The forgotten Kawasaki that still challenges the best

The retro motorcycle market continues to grow as we see more and more vintage motorcycles hit the market every year. Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool, and modern retro bikes can certainly scratch a certain itch. While owning a true classic can be fun, keeping up with the maintenance needs of an old bike can become tedious. You also have to face the simple reality that it will eventually fail you at an inopportune time.

Kawasaki was one of the first brands to sell a true retro UJM in the early ’00s with the ZRX1200R, which offered a modern sportbike engine in a fairly simple frame. He was inspired by the Z1, which sold well in the 1970s. Kawasaki has certainly refined this idea over the years and while it doesn’t necessarily reach the same performance levels as that old liter bike, it does hit the right design cues.

The Kawasaki Z650RS ABS still challenges the best retro bikes

MSRP: $8,999

Of all the middleweight bikes converted into retro roadsters, the Z650RS is by far the most convincing. Apart from the rather ugly, under-slung exhaust, the engine is a death blow to the old KZ650 produced in the late ’70s and early ’80s. While other bikes mimic old designs or simply offer a modern interpretation, Kawasaki has nailed the lines of the old UJM.

Ducati

Ducati’s Scrambler series has been hugely successful over the past decade. While most bikes are significantly more expensive than the Z650RS, the Icon Dark is only $1,000 more expensive and certainly within reach. It offers a different driving experience with its more authentic air-cooled twin, but the design is certainly a modern interpretation of the old scramblers and, while tasteful, won’t appeal to everyone.

Yamaha

Yamaha has the XSR700, which is perhaps the most comparable alternative. It costs $400 less and while we can certainly see why people would choose this over the Z650RS, the design just lacks something. At the other end of the spectrum we have Honda, who appear to have just submitted the design for the CB650R ‘neo café racer’. Beneath the rather unflattering design effort lies a genuinely good motorcycle, and it’s the only legitimate inline-four we have in this space.

Rivals

• Ducati Scrambler Icon Dark

• YamahaXSR700

• Honda CB650R

The Z650RS has Kawasaki’s trusted Parallel-Twin engine

Power: 67 hp

Kawasaki

At first glance, this isn’t the most exciting powertrain. The Z650RS shares a platform with the regular Z650, Ninja 650 and Versys 650. This isn’t a bad thing, as the Versys in particular has proven capable of racking up massive mileage without fuss. In many ways this is the ideal engine for a retro bike, as it automatically takes care of the reliability aspect. It is a bicycle that is affordable and also easy to maintain.

Kawasaki takes it a step further by marketing it as a “beginner-friendly” option, something we don’t necessarily agree with. Although it has a low seat and comfortable ergos, 67 horsepower is still plenty for a lightweight motorcycle like this. In many ways a bit too much for a new rider to handle. A retro bike like this isn’t really the best place to start, as dropping this bike will be both incredibly frustrating and potentially expensive.

Specifications

Modern sophistication meets old-world charm on the Z650RS

Very simply retro, well done

Kawasaki

Kawasaki actually does a great job of keeping it quite simple with the Z650RS. It’s not a feature-rich motorcycle, nor should it be. It comes with both ABS and traction control, but we absolutely love that Kawasaki has resisted the temptation to add a TFT dash. We’re now at the point where it could actually be more expensive to use an analog dashboard, and we certainly appreciate that this little detail has been retained. As a rider this, along with the tank, is what you will see as you ride and always staring at a giant TFT screen changes the whole feel of the motorcycle. This is perhaps what we were trying to allude to with the Yamaha XSR700: its round TFT feels out of place.

Kawasaki

Using this 650 platform allowed Kawasaki to make the bike ultra-slim, which may seem strange, but that’s exactly how a UJM should feel. The suspension is adequate without being incredible, but the conventional, non-adjustable forks certainly add to the retro aesthetic. A happy coincidence, you might say. The rear suspension is only adjustable in preload, but it is modern and can also be found on the Ninja 650, so not terrible. More importantly, it is both comfortable and easy on the eyes. The Z650 is a lot cheaper, but will only appeal to people who both like the latest design and somehow actively hate the Yamaha MT-07.

The main thing holding the Z650RS back – and why it’s been forgotten – isn’t another motorcycle from a different brand, but rather another Kawasaki. The Z900RS is almost $4,000 more expensive, which is not an insignificant amount, but in return you get a lot more bang for your buck. It’s much more powerful and looks almost exactly the same, unless you opt for the Café version, which actually looks even better. It’s easy to see why Kawasaki wants to market this to new riders, because if you’re not a new rider, it’ll be quite difficult to look past the bigger engine.

Chassis, suspension and weight specifications