[Stitch]

He managed to take the 2017 Kawasaki Z650 up to 194km/h (120.5mph)

Took some decent time to get there but really wasn't that bad at all.

 

[Cowasaki]

Every time I see something like this, I always assume that it's on the German autobahn with no speed limit. Looks like the Z650 is getting a lot of vibration.

 

[Stitch]

Lol yeah I do too, but sometimes these guys just don't really care and have a nice decently empty stretch of road and go for it. The vibration through the video could be from a cruddy road.. which kind of makes this more scary than anything lol

 

[roadhawk]

Can't get enough of the deeper tone the engine has once going up the power range and once the power really hits. Have to try it out for myself with the first opportunity I get. So far this is adding up well to all the reviews i've been skimming through.

 

[Stitch]

It does have a nice tone higher up in the rpm range, would sound a great bit nicer with an exhaust too like something from Two Brothers or another brand that generally has exhausts that give off a nice deeper tone.

 

[roadhawk]

As expensive as it will be, Akra is one of the brands to look out for. But given the size of this market and how much it could potentially grow, odds are come time to sell it you can get a good amount of money back and even sell it quick. But most people I know that buy
Akra systems are long-term owners and keep that system throughout their ownership term.

 

[Stitch]

Yea, I don't think I've ever seen someone get an Akra, say they didn't like it and try to sell it. Even if they did, I'm sure it would sell quick because people love em'. A lot of times though, because Akra is such a big name, everyone wants one automatically without really searching into what else they could buy though. They feel that FOMO

 

[Cowasaki]

There's plenty of other options out there like brock and yoshi, but Akra is like the industry's golden standard and everyone knows of the brand. Their products are top notch even if they are expensive as heck, but the sound is worth it.

 

[Patluys]

This weekend I took my Z650 out for a ride. Very quick of the line and keeps accelerating. Of course it's no 1000cc racing machine, but it has plenty of power. Due to bad/cold weather and new tires, I closed the throttle at 160km/h (100mph). I must say, at that point, the bike was still accelerating pretty good. Although it's basically the same engine as on my Vulcan S, this one is a lot quicker.

 

[roadhawk]

This weekend I took my Z650 out for a ride. Very quick of the line and keeps accelerating. Of course it's no 1000cc racing machine, but it has plenty of power. Due to bad/cold weather and new tires, I closed the throttle at 160km/h (100mph). I must say, at that point, the bike was still accelerating pretty good. Although it's basically the same engine as on my Vulcan S, this one is a lot quicker.

Where about were you riding? Typical city road? And how do you like how it rides in whatever situation you had it in?
That to me is most important, too many focus on what the reviews say and not enough on what it will be like for them in the situations they will often be in.

We're you looking at any other bikes before deciding to go with the Z650?

 

[Patluys]

This weekend, it was a mix between country roads, city roads and a few miles of free way. A trip of 120km (80 miles).
I've only ridden it in cold weather (just above freezing) and rain so far. I'm not a fan of riding in rain, especially not when driving a bike with only 10 miles on the speedometer. The back wheel tended to break out while cornering, but that could also be the combination of new tires and wet roads.
In dry conditions, it's fun to ride. Apart from a little bit of vibrations at higher speeds (+70mph), no complaints so far. Great acceleration, easy to steer, good grip (dry weather), comfortable riding position, ...

Before buying this Z650, if test drove a Yamaha MT-07 and looked at various other bikes : CB500F, Z800, BMW F800R, Suzuki GSR750, ... Price/quality, fun factor and the fact that my Kawasaki Vulcan S never let me down made me stick with Kawasaki and go for the Z650.

 

[Stitch]

Gonna be real interested to hear what you think of it after your through the break-in period and you really get to open it up nicely.

 

[Limited Edition]

Does anyone find the gearing short on the Z650? I feel like the top speed could be about 20km/h higher.

 

[Stitch]

Hm.... time to experiment switching some things around?

 

[JACoH]

Maybe replace rear sprocket with one that has 2 teeth less than stock? If you change the front to one tooth larger (if it would fit), it may be too high geared and not able to pull it at higher rpm.

 

[Stitch]

I'm honestly no expert when it comes to this stuff and can't possibly do the math on it. Is there some sort of calculator or formula to use to figure it out??

 

[JACoH]

Easy peasy, divide the number of teeth on rear sprocket (46) by the number on front sprocket (15) and you have the overall ratio of 3.067 to 1. So, by reducing the rear sprocket by 2 teeth would result in a ratio of 2.93:1. It is possible to have a higher ratio (lower numerically) but not go any faster because the engine has to be able to produce the power to pull that gear at a higher rpm. In many cases depending on the engine's power characteristics, gearing a bike lower (higher numerically) can actually make it go faster because it can finally rev to its limits. (That example would be more teeth on the rear sprocket, or less on the front.) I found out many years ago, drag racing my old H-1 Kawasaki, dropping a tooth on the front sprocket allowed a faster top speed, which was opposite to what we wanted at the time.

 

[Shamsul Kamal]

At night, long straight on the highway. No car in front. I twisted the throttle, bent my waist until helmet above handle bar, almost immediately it goes to 195 km/h from around 140 - 150 km/h

 

[Geno Horri]

125mph. Between Tucson and Phoenix. Long straight and level. Had 125 on the speedo for at least 30 seconds. Down to 100 then back up to 124. Couldn't break 123 the next day on the same stretch of freeway. I'll try to set up a camera next time.

 

[Limited Edition]

125mph. Between Tucson and Phoenix. Long straight and level. Had 125 on the speedo for at least 30 seconds. Down to 100 then back up to 124. Couldn't break 123 the next day on the same stretch of freeway. I'll try to set up a camera next time.

Just how long of a road does it take for you to reach 125mph? Seeing the video, would you say 2-3 miles is a good distance to try to hit top speed? I assume any distance under that and you'll be struggling to get pass 190km/h or 118mph. It seems like the powerband tapers off pass 9.5K.