Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R vs Kawasaki Z800

The new for 2016 Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R is different things to different people. For the bookkeepers, the 14R is the bike that blew the legendary Suzuki Hayabusa off its pedestal by beating it in top speed stakes. For the hardcore litre class race replica enthusiasts, the ZX14R is simply their wheels of retirement. For someone like me, who hasn’t ridden the 14R before, it is intimidating, scary even. Why? Because it makes 200bhp, goes from 0-100kmph in less than three seconds, hits a top speed of 300kmph and it is the size of a car! Frightening? You bet.

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. You’ve heard this before, I’m sure – but there also is such a thing as too much power, although oligarchs, dictators and racers will try to convince you otherwise. The world’s quickest motorcycles are only as quick as the rickshaw moving over in our country, so a middleweight motorcycle will make more sense. That’s the role that the Kawasaki Z800 hopes to play; it is the voice of reason in the insane world of the CBU motorcycle in the Indian marketplace. But does its sanity make a good enough case to pass up the extra 200cc and the frills that come along with it?