Views, news and what’s on.
As mentioned last month, Kawasaki has finally announced its ‘son of Z1’ homage to the original Z1. Called the Z900RS (or ‘Retro Sport’) the bike features a liquidcooled, DOHC, 16-valve 948cc inline fourcylinder motor taken from the current Z900, but it’s been retuned for more low-down oomph and has had some pretty fins stuck on the outside of the cylinders so that it looks a bit like it’s air-cooled. Apparently the engine has also been given a unique sound through that four-into-one exhaust. Expect pipe builders to make a twin-stacked four-into-four system sharpish… The press blurb says: “The Z900RS has been conceived as an homage to the legendary Z1 Super Four 900 of 1972 and is an up-to-date modern classic blessed with a multitude of references to the Z1, the machine that not only acted as a crucial stepping stone for Kawasaki as a brand but also changed the face of performance motorcycling forever. The new Z900RS effectively turns a page in Z history and starts a new and exciting chapter for Kawasaki and motorcycling.” We say that this bike is a good thing and it looks pretty nice too. Okay, we’d probably go for a more traditional front-end and headlight (not LED) and we’d prefer twin shocks and a choice of wire or spoked wheels, but the look is good – as are the historically-derived paint schemes. The new Kawasaki Z900RS will be available from dealers in late November/early December 2017.