Fifty Years of Kawasaki Z's

[KungFooBob]

They're doing special paint jobs...

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n ... hyKoJ7Vhlg

I quite like the Z900 version...

[Bigyin]

Saw the top pic when i opened the thread and wondered .......then saw the bottom pic

I had the 750 version and changed the fairing for a twin headlight crossbow number and a set of clip ons and rear sets as the GSXR had been released and everyone wanted the Endurance racer look ...... now i would have kept it standard on flat bars

[Yorick]

They both have 2 wheels. There the similarity ends.

[tricol]

The retros look better, especially the 900RS.

[Dodgy69]

Top pic for me. Bottom pic looks so outdated. The transformer styling has really taken off in the last few years and is no longer just kawasaki. I wasn't too keen at first, but it's definitely grown on me.

[Supermofo]

I like that red Z, very nice. I've been looking at Z's a fair amount recently and the looks have grown on me. I especially keep looking at this one as it looks a good price for the updated 20 model
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-detai ... aki&page=3

[The Spin Doctor]

I don't like that angular Transformers/Jonny-5 look on any of these naked bikes, probably the best one is Fromages GSX, his paint job really helps the look of it. But I'm not sure any paint job will make me like the look of the spikey angular Kawasakis.

It looks like it's spent five seconds in a crusher. Nothing lines up.

[weeksy]

Top pic for me. Bottom pic looks so outdated. The transformer styling has really taken off in the last few years and is no longer just kawasaki. I wasn't too keen at first, but it's definitely grown on me.

I reckon we'll look back on this particular era of motorcycle fashion like we do on the 1980's footballers mullet.

'we' already do that with the little 2 stroke things you love... times change, times move on....

It is interesting though that the motorcycle industry does the 'retro' new thing unlike any other businesses. You don't see Ford making an old Escort look alike, or Audi making a 1980's Quattro... but weirdly the motorbike thing LOVES a bit of retro.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I quite like that Z900 that attempts to look like a GPZ1100, if it was green with blue and white stripes like a Z1100R I might even buy one.
I don't like the Z900RS, I don't know why but it does nothing for me.

But I think both the Z900 and the Z900RS are over priced by about £1K.

[weeksy]

There is a company making exact replicas of Escort Mk1's and Mk2's - I watched a Youtube video of it and they can't keep up with demand even though they start at something like £45k.
I don't think they'd sell enough for Ford to buy new tooling and mass produce them though.

They might if they knocked them out for £25k with a nice engine and all the mod-cons... Imagine a Mk2 RS1600 a-like, but with a Focus underneath...

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Ford were selling new Mk2 Escort monocoques well into the 1990s, they might still sell them, they weren't big money in the 80s, about £600 from memory, I new someone who bought a rear wheel drive Mk3 Escort RS1700T body shell from Ford in about 1988, it was about £1K.

[Rockburner]

I don't like that angular Transformers/Jonny-5 look on any of these naked bikes, probably the best one is Fromages GSX, his paint job really helps the look of it. But I'm not sure any paint job will make me like the look of the spikey angular Kawasakis.

Agreed, I've seen crayon drawings by 2 year olds with more coherency.

[weeksy]

Here you go https://mst-cars.com/models/
I got the prices wrong though

BIt more 'race/trackday' car though than i was thinking, but i have to admit, it looks glorious. I love it.

[Rockburner]

Top pic for me. Bottom pic looks so outdated. The transformer styling has really taken off in the last few years and is no longer just kawasaki. I wasn't too keen at first, but it's definitely grown on me.

I reckon we'll look back on this particular era of motorcycle fashion like we do on the 1980's footballers mullet.

'we' already do that with the little 2 stroke things you love... times change, times move on....

It is interesting though that the motorcycle industry does the 'retro' new thing unlike any other businesses. You don't see Ford making an old Escort look alike, or Audi making a 1980's Quattro... but weirdly the motorbike thing LOVES a bit of retro.

But you DO see plenty of small car workshops trying to produce limited runs of much-beloved 'classic' cars (eg Aston and Jaguar in the last few years).

[The Spin Doctor]

It is interesting though that the motorcycle industry does the 'retro' new thing unlike any other businesses. You don't see Ford making an old Escort look alike, or Audi making a 1980's Quattro... but weirdly the motorbike thing LOVES a bit of retro.

Mini, VW Beetle...

And then there's the return of the VW Microbus...

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/6/22870 ... ate-reveal

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I've had a look on Kawasaki's website and it's going to be £9799, which is okay, not sure if it's worth spending £3.5K to change from the bike I have.

I don't understand why the Z900RS is £11000 though, it's the same bike with different bodywork.

[Supermofo]

I've had a look on Kawasaki's website and it's going to be £9799, which is okay, not sure if it's worth spending £3.5K to change from the bike I have.

I don't understand why the Z900RS is £11000 though, it's the same bike with different bodywork.

Retro tax. In the reviews I've watched/read the Z goes and handles better than the RS. But the RS is prettier. I'm fine with slightly challenging looks as long as the bike does the business of having fun on the road. Hence like both the GSXS and Z.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

The normal Z fits me a lot better than the RS, the RS needs longer arms than mine.

[Skub]

I'm a big fan of the Sugomi style adopted by Kawasaki,I'd need to be since I spent my own money buying one!

Viewed in isolation,I'd never have made the connection to the GPZ. I like that it's not trying to be a retro,it's just a paintjob. One of the things I dislike about the 900RS is it's neither fish nor fowl.it just looks like a tarted up Zephyr to me.

[Dodgy69]

The retro movement is solely for nostalgia purposes, most biker's are gatting on. If I showed that picture of those two bikes to my lad, 22yo, he would ask if I was being serious. Car makers don't do retro because they need to please the young.

Having said all that, Greater choice is good.