The Z1 was the bike that made me want to ride all those decades ago - walked into the shop took one look and brought it...

I'm madly in love with this bike, I haven't had a crush like this with any vehicle since I was a child

Well, I’ve had mine for nearly a month and I’ve done almost 3,000 kms so it’s run in. To think I didn’t know whether to buy it or not. I wasn’t overly rapt with a 20 minute test ride on the demo bike, but now I’ve got my own bike I’m loving it. I’d go so far as to say it’s the best bike I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned Ducatis, HDs and Triumphs among others. The Z900RS just suits me down to the ground. I like the smoothness, the torque, the power, the comfort and riding position, the sound it makes, and of course the looks.

Good review and a lovely bike, so much better looking than those modern transformer style bikes.

Great looking bike and apparently equal performance. Such style, well done. A sub for my man in Sydney! Greetings from SoCal! ✊🏼

Thanks for the good review (and a shout out to Lane Cove where my sister and hubby lived). That is one beautiful machine. Even though it's expensive, I would be prepared to pay that because I think the relative simplicity of the bike will keep you going and smiling for a good many years.

Absolutely love it, next bike i think and my first non-sports bike, great vid fella..

A very good review from a real world perspective thank you. The fuelling issue seems to be common with most modern bike due to the strict emission control they run weak and as such on small throttle openings they can be a little hesitant.

Excellent review. Detailed, informative and not too long.

Great video, really enjoyed it. Well done!

I always enjoy your videos. Thanks.

Great vid mate. Seriously considering purchasing a 2020 in dark green next week!

What a beautiful machine! And very nice review too 👍

Looks awesome!

Great video mate....your production quality is improving with each video. Keep uploading.....!

Great piece of work

Thankx for fast review of this bike 👍

Beautiful machine, though personally I think a 4 into 2 would look even better.

Sweet Ride for sure just picked up my Green 2020 and loving it

Nice review mate. A work colleague test rode one of these on Monday and a gave a very similar viewpoint as you; of the bikes I’ve mentioned to you already, I have to say that this one is definitely drawing me in... Again, excellent video and review.😎👍🏻👍🏻

Love that bike man!

Well narrated. Liked the points you made too ... heard the bike can be put on a dyno and the jerkiness in first gear can be tuned out. I am getting one ... can't wait.

Great review. Glad I found another Australian review. Would love one but think they are priced too high so will wait a bit. I'm in that age group that are looking for the 'traditional styled' bike. Bonneville, Moto Guzzi V7, but prefer to stick with Japanese engineering. I will test ride on at some stage.

I had 900rs bike for 6 months, it is a good looking bike and the retro style is timeless, but now that I have my Honda CB1100ex I have to say performance wise is very similar, honda is smoother, very easy to drive, gorgeous and comfy, This old school bikes were meant to be driven in an easy way, believe me, you wont win any races with this kawa or cbHonda, but boy driving around the city is so pleasant and in long trips you can just drive and drive and enjoy the scenery. Hard to decide which one is better, but Honda is the best for me so far

Really great and informative revue, I'm considering buying one of these bikes later this Year to replace my Bandit, yet to take the test ride on one so this excellent revue and virtual ride is a good preliminary taster, thanks.

All round good review with the right observations in all areas, except maybe the seat and riding position which, having owned it now for nearly three years, I note is very uncomfortable, hard and tilts you forward. Hence, I have had the seat remade to be flatter and have lowered the front pegs (which were creating a tortuous riding position). Its hard to see how Kawasaki could have got the riding position so wrong on this bike given their experience. Maybe its just me. However, the bike is also a prime opportunity in terms of performance improvement. A flash of the ECU with get rid of the throttle snap and improve the HP and torque, and an Akro pipe with a Scorpion can will also add HP and improve the sound out of sight. It now goes really really well. Have also geared it up as I found first gear to be basically silly its so short.

gudaday.love the vid,love accents.really friendly .

I'm a professional sound man and I'm blown away how quiet your mic is. So little outside noise. Plus great review to boot

nice ride

Hi, i m waitig for the vlog about the RS900 café racer :)

great review mine is on its way

Great vid mate. Lovely bike. It's a small point, but it's geat to hear an Aussie test this bike and hear "zed 900" instead of "zee 900". Drives me nuts hearing "zee-this, zee-that" haha! Good work, keep it up.

Nice job Kawasaki. Really you can't beat it for the money. And Kawasaki has always been about bang for the buck.

Great review. Do comparison to the z900 and z1000, that would be interesting.

I bought one a month ago and love the bike

hey great job.... i had one back in the day... but toy fail to mention .... its water cooled big changed over looked mate

nice review. got a new subscriber here.

Thanks for the video, very true. I picked up one from first shipment in December 17, very happy with it. I used to ride Aprilia Tuono 2014, great bike if it goes and drank juice like my 4wd Prado . Only done 8k km and left stranded too many times. Inherited issues from more than ten years but Aprilia never resolved it, in hot weather the cooling works flatout and the temperature still rising, draining the battery send you left stranded. So happy that I got rid of it.

I tried it today at the dealership - only sat on it couldn't ride it as weather in Sweden is about -15 celsius. Anyways, I bought a brand new Triumph Street Scrambler during the summer 2017, had it for less then a year but I'm changing to this one no questions asked. This is a much more old school solid bike than any Triumph. Kawasaki really did a good job. And for that nut case iAM Carnage - shut the f''' up.

When you accelerated going on to the highway, there was a red bike beside you that left you in the dust...I want that one.

its fucking gorgeous , i love it , i cant afford it , but i want it , if i had money id have this and a tracer 900 gt

Hello from England Great test well done young man

Very Awesome! I have the original version 1973 900 Z1 same color and all:) ps. RJ sent me and I subbed:)

Really nice model...I just saw it...

It's mind blowing how good the Japanese are at making stuff..

Great looking bike, looks almost as good as a ZRX1200R.

Gday mate great review ,anyone who was around when these things first hit the market back then will know how much cudos they had ,it was the bike that slapped honda right in the face ,back then i was a stick with eyes and could not hold one of these up and if it fell over i was stuffed . I think this will evoke a lot of old guys memories of the jaffa may sell well just on that alone although it is modernized so much compared to the old one . Abetter bike in safety, suspension and liquid cooled i think it wil be a winner we see triumph bringing out their retro bikes so why not a classic japanese super bike one of the originals .

Nice review , one minor criticism, the angle of your camera could be a little higher , or possibly you were tilting your head down when accelerating, I found myself wanting to see the road ahead more clearly. Still, great to have a good Aussie reviewer . Oh and I have a 650 Vulcan s which weighs the same as the z900rs , I reckon that'll b my next bike . Cheers

oh for February weather like you have!!!!!!!, jet wash the salt and grit off and Acf50 after every ride up here in Scotland

Update: Done 18,500 kms on mine in 22 months. You’re right about the jerky throttle, mine was particularly bad, but I fitted a Booster Plug made in Denmark which fixed it 99%, but I’ll get a ECU reflash in March when it’s out of warranty, should be perfect then going by what they say on Z900RS forums. Like you say I think the direct competition is the BMW 9RT, but since you did the video the Triumph Speed Twin 1200cc has come on the scene and that’s its most direct competitor if you ask me. In summary I’ve got to say it’s the best bike I’ve ever owned, still loving it, even done the odd track day at Phillip Island!

I WANT THAT BIKE !!!!

Leaning towards this bike.

Needs some beautiful spoked rims, longer tail section, and get rid of that jacked up gap over the rear wheel.

Very nice

Dammm that looks amazing

Just got a Cafe model, its pretty slow! I like everything else about it.. So I'll keep it a while.. Its a excellent old man bike, which I am

That guy next to you at 3:50 ahah gloves and helmet but then t-shirt jeans and trainers great!lol

The direct competitor's for this bike are the Triumph Bonneville T120 & Honda CB1100. I definitely want to ride one of these, however, my local dealer cannot keep them in Stock long enough; these bikes are typically sold before they arrive at the dealer. #CentralTX

The one with the bikini fairing is the shit! That's my pick!

Great review, beautiful bike! The price is high but there will be some good deals towards the end of the year so wait a bit if you can.

OMG! Do they make one in 650? Rode KZ 650s for years. This threw me back in time.

kawasaki z900RS or Yamaha XSR900? I love them both😍

I’m just about ready to buy one but can’t quite make up my mind. I’ve got a 1200 Sporty I’ve owned for 26 years but I wouldn’t mind a change. Had a sit on the new Kwaka at Peter Stevens down here in Melbourne and I’ve got to say I really like it. Persuade me haha. I don’t think I’d get rid of the HD because I wouldn’t get enough for it, but that would mean two lots of rego. Decisions!

You say "ZED" rather than " ZEE " ..... subbed !

Give it shaft drive and it would be just about perfect.

Great 'real world' review. I want one, but, the price is premium. I think Kawasaki is playing on sentiment with this bike rather than a 'fair' price. As has been noted, much of the 'bones' of the RS has come from the Z900, so why would this particular version be so much more expensive than its 'sibling'. I know it's not a dealer issue, but it's still a real point of contention for a potential buyer.

love that bike did own a old z1e900 jaffa and hd fittness program apparently ha ha ha.

Let The Good Times Roll!

It’s got more ponies than my old 1995 zx6r

Needs some aftermarket pipes. It’s way too quiet. I owned a KZ900 new in 1976 with a 4 into 1 kerker. What a sound it had.

Thanks for another great video! Don’t forget the new Honda CB1000... 😏

Thanks4 making this retro bike. Why did Kawi let us down by not finishing with a "correct" four-in2- four exhaust? Small detail missed?

Kawa knocked it out of the park with this one. Only gripe is the large radiator but that's just me being fussy.

1:53 once you throw a leg over Queens of Stone starts playing millionaire

First thing to do is paint those silver things on the sides of the radiator black.

I wish Kawasaki would remake the 1984 Ninja, do not change the look of it at all, same dimensions, seat and seat hight. same everything, just update the performance to 2020 technology.

Do you feel you are sitting within the bike or on top of the bike? Thank you.

go Z club! got some on my channel too

If it only had the crome bar on the back seat like the old days I would Buy it in a min👱⚡

stuart 63 , all i have to do now is sell my k16oogtl a beautiful whale of a bike. then its one of these for me. (at least if it falls over i will be able to pick it up)

Does this bike have an adventure bike feel due to the high seating position?

How does this compare to the mt09? I know theyre different but im cross shopping them.

Great looking bike but I went with the XSR900. While on paper the z900rs has more torque at 72 ft lbs compared to the XSR's 65 ft lbs, it's quite a bit heavier at 471lbs (214kg) compared to the lighter weight XSR being 430 lbs (195kg). Also the z900rs doesn't have as much power as the XSR900, the XSR makes 115hp compared to z900rs making 110. So when you said you get more grunt with the z900rs (12:15), I'd have to disagree there, but I still really like the bike. I think the z900rs looks better than the XSR but they are both great looking bikes to me. I think the z900rs is a little too expensive though.

Why does the RS model cost so much more than the z900 naked sport model? I would definitely think the z900 would cost more to build than the z900rs. I'm not seeing the $2500 value added here.

375 Kilo Harley vs a 200 Kilo Z900RS. RS does not need to be pushed.

what happened to the knight of the road helping a fellow biker in distress or does that not apply to big fat harley guys.

Give me this bike with zero ergo changes, put the Z900 engine/tune into it (no changes from the Z900 power and throttle), and make it 430 overall pounds.

Z1B forever

Sorry can't rap myself around this new style 900.. As a owner of 1--75 Z1 900--and 2 KZ1000. these new retro only come half way close to what they could have done . Honda did a better job with the cb 1100 for 2018 ....even with a engine that looks right out of a 900 kawi

This or your MT-09?

Why didn’t you help the guy walking the Harley ???,Riders have to watch out for each other. 🤨👎, Nice Kawi Nevertheless.

This could be really nice but one thing ruins it all for me.Thebrake fluid reservoir is made of plastik.That is just a no go for me

Damn I'm torn between this bike and the Yamaha mt09.... I just can't make a decision.

Nice looking bike....needs a better (louder) exhaust....lol

Zed??

i think they should have made it air cooled

too expensive. for Japan no need to have: speed limit over here (grin).

225kg listed.. not very heavy at all. That's 496lbs.. And yes it doesn't feel that heavy. I took one off the side stand and about threw it on the ground the other way. Even compared to my dad's 1965 Triumph T120C which weighs about 348lbs, it felt light. I'm sure it has to do with even distribution of weight whereas the T120C has iron cylinders. I will say though, I didn't try pushing that bike through the showroom or anything.. The dealer I was at won't start the bikes or anything.. I was lucky to even be allowed to sit on it.. They want to "give it to the new owner as fresh as possible" I'm like "quality assurance, you need to start that bitch up and take it on a 50 mile ride and make sure everything functions!" Amazing how comfortable that thing is, even at 6'10ish tall and with barely a 30 inch leg inseam on my good leg.. (my left hip is bent down and makes that leg shorter)

Throughout the whole video I did not see one full size pickup truck sucks to live there

37k miles[✓]