As many people could easily relate to, I’m just another guy who’s always wanted the taste of an inline-4 superbike in life
BHPian Mechomotive21 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hi all,
I’m 31 now, between 19 to 25, I’ve owned a few exciting bikes at that time, starting off from R15, KTM RC390 & Harley Davidson Street 750. I sold off my last bike by 2020, but the superbike dream was always there & I decided to chase it in 2024.
I was considering a few options that fit my budget was Triumph Street Triple 765 R, Kawasaki ZX6R & Kawasaki Z900. I went ahead with Z900 over the other two due to personal preferences (ZX6R too hardcore riding ergonomics for everyday use & 765 R, though absolutely brilliant, felt a little too much underdog for a first superbike where I wanted some appeal). So yes, Z900 it was. I could book and get the bike delivered at Kawasaki Chennai in less than 30 days.
The pics below are from the first cold start & first ride back to hometown (Chennai to Krishnagiri).
Z900 is such an approachable superbike with an unintimidating character for someone getting exposed to a 100 bhp+ superbike for the first time. Sounds sweet, butter smooth engine & powerful enough when you want it to be. All I was waiting for was to complete the run-in period to stretch its legs.
The pic below was taken during the first service.
So now that Z900 is up and ready to unleash its full potential, I had great fun in spirited riding down from Chennai to Krishnagiri multiple times. I was in love with the tractability of the engine. It was driven daily as I wanted it to be right from daily office rides, weekend highway rides, a few hill trips & it was quite entertaining in every ride taken. Though the bike is on the heavier side, Kawasaki has nailed the mass centralization & handling felt like a dream for all sorts of rides. Engine heat management deserves special attention, of course. Post 3000kms it was time I was getting used to the power & my love for mods kicked in. (I’ve been quite notorious for having a few tuned cars viz., stage 2 Ameo TDI DSG, Stage 2 Vento TDI, Stage 2 Polo TDI & Stage 1 Tata Safari).
First things first, I was not a fan of chrome heavy tail light, so I’ve covered it up with a sun film, a DIY to give it a smoked effect.
As anyone would love, next was a full system exhaust & a free-flowing air filter. A month-long research revealed that Z900 has a lot of exhaust replicas that were legit enough to solve the purpose & not hurting the engine much. I threw in SS headers & Akrapovic short end-can (I call it FAKErapovic) from a seller in Delhi. These were legit knock-offs made by a manufacturer in Indonesia. The Performance Air filter was from BMC.
The full system exhaust was installed with the help of a neighborhood mechanic.
The BMC air filter installation was a DIY with the help of my wife.
At last, a loud and fast bike.
I really enjoyed the aural experience & I could grin from ear to ear at every twist of throttle. I’ve never really felt uncomfortable riding a superbike in the city with a full system exhaust & managed 0 challan till date. Setting the idling to 1000 rpm helps to keep the idle buzzing sound low. Short-shifting helps to keep the exhaust scream in check, as it can manage lower speeds in higher gears. Beyond 6000 rpm is when the screaming drama starts, & it can be kept under control at will, & can unleash when necessary.
Here comes performance facts.
As stock, I could feel the low-end exceptionally good for city use (you could’ve heard the stories of 30kmph in 6th gear), mid-range rush was good, but top-end felt a little starved.
After a full system & hi-flow air filter, the performance in the top-end is slightly elevated along with aural bliss. But the mid-range felt a tad flat & the short rev band was an irritant as limiters were hit way too early. The engine is free revving, so you blink once & you’re hitting limiters, not a great thing.
This is when I heard about MotoDen, Bangalore. They were playing with much larger capacity super-sport bikes & dealt with Z900s often.
At around 10000 kms, the bike was remapped. The comprehensive list is as follows,
1. Deceleration Fuel cut disabled – Reducing power loss whilst upshifting.
2. Fan temperature reduced by 8°C – A Cooler engine has better performance
3. Injectors balanced for the Full system – Now runs optimal Stoichiometry.
4. Revv limiter Extended by 800RPM – Longer gears, higher top end.
5. Gear speed limiters removed.
(108 in 1st, 135 in 2nd, 155 in 3rd, 208 in 4th, 235 in 5th, 257+ in 6th)
6. Aggressive throttle all the way from 2K RPM – Midrange is now sorted.
9. Exhaust restrictions removed and disabled – 02 sensors are dummy now.
10. Gains- 10-13.5WHP – Power increase is now felt at the top-end substantially.
At MotoDen Bangalore
Hitting the highway, pushing limits.
Whilst I was quite sorted with all the mods, a call came in with impeccable timing. MotoDen asked me to get rid of sub-throttle plates for much better performance at top end. So I did it as a DIY.
OMG, this mod seemed like the one I’ve always wanted. Z900 is now really transformed. The performance mods backed with a re-map are absolutely working in tandem. This now feels like a superbike on steroids.
As a first thread, I kept the key points precise. In case of any brief explanation for any specific point, it shall be taken up further.
Thanks for your time!
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