Kawasaki Zephyr 750
KAWASAKI ZEPHYR 750
CW TEST
Yesterday's backstreet hero, today's do-it-all roadster
IT’S HARD TO BEAT THE ALL-AROUND VERSATILITY OF A 750cc standard-style motorcycle. One of the bikes of choice through the early 1980s, the mid-displacement, air-cooled, inline-Four standard is returning in the ’90s by way of Honda’s Nighthawk 750 and now Kawasaki’s Zephyr 750.
Although both of these machines are targeted at the same buyers, they are quite different. The Nightha\vk (see Cycle World, February, 1991) was designed specifically for the American market, with extensive input from U.S. riders. The 750 Zephyr—and especially a smaller, 550cc version—was developed primarily to take advantage of the current rage in Japan for retro-styled motorcycles; secondarily, to fill American demand for a full-sized standard motorcycle.
That the two Zephyrs are coming to America is fitting, because Kawasaki took cues for the bikes’ styling from the hot-rodded streetbikes that prowled U.S. streets from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s—motorcycles that were performance-modified to look like the muscular Superbike racers of the day.
The basis for this reborn small-scale Superbike is actually a decade-old KZ750, though it’s been heavily steppedon, the recipient of a strong dose of backstreet styling and a fair amount of 1990s technology.
Changes to the aging, air-cooled KZ750 engine included new cylinders with wider cooling fins; a higheroutput alternator: and a new cylinder head with sparkplughole diameters reduced from 12mm to 10mm for added strength in the two-valve combustion chambers. Valve sizes and cam timing were left alone in order to take advantage of the engine’s known ability to produce excellent low-end and midrange power. Four modern Keihin carburetors with 32mm bores replace the less-efficient 34mm mixers of the old KZ.
While the reactivation of this grizzled low-tech Four may be questioned by some, as soon as the bike is ridden, all doubts evaporate. The engine is extremely responsive to throttle twisting, and there’s never any stumble or hesitation. even when accelerating from slow speeds in top gear. This torquey, easy-revving engine is smooth, too, despite its lack of a counterbalancer. Excellent crankshaft balance and rubber engine mounts up front eliminate buzz at most rpm levels, although a slight tingle can be felt in the pegs and solidly mounted handlebar at highway speeds above 70 mph. or if the tach is zinged to nearredline revolutions.
Another slight bother for, the freeway traveler is the Zephyr's low final gearing, which, at 60 mph, has the engine spinning at 4800 rpm. Vibration isn't the problem; it just sounds busy. For comparison, the Honda Nighthawk 750 registers just under 4000 rpm at 60 mph. But changing the final gear ratios would surely degrade the bike’s great roll-on performance and its spirited acceleration through the gears. With its stock sprockets, the Zephyr passes traffic with zest, even when ridden two-up. And it accelerates out of corners with an urgency normally reserved for sportbikes.
A slick-shifting, five-speed transmission and a clutch that engages smoothly and progressively are able partners whether in heavy traffic or on a twisty backroad.
Equally praiseworthy is the Zephyr 750's chassis. Largediameter steel tubes wrap around the engine, gusseting supports the swingarm pivot, and a good-sized aluminum swingarm—with nifty eccentric axle adjusters—give the Zephyr a solid feel that no K.Z750 ever came close to duplicating. Nor did any KZ750 handle with the ease and precision of this Zephyr.
At least partially responsible for the Zephyr’s fine handling are wide, 70-series, 17-inch Dunlop tires, mounted on three-spoke alloy wheels of 3-inch front and 4-inch rear widths. A non-adjustable fork with 41mm stanchion tubes, and dual shocks with piggyback reservoirs and adjustable spring preload, compression and rebound damping help with the handling chores, too.
STANDARD THIS, STANDARD THAT. blah, blah, blah . . ..
Forget, for a moment, all the talk about the shrinking motorcycle market and the importance of re-entry buyers. Ignore all this “new-age” standard-style stuff. Pay no attention to those pathetic codgers who wax philosophical over the simple elegance of stone-age engineering, drawing vague parallels to models better left forgotten. Forget all about simple motorcycles for simple folk. f‘: *
Forget it, I say, because none of it pertains to the Zephyr 750. It's not a standard: It’s a sportbike in disguise.
Sometime between when I first swung a leg over its saddle and when I climbed off after a spirited backroad charge, the Zephyr changed my mind about motorcycles, convincing me that one needn’t adopt posture resembling the Hunchback of Notre Dame’s in order to have fun on a bike.
Standard? Nah. Versatile sportbike? Definitely.
—Brian Catterson, Associate Editor
KAWASAKI’S ZEPHYR 750. AN INTRIGUing mix of old and new, arrived right on the heels of Honda’s Nighthawk 750. The Nighthawk is certainly an impressive motorcycle, a bike that’s beautifully finished and nice to ride, but the Zephyr (the name meaning “a soft, gentle breeze,” according to Webster's) raises the fun quotient a couple of points for me. Its engine is extremely responsive and free-spinning, and it’s geared to best take advantage of that response. This low gearing makes for a busysounding engine at freeway speeds, but the trade-off is the Zephyr’s incredibly quick roll-on times. A slight twist of the throttle puts traffic well behind you.
Excellent brakes, light handling, a solid frame and swingarm, and good suspension means the Zephyr’s engine doesn’t overpower its chassis, either. This bike is simpiy a blast to ride, whether dissecting curvy backroads or running an errand to the corner store.
—Ron Griewe. Senior Editor
THE VERY FIRST MOTORCYCLE I EVER road-tested was a 1983 KZ1000R, a rolling tribute to Kawasaki’s two U.S. Superbike titles. It looked just like Eddie Lawson’s bright-green raeebike, went like stink and had rear-suspension rates better suited for the landing gear on a Navy F-14 Tomcat.
Eight years later comes the Zephyr 750, which looks and feels much like a downsized Lawson Replica, albeit one that’s been sent to finishing school. This is one fun motorcycle, with crisp handling, right-now brakes and top-gear roll-on times better than a Suzuki GSX-R750’s.
The obvious question in this, the year of the standard, is whether the Zephyr is better than that other 750cc allarounder, Honda’s 750 Nighthawk. Well, I’d assert that the Honda, roomier and with a more upright seating position, is the better standard. At $3998, it’s also the better bargain. But I'd vote for the Zephyr as the better motorcycle. —David Edwards, Editor
ZEPHYR 75O
$4699
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
