Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/807150
fully the 900 hasn't changed too much in overall ergonom- ics. You have plenty of room to muscle the bike through corners and you can push that front end surprisingly hard with the standard Dunlop D214F tires that have been around for quite some time now, and the brakes, even though they are the same calipers Kawasaki has been using for what feels like forever, still work plenty well although a good, hard squeeze at the lever will get the ABS pumping pretty quickly. If you want absolutely no electronics, you can just buy the non-ABS model. Or, if you see me in person, I'll tell you how you can fool the Nissin system into switching off without pulling the ABS fuse. Kawasaki has priced this 900 very competitively at $8399 for the base model and $8799 for the ABS version, putting it right in the ball park against arch rivals Yamaha with the new FZ- 09, and a couple of grand less than the Ducati Monster 821 and the base model Triumph Street Triple 765. That and the fact that the en- gines on Z model Kawasakis are damn near bulletproof means Kawasaki should sell a boatload of these new 900s. The mid- size naked bike sector is fast becoming the one to watch as superbikes get techier and more expensive and those who don't want a scrambler or ADV bike go searching for the perfect city commuter and canyon carver. Kawasaki's decision to trade the Z1000 and Z800 for the Z900 is already proving to be the right one. CN VOL. 54 ISSUE 13 APRIL 4, 2017 P121 2017 KAWASAKI Z900 ABS ($8799 ABS/$8399 STANDARD) ENGINE: ....4-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, inline-4 DISPLACEMENT: ...................................948cc BORE X STROKE: ...................... 73.4 x 56mm COMPRESSION RATIO: ........................... 11.8:1 FUEL SYSTEM: ......... DFI with 36mm Keihin throttle bodies EXHAUST: .............................................4-into-1 TRANSMISSION: ............... 6-speed gearbox. CHASSIS: ........................ Tubular steel trellis FRONT SUSPENSION: ... 41mm inverted fork with rebound damping and spring preload adjustability; wheel travel 4.7 in. REAR SUSPENSION: ...................... Horizontal back-link, stepless rebound damping, adjustable spring preload; wheel travel 5.5 in. FRONT BRAKE: .......Dual 300mm petal-type rotors with 4-piston calipers, ABS model optional REAR BRAKE: ......Single 250mm petal-type rotor with single-piston caliper, ABS model optional FRONT TIRE: .................120/70 ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax D214 REAR TIRE: .................. 180/55 ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax D214 RAKE: .......................................................24.5° TRAIL: ..................................................... 4.1 in. WHEELBASE: ........................................ 57.1 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ...................................... 31.3 in. FUEL CAPACITY: ................................. 4.5 gal. CURB WEIGHT: ........................ 463 (claimed) COLOR: ...............Pearl Mystic Gray/Metallic Flat Spark Black, Metallic Flat Spark Black/Metallic Spark Black S P E C I F I C A T I O N S The Z900 is just at home scratching through canyons as it is chasing the city lights.