I went to the Kawasaki demo days here in Houston this past Saturday. I spent virtually the whole day there and rode 5 of their bikes, 3 of them twice. First of all I must confess they were all great.

Number 5 - Versys 650. I am 5'7" tall with 30" inseam. Even stretching my feet to the utmost tippy toes I could barely touch the ground. Once you get going the bike feels great, the engine pulls with tremendous power. The suspension feels good. But this was the only bike with which I had some trouble modulating the throttle and it was the only bike on which the brakes felt grabby, even though they were ABS brakes. All the bikes had ABS.

Number 4 - Z900RS. I could not quite flat foot this bike, but not nearly as bad as the Versys. The bike is beautiful, has an old style look and great balance. It also has a 4 cylinder engine that puts out in excess of 90 ponies and it seemed that at the slightest twist of the throttle the bike would take off. Superb acceleration. I had to be extremely careful on the turns. This bike takes the fourth position because I do not like 4 cylinder engines on a bike and because it is just too much horsepower for me.

Number 3 - W800. I could flat foot this bike but then the foot pegs would dig into the inside of my legs. I had to learn to slow down carefully and pull my feet forward of the pegs. This bike is beautiful and resembles a bonnie. It my have had the weakest engine but the acceleration was still substantial. The foot pegs issue and the price of this bike are the negatives.

The next 2 bike could easily change place with each other, but if forced to make a choice at this very moment, the following would be my choice. But if you ask me tomorrow I might reverse the order.

2. Z400. This bike fit me. I can flat foot it comfortably and it weighs just under 370 lbs. This bike is basically the Ninja 400 with softer suspension and a 2" higher handle bar. The engine and transmission are the same as the Ninja without any de-tuning. This bike is capable of 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds, has a top speed in excess of 100 mph, and is expected to give you around 50 mpg. This bike is incredibly easy to ride and just happens to be incredibly affordable. If this were a cruiser style or a retro look standard it would be my first choice.

1. Vulcan S. I think just about anybody can flat foot this bike as the seat is very low. The foot pegs are very forward position but I believe they can be adjusted some depending on your preference. The look is unique, cruiseresque I would say. Not my favorite look, but not the worst either. The engine is the same as used on the Versys 650 but detuned, or tuned for more low and mid range power basically meaning that it has a lower top end than the Versys. I did not check the top end on any bike, but I can tell you this bike accelerates almost as well as any of the other bikes, even the Z900rs did not leave me behind when coming out of a turn.

Having said all the above, the bike that most impressed me was the Z400 because that little engine is amazing, the bike is light and well balanced and the price is very reasonable.

I refuse to go test ride a z400...because I know it will come home with me.

One of the dealerships in the area has some 2019 brand new Z400's for sale at $3,999.00. Yes, I have been tempted.

springman wrote on 02/24/20 at 18:06:14:


Of all of them, the Vulcan S was the only one that I saw that said "test drive me" to me. The cool thing about it is if you buy from an authorized Kawa dealer, they can do Ergo-Fit for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeQPzuPZ7ho which probably eliminates the peg issue Springman had.

Curious, for some time the W800 and its predecessor the W650,  didn't seem to be available in the US. They were available in little old NZ. Now both versions of the W800 would seem to be available in the US, but only the Cafe version here.

jcstokes wrote on 02/27/20 at 21:44:08:


We did get the W650 for a couple? of years. They beat the Triumph Bonnie to our shore. But sadly  few were sold.

When I was in Japan I saw a W400, pretty cool.

Ruttly, we did not do any highway driving so no sustained highway speeds. Kawasaki is going to have another demo day at a different dealership not tomorrow, but the following weekend. I am going to try to make it to that one in hopes that we will get on the highway. However, based on the hard accelerations to 60 or so I am guessing the bike can handle 70 mph without being buzzy.

I would ride it on a long ride. I actually would want to adapt it as much as possible for touring. The only hassle would be cleaning and oiling the chain every 500-700 miles.

Sorry, made a mistake. Next demo day in the general area is april 4.

Springman , that GS500 that I sold last spring has 1700 miles on it since I sold it and the guy still hasn't brought it back for his free chain adjustment !   I put a blue "O-Ring" chain on it with new sprockets last year and they looked good !  
That being said ...
I'm a little iffy on going back to a chain too.    I'm doing fine with my shaft-drive Guzzi's , but they require a touch of grease with every tire change !     They both weigh a little over 400 lbs.each , and get about 55-60 mpg if given a chance to be good !  
..............

I still think $4K for a 400cc Kawasaki would be close to stealing it !  even after taxes were added !