After bombarding us with four bikes – the Z900, the Z650, the new Ninja 650, and the 2017 Ninja 300 – Kawasaki has more in store for India. Its latest offerings come in the form of the 2017 Z250 (Rs 3.09 lakh), the Z1000 (Rs 14.39 lakh), and its sportier Z1000R (Rs 15.49 lakh) variant. All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.
The key mechanical change on the Z1000 is that it is now BS-IV compliant. What’s nice is that the upgrade has not resulted in drop in either power or torque. This means that the Z1000 still continues to be powered by a 1,043cc, four-cylinder engine and churns out 142hp and an impressive 111Nm of torque. Furthermore, Kawasaki claims that the bike’s ECU has been recalibrated for smoother power delivery. Also new on the 2017 Z1000 are the indicators for gear position and gear up-shifts.
New to kawasaki’s line-up is the Z1000R, which is a sportier avatar of Kawasaki’s range-topping naked. This version of the litre-class Z uses the same engine as the Z1000, but comes with a few extra goodies. These include special front brake discs designed for better heat dissipation that are clamped down by M50 monobloc callipers by Brembo, and a new Ohlins rear monoshock. It also comes with a dedicated body graphics package.
The Japanese bikemaker has also silently upgraded its baby naked, the Z250, for BS-IV compliance. Like its bigger sibling, the Z-range starter sees no dip in outputs of 32hp and 21Nm that the 2016 bike made from its 249cc, parallel twin.
The Z1000 takes on bikes like the Honda CB1000R, while the smaller Z250 rivals the likes of the Benelli TNT 25 and the recently launched KTM Duke 250.