Now don’t get all excited seeing as you’re all thinking this will turn into some vile soft porn article, it won’t, but it did make you pay attention, right?
What I’m referring to, yer dirty minded beasts, is the new front end of the 2020 z650 that was ‘given’ by their accomplished z900. Well actually this type of styling now runs through the ‘Z’ range, called Sugomi design, for some reason in true Japanese tradition with word play.
So the second generation of the z650 now has a new face/head and redesigned tandem seat. To blend with this attractive paint and striking green frame there’s the big TFT display (also from the z900), and the headlight has LED internals, also like their z900. Very nice indeed and a fine improvement on all counts.
The engine remains the same except for a bigger cat’ and reworked silencer in the quest for reduced emissions with the new Euro 5 shite. The power is still 68hp and a slight drop in Nm to 64 from the 649cc, liquid-cooled, 8-valve, parallel twin.
This spunky little motor has always been a fun unit, and don’t forget they’re used in the Lightweight class at the Isle of Man TT races, making over 90hp, so it’s a strong engine for sure. Out on our roads the 2020 z650 is still quite a naughty little thing when ridden with Viagra, sorry I mean vigour. You’ll feel the smooth spread of torque all the way to its 10,000rpm ceiling and attain a top speed on the far side of 180km/h.
But twin-cylinder fun is only half the story as the suspension encourages racy riding, as do the superb front brakes with Kawasaki’s signature ‘petal’ discs. Cruise through traffic or tear through bends, the 188kg z650 gels with either situation admirably.
It’s also a very small motorcycle that belies the engine capacity and then some. I’ve ridden bigger 250s dimension wise, so the z650 is a perfect new bike for a new rider, or older, if you desire a reliable town tool with a bright new image.
I must admit when I first picked up the z650 I was a bit iffy about it but after a week with the shiny green-framed twin I became quite fond of its simplicity and friendly nature, not to mention it’s brilliant regarding fuel consumption, so I won’t. The only negative point, for myself, were I felt the footrests were too far forward and rode with tiptoes on them rather than flat feet, but others might not agree, probably those with shorter legs.
Short bank accounts will like the z650 as well seeing as it’s a respectable R122.995, not bad at all for such a fun bike with big bike styling and looks. So Kawasaki must be well chuffed they ‘gave head’ to the new z650, he he….
Visit www.kawasaki.co.za for dealer locations and view all the 2020 models.
