A Hotter Zephyr Blows Into the U.S.
A hotter Zephyr blows into the U.S.
ROUNDUP
AIN’T EVOLUTION GRAND? OLD Charlie Darwin would be proud, though he might not have recognized that his theory could have been applied to motorcycles. But here’s proof: A mere decade after Kawasaki’s KZ750 was proclaimed by this magazine as the top bike in its displacement, Kawasaki has unleashed what appears to be a very close relative, the ZR750.
The ZR—or Zephyr—750 is in some ways nothing more than a new-and-improved version of the KZ750. But it also can be seen as a retreat from the performance front; call it un-evolution. Kawasaki has demonstrated that it knows very well how to take one excellent piece of equipment and from it, evolve something even better, and that process is what has brought us to the ZX-7 and ZX-ll.
But there remains the less-is-more crowd, members of which yearn more for the mellow rides afforded by standard-style motorcycles than for the testosterone-laced thrills afforded by contemporary sport rockets. And that realization is what has brought Kawasaki full-circle.
“It’s a standard, meant to have really broad appeal. I guess you could think of it as a two-wheeled Mazda Miata,” said Jody Munden, Kawasaki’s public relations manager, of the Zephyr 750.
If the bike possesses Miata-style appeal, it's at least as much the result of careful thinking by Kawasaki’s designers and engineers as it is a good, thorough rummage through the company’s parts bins.
At first glance, the 750, with its air-cooled, two-valve-per-cylinder Four, classically shaped tank, twin shocks and wide, flat seat, might be mistaken for a perfectly restored late-’70s/early-’80s roadster. And. indeed, the key measurements of the bike’s engine (738cc displacement, 66x54mm bore and stroke) perfectly match those of the 1980 KZ750, even if its claimed 67 horsepower at 9500 rpm is a bit down from the KZ's claimed 74 at 9000.
But a closer look reveals that the Zephyr, at a claimed dry weight of 441 pounds, is a thoroughly modern motorcycle, even if it is hiding in vintage clothes. It rolls on 17-inch wheels instead of the KZ’s 19inchers, uses a hefty, 41 mm fork and an aluminum, box-section swingarm that rotates on needle bearings. Brakes are triple-disc, the pair up front measuring l l .8 inches in diameter. Suspension and brakes feed their loads into a double-cradle, tubular-steel frame that rolls on a 55.9-inch wheelbase and which provides a seat height of 31.3 inches.
The bike is expected in showrooms by November. No U.S. price has been set yet; its Japanese price converts to about $4400. If it actually sells for that price once it gets here, it’ll be more expensive than Honda's new Nighthawk 750 standard, expected to sell for $3998.
—Jon F. Thompson
