Where the fire
burns and where
magic lies, and
there is indeed a
certain magic to
this bike
Where the fire burns and where magic lies,
and there is indeed a certain magic to this
bike, is in the way it utilises and then delivers
its numbers to the rider.
The whole package feels wonderfully
balanced and… well, poised. Like a guitar
tuned just right. It makes all the good
grunt right in the rev-range where you’re
doing most of your riding and it just keeps
making it. It’s happy to whirr along in top
at 2200rpm – smooth and snatch-free
(Kawasaki must be using witchcraft instead
of fuel injection), and when you open the
throttle it just punches on. And then on a
little bit more.
Ridden in anger, its superbly rewarding
without needing to be feral. It’s not at all
flighty if you’re in the wrong gear at the
wrong time and the corner is not really
panning out as you’d intended. It tracks true,
just like when Mr Bubba ran over Max’s leg.
BREEDING BEATS MANNERS
Well-mannered is a hackneyed old phrase
used to describe motorcycles that are
maybe less-exciting than they should be.
The Z900 is not so much well-mannered as
it is well-bred. Note the distinction. There is
nothing boring here. Great engineering is
not boring. It’s great engineering.
You can ride this like a screaming disciple
of the one true Toecutter and it will answer
brilliantly. Or you can choodle along at
the speed limit re-living your errant youth
in shop windows on a bike that works
wonderfully in both worlds.
That engine is an avatar of flexibility and
useable torque.
I was constantly and consistently pleased
with how the Z900RS did things.
The instruments are gorgeous – modern in
function, old-school analogue regal in look.
The pull on the levers was slick and light. The
gearbox (abetted by an assist and slipper
clutch – so a light lever-pull and no mad
compression lock when you’re running from
the Bronze) likewise redefined slickness and
lightness, and made me consider perhaps
Suzuki no longer rules in that region.