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Kawasaki's latest incarnation of the ZeeX Nine harps back to the old days. A day gone by when out and out power was the key and handling was left to the designers of tea trolleys. Kawasaki has gone half way. Power is everything on the new Nine but thankfully the handling will match - to a degree. The tyres are the limiting factor, even on the road.

Imagine you find a piece of road that has two roundabouts connected by a long straight. This makes it ideal for blasting from one to the other and back again. Perfect for being a knee down God on the roundy bits and a speed merchant on the straight bits.

That's exactly what we came across when it was time to do the photo session for the Kawasaki. It's ideal from a photography point of view as you can get a lot done in a short space of time. It also means you can test the bike hard, you can quickly get up to speed and roundabouts make lovely corners.

So, after getting the speed up you notice, on the exit of the corner, a strange feeling, like the suspension is too soft although it isn't. I have had this feeling on the track many times before but not on the road. Not at these sorts of speeds. The following 'lap' confirmed what my butt sensors had been telling me; the rear was spinning and leaving a darkie on the exit. WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Although a MAJOR grin factor and ego booster, it does have concerns. On a track this would be par for the course, however, on the road it's unheard of and leads you to question how quickly they would break away on a track day.

This is down to a combination of the tyre, Bridgestone's new 010, and the power delivery, which can be best described as top heavy. Kawasaki has been drawn into the horsepower war and it has resulted in a peaky engine. Now, when we are talking peaky on a 900cc motor, what we mean is there is one hell of a top end rush, yet still stacks of torque and power below this. A two-stroke it isn't.

Thankfully there is none of the throttle lag that has been reported since the launch, although the engine doesn't like to be loaded in high gears, as it feels a little flat. Loaded means pulling away in third. Keep the revs high to keep your adrenaline higher.

It can become a handful if you use too big a handful with the front end pawing the air more often that not. You have to be careful if you're to get really hard on the gas and when you do, the back end lights up.

In the end you have to get right inside the screen to try and keep the front end down. Bang, power, wheelie and/or spin. Next gear. Bang, power, wheelie and/or spin and so on and so on. It can be fun - for a while. Once the needle swings past 8,000rpm on the tacho that's when you get the sudden rush of power. And it keeps going strong right into the redline and it's only the limiter that curtails it.

Getting the bike going isn't too much of a problem and getting it stopped is just as easy thanks to the six pot callipers up front. At first you might feel that they aren't that powerful. They do lack initial bite, but once past that point they come on strong, hmmm, just like the engine then! You will have the span adjuster set to one, the longest setting, just to take out that sloppiness, so that by the time your fingers are closing on the bar the anchors are in full effect.

The Kawasaki also feels a little top heavy. When you tip into a corner it feels like it's on a knife-edge. Some of this can be put down to the Bridgestone 010s as they are triangulated, making the high weight feeling feel even worse. The large tank does have a bearing too, as the bike feels more stable once the fuel load is reduced. On the positive side, the big tank allows you to rest your arm on it in the turns and gives you something to rest on during long motorway journeys.

Compared to the current crop of big bore sports bikes the Kawa does an excellent job, but it's not quite as sharp as some of the others and this is really its strong point. It turns well, but the rate is a little slow after you take into account the front tyre. It's the wider rear that seems to slow the plot down. 180 section tyres seem to give the best in terms of grip and turn rate, so why does a manufacturer bow to fashion and put a bigger 190 on? Ducati do it and their 996 turns so slowly it's painful. However, get it on its ear and it will run a tight line nicely, so there are few surprises.

On rough country roads, about the only place we can ride nowadays at any decent pace without getting nicked, it remains stable, only giving a shake of its head if you hang on a little too tightly over a series of severe bumps. Again, other bikes that turn quicker might be in a little trouble at this point and at this speed.

The riding position is good for both getting it on and for getting it long. If there was a bike that you really wanted to go for mile after mile on, and still have a degree of fun and frolics when you got to wherever it was, then this should be first on your list. More comfortable than an R1 and a FireBlade and with power too, it makes up for its perkiness with comfort and room.

Your pillion might not be in agreement though. The high pillion perch and high pegs means that they had better be short, strong, or buy their own bike to follow. Still, it makes a good pad to put your gear on if your other half doesn't want to travel in cramped style. And, as we all know, bikes handle better with no one on the back… Like last year's C2, the bike is a damned fine all rounder, but just isn't sharp enough when it comes to out and out sports riding. And if the engine were as balanced as last year's, then Kawasaki would have the right to sell it by the bucket load.

RRP (OTR) £8245

BikeNet Price £7213

Engine: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, in-line four cylinder

Bore x stroke: 75 x 50.9mm

Displacement: 899cc

Compression ratio: 12.2:1

Fuel Delivery: Keihin CVRD40 x 4

Max power: 124bhp @ 10,700rpm (actual)

Max torque: 68ft/lb @ 9,000rpm (actual)

Final Drive: O ring chain

Gear Box: 6 speed

Wheelbase: 1415mm

Seat height: 810mm

Rake/Trail: 24 degrees 97mm

Frame: Alloy twin spar

Fuel capacity: 19 litres (4.2 gal UK)

Front - 120/70 x 17

Rear - 190/50 R 17

Front - 46mm cartridge forks with adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping

Rear - UniTrak with adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping

Front - Twin 310mm discs, 6 piston Tokico callipers

Rear - Single 220mm disc, single piston calliper

Dry weight: 183kg (403.5lb)

Colours: Green/Blue/Red