All The Fun Of The Fair

Riding pretty much any bike gives you that feel-good factor: it’s why we do it. It’s why we accept the risks and embrace the thrills as riding on two wheels just puts a smile on your face.

- Bertie Simmonds

Riding classic bikes is both different and the same. It’s the same as the thrill of two wheels is there and it’s different because not only are you often riding something special –there’s a unique bond between rider and machine. There’s a deep emotional link that we have with our classics.

It may be shared history, pure nostalgia or the fact that we know every nut and bolt on the bike. It’s a heady blend of thrills and the passion of our chosen pastime.

Recently, many manufacturers have tried to – for want of a better phrase – cash in on this. They’ve built full-on, modern retro machines, offering turn-key, modern motorcycling in pretty packages. Honda has the CB1100 range, BMW various R nineT versions and even Moto Guzzi has a varied assortment (you’ll see them in CMM soon) while Kawasaki has recently produced this, the Z900RS.

Of course, we could argue Kawasaki were first on the retro bandwagon back in the early 1990s with the Zed-inspired Zephyr range. With 550, 750 and 1100 power plants they were popular enough, but perhaps not very well finished. So let’s look at the Z900RS. 

Looking is what we have to do first with the Z900RS. It’s clearly aping the classic lines of the Z1 of the early 1970s and – in this colour scheme – it’s doing a very good job. In fact it looks simply stunning. The quality of paintwork on this tank – and the side-panels – you feel you could dive into: it’s that deep and lustrous. This is the Candytone Brown/ Orange version – akin to the original and best ‘Jaffa’ colour for the first Z1s and it is jaw-dropping. This attention to detail is courtesy of Z900RS stylist Norikazu Matsumura. Apparently he is a Z1 fanatic, owning a Z750RS which is a Japanese market version of the 1976 Z900.