KAWASAKI Z1000 2024

For a Supernaked model, being “the fastest” or “most powerful” is less important than the “exhilaration” of the ride. Sugomi performance ensures that your heart soars every time you twist the throttle, and you feel the blood coursing through your veins as you deftly guide the Z1000 along your desired path. The Z1000’s liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve 1,043 cc In-Line Four offers impressive power and strong torque. Engine tuning focuses on the feeling the rider gets when opening the throttle: a strong torque feeling and mid-range hit is complemented by direct throttle response. The intake’s carefully crafted auditory note – designed specifically so that acceleration could be enjoyed aurally as well as physically – is a key component of the street riding exhilaration offered by the Z1000.

The Z1000’s sugomi design takes the mass-forward crouching concept of the 2010-2013 model even further. The headlamp cowl, positioned as low as possible, extends the line running down from the top of the tank to create the image of a crouching predator’s muscular shoulders and dropped head. Bodywork fits closely to the engine and frame, reinforcing the condensed, dynamic form. Mass is concentrated at the front, a stark contrast to the light, wisp of a tail. The dichotomy creates a dynamic design, with all lines drawn forward.

Sugomi can be seen in a hunting predator. Poised on the verge of exploding into action, its eyes are locked onto its prey with an intense focus, its body crouching low, muscles tensing in anticipation. It is concentrated so intensely on the task at hand that the energy it is gathering in preparation to strike becomes virtually palpable, discernible to those in the vicinity. The Z1000’s sugomi design borrows from the predator’s fiercely intense glare and a dynamic form that radiates with the anticipation of explosive action.