Motorcycle.com's Most Read Shootouts of 2020

It’s all relative. How good or bad a thing is all depends on the competition, doesn’t it – a thing that’s kept us employed and entertained for more than a few years now. Competition is good for business; MO comparison tests usually always draw in more eyeballs than single-bike reviews. In a perfect world, we’d gather up all five or six contenders in a given class for a week-long flog over hill and dale and racetrack. But in the real world of today, well shoot – it looks like our Top Five most-read comparisons of 2020 are only two bikes each.

Read more
Retro Rumble Redux: Kawasaki Z900RS Vs Suzuki Katana

Lately, it’s like time travel around here. A couple years ago we put the then-new Kawasaki Z900RS up against the Suzuki GSX-S1000 in a slightly apples-to-oranges comparo, Retro or Not(ro), which the Kawi won by a hair. Now that Suzuki has their own retro based upon the GSX-S in the Katana, we felt like we had to do it again. Our duty.

Read more
Kawasaki Teases Supercharged Z Model

Kawasaki Europe dropped a video teasing a new Z model – and it’s supercharged!

Read more
Retro or Not(ro)? Kawasaki Z900RS Vs. Suzuki GSX-S1000Z

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?

Read more
Live With It: 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS Long Term Review

I pulled into one of my favorite breakfast spots one Saturday morning, and before I even had the chance to take my helmet off, some guy rushed out, leaving his table of friends, and had to talk to me about the motorcycle I just rode in on – a 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS. I stood there chuckling to myself for a moment as I pulled my earplugs out and composed myself, then happily proceeded to chat and answer his questions. This wouldn’t be the only time someone went out of their way to compliment or inquire about the bike, either. There was the guy on the freeway who changed two lanes just to get a closer look, followed by a big thumbs up seal of approval, then the random girl in a Hermosa Beach crosswalk who asked me for a ride across town – and she didn’t even see my face! – damn you, helmet laws. If only it were the ’70s, I could’ve gotten away with it…

Read more
Canadian Content: Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe and Honda CB300R

Being the Canada-based staffer of a primarily U.S.-targeted site like Motorcycle.com, it’s hard not to feel jealous of my American colleagues sometimes. In between minding the three-hour time difference between me and the other MO editors, and remembering to omit the “u” in words like “color” and “rumor”, I get to read about their exploits in sunny California from my desk in grey gray Toronto.

Read more
Should I Not Buy a Z900RS Because of "Throttle Abruptness"?

Dear MOby,

Read more
Head Shake - A View From The Yurt

When John speaks, I listen…

Read more
Why Did Kawasaki Detune the Z900RS, Why?

Dear MOby,

Read more
2018 Kawasaki Z900RS First Ride Review + Video

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.

Read more
2018 Kawasaki Z900RS Announced for USA

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.

Read more
First Look: 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe

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

Read more
First Look: 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS

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.

Read more
2018 Kawasaki Z900RS Teaser

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.

Read more