[a_chelat]

Congratulations. I cannot tell you how jealous I am right now. Absolute dream but so ridiculously priced in India that no one can afford a new one and, as a corollary, you can't find any in the used market either

[16000rpm]

Other observations:
1. The ABS light remains on even after the bike is ON, and it goes away as soon as I start moving. I paid attention to it when I was fueling up. Wife and I decided to head back to the dealership but once I started moving it went away. This happened every time while I was riding on that day, and I think it is a natural thing. I might be wrong too, will find out more in the future.


The ABS Light Turns on in low speeds to indicate that the ABS isn't active at such low speeds, I hope this helps!

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Excellent review, Sangwan, and thanks for sharing your joy with us. All your emotions were quite evident in the writing. It is interesting to learn how there are daily plans for bike insurance.

Also, time to change the avatar? ;-)

Thank you so much for the compliments. I guess it was the pics which made it excellent compared to my writing. Daily insurance is also expensive if I want to ride more. For example, insurance for two days will cost $56, which is expensive but for now this will be my way to go. But, yes it is a great option to make sure the bike is running and not just lying around.

I did change the profile picture, don't know why it is not coming up on the screen? Any advice? When I check in the edit profile option, I see my new profile pic.

Originally Posted by Aakash

What a review man!

Thanks Aakash! You're in London of Canada or UK ? And yes the premium is a lot, I feel your pain.

Originally Posted by maybach76

Hey Sangwan,

Congrats and cheers on the bike
Sharing a pic of my Kawa !

Hey man, thanks! I am so curious what price did they offered you the bike for? And same color of our bikes! Don't know why but seeing that eye-watering price, all I could think was of Tiger in India and also it was out of my budget at that time.

Have you put any accessories on the motorcycle too?

Originally Posted by a_chelat

Congratulations. I cannot tell you how jealous I am right now.

Thank you, I can understand the jealousy , don't know why Kawasaki had to price it that high in India.

Originally Posted by 16000rpm

The ABS Light Turns on in low speeds to indicate that the ABS isn't active at such low speeds, I hope this helps!

Oh it does help, thank you so much. Now, I know nothing is wrong with the motorcycle.

Cheers,
Sangwan

[Aakash]

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Thanks Aakash! You're in London of Canada or UK ? And yes the premium is a lot, I feel your pain.

Oh, the London in Canada

[maybach76]

Hey, just the original ones promoted by the company i.e. the main stand, engine guard and tail grip bar.

I have not touched anything from a mechanical upgrade yet. I was contemplating on the Ohlins suspension to be borrrowed from the SE model - guess your model has it too, but found it a bit on the expensive side when i spoke with one retailer here in India. I dont want to change the silencer as its one of the few company tuned exhausts and i love it. Dont feel like tampering it.

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Have you put any accessories on the motorcycle too?

[Tgo]

Hey Sangwan,

Congratulations on the latest acquisition. The bike looks stunning with the right amount of retro and modern mix. I might follow the same path in a couple of years. Just have to get the second car situation sorted in the coming year.

Love the way you have penned down your selection process and the alternatives you considered will keep an eye out for updates. Wish you safe and enjoyable riding days ahead.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by maybach76

I was contemplating on the Ohlins suspension to be borrrowed from the SE model - guess your model has it too, but found it a bit on the expensive side

I also don't have the ohlins, I guess the color, the golden wheels and the chrome bar are the differentiator. I will get the main stand in the coming months.

Originally Posted by Tgo

I might follow the same path in a couple of years. .

Thank you so much for the wishes Tgo! I hope you get the motorcycle soon and I can't wait for your next car.

I will always keep this thread up to date.

Cheers,
Sangwan

[Stribog]

Exceptionally thorough review! And that bit about will you, won't you was fairly interesting and I was invested in the story at that point.

That being said

In India today purchases happen extremely quickly. Just went 4 days ago to buy a Maverick. He went in, sat with the finance desk, they said he had a pre approved loan, he gave his aadhar biometrics, paid 10k as advance, loan was processed in 30 minutes (we just went and grabbed lunch in the interim), he signed the vehicle purchase docs.

Got delivery yesterday.

That's it. My car purchase wayyy back in 2015 was just as smooth and it was a psu bank. The limit (iirc 8 lakhs) was within the BM's limit, all docs were approved and loan was approved even before we reached home.

Banking is a sector that simply works extremely efficiently in India thanks to digitalisation.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Banking is a sector that simply works extremely efficiently in India thanks to digitalisation.

Banking is efficient but bankers are under tremendous pressure. But that is a story/debate which can be had on another day. 😀

Cheers,
Sangwan

[Rtn777]

Hey Sangwan,

Congratulations on your new ride. I'm a very big fan of old school Japanese bikes and this is probably the closest you can get to those in the modern era. The retro styling, the analogue instrument cluster is something which I personally drool over.

The paint scheme of your bike reminded me of one very special bike made by Kawasaki back in the day. The legendary Kawasaki Z1, which also is a 900 cc 4 banger.


Take care of her and ride safe,
Cheers.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Rtn777

Hey Sangwan,

Congratulations on your new ride.

The paint scheme of your bike reminded me of one very special bike made by Kawasaki back in the day. The legendary Kawasaki Z1, which also is a 900 cc 4 banger.

Cheers.

Thank you @Rtn777, yes my motorcycle's paint scheme is based on this particular motorcycle, that's why mine is called the 50th Anniversary edition.

Cheers,
Sangwan

[sandeepmohan]

I gotta say, for a Year 2022 Z900RS, that is a very good price.

Comparing the Z900RS to the Triumph Street Twin that you owned previously is a bit like what I experienced with my Interceptor and a Bonneville T100 that belongs to a friend. While they are significantly different in terms of displacement, the throttle on my Interceptor is a lot more sharp. The Triumph on the other hand offering a far more relaxed ride, the engine basically lazing away. The Triumph is in no hurry to rev when you did whack open the throttle. It took its time and could also pull effortlessly due to the torque it has. Not the Interceptor is short on torque output. It has plenty. Its the difference between how each motorcycle puts down that torque.

You must investigate more with motorcycle groups around Insurance. What I discovered over the last 3 years of owning an Interceptor in New Zealand is that there are small, private Insurance firms that offer cheaper insurance. If you are part of a motorcycle club, the premium is a little bit cheaper. There is no requirement to be active with the motorcycle group. Just join the club for a small fee which lowers the price of the Insurance premium. For comparison, I pay $417 NZD per year for comprehensive Insurance. They say it covers breakdowns, though I am pretty sure the distance to tow might not be that much. Still, its A LOT cheaper compared to what you need to pay in your part of the world so scout around a little. These single day insurance deals are pretty useless. What if your bike is stolen from your resident car park. I am pretty sure you'll be a sitting duck in such a situation.

I must say, your body surely has adapted to the weather. There is no way I will let open my jacket vents at temperatures of 15 degrees and a little lower. I wear almost 4 layers of clothing before my riding jacket comes on and that has its own winter liner. I am still cold! I've now started wrapping my chest to neck area with a shawl to stop the cold air from traveling up from below the helmet. Its a lot better and cuts down wind noise a lot. I also wear a merino head scarf to stay warm. Its a lot of riding gear and does require you to prepare before you jump on the bike. Still, I'd rather be warm than fight the cold.

Enjoy your Kawasaki. The 900RS is a motorcycle so good that you'll never need an upgrade.

[Captain Slow]

I really feel sad seeing the pricing for the Z900RS in India! 20L on road in Bangalore! What was Kawasaki India thinking? If this was around 15L ON Road I'm sure this would have been a success.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I gotta say, for a Year 2022 Z900RS, that is a very good price.

I know, for the Kms, the state in which it is, it was a no-brainer deal. This wasn't the perfect time to get one but I just couldn't let this one go.

Comparing the Z900RS to the Triumph Street Twin that you owned previously is a bit like what I experienced with my Interceptor and a Bonneville T100 that belongs to a friend. While they are significantly different in terms of displacement, the throttle on my Interceptor is a lot more sharp. The Triumph on the other hand offering a far more relaxed ride, the engine basically lazing away. The Triumph is in no hurry to rev when you did whack open the throttle. It took its time and could also pull effortlessly due to the torque it has. Not the Interceptor is short on torque output. It has plenty. Its the difference between how each motorcycle puts down that torque.

Very true and good comparison, the feeling is so different when we move from Triumph to Kawasaki.

You must investigate more with motorcycle groups around Insurance.

I am already investigating, like I mentioned in my thread earlier, next year I will get the bare minimum coverage and additional insurance from private insurance firm. For example, I contacted westland insurance and they quoted me $415 for the whole year, when the license plate expires, that policy gets converted to Storage policy. Next year, I will have a detailed post regarding insurance because by that time I would have done my homework.

These single day insurance deals are pretty useless. What if your bike is stolen from your resident car park. I am pretty sure you'll be a sitting duck in such a situation.

Single day insurance is great for my use case right now, but I agree with you completely. Langley, is comparatively safe compared to Vancouver where theft happens even from apartment buildings, but a lot is going on in personal life, so right now, it is what it is. God, I hope nobody steals it from me.

I must say, your body surely has adapted to the weather. There is no way I will let open my jacket vents at temperatures of 15 degrees and a little lower.

I always bathed in cold water in India no matter how cold it was, and it went on for more than a decade and maybe that's why I don't feel much.

Enjoy your Kawasaki. The 900RS is a motorcycle so good that you'll never need an upgrade.

Last Sunday evening, while driving back from a friend's home, I declared to my wife, when the day comes and we have a detached house, I will get almost 4-5 motorcycles for myself. Z900RS is not going anywhere but I wish I have the others like Superveloce, Tiger, Indian Chief Sport etc. I wish these dream come true. But, if its only one bike then Z900RS is perfect in everyway.

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

If this was around 15L ON Road I'm sure this would have been a success.

Even 15L is a lot, 11-13L would have been fine. Because of your comment, I remembered something. After everything was said and done when I brought Triumph in India, it costed me INR 7.83 Lakhs and the Z900RS too roughly costed me INR 7.83 Lakhs, what a co-incidence.

Cheers,
Sangwan

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Even 15L is a lot, 11-13L would have been fine. Because of your comment, I remembered something. After everything was said and done when I brought Triumph in India, it costed me INR 7.83 Lakhs and the Z900RS too roughly costed me INR 7.83 Lakhs, what a co-incidence.

Cheers,
Sangwan

The Regular Z900 is 12L on road here. So 15 for the RS is fair but 20L? is just being greedy!