There are plenty of retro motorcycles on the market now – they often borrow styling from older models, but do they capture the essence of what made the originals special? Nathan and I took a new Kawasaki Z900RS up to Hollister, California to visit Bike-urious reader Don Potter. He owns Z1 #265, and I thought it’d be great to get his thoughts on the Z900RS stacks up.
UPDATE: Apparently Don really liked the Z900RS, as he ended up buying one himself and tweaking it a bit (note the Ohlins fork, aftermarket shock, Akrapovic exhaust, and Brembo brakes):
If the Honda CB750 shaped the UJM as we know it, the Kawasaki Z1 was the hardening process that solidified it. The Z1 was Kawasaki’s answer to Honda’s influential bike, as Kawasaki was already making a 750cc inline four-cylinder motorcycle when Honda released the 750. The CB's debut forced Kawasaki…
The new Kawasaki Z900RS was built as a visual tribute to the Z1, but one of the things it lacked due to cost and weight was a 4-into-4 exhaust like the original bike. The original owner of this machine sourced a set of pipes from Japan for approximately $2,400 -…
...because I've got a Z900RS that needs a buddy. I'm looking to do a photo/video shoot with old and new and I'm hoping one of you guys or gals would be interested in hanging out, getting some photos taken, and maybe even swapping rides for a few miles. If this…
