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Kawasaki Z900RS

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Kawasaki is recalling certain bikes from its 2018 model year Z900 series of motorcycle.

The recall affects 1,173 units from the Z900 , Z900 ABS, and Z900RS models, and concerns a rear brake hose and rear wheel rotation sensor wire, which may have been incorrectly routed, allowing them to contact the rear tire.

If the brake hose contacts the rear tire, the hose may be damaged, which could reduce the braking performance of the motorcycle. Similarly, if the wheel rotation wire gets damaged, the ABS may not function properly.

Either condition can increase the risk of a crash, and thus a recall has been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

As expected, at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Kawasaki unveiled a new retro-syled model based off its popular Z900 street bike, thus creating the 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS.

As the core of the bike is the same four-cylinder, water-cooled, 900cc engine that is found on the Kawasaki Z900, but Team Green has completely revamped the styling to have a more heritage look and feel to the “RS” model.

Peppy motorcycle meets trendy aesthetics, the Kawasaki Z900RS truly lives up to its “Retro Sport” moniker. Equipment includes LED lighting, new spoke-looking wheels, and a revised exhaust design.

The paint scheme is meant to mimic the design found on the 1972 Kawasaki Z1, one of the Japanese brand’s more classic motorcycles, while appealing to the features that modern motorcyclists rely upon.

Set for sure for the European market, it will be interesting to see if Kawasaki brings the Z900RS to the USA. We would expect so, but stay tuned for more information.

For the 2018 model year, Kawasaki is working on a modern motorcycle, dressed like a vintage standard. As such, the 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS takes the popular and potent Z900 streetfighter, and gives it a visual work-over for a whole new demographic.

You don’t have to wear skinny jeans and a man-bun to like it though, the Kawasaki Z900RS looks like a stunner, and we know this because Team Green has been giving us something close to the full monty, with its teaser video series.

Expected to debut later this month (just after Honda debuts its new Gold Wing motorcycles), and ahead of November’s EICMA show, the 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS helps build out Kawasaki’s heritage lineup, of which it has exactly zero models – unless you count the Vulcan Classic cruiser.

No, the beard and skinny jeans crowd aren’t abandoning their broken down Honda CB’s and flocking to the crazy looks of the Kawasaki Z900, but Team Green does seem to have a heritage-inspired version of their four-cylinder street bike coming down the pipe.

Teasing the Kawasaki Z900RS in a short YouTube video, it seems that the Japanese brand is taking the stout Z900 and styling it for the mercurial tastes of younger riders.

This could be an interesting move for Kawasaki, and while the Z900 isn’t the bike that immediately comes to our minds as being appropriate for this venture, one has to remember the success that Yamaha has seen doing a similar maneuver with the FZ-09, turning it into the XSR900.

Using motorcycle designs as platforms for multiple machines is nothing new, but we have seen the Japanese brands using this strategy with growing success each year.

As such, the upcoming Kawasaki Z900RS could be a very intriguing machine to see, once it drops. Stay tuned.