First impression Kawasaki Z650RS

At a time when Kawasaki is also starting to worry about electric motorcycles, it is nice that the brand is still launching a real ‘oldskool’ motorcycle on the market in 2021. Certainly in terms of looks. Squeeze your eyes a little, and certainly from a distance, the Z650RS looks like a classic motorcycle. If you look more closely, you will immediately notice that we are dealing with a modern motorcycle, with the retro influences of the aforementioned Z650-B1. The south of France is super cool, just like the Z650RS, but with sun it would have been even coolerWe have to look for the retro in the color scheme, the shape of the tank, classic round counters and ditto headlight. This is just a short list, but we can’t help but compliment Kawasaki on the design of this new retro, which can count on unanimous approval for its appearance alone. On the other hand, you can’t ignore the fact that the Z is completely up-to-date. Something you see in LED lighting all around, modern wheels, the ultra-light Trellis frame, but also in the modern Euro5 engine that we already know from the Z650, but also from the Versys 650 and Vulcan.

As we wrote above, we are guests in Marseille in the south of France. It seems that we have taken the bad weather from the Netherlands with us in the baggage hold of the plane, because in France we are also being attacked by rain, a lot of rain… After a short briefing we were allowed to prepare for the first ride. At the first seat it immediately became clear that it is different from the Z650, to which it is closely related under the skin. You sit upright, on a saddle that is exactly the right height for my 1.75m. This is partly due to the narrow seat, but Kawasaki informs us that a lower seat is still available as an accessory. That’s fine, because the rest of the seating position also scores points. For example, the steering wheel is at a pleasant height and directed towards the driver and you look out on an obvious dashboard with two analog clocks, with an LCD display in between, including a gear indicator, trip and consumption meter. Handy is the button on the left of the steering wheel that allows you to display the desired information on the screen.

Once on the road, the front driver steered us out of busy Marseille as quickly as possible, to look for the well-known winding roads along the coast. Despite the bad weather, I had a hard time suppressing a smile. The Kawasaki steers fine and the parallel-twin with 68 hp is already at the lesson at low revs. According to Kawasaki, the mapping has been slightly modified to give some more flexibility and torque The editors think they’ll rub it in even more by apping photos of a sun-drenched blue sky in the Netherlands, but they’re just jealous. I get it, just super nice bike that Z650RSand she seems to have succeeded. However, if you pull it a little longer in the gears, there is also a small final shot to note, nice! As the miles went on, we seemed to be leaving the rain behind more and more…

After the hearty lunch, the motorcycles were equipped with navigation systems and we were given the message to especially enjoy the last 56 kilometers towards the hotel. Something that didn’t take much, because with the road surface dried up, we could also ask a little more from the motorcycle. Then you soon find out that he absolutely does not struggle. He managed to string together curves effortlessly and actually the sporty retro does it flawlessly. Especially when you consider that the motorcycle has a competitive starting price of €8,999,- (BE €8,299), it can just knock its own Z900RS off the throne as the best-selling retro motorcycle. Kawasaki sees the A2 riders as the target group for the Z650RS, but the more experienced and even older motorcyclists should also find their way to the Z650RS. It will not be the looks, nor the driving characteristics. While we are getting ready for the last dinner in Marseille and then the flight back to the Netherlands, we promise you the extensive test of the Z650RS, a motorcycle you want to know more about!