Kawasaki: Eats highways for breakfast

Remarkably easy to ride in the real world, Kawasaki's ZX-14 will clock up the kms in sporty comfort. Photo / Supplied

Do Bugatti Veyron buyers sometimes wish they'd just bought a superbike? After all, they've paid seven-figure sums to get the ultimate in acceleration - only to find a long list of motorbikes can match it.

This ZX-14, for one. It's got Kawasaki's most powerful engine, the 1352cc in-line four using ram air and fuel injection to deliver 142kW of power. That's 42kW more than a 1.8-litre Toyota Corolla, yet the bike has just 257kg to shift against the Corolla's 1260kg. No wonder it's so damn quick.

It's also remarkably easy to ride in the real world. Like the Suzuki Hayabusa it is pitched against, this Kawasaki is longer than a traditional sports bike, which helps keep the front wheel down under acceleration. It also makes it less agile, but then this isn't a race machine - it's nominally designed for the road.

The lightweight, stiff aluminium monocoque frame that evolved from the ZX-12R meant Kawasaki could build a slimmer package with the engine rigidly mounted to cut frame weight.

So the ZX-14 feels lighter and smaller than expected, a bonus when you're hustling down a winding road.

That's when you'll most appreciate the effective suspension - its 43mm inverted front forks and fully adjustable Uni-Trak rear keeping rubber to the road even over the lumps and bumps of my semi-rural commute. Kawasaki says the set-up was designed for real-world sports riding, and clearly that's not an idle boast. You'll also appreciate the linear power delivery. It comes on rapidly, but smoothly thanks to a secondary balancer damping unwanted vibrations, and allied to a fantastic soundtrack - as deep and powerfully unstoppable as the engine itself.

This isn't a pretty bike, with its bulging bodywork raked by mean-looking striations and fronted by a spider-eye battery of projector beam headlights. But it's certainly purposeful, those aerodynamic curves making an effective wind block once you tuck down on the sculpted tank. As for round town, although the riding position is less extreme than expected it's hardly intended for slow commutes - although the engine and transmission are sufficiently tractable to cope, the stability imparted by that long wheelbase especially appreciated over greasy white lines and manhole covers.

The excellent brakes are as handy in the gridlock as they are in the hills, the generous fuel tank and the fuel-remaining function of the trip both easing the ownership proposition.

For this is not a race bike, it's a GT, an effortless eater of long-distance highways and high-speed curves, and capable of reaching 300km/h straight out of the box. Seems almost a shame that in the real world that potential will be reached only in its owners' dreams or those post-ride boasting sessions.

Kawasaki ZX1400CAFA

We like
Phenomenal power in an easy-handling package

We don't like
Huge overkill given New Zealand speed limits

Powertrain
1352cc liquid-cooled four-stroke four-cylinder engine with fuel injection and six-speed transmission, chain drive

Performance
142kW (149.6kW with Ram Air) at 9500rpm, 154Nm at 7500rpm

Price
$25,595 (with special edition paint as tested; standard colour $24,995)

Vital stats
2170mm long, 800mm seat height, 257kg wet weight, 22-litre fuel tank