was absolute worth it especially for someone who likes to cruise around 120-130 kmph.

Coming to the Benelli 600i part, I had only most pleasant experience with TNT300.. while its loathed for most time on the contrary i loved riding this heavy bike and it made riding absolute stable while cruising on highways.. but the most i missed was the torque, while it had such good linear acceleration after couple of years i started to feel lack of torque at low and mid range which i felt after all riding experience is the most important aspect as top speed runs pleases once in a while, but low and mid range torque would woo you everytime.. and having test ridden 600i couple of years back its not hard to know that current 600i is ditto higher cc version of TNT300.

I will definitely miss the exhaust note and its tad bit higher ground clearance which allowed me to smooth my way out of city as well as forest roads.. but few weeks ride should definitely hit the sweet spot with the new ride.

Sighs... another day to pass thinking when will it land in the parking

[bf1983]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Finally got my bike !

Felt so great to ride it back to my home. Coming from a 150cc commuter bike its crazy how good Kawasaki has tuned the bike to make it so easy to ride it in the city in heavy traffic and then when you open the throttle suddenly all hell breaks loose!

I rode it for over an hour with some heavy traffic on the way and the engine was warm at best. No heating problems which is great.

The dealership was pretty ordinary though. Didn't even get a Tshirt as a freebie just a box of chocolates and a bike cover. Also they were severely lacking in providing any updates. I had to keep chasing them to ask the status of the bike's registration, delivery dates etc etc. They still have quite a bit to go unfortunately.

The bike though is simply awesome ! No two ways about it. Its a bit rough right now in its running it period but I rode the test bike and it was a lot smoother so after the 3rd service the bike should become really smooth hopefully.

Coming to the ground clearance well that is a big issue. I hit some 3 speed breakers on the way where the bottom touched the bump and my heart sank every time. Hopefully in future ill be able to judge speed breakers before I hit them but for now its bloody irritating when the bike bottoms out. And riding 2 up is a nightmare. Even small looking speed breakers which I hardly notice the bike bottoms out.

Thankfully most of the riding will be by just me.

For accessories I have just installed a radiator guard and in a few days Ill be putting frame sliders. The hard part now is to keep the RPMs in check for the next 30 days which is going to be very very difficult.

[ankitipr]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Heartiest Congratulations

[saudjawed]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Just bought a pre owned Ride

[ayebot]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Congrats both! Would recommend you default to crossing speed breakers slowly at 45 degree angle, slower if you have a pillion. There are times I almost come to a halt at some ridiculous looking tall breakers.

I ordered my screen from AliExpress and it’s serving well but feel the need for a taller one as this one directs winds at my face. Would recommend going with the tallest available option.

[bf1983]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Just bought a pre owned Ride [ATTACH]253116[/ATTACH]

Congrats !!!

Though I can't believe you went from a R15 to a Z650 ! :O

I would have expected a R15 rider to upgrade to a pre owned Daytona 675 or something similar rather than a naked bike.

[Deathwing]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Congrats !!!

Though I can't believe you went from a R15 to a Z650 ! :O

I would have expected a R15 rider to upgrade to a pre owned Daytona 675 or something similar rather than a naked bike.

Much more comfortable to live with the z650 , more city and daily use friendly and obviously better mileage

[saudjawed]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Pre owned Daytona is not available in chennai, so settled with z650 l, by the was my rides are.

Congrats !!!

Though I can't believe you went from a R15 to a Z650 ! :O

I would have expected a R15 rider to upgrade to a pre owned Daytona 675 or something similar rather than a naked bike.

[bf1983]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Woah ! Thats a lot of bikes ? Is the last one an ER6n ? Which of these are your favs ?

Yes the Z650 is an amazing everyday bike. Easy to ride in traffic and today by mistake I went down in my shorts. Cursed my stupidity but was too lazy to go back up and change to went for a 1 hr ride expecting to have fully baked legs. But surprisingly the bike got hot but not uncomfortably so and my legs were fine after the ride. Not recommended though. Best to wear full length pants.

[saudjawed]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

DIY installed KTM indicator

[Bikerwithacamera]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Hello Boys !

Sorry for arriving late upon this,
I got my Z650 delivered couple of weeks back finally, thou i haven't got a chance yet to clock more kms.. but yesterday i was able to make a run of around 50 kms on a highway stretch here and that too with pillion.

Apart from that, i got chance to make few short runs in city in these few days..

My experience..

I'll be honest here.. I wasn't expecting very much from this nimble middleweight machine after using a Benelli in past two years, oh boy ! but was i wrong there..
Z650 already feels like a major major upgrade from my last machine. It took me little less than 2-3 kms to get adjusted to new bike, it's that friendly.
And talk about it aggression and low-mid range talk.. riding in city traffic was never this much fun. And after using a Benelli 300cc which had liner high end torque, this changes the whole riding experience.

Apart from usual PDI and smooth delivery experience by folks here at Kawasaki Surat, i got Radiator Grill, Spools, Front fork Protectors installed from the showroom itself before taking the delivery. The frame sliders were still awaited, but i wasn't very sure of the quality which were offered at comparatively low price with the above 'package'. Fast forward to few days while frame sliders were still awaited as they had received wrong ones.. but then i recalled my past experience with company provided frame sliders and i decided to call my other source here for bike parts and ordered ever trusted PUIG sliders, which was delivered and installed couple of days after the order.

Along with the sliders, i added a USB charger which is much required for the tours.

Whilst all of these, i was so impatient waiting for the arrival of Bike, that i had placed an order for a windscreen a month ago from aliexpress which got delivered couple of days back and i self installed it yesterday morning.

Coming to quick conclusion of experience till now..

Pros -
1. It has everything damn good thing which you've read everywhere about this bike. All of it is true
2. Bike is smaller from sure for its capacity, but not its power and torque.
3. Despite its smaller looks, its very very comfortable for rider with a pillion. I got married a month ago, we both weigh into 70's (kg) with height around 5'7 and we're pretty much comfortable on the bike riding together.
4. It offers a great riding stance, which i believe it one of the first thing to look out for while getting a new ride. It offers upright stance to both rider and pillion. My wife has a back condition and i was bit worried about the same seeing the look and size of the bike. And after couple of rides she informed that even her stance stays upright and is comfortable most times while cruising.. so thats a major relief for me. For this i truly thank reviews over internet, as it wasn't possible for me to check upon during test rides.

Cons -

The biggest and the only pain in the ass is the ground clearance especially with Indian road bumpers which generally have no criteria followed of shapes, size and curves.
For solo rides it still okay. While riding with pillion.. oh god no. I don't want to describe it here.. if you own it, you know it already.

Some Images:

Hi People !

I am Ankit from Surat, and I writing this with a wide smile and much eagerness that I have my Z650 awaited to arrive in next few days.

In a short brief, I owned a Benelli TNT300 since past 2 years, was throughly satisfied with it for my purpose and i knew exactly where it lacked and what i wanted from my next middle weight bike. After not so much thoughts and ponder i came across some reviews and articles upon Kawasaki '650 Family' and decided to make a visit to the showroom here and took decision in minutes go for Z650 (as i wrote above.. i knew exactly what i wanted from my next bike ).

This will be my 4th ride till now and as always, i can hardly pass days awaiting to hear from the dealer about its delivery date. I am hoping to get it delivered around 26-27 of this month. Thanks to all who've already put up their experiences with this beast, it'll be easier to process things while taking delivery. I've had my homework done upon the requirements and what all it needs once bike is here.

Only suggestion i am seeking for is about the Windshield. I had PUIG universal for my benelli which served well, and i see there are couple of options available for Z650 as well from PUIG but if there are any other options available in India.

Thanks for heads-up in advance.

Ride Safe Always

[bf1983]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

... but then i recalled my past experience with company provided frame sliders and i decided to call my other source here for bike parts and ordered ever trusted PUIG sliders, which was delivered and installed couple of days after the order....

Congrats on the bike !

Yes it surely is an amazing easy to ride bike. I rode my friends older BMW and man that thing weighed a ton and in city traffic I kept stalling it. This bike I rarely stall and its so easy to smoothly cut through traffic.

Just wanted to know your issue on the above line from your post. What issues did you have with the earlier sliders ? I was planning on getting some cheaper locally made sliders but your post is making me rethink my decision.

[Bikerwithacamera]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Thanks bro !

As i mentioned earlier i had owned TNT300 previously which was very very heavy bike for this segment. It came along with stock frame sliders which because of improper fittings had fallen twice because of vibrations.. Later i used to check every once in a while before every long trip if they've loosen up because of the same reason.
But what happened later was shocking, after couple of those incidence i had ordered new sliders and when i went for the installation, i was able to compare the weight and fitments between two products and there was drastic difference in the metal quality and hence the strength.

After getting new sliders on TNT300 i had the only unfortunate incident with that bike where i lost balance while stalling and bike leaned and because of the weight i had to drop it at rest. And during this time if you've experienced, we get to know how important a piece of metal is for our precious which can sustain entire weight of the bike on single contact ! lot of these cheaper and lighter metal sliders can crack/break right away due to excess weight or drag force... while the better ones will have just scratches may be and save lot of time and efforts for insurance claims or replacing cracked sliders.

Congrats on the bike !

Yes it surely is an amazing easy to ride bike. I rode my friends older BMW and man that thing weighed a ton and in city traffic I kept stalling it. This bike I rarely stall and its so easy to smoothly cut through traffic.

Just wanted to know your issue on the above line from your post. What issues did you have with the earlier sliders ? I was planning on getting some cheaper locally made sliders but your post is making me rethink my decision.

[bf1983]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

Thanks bro !

As i mentioned earlier i had owned TNT300 previously which was very very heavy bike for this segment. It came along with stock frame sliders which because of improper fittings had fallen twice because of vibrations.. Later i used to check every once in a while before every long trip if they've loosen up because of the same reason.
But what happened later was shocking, after couple of those incidence i had ordered new sliders and when i went for the installation, i was able to compare the weight and fitments between two products and there was drastic difference in the metal quality and hence the strength.

After getting new sliders on TNT300 i had the only unfortunate incident with that bike where i lost balance while stalling and bike leaned and because of the weight i had to drop it at rest. And during this time if you've experienced, we get to know how important a piece of metal is for our precious which can sustain entire weight of the bike on single contact ! lot of these cheaper and lighter metal sliders can crack/break right away due to excess weight or drag force... while the better ones will have just scratches may be and save lot of time and efforts for insurance claims or replacing cracked sliders.

Thanks for sharing. Yes what you said makes 100% sense. Can't believe I was willing to risk the bike for a few thousand bucks. Will definitely go for some good sliders. Cheers !

[Bikerwithacamera]

Re: Z650 Ownership Experience Thread

First service due in next week.
Couldn't ride much in this one month of ownership, but riding around 200 kms tomorrow.

In riding experience till now, feeling mild vibrations from the bike around 2.5K RPM.. is it normal ? anyone experiencing same ?