After the demise of the
Kawasaki W800 retro bike due to Euro 4 last year, Kawasaki drew on its history
of Z-bikes to give the motorcycle world the Z900RS.
Taking the 2017 Kawasaki Z900 naked sports as a
basis, the Z900 RS uses the same 948 cc DOHC inline-four, but tuned differently
to give the RS more low end grunt. Power is now rated at 111 hp from 125 hp,
while torque drops from 97.8 Nm to 72.5 Nm, but there is more torque available
below 7,000 rpm.
The frame on the Z900RS is not interchangeable with
the Z900, having been completely redesigned to fit the RS’ classic style fuel
tank. This quashes hopes of transferring the RS bodywork over to the standard
Z900, but we assume there will be some madmen out there who will try.
New additions to the Z900RS are radial-mounted brake
callipers with ABS, as opposed to the axial mount units on the Z900. Also new
is two-mode switchable traction control, something omitted from the Z900.
However, this might mean the 2018 or 2019 Z900 will have these items as
mid-model updates.
In keeping
with the retro styling of the RS, the clocks are analogue units with a small
LCD screen in the middle, compared to the digital readout of the Z900. Seating
on the Z900RS is a single padded unit in keeping with its retro looks, compared
to the two-piece stepped unit of the base Z900 while upside-down forms and rear
monoshock bring the RS up-to-date, suspension-wise.
The 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS comes in a choice of five
colours – Candytone Brown, Candytone Orange, Metallic Spark Black, Metallic
Matte Covert Green and Flat Ebony.
