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"  Streetfighter-style motorcycles are incredibly popular in Europe, but their stripped-down, bulked-up aesthetic hasn&amp;#039;t enjoyed the same success in the U.S. So when Kawasaki updated its Z1000 for 2010, it kept a keen eye on injecting its naked liter bike with the supersport-inspired traits that American buyers prefer. Armed with cold-weather gear and a full tank of gas, we attacked some of central California&amp;#039;s most challenging stretches of road to see if the Z1000&amp;#039;s European flavor hits a sweet spot here in the U.S. The Specs The 2010 Kawasaki Z1000 recasts its approachable personality through sharpened chassis, engine and styling updates. Borrowed from the Kawasaki&amp;#039;s world of undiluted sportbikes, the Z1000&amp;#039;s aluminum chassis is 30 percent more torsionally rigid and 8.8 pounds lighter than the steel unit it replaces. A new die-cast aluminum subframe enables a lower and narrower seat, while an added engine mount optimizes rigidity and chassis responsiveness, making a total of four contact points for the powerplant. As before, the engine acts as a stressed member.  Compression damping is now available on the fully adjustable 41-mm inverted forks, and the new horizontal back-link shock is also optimized for better mass centralization--as are the new love-&amp;#039;em-or-hate-&amp;#039;em rose-gold twin shorty mufflers, which are each 1.5 pounds lighter thanks to a new prechamber. Brakes are now closer to the track-ready units found on Kawasaki&amp;#039;s ZX-10R, with radially mounted four-piston front calipers and dual 300-mm petal discs up front. The single-piston rear caliper has been rotated downward to showcase the 250-mm petal disc, and new five-spoke cast-aluminum wheels have machined edges and open spokes. Rubber has been upgraded to supersport-spec Dunlop Sportmax tires.  style=&amp;quot;background-color:#333; color:#ccc;&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt; Kawasaki Z1000 Photo Gallery      + CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE The Ride Using the seaside town of Cambria, Calif., as a starting point, we ventured on a series of single-lane byways to see how the Z1000&amp;#039;s spec sheet translates to tarmac. Dew-dampened leaves littered the roughly paved coil of Santa Rosa Creek Road, and without the luxury of presetting the suspension, the Z1000 initially felt tightly wound up. Turn-in was abrupt, and the chassis felt unsettled midcorner, leading us to tread cautiously on these unfamiliar twists and turns until we had a chance to tweak the front and rear damping settings. But even at prudent speeds, we were already impressed with the engine&amp;#039;s strong, smooth pull on the straights and its punchy power delivery. The lunch break allowed us to check tire inflation and to dial down both front and rear rebound settings, which tamed much of the bike&amp;#039;s edginess. Though it still changed direction with enough liveliness to keep us on our toes, the Z1000&amp;#039;s handling lost its disconcerting edge, allowing us to cut more aggressive lines and dip more freely into the inline Four&amp;#039;s power reserves.  Bombing across rambling Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, which links Fort Hunter Liggett to the coastal Big Sur area, our small pack of riders picked up the pace and pushed our Z1000s harder. At higher speeds and on less technical stretches, the chassis felt well-suited to the engine, and strong midrange torque enabled acceleration that spooled up with surprising eagerness between 7000 rpm and redline. While short gear ratios offered enthusiastic pull at midrange engine speeds, that burst of power in the upper register packed a serious punch. The brilliant intake howl didn&amp;#039;t hurt the experience, either. Though the clutch lever felt tighter than we prefer, the short-ratio six-speed transmission made it easy enough to tap through the cogs when necessary. Brakes were also powerful enough to set the bike up properly for turns. And while we were encouraged by the tweaked suspension settings, we would have liked to experiment with a few more settings in order to trade some sharpness for stability; Kawasaki officials weren&amp;#039;t kidding when they said the Z1000 was a dynamic ride. To the bike&amp;#039;s credit, after roughly 150 miles of aggressive riding, the Z1000 proved comfortable enough to welcome extra time in the saddle thanks to its within-reach handlebars and relatively upright posture.  The Bottom Line While the Z1000 behaves more like a sporty weekend toy than an everyday ride, its strengths lie in the fact that it offers a deep performance envelope alongside solid comfort. While more seasoned motorcyclists will appreciate its manageable ergonomics, the Z1000 could lure younger riders who might be attracted to brawny bikes like the Suzuki B-King or raw-edged exercises like the Triumph Speed Triple. Budget-conscious commuter bikes grab more buyers than ever, but we certainly hope the Z1000 earns enough commercial success to keep this focused genre alive in the U.S. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a5145/4341711/>