Like that mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet,
Kawasaki's KZ750 LTD doesn't look like the sort of motorcycle that's faster than
a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. After all the LTD, like
Customs and Specials and L models, is assumed to be more for show with its
stylish small gas tank and stepped two-piece seat and handlebars that say you're
not going to Daytona to ride in the Superbike race.
But the LTD is only part of this bike's heritage. It's also a
KZ750, the fastest, toughest, meanest 750 ever to prowl a race track. Is this
bike more KZ750 or LTD? It depends on how it's ridden, and who's riding it.
Ridden aggressively, the KZ750 comes out. A 74 horsepower 750
is, after all, a thrilling piece of machinery. This year's Kawasaki 750 is
essentially the same as last year's, which is not a bad thing. It's a dohc,
inline Four with a bank of four 34mm Keihin CV carbs. Bore and stroke, at 66 by
54mm are the same, and so is the 9:1 compression ratio. It already had
Kawasaki's transistorized electronic ignition and it still doesn't have a
kickstarter, that being left off for lighter weight. Cam profile was changed
slightly after the first KZ750s were produced. Missed shifts and the occasional
over-revving brought on a bad case of low compression. That, according to
Kawasaki, should be a problem of the past.
Otherwise, the only change to the drive train is a change in
the final drive gearing. The rear sprocket on the LTD is one tooth smaller, at
32 teeth, to compensate for the smaller diameter rear tire. Overall gearing is
nearly identical on the standard and LTD versions.
Tires on the LTD are a 3.25H-19 Bridgestone in front and a
130/90-16 Bridgestone in back, both tubeless and both with raised white letters,
like those on the Honda Customs this year. Some handling ability is sacrificed
any time a 16 in. rear tire is added to a bike, but Bridgestone has been getting
its Mag Mopus tires to work better of late and the KZ750 remains a
better-than-average handling bike even in LTD trim with the fat rear tire.
Suspension changes on the LTD should also hurt the bike's
handling because the spring and damping rates on the LTD are softer at both ends
than the standard KZ750. Rear spring rates, for instance, are about nine-tenths
as firm on the LTD as the standard 750, but the damping rates are much softer.
Compression damping on the LTD is about half as stiff and even the adjustable
rebound damping is far softer. Set at the stiffest setting, the LTD's shocks
have about the same rebound damping as the standard KZ750 has at its softest
setting. Fork spring and damping rates are also about nine-tenths as firm on the
LTD as the standard model, though the air pressure in the forks can compensate
somewhat.
Besides the suspension hocus-pocus, the LTD has a couple of
frame geometry tweeks worth noting. Naturally an LTD must be equipped with
leading axle forks. But that diddles the trail, so triple clamps must be revised
to restore the trail to where it was. The LTD gets more than that, though. The
steering rake has been extended to 30° while the standard model makes do with a
27 ° head angle. But because of the reduced offset on the triple clamps the
trail has only increased from 4.2 in. to 4.8 in.
Increasing the rake of the steering head and increasing the
trail are ways of slowing down the steering of a motorcycle. Worse things could
be done to the KZ750. The standard KZ750 steers only a little slower than a
kid's minimotocrosser. Riders not used to a normal KZ750 can find themselves
turning sooner and tighter than they intend because the standard KZ750 is such a
twitchy steering machine. For roadracing that can be a good thing because the
Kawasaki can help a rider change directions going through esses or use its
abundant cornering clearance to stuff a wheel on a hapless Honda rider, for
instance, but in the world of commuting and riding along open roads the Kawasaki
in standard form might turn quicker than is desirable.
Enter the LTD. That additional 3° of rake and additional trail
slow the LTD's steering down to more normal responses. Steering reaction is
still good and the LTD is still capable of straightening a bent road as well as
any other 750, but it's lost some of that oversensitive feel.
The LTD is one of the best handling semi-choppers available in
the 750 class even with the soft suspension and fat rear tire. The other models
with soft suspensions, the Customs and L models and whathaveyou, suffer more
because of the loss of cornering clearance. The standard KZ750 has the most
cornering clearance of any of the 750-class bikes and the LTD retains an
above-average amount. Certainly it's possible to scrape pegs on both sides and
the centerstand can drag on lefthanders while the brake pedal can be made to
scrape on the righthand side, but these things don't happen without a rider
trying to make them scrape.
Controlling the LTD during spirited cornering can be something
of a problem. It's the handlebars. Turns out not all of the luxo models do the
bucko bars in the same shape. Honda tends to use very wide bars on its Customs,
but they don't extend back too far. Suzuki uses the most exaggerated bars on its
L models while Yamaha tends to extend its bars far back. Kawasaki uses narrower
bars but on the 750LTD there's more rise than other LTDs have. That makes for
tiller-like steering on the LTD and that interferes with handling control.
Other parts of the LTD package may or may not suit all riders.
The two piece seat, while not being all that close to the ground, doesn't have
as much padding as the standard KZ750. That makes the ride feel harder than it
is, even with the soft suspension. Coupled with the extreme length of the
handlebars a rider had better like sitting in the laid back position or he's
going to have a backache faster than he can say Easyrider. The rear portion of
the double seat isn't as uncomfortable because it's relatively flat and has
enough room for most passengers of our acquaintance.
The plush suspension does its part to keep rider comfort high.
Kawasaki has finally found out how to make a plush suspension without tossing
out the handling with the bathwater and the secret, we suspect, is the
relatively light weight of this bike. Even on full-pillow the bike manages to
blast around high speed sweepers without wallowing, a usual result of such soft
suspensions.
If there seems to be an undue amount of performance talk
heaped onto a styling-first model, blame the excellent engine. With a 74
horsepower engine powering a 492 lb. motorcycle performance is a natural result.
By the numbers the 750 LTD doesn't perform as well as we would expect. Our last
Kawasaki 750 turned the quarter mile in 12.26 sec. at 107.78 mph. It was the
fastest 750 we'd ever tested. The LTD wasn't nearly so quick with a 12.62 sec
and 104.19 mph quarter mile performance. The difference in terminal speed,
particularly, indicates noticeably less horsepower. Exactly why may have
something to do with the cams. Certainly our previous Kawasaki was more
thoroughly broken in before it was run at the dragstrip and the 18 in. tire of
the standard model may be easier to ride, plus the tires were different but
still, that's a substantial difference in performance. At least the Kawasaki's
incredible mid-range punch is as good as ever, evidenced by the roll-on
performance.
Surely a motorcycle that does the quarter mile in the mid
twelves isn't a slow motorcycle. Just a couple of years ago it would have
been an extremely fast 750. And that's how the LTD feels. Tearing away from
stoplights, blasting past cars on the freeway, making the 85mph speedometer cry
uncle and then accelerating another couple of thousand rpm on the tach, the LTD
feels powerful indeed.
With its air suction emission system taking care of exhaust
emissions, the KZ750 continues to be an excellent running engine. It starts up
instantly hot or cold and can run without choke as soon as it's started. There's
no hesitation in acceleration even when the bike's cold. Throttle response is
everything it should be. Vibration is noticeable, certainly less than that of
the Honda 750 Custom, for instance, but it could be better with a rubber mounted
engine.
Although carb jetting is supposed to be the same and therefore
power and economy should be unchanged, our mileage worked out to 47 mpg on this
year's 750, a couple of mpg better than last year's standard model returned. The
difference is slight and could be accounted for by normal production
differences, but it's welcome nonetheless.
Equipped with a 3.25 gal. gas tank the LTD needs all the
mileage it can get. Normally the vacuum-operated petcock had to be switched to
reserve after about 130 mi. Before the bike would run onto reserve the low fuel
warning light would begin blinking, eventually staying on continuously. At that
point the order of the day was Get thee to a gassery. A bigger gas tank is in
order even when the Arabs aren't playing war.
As for the ease of riding the Kawasaki, it could hardly be
nicer. Throttle and clutch pull are within reason and if the clutch is maybe a
little stiff at least the KZ750 clutch will never break. Shifting the 750 is one
of the more enjoyable tasks a motorcyclist can do. Shifts are positive, swift
and take little effort.
The brakes are good, but with a reservation. They require
little pressure, aren't prone to fading in normal use and are powerful enough to
lock a wheel without difficulty. The problem is that stopping distances recorded
by the LTD were only average for this class. True, a 141 ft. stopping distance
from 60 mph and a 36 ft. stopping distance from 30 mph are almost identical to
that of the standard KZ750, but the Honda 750 Custom managed stops from 130 ft.
at 60 mph and 33 ft. from 30 mph using the same tires. The problem is control.
The rear brake will lock too easily, making control difficult. If it were
possible to use the Kawasaki's
