The RS900 package has garnered much praise pretty much from the word go. The bike – in both naked and bikini faired formats – has been endorsed in countless comparative reviews and tests since it’s launch in 2017. With good reason: it handles, has plenty of road usable torque, is not grossly overweight or unnecessarily over tec, and aesthetically trumps many of its wannabe rivals. It was for all these reasons that I actually went out and bought the Cafe version, having ridden both. It’s a joy to ride with or without a pillion, the screen offers decent wind protection, the lower, narrower bars feel more connected to the front tyre (and are also helpful when filtering), and luggage helps convert the package into a practical sports tourer. I found the SW-Motech Blaze saddlebags provided an elegant and practical solution: more on the full luggage set up to come.
Because bikes have to accommodate a vast range of conditions, rider sizes, riding styles and so on, they all represent compromise. The more focussed a bike is, the smaller the demand, since focussing limits applications. Bikes which can do a bit of everything satisfy a larger audience, but can be vulnerable to accusations of blandness. The Cafe – more authentically pronounced Caff, because thats what such establishments were called in England in the late 1950s – is a roadster, pure and simple, and therefore more specialised than say a BMW GS, but looks and feels less utilitarian.
In common with many of its green siblings, at the heart of both RS models lies an evolution of the legendary ZX9 motor. The ZX9 itself was never the success Kawasaki had hoped for, but the lump went on to become the foundation stone of the modern brand, and its genes are readily identifiable today in the RS, Z900, Z1000, Versys and the SX sports tourer. In RS guise it’s fabulously under stressed even compared to the Z900: the latter has a higher compression ratio, different gearing, hotter cams, and a lighter flywheel. Bore and stroke are identical. Although the Z900 has fifteen more horses to play with, the RS produces the same amount of torque around 1200 revs lower down (ie at 6.8k). Punters wanting more power fit Akra headers, but one of the joys of this incarnation of the motor is the effortless low / mid range shunt which comes as standard. The intake still howls in time honoured fashion when properly utilised.
The RS Cafe is a bike that handles naturally – its main shortcoming in that department being courtesy of the OE Dunlops. I replaced these with Metzeler 01 SE tyres which combine the water clearing properties of the original 01s, with a profile that puts more soft compound on the deck when lent over. And that was all I needed to do. The clutch is light and compliant, but the revised gearing vs the Z900 donor throws up a couple of issues.
Firstly, and least problematically, the RS at times feel like the gearing could do with being higher. This is easily remedied by replacing the 15 tooth front sprocket with a 16, which translates into a smoother (and more economic) ride at speed without sacrificing the gruntier vibe inherent in the motor. It’s a touring mod which anyone doing plenty of longer, straight road miles should consider.
A less easily addressed issue is the gap between fifth and sixth. On the RS (but not the Z900) sixth acts as a virtual overdrive, rather than a close ratio style true top gear. The clunk you feel between the two ratios is a legacy of this, particularly noticeable on sixth to fifth downchanges (slipper clutch notwithstanding). It’s not a major issue, but it does feel counter intuitive on any bike incorporating the word racer. A true top would have been welcome, and smoothed out the ratio gap. On a spirited ride you minimise the issue by redlining in fifth and using top as gentle back off. Since the RS and Z900 have identical ratios in 3,4 & 5, Kawasaki could have avoided the clunk and saved money by simply adopting sixth as well.
The most frustrating downside is an emissions legacy, already chronicled on this website and in an associated youtube video. Broadly speaking, Euro 5 compliance has led in many manufacturers to rely on engine speed instead of a richer mixture on cold starts. The result of this on the Cafe is a start up routine which lasts longer than three minutes, accompanied by relatively high revs being held on a cold engine, often above 3k. If feels like using excessive choke, except for the fact that the poor motor is being forced to run far leaner than would be the case on choked carbs. Try and cut the wait time, and you find yourself riding a bike with zero engine braking and a propensity to run on, which makes tight u-turns interesting. In reality, you’re still twiddling your thumbs while your mates are a couple of miles down the road. Many modern motorcycles – like the RS – are homologated globally, which means they have to conform to the strictest emission standards in the world (California’s). But not all of them take as much time as the RS to reach warm idle. There is a fix for this but even Kawasaki dealers are reluctant to get involved, for reasons which are still not completely clear. The paradox is that older carbed Kawasakis often had something of a hair trigger choke, so in one respect there is a historical parallel. Some riders wont have a problem with the cold start routine, but frankly I found it to be a pain in the arse.
The brakes are adequate, and the electronics simple and forgiving. The TC system is old school K-TRIC, with two levels of intervention and off, but they aren’t intrusive. You have to be really giving it some to light up the TC in sport mode. ABS will only be any sort of issue on track, in a fast group. Officially, it can not be turned off…
It’s axiomatic that even new motorcycles have their flaws and frustrations. That is the nature of the beast. The Cafe does so many things well that the many plusses more than compensate, and in any case the few perceived shortcomings are almost all easily fixable. It’s an easy bike to love, but then the lookers always are…
