Kawasaki Z 550GT

THE first weekend we had Kawasaki's new Z550GT tourer on test our Ass Ed Julian blagged it to ride over to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix. On Monday morning he was back in the office and came over to return the keys. As I had covered very few miles on it at this stage. I was eager to hear his opinion. 'What do you think of it?'. I asked. 'Bloody horrible weather', came the reply. 'It hardly stopped raining the entire trip.'  But what about the bike, Julian?'  Freezing cold too. Do you know, on the way back my hands were so cold I had to...'  He continued with his tale of woe and went on to give me a detailed and enthusiastic account of the heroic victories and tragic accidents that were a part of that weekend's racing. When he'd finished I asked him about the bike for the third time and with raised eyebrows he answered my original question. 'Nice bike, very nice indeed.' he said as he walked off to attend to more important matters.

Two weeks and several hundred miles later I knew why his reply had been so brief. The Z550GT is a smooth and sensible motorcycle and just doesn't inspire much in the way of lengthy conversations or debate. However, before you turn to page 109 having decided that this bike has pride of place in Mediocre City, read on.

The GT's tour cylinder dohc motor with conventional two valve heads is the latest development of the Z500 mill launched four years ago. Since then it has been sleeved down to make the Z400J and bored out to 553cc to fill the frames of several Z and GPz550 models.

Although the 61bhp GPz has stolen the hearts and wallets of many a performance-orientated middleweight buyer, the GT550, with a mere 56bhp (claimed) managed a 13,12 second quarter and 118mph top speed at MIRA. Honda's CX500 Turbo and CBX550 apart, the GT550 is the niftiest middleweight Bike has put through the lights.

Out in the real world on public roads the GT is similarly impressive. Very respectable cruising speeds can be maintained without resorting to tap dancing on the gear pedal or tucking in behind the instrument console whenever a headwind or slight incline comes up. My own physical limitations on an unfaired bike coincided roughly with the GT55O's at a sustained 100-105mph. Loading up with a pillion and luggage would obviously temper the little GT's capability but that's to be expected — Kawasaki still sell the Z1300 you know.

In any case, absolute top end power and performance aren't the most important criteria for a touring engine. Bottom end and mid-range flexibility as well as smoothness, fuel consumption and reliability must also be considered. The GT manages to shine in all but one of those categories.

Its mid range punch is impressive. A change down from top to fifth is necessary to whisk past a big, fast truck that's been hampering progress but another downswap would only be necessary if you were desperate and other big, fast truck occupied the oncoming lane. For most situations, though, top gear will suffice.

Vibration is just detectable through the handlebars but is in no way obtrusive thanks to front and rear rubber engine mountings. The rear mounting is unique to the shaft driven GT series and is possible due to the bevel gears' tolerance of engine movement through a lateral plane (Makes you wonder how Nortan Commandos managed with their Isolastic mountings: engines quibering and exhaust silencers flapping about injuring pedestrians...)

Fuel consumption is quite reasonable at about 50mpg average.  Spirited or sedate riding can after that figure by plus or minus 10mpg.  A 4.7gal tank is a welcome attribute 'cos 200 miles between fill ups means that you only have to stop when your mates have to and not vice versa. Nice.

It's difficult to make a long-term assessment on reliability alter a two week road test on l freshly run-in machine but I can report (shock, horror) that the twin horns packed up. I'll admit to total irresponsibility and a disregard for the law in that I failed to even look for the fault, which I suspect was in a connection under the tank.  Apart from this, reliability was faultless and, bearing in mind Z550's untarnished history, I see no reason why a properly serviced example shouldn't outlast the third or fourth owner's interest in the bike.

All this praise leads me to the first of the important criticisms: the lack if low rpm performance.  At least 3000rpm is needed when moving off, which requires a delicate hand on the clutch lever.  Fortunately the clutch itself is easily up to the task but I still occasionally found myself with a moribund engine in awkWard places. Matters are worse when the motor's cold. For a start it's almost impossible to find a choke lever setting that will allow the motor to run smoothly without over-rewing while you pull on your helmet and gloves. Then, when you're fully togged up and ready to roll, you realise that the damn thing isn't producing enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. So you wait for a few more minutes constantly experimenting with throttle and choke. Eventually you manage to coax the GT into forward motion only to have it die in second gear at the first junction you come to. You're also faced with much of the same tiresome procedure after leaving it hot and ticking some ten or 15 minutes earlier. It cools down very quickly.

I blame the carburettors. Although Japanese engineers have been faced with great difficulties in getting engines to run cleaner without suffering carburation problems, they simply haven't triumphed with the GT550. My own GT750 runs fine in the mornings, so does every other Jap four-stroke I've ridden in the past couple of years. So should the GT550.

While I'm grumbling I ought to mention the white fur — and I'm not talking about polar bears or arctic foxes. I'm referring to the stuff which grows on the Kawasaki whenever it's been left in the rain for a day or so. More accurately, it sprouts from the cast alloy wheels and the drab green components around the engine; have a look at the oil cooler pipes and engine mounting bolts in the photographs and you'll see what I mean.

Seems a new form of corrosion is with us.

Fortunately, the GT is hard to fault in the braking and handling departments. The twin front discs, although prone to squealing, are very powerful and linear in feel. The rear drum is cheaper to produce and performs okay but I prefer the extra control available from a rear disc, such as on the GT750, or GPz550 for example.

The Showa rear air shocks are superb though. When I collected the GT the rebound damping adjustment was on the softest of four settings. The air pressure must have been fairly low, too, because this was the smoothest, comfiest ride since I hitched a ride in the back of Dolly Parton's Cadillac. (Okay, so I didn't.. .so what?). I was fairly sure I'd have to pump it all up when the riding got serious but I was mistaken. Not once did the GT shake, wallow or weave and, believe me, I tried all sorts of provocation. It went back to Kawasaki UK with the suspension as I found it, untouched. That shouldn't be taken as an excuse for Kawasaki not providing a suitable pump in the toolkit, though. Potential buyers should also remember that air springing is fully rising-rate and there are no exposed rods and linkages to fill up with crud and therefore require maintenance.

The framework between the two wheels is straightforward and sturdy. Nothing solid touched down prematurely when cornering; the folding footrests give plenty of warning.

The thing behind the seat is a Japanese rack. Although not quite what we British are used to, in that it's a die cast alloy item and painted black, it's pretty handy for a Kryptonite lock or tote bag. Another touring plus are the silencers which won't intrude on pannier space or set fire to duty-frees stuffed into the bottom of the throw-overs.

The seat is firmly padded and causes no long distance grief but most staffers felt it put them too close to the non-adjustable bars which, in turn, are too close to the footrests. I top out at six foot and feel the footrests should be a bit further back.

In the unlikely event that a dispatch rider should seek my advice on machine choice, I'd' tell him to raise £1749 and buy a Z550GT. Should anyone else want my opinion, be they sporting or touring riders, I'll just say this: 'Nice bike, very nice indeed.'