Words: Kyle Lawrenson, Garth Taylor, Séan Hendley
Pics: blackrockstudio.co.za
Words: Kyle Lawrenson, Garth Taylor, Séan Hendley
Pics: Black Rock C_S
Flip Thats pretty!
That’s the comment we heard often riding around on the current livery Kawasaki Z900 ABS. It is beyond gorgeous in its dark body paint and glittering green accents. It has always been a good looking machine, but this colour scheme really accentuates the stunning lines of this machine.
There are going to be no new revelations about this Z900 in this feature because nothing much has changed besides the paintwork and that is a good thing. It is like going to your favourite restaurant perusing the menu and then ordering the same thing that you always have just because you like it so much. You once tried that so called new and exciting menu item and didn’t like it and ended up wishing you had ordered the usual with extra cheese.
Yup! That’s a long winded way of saying, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. and that is exactly what the Z900 is… it ain’t broken!
As we write, the price has just been dropped to R165995.00, you’ll have to go a very long way to get better value for money. It’s fast, light, and comfortable. It’s reasonably sensible on fuel and it is, absolutely as ‘Hooligan’ as it looks!
So, what do you get for your money?
A 948cc, inline 4 cylinder engine that powers 92 kW and 99 Nm through a six speed box into a 212kg luscious beauty of a bike. A fuel tank that holds around 17 litres and sips fuel at around 5.25 litres per 100km – if you ride it a bit more sensibly than what we did. A seat height at 820mm that suits most riders of any height. Adjustable suspension with 120mm travel up front and 140mm on the rear and a ground clearance of 145mm.
Yes, there are other bikes out there that might look more impressive on paper, but at this price?
Go on! Pull the other leg! We’ve featured dirtbikes in Dirt And Trail Magazine that are knocking on those rands…
A few years ago we spent 12 solid hours in the saddle of a Z900 carving up 900 km’s of ET’s finest passes with a S1000R for companionship. One of our riders asked for the Z9 back, stating that the S1000 was “trying to kill him.”
Admittedly he is a young and moderately experienced rider, but seemed happy with the size of his manhood and preferred to ride something he enjoyed as opposed to trying to be macho. The last 2 hours of said trip were spent hunkered down into the bikes at around 200kmh as we diced the winter cold and sunset to the warmth of our respective homes. He sat comfortably with the rest of us perched like pretzels and topping up more at each fuel stop.
This year, we took the Z900 on our now traditional pilgrimage to NAMPO in Bothaville in the Free State along with a couple of other naked bikes and a big KTM Super Adventure, (read about that experience www.dirtandtrail.co.za ) and the full NAMPO ride story on this site.
A few years ago we spent 12 solid hours in the saddle of a Z900 carving up 900 km’s of ET’s finest passes with a S1000R for companionship. One of our riders asked for the Z9 back, stating that the S1000 was “trying to kill him.”
Admittedly he is a young and moderately experienced rider, but seemed happy with the size of his manhood and preferred to ride something he enjoyed as opposed to trying to be macho. The last 2 hours of said trip were spent hunkered down into the bikes at around 200kmh as we diced the winter cold and sunset to the warmth of our respective homes. He sat comfortably with the rest of us perched like pretzels and topping up more at each fuel stop.
This year, we took the Z900 on our now traditional pilgrimage to NAMPO in Bothaville in the Free State along with a couple of other naked bikes and a big KTM Super Adventure, (read about that experience www.dirtandtrail.co.za ) and the full NAMPO ride story on this site.
It was supposed to be clutches out at 7am but some were late as usual so we had to do a bit of rush hour traffic dodging through Gilloolys on our way to the Blockhouse One Stop for our traditional Wimpy brekka. Then it was a burn down the R59 passed Sasolburg for a break at our favourite Eiffel Tower in Parys, before heading through town towards Vredefort and onto the road to Viljoenskroon and watch the manicured farmlands melt into the mountains and natural bush around the Vredefort Dome.
At Viljoenskroon we ran out of road quite surprisingly finding out that the ‘Road Closed’ sign was there for a very good reason. A quick detour through town brought us out the other side of the flooded road and onto roads that should by rights be closed as well for the appalling condition they were in. So much so, that on our return trip many hours later a vehicle flicked up one of the many stones strewn across the road finding the radiator of the Z900. This caused a very distressing jet of super hot coolant to appear and much panicking amongst us as we tried to find help in the twilight of a forgotten farming town.
Fortune favoured us and we found a very kind owner of the only Sasol filling station in Viljoenskroon who was prepared to open his spares shop and sell us the necessary stuff we needed to get going. If you are ever out that way please stop by and fill up your vehicle, bakkie or bike there and buy a few cokes and chocolates from him, he really is a very cool guy.
That being said, we should have actually filled up there earlier that day on our journey through to NAMPO. Not 15 minutes outside of town, too far to turn back and still too far from Bothaville to be comfortable all the naked bikes started lining up and drafting behind the big Super Adventure and her voluminous fuel tank as their fuel lights suddenly started flashing frantically.
The Z900 was last to join the locomotion barely 10 clicks from Bothaville and it carried a pillion the whole way too!
This is what our bunch had to say about the Kwakka:
“Well, just look at this bike. It’s a 900 Naked Kawasaki, what more can I say? You can’t help but appreciate the way this bike looks. When I first saw it, I couldn’t wait to jump on it. Stefan of course grabbed it first saying – that’s our bike – because it’s his favourite and I can certainly see why, this thing is like a little pocket rocket. For a 900 it has tons and tons of power, it just screams up the highway. The gearbox was a little bit interesting to me, a very direct and positive feeling gearbox, you definitely know when you have changed gears with this box. A lot of motorcycles come with quick shifters and…. I can say ‘soft’ feel gearboxes that you have to look at the screen to know what gear you’re in or if you’re in gear, with this bike you know. The Z900 has an old school, solid gearbox and no quick shifter. The turning circle on this bike is extraordinary, it is really,really cool. It is nice to be able to do a quick U-turn and go back and look for your slower mates, or just manoeuvre through traffic and parking lots, this bike does it all with ease. This Z900 is also extremely well balanced, it seems especially suited to my size and weight. In terms of comfort, I find that this bike has a very narrow seat towards the tank, but then again I am an off-road and adventure bike enthusiast so I enjoy it, but maybe other people sit a little further back on the seat which is a bit more comfortable. When I found my bum getting a little bit tired from the long distances we rode I would just move around a bit on the seat. But, I think for what it is intended for it is a great, great bike.
And the power… Yoh!Yoh! Yoh! The power delivery is unreal, this little power pack here… I dunno what Kawasaki have done but they have certainly got something right because it is really, really, really powerful. I found the bike just screamed from first right up to sixth gear, it just wanted to go aannnddd…. go, annddd GO some more. The wind factor of course slowed me down, which is a good thing, and of course that is what you get with naked bikes. When I pushed back in the saddle and leaned onto the tank I did find that it was easier to withstand higher speeds. But Ja! It is an amazing little pocket rocket naked bike and I love it and definitely in my top 5 bikes. And F.Y.I it also came in with the best fuel efficiency of all the bikes on the day.”
“This bike is like a Land Cruiser, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. You get on and ride it and remember just how lekker it actually is. Excellent when it comes to fuel efficiency as well! We used just 12 litres over 280 km’s, that’s almost 25 kays to the litre. And we weren’t pussy footing around. Everybody seems to think this bike is quite sparse in the electronics area but it actually has quite a lot. In typical fashion we put it into ‘Rider mode’ and chose full power. You can choose traction control 1,2,3 or off and even at full power it doesn’t feel like it is going to rip your arms off because it is that easy to ride. Yet, when you do want to play around with a wheelie or two or scratch a couple of corners you just pop the clutch and off she goes…. it is very fast. But let’s be honest, this is not the type of bike you are going to buy to do 500 kays a day but – you can do it quite easily if you have to. I left a bit earlier than the rest of the guys and hooked it down the freeway in quite chilly temperatures. I was quite happy with the wind protection that it offered, but the best part is when you are sitting at around 130 and a bit at about five, five and a half thousand RPM this motor really wakes up and becomes very lively, now it wants to go. The roll on feel at this RPM, even though you are in top gear it almost feels like you are in third or fourth. She pulls like a steam engine. The seating position is a bit sporty, but not aggressive and you can quite easily spend a long time in the seat commuting around on your daily trips through traffic and even go play in the mountains on weekends. Bang for buck you can’t beat this bike.”
“This bike has been a bit of a revelation to me, initially I was a bit disappointed that the 1000cc was no longer available, that just looked cool as f… and went like the blue blazes. So, when I first swung my leg over the 900 a few years ago I wasn’t expecting anything exciting as what it turned out to be. This is a properly fun bike. It initially seemed a little bit light and insubstantial but that turned out to be excellent lightweight agility and manoeuvrability. The motor is just sublime and the howl from the induction when you crank up the revs moves something deep down in your soul. The one thing I do miss is a quick shifter. I recently mangled my left foot, and with swapping through the various bikes on this test, all of which had quick shifters, I nearly re-broke my foot forgetting that the Z900 doesn’t have a quick shifter. It hurt enough that I quickly remembered, but this is something that can be quite quickly remedied by the fitment of a Translogic aftermarket unit for somewhere between R10 to R12K, still making this bike great value for money. I remedied it by holding the gas wide open and quickly fanning the clutch on changes. The front end gets quite light at this point and the bike howls off into the distance blurring the scenery and pinpointing your focus. The brakes, chassis and suspension work well together to keep everything very tidy as you roll off the power and grab a handful while stomping on the brake pedal as you tilt into a corner. Surprisingly, it didn’t really take a lot of rider input to get it to turn in either. The cockpit is roomy giving me enough space to slide over the bike as required for the corners. Settling back to eat up the mileage there is enough wind force over the top of the bike to support your abdomen and release a bit of pressure on your wrists, shoulder and lower back to make the miles go by a bit easier. Tuck in, put your chin on the ignition switch and hang on the gas and you become one with the bike as it whips along at about 250 km h… All from a sub R200k near as dammit litre bike, (943 cc’s to be exact).”
Looking for a bike?
This is the right time to buy. This model is on special, as of today for R165995.00
Do yourself a favour, get down to your local Kawasaki agent, there are demos banging around and go ride this bike for yourself and remember that, especially now it costs significantly less than other offerings in similar categories.
www.kawasaki.co.za
| Engine Capacity | 948cc |
| Engine Type | 4-cylinder |
| Power | 92Kw |
| Torque | 99Nm |
| Drive | Chain |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Weight | 212kg |
| Tank Capacity | 17L |
| Fuel Consumption | 5.25L/100km |
| Ground Clearance | 145mm |
| Seat Height | 820mm |
| Front Brakes | Nissin |
| Rear Brakes | Nissin |
| Front Suspension | OEM – 120mm – Adjustable |
| Rear Suspension | OEM – 140mm – Fully-adjustable |
