KAWASAKI Z900RS (2017 - on) Review

Overall rating

Starting with the brilliant Z900 as its base, its no surprise the 2017 Kawasaki Z900RS matches performance with looks. It oozes '70s Z1 charm, detailing and mixes it with modern technology, easy speed, light controls, superb build quality and fastidious attention to detail. There’s enough performance for experienced riders to enjoy and for new riders it’s a piece of cake to jump on and live, or relive, your '70s dreams.

• Related: 2021 Kawasaki Z900RS colours revealed
  
• Related: This bike appears in our Best Custom Motorcycles feature

It's a different model to the Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, which as the name suggests is more geared towards cafe racer styling. There's an online forum for owners to join on Facebook: the Kawasaki Z900RS owners club.

In September 2019 Kawasaki introduced three striking new colours for the Z900RS for the 2020 model year. You can see one of the new liveries below, which echoes the style of the 1973 Z1A, which replaced the first-generation Z1. The bike will also be available in either a black or grey design - both new for this year.

Watch Kawasaki Z900RS video review on MCN

Ride quality & brakes

Kawasaki have modified the Z900’s upper frame so they could fit the tank and seat horizontally, like the original ’72 bike. As well as its modified chassis, higher spec monoblocs trump the Z900’s brakes and a three-way switchable traction system and retro-styled Dunlop GPR-300 tyres are other new editions.

Light, accurate town handling continues when you hit the open road. Suspension springs are stiff, so the Z900RS is more composed the harder you ram it into corners and fully-adjustable forks and ZX-10R-style horizontal rear shock and linkage are lightly damped, so the big Zed feels floaty when you up the ante, but they’re set to give a smooth ride and easy, accessible low-speed handling.

Original equipment tyres lack grip and confidence when you push on, but are fine for normal riding and there’s no problem with ground clearance, braking feel and power. But we’d love to spend a day twiddling the suspension settings and fitting stickier tyres to see if it could match the composure of track-ready retros like Triumph’s Thruxton R and BMW R nineT.

All-day riding is relaxing and the back-friendly, upright bar position is natural. There’s plenty of seat-to-peg room for the tall and it’s low enough for the short (a 35mm lower accessory seat available to drop you down even further).

Engine

This is more than just a Z900 with flares, because there’s even more going on under the skin. Kawasaki have bolstered low to midrange power for everyday riding, which is at the expense of the standard bike’s top end clout, but the reality is you never miss it in the real world. First gear is shortened and the exhaust is tuned for bass-laden ear destruction, as well as grunt.

There’s no lack of speed in the Zed’s armoury and with the traction control turned off it will do the kind of Evel Knievel wheelies the Z1 could only dream of back in the 70s. The slip and assist clutch, gearbox and twistgrip are all beautifully light and easy to operate, but the power delivery is aggressive from a closed throttle, which makes tackling tight corners and slow riding tiresome.

A smooth inline four motor like the Zed’s will never have the same kind of earthy character as the Z900RS’s twin and three-cylinder rivals, but it makes up for it with apocalyptic exhaust raw on the throttle and a blood-spitting gurgle on the overrun. The Kawasaki Z900RS horsepower is 109bhp.

Reliability & build quality

A big Zed is as bulletproof as a tank and the attention to detail here borders on the obsessive. The Z900RS is more like a one-off special than a high volume production bike.

Kawasaki Z900RS owners' reviews on MCN

This is a very popular bike with owners - our Kawasaki Z900RS owners' reviews on the site show a gleaming five out of five score at time of publication in October 2020. 

Value vs rivals

Kawasaki say they’re gunning for the similarly priced BMW R nineT Pure, but the Z900RS has to face a raft of retro rivals such as the Triumph Thruxton R and Yamaha XSR900.

With its impressive blend of performance and disco-cool Z1 style, it could easily beat the lot of them. Find out below how it fares against some of its most popular competition...

Group test: Kawasaki Z900RS vs Triumph Thruxton vs BMW R nineT Pure

First published 31 January 2018 by Jon Urry

Despite dominating the naked and sportsbike markets, there is one segment that the Japanese simply can’t crack – retro. No matter how hard they try, riders fail to warm to any oldschool styled Japanese bike while the Europeans sell like hot cakes. It’s not as if the Japanese have a lack of heritage with bikes such as the Kawasaki Z1, Honda CB750, Suzuki GS1000 or Yamaha XS750 from which to draw inspiration. But the issue is they are up against marques such as Triumph, BMW, Ducati and Moto Guzzi and in the retro world, the history behind the name on the tank is as important as the bike itself and how it rides.

It’s something I call ‘the David Beckham effect’. Ask yourself, would you ever see Beckham on a Japanese bike? The answer is simple – no. But this fashionsetter would happily be pictured on a Triumph, Harley-Davidson or Ducati because they are ‘cool’ brands due to their heritage. But could the Z900RS be the bike to change all that? By faithfully blending some of the classic lines of the Z1 in a machine that contains thoroughly modern technology, in the Z900RS Kawasaki may have eventually solved Japan’s retro puzzle. MCN were impressed by the RS at its world launch, but how will it fair against the leading European retros from Triumph and BMW?

Triumph have created a superb looking bike that packs modern comforts – which is exactly what Kawasaki have done with the RS. But where Triumph have erred more towards the old days and added trinkets such as fake carbs, Kawasaki have toned down the finer details in favour of performance. If you think about it, performance rather than style was at the heart of the Z1 back in the 1970s, so it’s a wise move. 

Unlike the Kawasaki, the BMW doesn’t rely on retro paint to highlight its styling, instead preferring to let its waif-like look do the talking and covering what panels it has in muted grey. It’s not a pretty bike like the RS, it’s more mechanical and functional, which again will split opinions. So why do Kawasaki believe the R nineT Pure is their main competition? I guess it’s the fact that some riders will never consider entering a BMW dealership due to an ingrained dislike for the brand. Yet these same riders, who were probably brought up dreaming about the Z1, have been eagerly awaiting a Japanese equivalent – and now it’s arrived.

The Verdict 

These three retros are very different machines that rely on styling, spirit and performance to a lesser and greater degree to define their character. In the same way you can blend three colours to create many different shades, this variation has led to three unique bikes. But what has changed for 2018 with the introduction of the Kawasaki Z900RS is that there is now a really cool Japanese retro in the mix. With beautiful styling, strong heritage and a wonderful relaxed nature, if the thought of 1970s Japanese inline fours floats your boat, you can now buy a retro that lives up to your rosetinted dreams.

Equipment

There’s a cacophony of Z1-inspired accessories, from the ducktail back end and oval rear light, to the machined engine fins, textured metal tank and side panel badges, replica cam covers and clocks, which use the same typeface and needle shape (resting at the same angle at zero) as the originals.

Step back and you’ll see how the new upper frame shape allows the seat and slim, pear drop-shaped fuel tank (which extends down, behind the side panels) to be placed horizontally, like the ’72 machine and from above the Z900RS has the same slinky ‘hour-glass’ shape. The metallic brown and orange livery isn’t just a faithful replica of the original’s carcinogenic paint, it has one of those flawless, glistening finishes that looks like it’s still wet with lacquer.

Kawasaki have cleverly made crisp rear LED lights glow like a '70s light bulb, the orange tank stripe wraps around the front of the tank and meets around the front in a Z-shaped bow and the Euro-spec speedo on our test bike goes up to 240km/h, just like the original.

Everything from the Z900RS’s chest puffing riding position, to the view down to the wide chrome bars and the unholy growl it makes with a fist full of throttle, can’t help but make you feel good.

Modern day niceties like the multifunction display between the analogue dials, the easy to use switchgear, traction control and skin-saving ABS all give the Z900RS a safe, practical edge and as you’d expect there’s a raft of Kawasaki goodies available, too, from crash protection, to a bikini fairing, grab rails and heated grips.

There's a choice of three colour schemes on offer: metallic green, black, and grey.