Honda CBR 650F Vs Kawasaki Z800- A Not So Fair Comparison

• Aug 7, 2015
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After the launch of the Honda CBR 650F, our Facebook walls are filled with a lot of enthusiasm for the Kawasaki Z800. Yes, it’s a bit bizarre to see the enthusiasm for an old motorcycle over the new one launched now. Though, there are fair bit of reasons for comparing these bikes to each other, both of them have got an inline-4 motor and the price tags are roughly same too, and for further descriptive comparison let’s see which one is better.

Styling & Design

Honda CBR 650F is a beautiful full faired machine with a beautiful on-road presence while the Kawasaki Z800 being a naked super-sport motorcycle got a butch presence of its own. The single headlamps unit with the eyebrow style led Drls differs the CBR650F from the rest of the CBR lineup. The Kawasaki Z800 on the other hand follows its family design language observed on the other models of the Z-lineup, yes the scary twin headlamp setup at the front with the broad shoulder like tank shrouds make way for a design, that appears to be growing wild over you. The CBR650F with its smooth fairing and a big plain fuel tank and banana seat give it a proper sports tourer silhouette which appears to be some what VFR-ish. The CBR gets a stubby 4-2-1 underbelly exhaust inspired by the Ducati Panigale and the gold-painted headers looks neat and butch. The Kawasaki Z800 get a stubby proper side mounted exhaust which suits well with overall Goddamn looks of the bike. Coming to the rear the CBR gets a simple rectangular led tail-lamp with a rather minimalist rear fender. The Z800 with the "Z" shaped led tail-lamps looks futuristic. The overall design of both the bikes are good in their aspects. Instrument Cluster and Electronics

Both the bikes have identical functionalities on the switch gears, a pass light switch, ignition kill, starter, horn, low-high beam, headlamps and the last one of the hazard light or the parking lamps. The fit and finish on the both the bikes is surprisingly good no unevenness observed on the plastic parts.

The Z800 carries its "Z" design legacy into the speedometer console too, it’s a backlit LCD divided into 3 parts, and boasts a lot of information about the bike, like the average fuel consumption, speedometer, odometer, tachometer, tripmeter, clocks, fuel gauge and oil temp. The digital dash on the Z800 looks futuristic and is legible in broad day light too. The Honda gets a twin pod all digital console which provides you with a speedo, a tacho, a fuel gauge,a clock, an odo and all other regular stuff.

Engine & Performance

Both the bikes are powered by inline-4 engines, the CBR650F’s motor displaces 649cc and produces 86.5 Ps at 11000 rpm and 62.9 nm at 8000 rpm and the motor comes mated to a 6 speed transmission. The Z800 displaces 806cc and produce 113 Ps at 10200 Rpm and 83 Nm at 8000 Rpm of max. power and torque respectively, the unit on the Z800 also comes mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. As we haven’t actually ridden the CBR-650F so cannot say anything about its rideability in Indian city and highway road conditions. We wish Honda call us soon for a ride. Handling, Brakes and Ergonomics

Honda comes equipped with 320 mm dual disc setup up-front and a single 240 mm disc brake setup at the rear. The brakes are sourced from the Nissin. The Z800 sports 310 mm dual disc at front and a single 250 mm disc at the rear. Both bikes come with ABS as standard. The CBR is flat 21 kgs lighter than the Z800 being a full-faired motorcycle. The 41 mm inverted front shock absorbers are adjustable unit in the Z800 while CBR works with its conventional non-adjustable damper. The tyres size is same for both the bikes, it is 120-/12/R17 and 180/55/R17 for the front and rear respectively. The CBR650F some with clip-on handlebars mounted over the triple-top while the Z800 get the single piece handlebars mounted over the triple top. Both the bikes get adjustable brake lever while you cannot adjust the clutch lever for the reach on any of these two.

Verdict

To be true there is not any comparison between the two, one is a full-faired machine made for touring in a sporty stance but in a comfortable way while one is naked mammoth on steroids ready to wander around on the twisties. The high speed cruises on the Z800 are more of a task due to the windblast, while they being actually a breeze on the faired CBR650F. So there’s no way you can compare a full-fledged sports tourer and a sports naked. Though, the Kawasaki Z800 makes more sense being a choice over the CBR 650F, as it’s only 30k INR expensive but more powerful than the CBR650F. but the later is faster than the powerful one, the top whack of Z800 is somewhere around 233 kmph (manufacturer claimed)while that of the CBR650F is around 250 kmph (generalized speedo indicated).

So it’s your choice to have bread and butter in your breakfast or the the crispy toasts. Do let us know what do you prefer for your ride?

By: Mohit Bhardwaj