KAWASAKI Z900RS
Kawasaki’s Z900RS is a late arrival at the retro party. But thanks to its Z1 inspiration the RS is quickly making up for that lost time. Retro Sport indeed…
Retro remake inspired by the 1972 Z1. And it’s better than the base bike. Shock.
HAVE YOU COME across a Kawasaki stand at EICMA or Motorcycle Live in the last few months? They’ve got a strong look. Stark black walls and lime green honeycomb structures mass around angular bodywork and mean headlights. But the newest addition to their fleet doesn’t quite fit the corporate look. It lingers next to the superbikes and superchargers proudly wearing its cylinder fins, teardrop tank and ribbed seat. There’s even a section on Kawasaki’s website for this one machine. Its inspiration, the classic shape of Kawasaki’s 1972 Z1. The model name on 2017’s show stands: Kawasaki Z900 Retro Sport. The existing Z900, with 21st century Transformer inspired styling, continues too. Fair to say Kawasaki are late arrivals to the current retro revolution. Yamaha’s XSR700 first appeared over two years ago, the evolution of Triumph’s Bonneville took place in 2016,
and Ducati’s Scrambler pandemic started spreading in 2015. The Z900RS lands amid stiff competition. It must be good to stand out at any price, but at £10,339 in Candytone Brown it has to tackle the likes of BMW’S excellent R ninet Pure. It’s certainly a handsome thing close up, dripping as it does in visual cues inspired by the first ever Zed. The orange-brown paint sparkles deeply in clean Catalan – launch-venue – sunlight. A ducktail cowl curves around the oval brake light and there’s a voluptuous teardrop tank. Look closer and more subtle links to the past lurk. Take the double-bullet clocks. They share the same typeface as the Z1, the speedo reads to the same number, and the faces are even held in place by crosshead screws. Crack out the magnifying glass for half-moon rubber cam covers, and even Z1-aping lines adorn the clutch casing. Punctilious in the extreme.