2024 Kawasaki Z900

This is fun... maybe too much fun.

It's an easy motorcycle to modify for one arm… a bit of work to get to the wiring, but otherwise, it’s easy to work with. I believe a lot of the modification work on this bike will form the guidelines for future motorcycles I modify. Less is more - the less I remove from the bike, the better, leaving the left-hand switchgear in place and the clutch lever/mounting and switch. If I do anything differently next time, I will use an intermediate harness for the left-hand switchgear so the switches still function.

Want to go fast? This bike can do that. Want to ride slow? This bike will also do that. Do I need more power? Heck no. I just wanted a bike that suited the riding I do - a mix of long-distance riding, commuting and blowing off steam in the twisties.

I originally wanted the Yamaha MT09, but my copilot didn’t like the seat on the Yamaha - the Zed won out for style, but comfort for the copilot isn’t so great. My copilot is tall and her long legs cramp up on long rides, usually before the pillion seats lack of comfort becomes an issue.

My riding style, with one arm, doesn’t suit modern slipper clutches. I don’t use a clutch on the downshift - instead, I rev-match on the downshift. With slipper clutches, this takes a bit of time to get right; the timing has to be spot-on for most downshifts. Low engine speed downshifts are smooth, the high rev downshifts when you’re hard on the brakes are even smoother. It's those mid-revs general riding downshifts that can catch you out. I load the gear lever ahead of the downshift to smooth it out. The Kawasaki slipper clutch, compared to the Royal Enfields slipper clutch, is very tight or short - less forgiving.

The ratios in the Zed’s gearbox are too close together - this sounds like fun, but it’s not really. The shift mechanism and feel is great, though. Some might call it clunky, but I like it. The only false neutral I find occasionally is downshifting from 2nd gear back to 1st gear, and I think that’s just me being too gentle with the gear lever.