Great comparison! I picked up a 23' Z900 and absolutely love it. I prefer the sportier styling over the RS but the RS still looks great and part of me wants one as well.

Yet another amazing video. Your other video on the z900 made me look like an expert when I picked mine up sight unseen. Thanks for this comparison video and keep up the great work Peter!

Peter, you are thorough, well-spoken, and helpful. Excellent reviewer amongst a sea of reviewers! thanks

The 1970s Kawasaki Z1 was a beautiful bike. Its looks evoked excitement, as did the sound. I still get the same feeling with the new Z900RS. At the time the first Z1 came out, I had bought a Honda 750K1 and I didn't have the cash to trade-up to the Z1. Consequently now in my late 60s, I've decided that I'm going to get one, 'by hook or by crook'. By the design, Kawasaki has captured something special, and with the liquid cooling , larger tires, better brakes and suspension, has improved on an iconic legend. Kudos to Kawasaki for bringing out the Z900RS. It was the right move.

Your videos helped me decide to buy a used 2021 Z900 RS. Just rode it home an hour ago, it's dark green w/ yellow. Love it! Thanks soon much!

Mr Lowe. Excellent review of these 2 bikes. I think I commented before, but these are my observations. I have both, except have standard RS. The Z in the comfort dept. is no where as nice as the RS. Z has as much or more grunt from 2k rpm as does RS. Z's tranny is smoother. Z IMO will blow RS off thru the gears. Higher top end. Handling thru twisties is easier on RS, because I busted elbow in an accident. Higher bars, much easier to wrestle thru turns. Brakes are equal in stopping distance, but radial brakes at lever feel much better. These bikes, let alone engines, share little in common. Different crankshaft, cams, head, exhaust,transmission, hence Z's more power. From what I can tell, the only parts they share are turn signals, swingarm. rear shock, chain guard and crankcases and a few asst. bits. I'd like to have Z's engine and RS's comfort. Build quality is superb on both. Much better than my KZ 1000 of yesteryear. All in all, both are above what the average buyer can handle.

Nostalgic hands down for me.. Kawasaki have absolutely nailed it with the Z900 RS hands down over their competitors 👌

Both cool bikes. Nice choice with the RS yellow/black with gold rims. Cool!

Thank you Seth and Peter on helping me with my purchase of my Ninja 400

Great VDO, and massive congrats on your new bike, mate 👍

Great review, thank you. As an English guy I liked hearing you say “zed”. I just wish that the pillion seats were less ridiculously small and not 6 inches above the rider’s. My Mrs. Would not last long on the Z900. Nothing personal, but don’t bike makers know that a lady’s derrière is usually bigger than a gentleman’s? Facts is facts.

I have the 2021 Z900 RS café in the silver paint and I absolutely love it!! by the way even here in the US, the turn signals for whatever reason are incandescent and everything else is full LED

I am curious if you have experience on your RS or customer's RS with the delkavic four into four? I'm not concerned with bike picking up some weight or losing a bit performance. I think a four into four is slightly more pleasing to the eye.

So does anyone know if you can buy a z900 full exhaust system and it’ll fit a z900rs or are they both different

I have a ‘21 z900, and i also noticed after riding longer then 30mins i felt a bit fatigued because of the forward lean. I put 25mm risers on mine and it made a world of difference. also makes the bike easier to steer.

Great comparison. As much as I like the look at the RS more I went for the Z900 SE, even with the suspension and brake upgrade it was still cheaper than a stock spec RS and considerable cheaper than the RS SE. Retro styling was not worth it for me.

Wanted to throw this out there just so the information is known. But there is a tiny bit more to the difference in the motors than just the mapping. The RS has about a 10% heavier crankshaft. Which is to give it a little bit slower spool up and change the feel of the motor characteristics. Helps the feeling of torque in the lower RPMs. The RS is also running a lower compression ratio.

I need both! Hahaha. Cheers, man!

How do the ergos compare between the regular z900 and the z900rs cafe?

I love the Z900, would that be a decent beginner bike for a 50 year old that is 6’6” and 380 lbs?

Analog guages are the best for a quick read while riding.

Adjusting KTRC on the RS is the same as rider mode on the standard Z. Only thing you don’t get with the RS is low power mode

Was the insurance less than a sport bike ?

Great video but you need to remember it's a retro so it shouldn't have rider modes besides a cell connection wich are a distraction that is not necessarily necessary

RS undoubtedly. but not sure about the SE improvement coastwise. You could also say the price for the Z900 SE (nonRS) or the z900RS non SE so people could compare apples to apples. I do believe that is around this Z900>z900rs>z900SE>z900rsSE Reasons for going RS== Looks, looks, looks, less technology.

I would have the RS

Why you have incandescent signals? Kawasaki chose Canada to DUMP the remainder of their old signal inventory and hey they probably figured the retro market might think it made it more retro idk lol I bet next year they will be LED...that is what KTM did with the US market my 2020 had incandescent lights later models LED

hi

A motorcycle shouldn't have to much distractions so I don't agree that the tec is a upgrade

Z = Street Fighter 🙂❤️🙂

Silly Canadians have too may "E's" and "D's" in stock, so they have to call a "Z" a "Zed". Great video!

Still a bit disappointed with the rs engine, they sacrifice 15 horsepower for not much more torque either, some say its abit less, but you do get it earlier on the rev range. I was hoping it makes higher peak torque earlier in the rpms. That being said, id still pick the rs over the standard 9 anyday. What a stunning machine.

When you say a better bike’ why no one ever mentions how many miles you can get from a bike with a full tank of gas. ???

I am a taller rider who suffered horribly at the hands of a stock 2023 Z900ABS seat. Somehow it simultaneously bruised my taint, pulled my pants up my butt and my pant legs over the tops of my boots. Coming off of an FZ07 the slight foot back position of the Z lead to a week of leg cramps and backaches. One Ergo Fit Saddle part number 99994-1336 solved all of the problems. It's slightly taller in the front so the scoop to the back of the seat isn't as pronounced. My love for the machine is now complete!

Z900rs look so much better

I hate that they have all but eliminated a decent rear seat on so many motorcycles. We have wives or girlfriends that would like to come on an all day ride from time to time 😠

First!!!

MY KAWASAKI Z900RS IS NICE BIKE. I LIKE IT. 👍🇵🇷🇺🇸🐘🇺🇸🐘

The main difference between the two is that the Z900RS is a far better looking bike than the Z900 which like all modern bikes is ugly.

Kawasaki is milking the cow with the Rs900, compared to the Z 900. The RS SE is the cream.

First!!!