The debate is officially over. With 147kW of power on tap, Kawasaki’s ZX-14 is the most powerful production motorcycle in the world, and its 0 to 100kph acceleration time of 2,5 seconds makes it the world’s fastest accelerating production machine, on two wheels, or four. All this is, of course, academic; there are other sports motorcycles that are capable of nipping closely at the big Kawasaki’s heels, and most of us can’t ride them to their full potential. With a top speed electronically limited to 300kph, and the ability to reach 240kph in the time the lively Honda Accord Type S sedan takes to reach a hundred — about 9,5 seconds — nobody can ever call the big Kawasaki anything but devastatingly quick.
But the ZX-14 was never meant to be a pure sports machine. Where the 1 000cc Kawasaki ZX-10R, Yamaha R1, Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Honda Fireblade are all intensely focussed on racetrack use, the ZX-14 is a sports tourer. It’s longer than the sportier race replicas and, at 213kg, weighs about 40kg more than they do. These two factors, while making the machine less nimble around a racetrack, add stability and comfort on the road and the big Kawasaki’s extra 350cc capacity means that it is quicker in a straight line as well.
My first impression of the ZX-14 was that it would handle like a barge, simply because it looks so big. Within the first couple of hundred metres on the road, my concerns evaporated because the bike seems to shed mass as the wheels start rolling. The big four-cylinder inline engine is also remarkably docile at less than 5 000rpm, making it very user-friendly, but once the rev counter approaches the 6 000rpm mark, you are in for a ride to remember — traffic ahead of you on the freeway seems to be reversing towards you at warp speeds.
The big Kawasaki is a lot easier to live with than the litre-class superbikes on the road. The riding position is more relaxed, and passengers don’t spend their journey perched high up on the back, with their knees around their ears. The long wheelbase makes the bike much more stable than the lightweight sports machines as well, but the ZX-14 is remarkably agile through the twisties.
The Kawasaki is blessed with a slick six-speed transmission, which you don’t have to use very much, and superb brakes. Instrumentation includes an on-board computer that shows instant and average fuel consumption, remaining tank range, battery voltage, two trip meters and a gear indicator.
After riding the Kawasaki ZX-14 for about 500km there is very little about it that I can fault. I’m not crazy about the styling, but it grew on me after a while, and I have to wonder why the designers stuck two big, heavy silencers on to the motorcycle when a decent four-into-one would look better, save weight and improve performance. The on-board computer’s distance-till-empty function is too sensitive, reacting abruptly to any change in riding style. However, I found, to my surprise, that this is a motorcycle I’d be very happy to own.
In terms of performance there is nothing on wheels that can touch the Kawasaki ZX-14, irrespective of price. For R105 000 it’s a steal.