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/923720
2018 KAWASAKI Z900RS FIRST TEST P78 are quickly erased when you fire up the inline four-cylinder and hear the rasp of Kawasaki's first tuned exhaust note. Kawasaki went to such lengths with the RS they em- ployed a bunch of sound techni- cians to ensure the exhaust note is as close to the original Z1 900 as they could get—the result is a deep, burbling noise that's totally departed from the softer, more modern sound of the Z900. Time Traveling Clicking first gear and rolling away, it's clear this is one of the most comfortable roadsters/ naked bikes available today. The engineers have done a brilliant job with the seat design, mak- ing it look great but also super comfortable for a full day in the saddle. The rider triangle of handlebar, seat and footpeg is about as relaxed as you're ever going to find on a modern machine—which is odd consider- ing this bike is trying to be from the '70s. The handlebar shape and position is absolutely spot-on for big days in the saddle. Com- pared to the Z900 it's 30mm wider, 65mm higher and 35mm swept back towards the rider, which gives the rider zero weight on their wrists with the double bonus of having a near straight back while on board—so no slouching or sore wrists on an RS. It might be a relaxed riding po- sition but there's plenty of poke available from the 948cc inline four-cylinder motor. It will ham- mer along as any sporting four should when the revs are high, coupled with a gutsy, angry in- duction roar that sounds almost as good as Kawasaki's own ZX-6R supersport machine. The twin-balancer motor is beauti- fully smooth and vibe free for the most part, making long touring rides a cinch as your hands and high revs is quite jerky and not easy to dial in small increments of throttle. The throttle response is too on/off and it becomes really quite irritating when you're riding twisty roads, trying to hold a line, dialing in the throttle and wanting more predictable ac- celeration. As the gears climb higher and the revs drop and the load feet won't be buzzing after half an hour on board. The Z900 motor came in for an extensive overhaul before it joined the retro party, with Kawa- saki's boffins moving the power down to concentrate on low- to mid-range performance, rather than superbike-style top-end craziness. Achieved via chang- ing cam timing, compression, a heavier flywheel, final drive ratio and the exhaust design, the RS has plenty of torque down low as it pulls deceptively hard from canyon hairpins in higher-than- normal gears, but it's also an area that presents a problem. The RS's throttle response in in the first three gears in mid-to– reduces on the engine, the throttle issue starts to solve itself. It's good this is the case because more often than not I would run the bike a gear or sometimes two higher than I normally would just to experi- ence this newfound bottom-end torque that is lacking on the Z900, where solid power only really starts to come in above 6000 rpm. Trouble is, the Z900 doesn't have this throttle response issue. It's a silky-smooth example of what Kawasaki can do. So to have this problem on the RS—a bike costing the best part of $2500 more with the same base motor—is disappointing. Kawasaki engineered old air-cooled-style cooling fins into the cylinder block to make it look even more like a '70s refugee.