#retro

On the heels of the Z900RS and Z900RS Cafe introduced last year comes yet another retro roadster from Kawasaki. The air-cooled 2019 Kawasaki W800 hearkens back to 1966, when Kawasaki introduced the W1. In the U.S., we’ll see the W800 CAFE while other markets will also get the W800 Street sans fairing.

Jawa is coming back. Sort of.

I’ve been in the motorcycle biz for over 20 years, and it takes a special bike to wow me. Kawasaki crafted a great modern yet classically-styled machine when it created the Z900RS, and I’ve enjoyed it every opportunity I’ve had to throw a leg over one. Still, the Z900RS was just another nice motorcycle. I wanted a little something extra. From the moment I pulled onto the road on the new 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, I had a pretty good idea that I’d found the bike I’d wanted to ride every time I was on the Z900RS.

From the moment that the Kawasaki Z1-inspired Z900RS was announced in October of last year, enthusiasts have been saying they wanted the model to go even further into the retro-racer styling. Just a month later, large portions of the rest of the world received the word that their dreams had been made real in the form of the Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe. Naturally, riders in the U.S. market wanted to know why they weren’t going to be allowed to own this strikingly-styled version of the RS.

They’re both Open-class Japanese transverse inline four-cylinder standard bikes, a pair of motorcycles that have followed that divinely ordained orthodoxy since Saint Soichiro carried the streetbike tablets down from Mount Fuji nearly 50 years ago. One of them wants to transport you all the way back to relive that era; the other wants to take you back only ten years with its 2005 GSX-R-derived long-stroke engine. Many MO readers (and some MO writers) have already pledged their undying love for the Kawasaki Z900RS, and all of us agree the Suzuki GSX-S1000Z is no slouch. In fact, if horsepower is your measuring stick, the Suzuki buries the retro Kawasaki – but you have to work for it a bit more. Our question becomes, then, just how much performance are you giving up if you go retro, and is it worth it in the real world?

When John speaks, I listen…

If you were expecting a cosmetic makeover of the Z900, you’d be mistaken like I was. I mean, it’s called Z900RS, but apart from the basic engine, this one’s nearly a completely redesigned animal, designed to bow deeply before Kawasaki’s Holy of holies (when it comes to motorcycles), the 1973 Z1. The steel-tube frame is said to be all-new, the engine’s tuned completely differently, the ergos are totally revised, the suspension is tuned for gentlepeople – and in general Kawasaki says this one’s supposed to be a mellow ride, not a raw high-performance one like the regular Z900.

The only thing unpredictable about that announcement is that there’s no word on the Z900RS Cafe. Oh well. The Z900RS has drawn tons of interest ever since its leakage right before the big EICMA show last month, and now it’ll be North American buyers’ chance to put their money where their retro-loving mouths are – on the order of $10,999.

Hot on the heels of the new Kawasaki Z900RS comes a café racer variant sporting a bikini fairing and drop-style handlebars.

UPDATE: We’ve added some shots of the new Z900RS from Kawasaki’s display at the Tokyo Motor Show, including some customized versions including one with several carbon fiber components.

Suzuki will present a SV650X next month at the Tokyo Motor Show, showcasing a “neo-retro” version of its naked V-Twin. Though it looks to be production ready, Suzuki says the SV650X is only a concept, and the company says it hopes to gauge consumer reaction before deciding whether to put it into production (which seems like a familiar theme for Suzuki this year.)

Kawasaki has an impressive stable of naked Z bikes (including our MOBO Best Standard winner, the Z900) but not everyone’s a fan of the line’s aesthetic. Sure, some people might like the Michael Bay Transformers look, but some people want their Bumblebee to look more like a classic VW Beetle than a modern Camaro.

After 50 years of production, an Italian classic much like Joe Pesci and Spaghetti O’s, the Moto Guzzi V7 Stone is now onto its third iteration of Guzzi’s most popular bike. Doses of change have come alongside the new roman numeral for this entry-level classic that remains a quality and affordable standard.

When last we visited this class three years ago, it wasn’t exactly this class but it was close. Triumph’s new Bonnevilles hadn’t been born yet, so a Moto Guzzi Griso 8V completed the threesome, along with the then-new Honda CB1100 and the original BMW R nineT.

We became fans of the Honda CB1100 when it first arrived on U.S. shores in 2013. It’s mix of old-school cool and new-school technology is a refreshing change from the hyper-focused sportbikes and streetfighters that surround us. Four years on, however, and Honda decided it was time for a few choice upgrades.