by Express Drives Desk from https://www.financialexpress.com
The new Kawasaki Z900 now is more feature-packed and should be able to take on the Triumph Street Triple as well as Suzuki GSX-S750 in a better fashion.
Kawasaki’s second showcase at EICMA 2019 was the updated Z900. The naked litre-class motorcycle gets a full complement of LED headlights, flanked by parking lights (LED) and a redesigned cowl. The Z900 also looks inspired from the Ninja H2 and if you take a closer look, it has got flanks as well. Kawasaki has redesigned the tank extensions and there is the exposed steel trellis frame. One more part that is now LED are the blinkers. Kawasaki hasn’t tinkered with the tail light that is still shaped in the Z pattern. The instrument console too now gets a TFT display with Kawasaki Rideology app connect through Bluetooth.
Riding aids was something that was missing in the Z900. It is surprising that a Rs 8 lakh motorcycle didn’t have any other electronics apart from dual channel ABS. The new Kawasaki Z900 gets two power modes – Low and Full. This is the same from other Kawasaki models and cut off power when in low mode. There is also traction control on offer now. Kawasaki has also added riding modes – Rider, Rain, Sport and Road. The names are self explanatory and in the Rider mode, one can configure it according to their requirements.
Shorter riders earlier preferred the Z900 for its lower (comparatively) 795mm seat height. However, for the 2020 model, Kawasaki has raised the seat height to 820mm. The motorcycle too has grown in length and is taller too. The good part is that the ground clearance is now up from the earlier lowly 130mm to 145mm. Kawasaki has also increased the wheelbase slightly. There though is no weight gain from all this exercise.
Kawasaki has updated the 998c engine to meet Euro-V standards. There is no change in power or torque numbers from before (125hp/99Nm). The gearbox is a 6-speed unit that also gets slipper clutch assistance. Kawasaki has also reworked the exhaust plumbing. There are no changes to the suspension – USD forks in the front and monoshock at the back. Braking duties are carried out by discs at both ends and linked by dual channel ABS.
