Kawasaki Z900RS
Of the four bikes here it’s the Z900RS that still thinks it really is the 1970s…
CRITICS COMPLAIN THE RS is just another modern motorcycle in funny old clothes. Their thinking: this RS is to Kawasaki’s Z900 as Yamaha’s XSR is to the MT-09. Working out which is best is a foregone conclusion. In Bike’s September 2018 group test the MT trounced Kawasaki’s middleweight Z, so what’s stopping the same thing happening today? Firstly, the RS is more than a dressed-up Z900. There’s a new, slimmer frame to support the teardrop tank, and a shallower subframe to take the new ducktail rear. In the 948cc inline-four you’ll find a heavier crank and flywheel, and revised cam profiles and gear ratios. The bigger crank needs a bigger balancer shaft to keep vibration under control, too. The internal changes send peak torque 1200rpm lower than on the Z900, and reduce claimed peak power from 123.5bhp to 108. All to beef up the midrange – where anyone riding the RS spends the majority of their time. Secondly, the brilliant detailing, which clearly hasn’t been whipped up out of thin air. Unlike the retro-ish Yamaha, the Z900RS is homaging a specific bike: the 1972 Kawasaki Z1 (p88). Take the clocks: twinbullet affairs with the same font used on the speedo, held on by the same type of screws. Crosshead, if you didn’t know. European speedos read to the same number, too (240km/h), but the clocks in mph read to 150 instead of the historically-accurate 160. Then there are the engine’s halfmoon camshaft-end covers, a raised ‘Kawasaki’ logo on the tank, plus Z1- imitating side-panel badges. And the Candytone Orange speckled paint makes that teardrop tank look every bit as period as the Z1’s. Favourite parts? ‘The chrome exhaust,’ suggests Hugo. ‘The laser-cut wheels that look like they’re spoked,’ pipes up Lang. Ask the same question of the XSR and there’d be a pregnant pause. Don’t expect a Z1 replica, though. Stick the two 46-years-apart machines next to each other and you’ll spot the differences, not the cylinder similarities. fins, radially-mounted The RS has a liquid-cooled disc brakes, engine modern despite LED lighting, the ABS and traction control. No dual twin exhaust pipes, either, but Hugo doesn’t mind that. ‘A chrome-plated four-into-one exhaust: how retro is that! And look at the box-section swingarm and rear monoshock. Someone might have done these three mods to a special in 1979.’ The cockpit’s similarly modern and retro. A digital display nestles between the two bullet clocks that shows fuel level, engine temperature, time, KTRC (Kawasaki’s traction control) setting, and on a dash what gear and you’re then in. estimating It’s a strange speed feeling, on a checking speedometer gear stuffed selection with numbers. Old boy Hugo loves the historical referencing, but Steve sees it differently. ‘On looks alone it doesn’t interest me. The bike looks old – older than the Scrambler or BMW – and it’s based on a bike that’s from before my time. The Z1? Who’s interested in that?’ Steve is 39 years old. And thirdly, what it’s like to ride. This is where the original Z900 lost most ground to Yamaha’s MT-09. But again the RS surprises. Where you sit within the Z900 like a mid-2000s Kawasaki sportsbike, you sit atop the RS. The flat handlebar is out, replaced by a high, curved chrome thing. It all feels big and roomy, thanks to a relaxed footpeg, ’bar, seat relationship. The tank’s bigger than any other here, spreading your thighs around the four-cylinder lump – the widest engine here. Twist the throttle and a lumpy, surging waaarp of torque can take you off-guard, just like the Yamaha. But there are none of the power wheelies that can make the XSR too much for a Sunday afternooner. It’s whippet quick through tight corners, steering nimbly and bouncing slightly over bumpy tarmac. Suspension isn’t out-thebox great like the Yamaha’s, but forks are fully adjustable. Ridden fast like this, the RS feels right. Slow the tempo, though, and you’ll notice snappy fuelling on small throttle openings and a slight surging low in the rev range. And there are more vibrations than that bulked-up balancer shaft can cope with. Even Kawasaki’s big bar end weights and rubberised footpegs can’t stop them being the most intrusive here. They nag away at Mr Lang. ‘I’m surprised these problems weren’t ironed out in pre-launch testing.’ The RS is more than just a Z900 in retro dress? Kawasaki have pulled off a transformation. It makes Yamaha’s XSR look like a retro land grab rather than a finely considered contender in a competitive marketplace.
‘It’s whippet quick… Ridden fast the RS feels right’