Unlike Kawasaki, Boothy doesn’t do subtle colours.
Looks aren’t everything but the little Zed was by far the most striking bike of the bunch, despite its army issue paint scheme which made it a right bugger to spot when parked anywhere near a hedgerow. We lost count of how many times we lost it, but in town it proved quite the head turner and for all the right reasons (we think).
Styling-wise, the seat unit is not dissimilar to that of the old ZX-6R, with perhaps a few more angular lines giving it a more modern aesthetic. And if we are drawing comparisons, the linear styling and tubular frame seems reminiscent of Kawasaki’s flagship hypersports bike, the Ninja H2 – making the Zed look more considered than all of its rivals. The truth is it’s hard to make a small, low performance bike über sexy, but fair play to Kawasaki for giving it a good crack. While I’m throwing the compliments about, I guess the soundtrack’s deserving of a nod. With the little twin engine fired up, every blip of the throttle was accompanied by an exhaust note that sounded more like a wild boar snorting than a motorcycle, thanks, most likely, to the aftermarket Akrapovic exhaust pipe this test bike came kitted with.