2018 Kawasaki Z900 - a brief review
Posted: 23 May 2018, 21:05
So the Versys went in for it's 15,000 service. I was hoping to have a 1290 Adventure for the day but it's in need of a service, so the Z900 was handed to me.
It's not a bad looking bike, The bigger z1000 can divide opinions but the 900 has a safer looking design. It's nicely put together in a very small frame. There's no bling, no fancy electronics and fairly standard suspension. The display is clear and easy to read, even in bright sunlight. There's no handlebar switches to scroll through the screen options, you have to do it the old way by pressing a button next to the display.
The mirrors are well placed but I suspect that most owners will ditch those as well as the bland cheap silver levers.
This is a tiny bike, even more so after swapping over from the barge of a Versys. That said, it didn't feel cramped although I suspect riders over 6 foot might start to struggle.
The standard suspension needs playing with. Riding at slow speeds it feels very stiff, but the front will dive on heavy braking. The brakes are pretty strong, nothing to make you do an involuntary stoppie but enough to slow you comfortably when you've got a move on.
Handling is pretty sharp as you would expect from a small naked. It's a point and go type of bike. The IL4 spins up pretty quick and there's decent grunt from the throttle, things were picking up when I was having a roll on test on the M6. I got a top speed of just over 120mph in 5th so the bike should be good for 140+ 6th gear feels like cruise control and the bike is happy to drift along in 6th. The fuelling is pretty much spot on.
I left work early so I could take it on some back roads. Quick riding is effortless. You don't have to move about and you don't have to muscle the bike into a corner. It tracks really well and wasn't being flustered by the Somme like state of our roads.
After an hour in the saddle I was starting to get numb bum. Maybe I'm too used to the armchair I ride to and from work, or maybe the Z900's seat is too thin for anything more than blasts out for a laugh.
As it's Euro4 it sounds pretty dull. There's a half hearted attempt at making a noise when you're collecting flies in the face but it's not enough to make you feel part of the bike. That's the manin bugbear - a lack of character. This bike is supposed to be the smaller brother to the hooliganesque Z1000, but one went to borstal and the other to boarding school. It's almost Honda like.
Given what's on offer out there in the middleweight naked department -Street Triple 765, Duke 790, MT-09, MV 800 for instance this bike is sadly lacking in pretty much every department apart from speed and handling.
tl;dr - decent pint sized screamer that lacks bling and presence.
