Kawasaki Z900RS

[rotor]

Radiators and cylinders

Well, I saw one of these Z900RS's on the road today, a black one.

It was a real looker. Came up behind the guy, he was a fairly good-sized fellow, maybe 6' and 185 lbs, the bike looked small under him. But sleek and well-shaped. The tank did NOT in any way look large or bulbous while the bike was being ridden. He stopped right next to me in traffic a couple times at lights and I was able to give it a good look. On the road, with a rider, the bike looks very well-proportioned and pretty trick. Very classic. The black does a lot to smooth out the lines.

The LED headlight gives it a modern look, aggressive.

I think Kawasaki has hit a home run here and these things are going to be selling like hotcakes.

I have heard nothing about any CB1100 for 2018 in the USA, so the Kawasaki is really about the only Japanese "retro" style bike out there.

Too bad Honda have not brought us the CB1100RS because I do feel that bike would have sold a lot better just based on the more sporting looks and components, but they haven't.

It's funny how the radiator seems to disappear on the black version, it's no more obtrusive than the oil cooler on the CB1100. The radiator on the RS is considerably smaller than the one on the Z900 from what I can discern.



The 2014 CB1100 info page has been removed from the powersports.honda.com website. Only the 2017 information is available. Hmmmm. Looks like Honda's competition for the Z900RS is intended to be the CB1000R, which promises to be a superb ride.

I see this as a logical strategy on Honda's part. Once someone is ready to accept the big ugly radiator on a motorcycle, he has given up on the whole "retro" thing - whatever that might mean to someone - so he might as well opt for the best in the class. It surprises me that CB1100 and Z900RS are viewed as the "same class" of a motorcycle. This is not unlike comparing CB1100 to various two-cylinder contraptions on two wheels. (Shouldn't the number of cylinders equal double the number of wheels, on any road vehicle?)