Damn! Just when we thought that they couldn’t improve on the Z900, they have. A few weeks ago when we were down at the Kawasaki head offices, we saw the bike being prepped and run-in and we asked if it would be available for a little ride. Well – we got more than we asked for and kept it for a full week.
The timing could actually not have been better, we spent a full day shooting in and around the metropolis of JHB – and then we popped Jason Wessels and his Mrs on board and took it along with another 159 of our mates for the Frosty Buns Charity Blanket ride from RAD KTM. We had a great ride out via The Cradle to the Home Of The Chicken Pie, where about a million blankets were handed across to the good peeps at Rotary International, Brits Hartebeespoort region. Motorcyclists doing cool stuff!
The previous Z900 is great! This one’s better!
Let’s run through some of the updates. For a long time, Kawasaki took criticism for not fitting a TFT screen. Well this one has one, and although it’s smaller than one might expect it’s one of the coolest designs around. It changes brightness, tells you your angle of lean, is easy to navigate and allows for lots of extra tech like Bluetooth connectivity via Kawasaki’s Rideology app and turn-by-turn navigation, which we really appreciate, no more trying to zip tie or duct tape our phones to the handle bars.
The 2025 Z900 is also equipped as standard, with a two-way quickshifter, an IMU that powers cornering ABS and traction control, three riding modes and even cruise control.
The chassis remains unchanged but Kawasaki has pulled the forks 3mm’s through the yolks and added a plate in the frame to increase the bikes rigidity. Suspension is plush Showa that works really well on JHB’s fine roads. Stopping things are new Nissin radial calipers with ABS. They work flawlessly. This one is fitted with Dunlops Q5 Tyres and they felt just right for all the street riding we did.
One up comfort is great for a full day – and we spent a full day in the saddle around GP, the new ‘bar set-up and seat unit has given a spacious riding triangle, with a firm supportive seat. As nakeds go, it’s a great, comfortable ride. As far as the engine goes, Kawasaki tweaked that sweet inline four by altering the camshafts and throttle bodies and shortened the gear ratios. They have also updated the ECU settings for just a bit more oomph in the mid range. The six speed box is now linked to Kawasaki’s quickshifter, up and down, that works flawlessly whether riding slowly or opening her up.
Our ride.
Sean has an interesting sense of humour. He’s that guy who will switch the heated grips on full in the middle of summer or – as he did in this case, pop the bike into rain mode, knowing full well that the other oafs in the office never pay attention at the beginning of the ride. I couldn’t understand why the BMW that was along on the day left it standing – until we stopped to fill up – and the penny dropped. Right – Sports mode – New beasty – Thank you!
There are few things in life that are quite as cool as a well sorted four cylinder screamer. Tickle the starter and she rumbles to life – we’d probably leave the stock exhaust well alone. Click her down one – and open up…
Sure! A 1000 or 1100 is faster, but the 900 mill is just so perfectly round for everything that we did. In this case, however, it’s that compact chassis that just makes this bike such a pleasure to ride, either in dreary gridlocked traffic – (ask us, the M1 was a disaster on the day), or on the many wide open roads that SA has on offer.
It was plain sailing from our offices out near the JHB airport until we hit the aforementioned freeway where a truck had broken down in the middle of the freeway. It was chaos! Our companions who were on bigger, heavier bikes looked woefully unhappy as we weaved our way through the chaos. The little 900 was simple point and squirt, no issues.
We headed around on the double dekker and wound our way to the far south for a bite to eat and a few photos. Power delivery is just so linear – I’ll quote Jason here: “It feels electric!” and it pulls to 180 KPH plus really quickly. They really do have this bike sorted.
We mentioned the comfort earlier – this was a long day and even after a full tank and a half of fuel there was no physio required.
When Jason returned after his Sunday morning blast, we quizzed his Mrs about riding pillion and she was pretty complimentary: “It’s not quite as comfortable as an ADV bike, but it’s a lot more comfortable than being on the back of an all-out superbike.”
Séan rode the bike in and around town and home and back for a week and had this to say: “I have always loved the Z900, and possibly why we have featured it so often in this publication. My first impression swinging a leg over the new Z900 is that it just felt right – natural – nimble – maneuverable and most importantly comfortable, even for my 2m frame.
Off the line, the Z9 is perky, a lot of the traffic lights on my route home from the office haven’t worked in years and are surrounded by potholes and generally choked with inconsiderate drivers all trying to one up each other. So, wild acceleration and sublime flick flack skills are the order of the day to get through intersections around here, as are excellent brakes. A lot of bikes I ride between the office and home do require some serious concentration and a lot of physical input for me to make it home safely, the Z900 handles like a well sorted supermotard with super-esque power. The throttle is naturally responsive, doing just what I want it to do – some bikes either have a microscopic delay or are alarmingly quick, both affecting ride confidence negatively. The Zed 9 was on point – all the time, zipping off the line like lightning without trying to unseat. And it is super nimble and agile, I could change direction and dive into the tiniest gaps quicker than a house fly almost as though we were connected subliminally – FLIP, I love riding this new Z900.
Then, the looks – the amount I’ve times I stopped and turned back to look at it as I was walking away after parking it was ridiculous. Its predatory stance, the menacing light absorbing black offset by that bright electric green – it is a panty dropper for sure.”
That’s it. You absolutely get what it says on the box!
A feisty, fun-to-ride naked that you can use every day – the suspension is set up for road riding out of the box and and depending on your weight you might want to stiffen up the suspension for the occasional track day. Kawasaki has a great dealer network in SA, so parts and service should ever be an issue.
It’s Gorgeous too!
Just look at it.
Here are the figures:
Price R219,995
Engine size 948cc
Engine type 4-stroke, Liquid-cooled inline four cylinder
Frame type Steel trellis
Fuel capacity 17 litres (We filled up roughly every 200KM’s, did a total of 650KM’s)
Seat height 830mm
Bike weight 213kg
Front suspension 41mm USD forks
Rear suspension Monoshock
Front brake Two 300mm discs with Nissin four calipers and cornering ABS
Rear brake 250mm disc with a single piston caliper and cornering ABS
Front tyre size 120/70 x 17
Rear tyre size 180/55 x 17
