I bought my Z900RS a couple weeks ago, and I can attest that the side stand on this bike is a bit precarious and it’s totally understandable how it went down. I find myself giving it a shake just to make sure it’s solid before I walk away.

My English friend, you guys have a fantastic KZfaq channel, it’s one of my favorites. Don’t worry yourself too much about dropping the bike, as they say, there are two kinds of motorcycle riders, those that have dropped their bikes and those that are going to drop their bikes. Cheers 🍻

All that free advertising, and then they charge you retail prices for the parts repair! Not great. Love the channel mate.

Morning Darcy, It happens to most of us at some point, and if it hasn't, it might. The repair cost seems about right, I guess all damaged parts are replaced, not repaired, and with the labour content and vat, you get the figure you quote. Never mind onward and upward.👍

Sorry about your little accident. But it made me feel good to know that I'm not the only one that has an "oh no" moment.

The Z900RS is in my book the best looking Japanese 'Retro' on the market , I took one for test ride and was truly impressed , the exhaust fitted to your test bike sounds awesome and so much better than the standard pipe. As for the bike rolling off the side stand, don't beat yourself up about it , it's almost a right of passage for all bikers, so welcome to the club 😄

Massive respect to you mate for publicly admitting your error and for paying up. Yep, expensive for what looked like not much damage but probably worth it to learn the lesson. We've all done similar 'daft' things mate, you ain't unique in that respect. Keep up the great work.

Couple of years back i was heading down to Windermere on a very narrow road and decided to stop in a very small lay-by to take a few shots of the lake. It was a very hot day and like you i forgot to leave it in gear. As I dismounted the bike fell over and pinned me under it. A number of cars stopped thinking I'd crashed but all i needed was help to get the thing off me. No damage to the bike but so embarrassing.

I did the same thing on a Honda CB1000R I had three years ago! Parked on a hill, neutral, bike rolled forward and fell. Over $1,000 in damage and few parts available during the COVID War. Nice viewing the review as usual! I like your words there: "blimey," "good fun," etc.!

I'm constantly asked why I always!! park my motorcycle in 1st gear, your video is the perfect answer... 😉😉 Take it easy 👍🏻👍🏻

A well known modification on the Z900RS models is to cut back the side stand stop by a couple of mm to allow bike to lean over a little further, first job I did when I had mine.

After having test-ridden the Z 900 as well as the Triumph Speed Twin 1200, i must say that i prefer the Kawa over the Triumph any day. I'm saying this as a Triumph fanboy for decades.

Great review. I purchased a bike about a year ago predominantly on your review & the old man's & love it to bits. I was looking especially forward to this review as I was seriously considering this bike in the near future, but I think based on my location & visiting tourism on the country road's/ lanes its not going to work. I'll keep watching 👍

Your test bike looks like a 2018, I’ve got the same bike I bought new, but personally I reckon Kawasaki did a great job on the standard exhaust. Not too quiet but not too loud either, so I’ve kept it the way it is. It’s a fantastic bike and I haven’t got tired of mine after 6 years of owning it. Btw, I’ve always kept my bikes in gear when on the side stand!

Everyone is entitled to make a “Bell” out of themselves just the once, bloody good show and light hearted to share it with the world. Good review 👍

Thanks for the review Mr. Darcy, everyone has dropped their bike at some point. But not everyone has dropped someone else's bike. Thanks again, big fan, ride on!

At least you've gotten your first drop outa the way mate! As for the Z900rs I've had mine(lime green) for near 5 years and still love it, best thing you can do is an exhaust and tune before that it was a bit twitchy at low revs

Hi a very good video and assessment of the bike. I owned one for roughly 3 years, it’s a great bike but not a relaxing ride being a de-tuned sports bike. I noticed that the bike was top heavy and you had to be careful doing slow manoeuvres. SW Motech produce a foot extender for the side stand and this gives a lot more confidence when parking. Keep up the excellent work on this channel.

One thing which I can't come to terms with on modern naked bikes and retro's like this one, is the ridiculously looking gap between rear tyre and guard

Good review as always. I was expecting the bill to be worse than that!

I don't think it's an unusual amount for that type of damage. All those pieces are usually pricier than you would think, especially on new bikes, and it adds up quick. Unfortunate nonetheless!

Great review of this what I feel is a very much overlooked bike. I own this same color 2018 Z900RS. It is still completely stock and I'm fine with it. It is a very fast bike from stop light to stop light. Top end is not as high as you would think but it's well over the speed limit. The sound is just gorgeous and the bike is very comfortable. I've taken mine on two 2500 mile trips and it's maiden trip was 1200 miles. I just strap my 30 liter duffle on the back seat and away I go. No problems at all at highway speeds, plenty of power with more to spare.

Ouch. I've dropped my bike a few times, each time l was stationary on a slight incline and l put my foot down to find nothing but air - each time the bike fell on top of me. To be fair, l saved money by cushioning the drop, but the bruises told the story!

As been said in other comments Darcy, it happens to the best of us. Enjoyable review as always 👍

There’s a lot of bikes with poor designed side stands, that’s why it’s good practice to always leave the bike in gear when on the side stand, make it a habit like putting the handbrake on in a car, even on the flat it doesn’t take much to roll it forward and off the stand, a friend had a dog bump into his bike and over it went, all the best Darcy 👍

Less comfort , due to the lower seat , normal seat is more plush

As the owner of a R18 I endorse and approve of the Mr. Darcy & The Ol’ Man branding logo. Superlative. Great review too, the guilt feeling will pass once the repair check cashes and anger overrides it. Thanks for continued great content gents!!!

Enjoyed the review as always. I’m sure that people will know that another thing to do with your own bike is to fit a foot extender to the stand which will help prevent a drop on soft or hard ground.

Dont worry about it, brother! I had a very similar situation with my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 recently. Parked on a hill and dropped my bike for the first time. Was very disappointed by this, but understood that with some bikes you need to pay more attention, because of their leg design. Looking forward to see more of your videos! Cheers!

Just have the dealer place a "Mr Darcy Special Edition" sticker on the side. Leave the blemishes! Cheers mate. First drop is always a bummer. Keep up the great reviews.

I bought the Triumph Scrambler 1200xe after watching your dad’s review, superb bike, slash cut pipes high mudguards, chunky tyres, looks and sounds brilliant. Really enjoy the reviews.

You are presenting the right value system and we love your channel for it! You just “bought” yourself a whole load of followers!

I've heard rumors about Kawasaki making a Z400RS with the 400cc inline 4 from the ZX4RR, and I hope that ends up happening. The Z900RS has a beautiful sound, but I just don't need or want that much power in a bike. Even then, what a great bike. I remember seeing them at a car show, right next to an original Z1, and they did a fantastic job at making a modern machine look similar to the old one.

I think you’ve got the best motorcycle channel on KZfaq. I’m new to motorcycle’s and I find the reviews you do really insightful and great to watch. You and your Dad both come across really well. I have my own KZfaq channel so I know how key it is to be authentic and genuine in your own style. Re the repair bill on this bike, yep it seems very steep. I guess they’ll want to return it to being perfect but maybe £150 not £500 Keep up the great content 🤙🤘💥

Finally a Z900rs video!! I use mine for commuting everyday rain or shine (60 miles a day) and still have fun. Repair costs are quite expensive i have to say. Mine is in the garage atm and for a rear+front sprocket and tire repair it's going to cost 310 pounds. Be interesting to hear other people's repair costs 👀 I will say though, changing the stock tires to road 5s is a game changer to say the least.

I’m proud to be a subscriber to your channel. You are such a lovely guy, you handled this little problem with such class. Have a great weekend sir. Ps I think the cost was far too high.

I bought mine when they first came out in 2018...... I love it.

The bike falling down like that, that has happened to me before and has almost happened to everyone. The repair cost, these days, nobody fixes anything, they replace everything, so when you consider the cost of the parts and labor that bill does not surprise me, you should have asked for the old parts so you could have re sold them to get some of you money back, at least the side cover. That 900 RS is a really nice sounding bike, good review Cheers.

I think the repair costs were reasonable. Bearing in mind most garages are at least £75/hour. Engine casing, gaskets, oil plus the other damaged parts.

Towards the repair bill. Everyone makes mistakes, keep the videos coming!

Unfortunately things happen. When I drove through a pothole on a bmw and bent the wheel they charged me for the wheel, on a test drive. Fair enough. But if I was a brand giving you the bike for publicity, I'm not sure if it were me I'd charge you for the repair, although it seems reasonable to do so in my opinion. Glad you're ok and great for being honest in reviews, it builds trust in the channel!

The price of 'things' in relation to motorbikes always seem unreasonably expensive. I ride on a budget, old bikes and usually the cheapest option of everything (including used parts sometimes) where I do whatever fixing and servicing I can myself. Tyres, parts and even clothing/accessories just seem to have extra £'s tagged on when you add "for motorcycles", I can change all 4 tyres on my car for less than the two on my bike, I can get waterproofs from an outdoor shop for half what an equivalent costs from a bike shop.

Personally I prefer the sound quality on the stock exhaust, sounds good accelerating but pleasant when cruising. I was a little disappointed with handling of my RS SE but the tires may be a little responsible of the drifting out in the turns. After I take mine to the drag strip I'll find out how it compares to the Thruxton Rs 11.6 and the BMW R9Ts 11.7 quarter mile ETs. Not every bike with black front suspension looks better than gold, just like some motors look better polished than blacked out. The tip overs happen to the best of us sometimes in public and sometimes in the privacy of our garages but they always seem to piss me off about to the same degree as my embrassment.

Great video. Agree about the black forks.

Daggonit. The drop gremlin got you. ruddy bastards. They run around my house all the time. GREAT sounding bike. I love the style of these Kawasakis.

Plenty a bloke born an raised in the Alps learned the same lesson 😂 Most remember the result for the rest of their life 😁 As always an excellent review of this awesome bike, Darcy 👌

Well you didn’t have to tell us but appreciate that you did. Same thing happened to me on my driveway although I thought I had put it in gear. Fortunately I had crash bars on my GS which prevented expensive repairs.

I dropped a demo BMW f900 on the right side a couple of years ago. It cost me $1000 Australian in excess, and it cost $3400 all up to replace the parts.

I think we all have that one friend who finds the concept of leaving a bike in first gear when parking up an alien one, even after his bike has needed picking back up after a little lie down numerous times. It can be a very expensive lesson to learn and one some never do. With luck, you will never have this happen again.

In case nobody has mentioned, that one has the optional low seat fitted. Many have dropped them off the side stand, easily avoided by removing a mm or two from the stand stop so it engages better. It's a good thing you didn't crack the headlight lens as those are £1200 and a new fuel tank is around £1600!! 😬

Great review and yes these things happen . I have a 2023 version of this bike and love it. I actually think the stock headers and muffler sound better than the aftermarket headers. It’s a fun , classic Japanese four. I had an old, used original Z 900 and it is nothing like that bike ! I’m probably the same age as the Ol Man so the nostalgia is there but this bike has a level of quality and refinement that has no comparison to the original. Thank you and please continue the down to earth content

One thing that Harley do right is the side stand which has a peg to stop the sidestand folding backwards while the bikes weight is on it. Lift the bike upright and the stand moves away from the restraining peg. Makes the stand feel a bit sloppy when putting it down but does the job and would have saved this bike,

You look better on that bike than the 650.

Centre stand is kind of a great feature to have and to learn to use. At least on the Hunter 350, the centre stand is heavy, but the bike is much more secure on it than on the overtly vertical side stand, which in my opinion, is kind of a bug or an anticipation for larger wheels / raised suspension mods.

The bike's seat is firm because this particular bike has the low seat accessory, but the standard seat is way comfier. Also, I agree the side stand is not so confident aspiring...

Once it happened to me while testing an R 1200 GS adv . Broke the clutch lever, damaged the break fluid reservoir and few scratches. It was 500Eur for the repair 🥴 It still hurts when I think about it 😑

Nice review🎉

Great sound, great bike, great video 🤘🏼

Biking is a constant learning experience. It's a nice-looking bike.

😮I had a new Vfr1200fd do the same on a slight incline £600 later. At least you were brave honest to say. Great bike sounds great. They made a great looker retro from the z1. 😊

I think that as an owner the damage could have been repaired cheaply, but as a business they don’t have time to mess around repairing paint etc so would have just fitted a new side casing which in itself probably cost over £200. PS on the plus side you can be confident that you’ll never drop another bike off it’s sidestand ever again 👍

I've always added drop/frame sliders, engine covers, and axle sliders on all my bikes if they don't come with them already. Currently waiting for nylon engine case covers for my 22 XSR900 and, until then, riding it minimally. All those bits of protection cost something like under $200 but a simple drop can easily hit $1000.

Great vid, and don't beat yourself up about dropping it. Anyone who hasn't dropped a motorcycle at some point just hasn't ridden long enough. It happens, even to the best of us. Keep up the great work!

Do ya park a manual car in neutral & rely only on the park-brake? I was taught, by Dad, in gear is rule 1....

Great review. I had my 2018 model for nearly two years, bought very low mileage s/h and traded in two years ago. Fabulous bike with a superlative engine, that is a victim of it's own virtues. As you said, too fast for those roads, like the Cornish roads I frequent. Either smoothly and silkily burbling along, but you know its just being polite and want's to be unleashed. Or you open it up and, capable as it is of instant, flash past overtakes, it's likely to leave the other road users muttering and submitting dashcam footage. On back roads, it becomes an uncomfortable and hard ride. Relatively light and well balanced by modern standards, you still start to feel bulk. I've currently got three other bikes, and I have to say my Interceptor 650 generally gives me more pleasure on anything but dual roads than the RS did. That said, the RS was in need of more wind protection on those dual roads unless bang on the speed limit where again the bike really pleaded to see at least another 15mph when it became uncomfortable and a personal strain over a distance.

Don`t feel bad, I did the same thing on my brand new ZRX1100 years ago and I feel your pain! Mine took a clutch lever, turn signal and a new mirror (I think it was less than $150.00 for the new OEM parts. It happens to the best of us!

Great review of an awesome machine👍 also I've dropped 3 out of the last 6 bikes I've owned happens to all of us

Thanks for the video. Bad luck about the drop! Labour costs I guess are high. The seat on that bike is a low seat I believe, so would be harder than the standard.

Welcome to the ˋDropped bike club ´! Happens to the best of us. I lost my footing on my brand new GS ,just out of the Showroom, on a busy street corner. Thank the crash bars no damage. More embarrassed with injury to the ego 😅. The Kawa is such a purebred motorcycle, good looking and refined. Love to have this as a second bike. Just to put in perspective the cost of a minor incident. Recently, some idiot stole or broke off one of those side headlights for added visibility. The light , mount and cables plus work costs a whopping 490 €! 😮 Greetings from Berlin, Jim

Good review, sorry to hear about the drop, it happens to us all. I watched the review on the z650rs first and would probably go for that over the 900, you just can't use that sort of power in the real world.

Test rode one of these last year, have ridden many bikes in my 30 years of biking , it was a dream bike of mine in my younger days..honestly it scared the crap outta me hahaha, I had memories flood back of opening up an RD350 as a teenager..my back & wrists can't handle the sitting position of the 900 & it's definitely waaaaay to twitchy & fast for anything I want nowadays but loved the test ride..

I nearly got caught like that at local shop ,car park is sloping away, went to get off the bike and i started rolling forward , just nicked it into gear in time 😅

i've just got a new bike and was practicing a cowboy mount in my drive coz of my bad back and the height of the tailpack where the pillion is, when my lifelong biker m8 who came over to have a nosy at my new steed said 'you've put it in gear havent you?' - ooops no i hadn't really thought about it, but glad i learned a lesson before finding out the hard way. GL

Seems about right for repair costs. Such a shame for that to happen on a bike that's not your own! Must be a lot of guilt! Great bike and great vid as usual.

I was torn between this and the CB1100EX. I chose the latter as I preferred an air cooled twin shock. I have neither now as they are as you quite rightly said - too fast for most roads. The CB was heavy too.

Unfortunately these things happen. Fair play to you for mentioning it. The price for the repairs doesn't surprise me I'm afraid. Ride safe.

We've all done it mate !!!

Hi, I've got the same bike in the same colour scheme, I also dropped my bike, all I did was nudge it slightly & it fell , at least it was on soft ground, since then I always leave it in gear & I've since fitted engine case protectors, I took it for a service a couple of years ago and I had a loan bike (Kawasaki Z650), that fell over whilst I had it, I did the Responsible thing & owned up to it when I took it back, It cost me £975!, because of that I will never have a loan bike again, I'm 6' 2" & find that the bike fits me perfectly, even with the standard exhaust the bike sounds good, I've done nearly 27k miles on it now.

Love the timeless looks - a modern incarnation of the hallmark UJM.

I bought one dropped on that exact side, I replaced that engine cover and lever myself and it was around 280$ in US dollars in parts to fix. Loved mine, I put Brock’s full exhaust and a power commander with the Brock’s street tune. Man that thing runs so freakin good and the sound was so classic

Dealerships don't mess about repairing parts, it's old one off new one on. £500 doesn't sound too bad, as I remember when I took my softail slim for a test ride, Sycamores told me it would cost £1500 if I dropped it to pay for the excess. I imagine you're being billed for the parts damage assessment and fitting too, bit harsh as you used to work there :) . There's also the fact that this bike has been dropped which might put buyers off. We Live n learn :)

A blip on the ocean mate, don't take it to heart. In a week it will be history. Keep up the great videos ❤

Good review Darcy.. you’re right, it’s not a true retro with the monoshock but it’s a nod to the past… £500 seems quite reasonable.. I was expecting £1000+… they may not have charged for labour which seems quite generous of them.

Did the same on my ninja 1000sx. Paid 1300 AUD in fairings. Now I park in 1st gear. And I also installed frame sliders and case protectors

We've all done it buddy...as you said its all part of being a biker...great review 👍

Did the same thing to mine mate, embarassing but a big plus was I had similar minor damage - have put some sliders on since but really, I was surprised how little damage there was, testament to the design. So many bikes have poor side stand angles, my old Busa used to fall off the stand all the time OMG, hence, don't feel bad. I assume the aftermarket pipe is an akro - sounds the same as mine with the akro and chipped. Nice, and yes, it sounds great. Try the Scorpion after market pod on the end, it fits better than the standard can and sounds better as well.

On a new bike, I imagine they would replace anything that had any damage with brand new parts. My Yamaha FJR fell over and the repair bill was over $4,000 USD. New muffler, new Fairing side, new mirror, new engine guard, new foot peg, new side case.. the list goes on.

The most expensive crash that happens with no-one on. It has happened to me on the same one bike until i used to check the angle three - five times after parking. My one would bend the gear selector inside the case every time which had to be replaced every time. A couple of times it also punched the shifter through the case you scratched and oil poured out freely leaving me with barely enough engine oil to start it. I also began fitting shorty style clutch levers which I discovered did not break when falling off the stand which would fold up in a blink. My bike was a 500 and my sidekick had the Z1R 900 Kawasaki. Then the 900 never had that fault!

What a beatiful machine. Great video, but too short 💚

Mirror is textured so would need replacing, case cover would also need replacing is metal is gouged which would mean an oil change and the addition of replacing the bar end, lever, and turn signal plus labor so sounds about right. I also have a Z900RS, just rode it 440 miles round trip to go watch the Daytona 200 and I absolutely love this bike

I would have thought new engine casing cover! main cost! just because you think it should be sanded down and sprayed the new owner may not be happy with that! My mate I ride with in Cyprus has the same Motorcycle he's 74 years of age and does not hang around! Ridden bikes all his life in the UK! Loves his RS! But did also mention the side stand and lack of leaning over of the Motorcycle! oops he's 75 now!

Crikey that's a salty one - but to be honest for the parts and labour £500ish doesn't surprise me....drops are always expensive and we've all done it. Parking that, what a great bike!

As one who’s been riding since age 4 I can’t tell you how many Riders I’ve seeing drop Bikes in exactly the same way you did. I’ve never dropped one that way but believe me I’ve dropped my share! Now you never again have to worry about dropping one for the 1st time!🤣

I have the Z900 RS CAFE, and absolutely loving it.

A shame and very expensive, especially when promoting their business, but not unexpected. Did similar on day 1 with my V7, hasn't happened again! Enjoying all your stuff, many thanks.

Sounds amazing 🤩.... Funny isn't it how were all encouraged to get 900 and 1000 cc bikes, even the girls... You're very sensible to acknowledge we need to consider how we ride and what we need 😅❤🎉 xx great vid

Had it happen 40 years ago . Always leave it in gear ever since.

Harley Davidsons have very forgiving side stands, and I believe you currently own one. This might have contributed to your oversight. Happened to me once decades ago when a mate and I swapped bikes during a group ride. I had a Softail Heritage, and he rode a Ducati. His bike fell onto mine after I parked it on soft ground and miraculously there was no damage to either, but I felt pretty silly. I’m surprised how flimsy side stands can be on some models. That was the first and last time I parked a new bike without checking the slope, integrity of the ground and how the bike sits on its side stand. I have a feeling you’ll never make that mistake again. You and your dad do excellent reviews. Thanks for all your effort. It’s much appreciated.

Same thing happened to me to my CB1100RS 5Four limited edition, gutted but fixable, same deal, slight slope, out of gear, never again and I’ve been riding for years, happens mate 👊

It’s the modern version of the Mad Max (1979) bike, which was the Z1000. Always looking for your & your father’s videos. Jolly good every time.