Kawasaki Z900RS vs Yamaha XSR900 - RetroSport Showdown

claiming to reignite the styling of the legendary original z1900 the beautiful and wildly popular kawasaki z900 rs against the one taking its name and inspiration from the iconic 1970s xs1 the stunning yamaha xsr900 if you're after a proper retro sport motorcycle then these are two of the absolute top tier choices hi i'm quackerjack and thanks for joining along for another video in the versus series today we have two beautiful retro styled motorcycles going head to head in a direct specs comparison where we'll be having a quick look at the history behind both before comparing the claimed engine and power stats exhaust sounds weight suspension and brakes features and price but before we get started please do me a huge favor and give this video a like hit subscribe to join our fast growing motorcycle loving family and let me know which of these two stunners you prefer alright let's get straight into it the kawazaki z900 rs is designed to honour the legendary original z1 which was first released in 1972. this is one of those motorcycles that achieved legendary status being the most powerful japanese inline 4 sold at the time and was a real gem of a bike kawazaki's modern variant is based around their very popular naked z900 but given a few tweaks and of course that beautiful retro styling the yamaha xsr900 however is based upon their own mt09 naked bike and is designed to pay homage to the 1970s xs1 which was also a very popular motorcycle i'm going to quickly put up some photos of each now so you can decide which styling you prefer they are both really beautiful bikes and they have nailed that classic aesthetic but i absolutely love that candy toned green paint and styling on the z900 rs in my opinion it's a future classic but of course this is personal opinion so which of the two bikes looks do you prefer now to the engines the kowi is rocking a slightly revised version of the z900 948 cc in lone 4 engine it is now pumping out 111 horsepower at eight and a half thousand rpm as well as ninety eight and a half newton meters of torque at six and a half thousand now that is talky those revisions made to the engine mean that you're going to get a really fun power delivery and lots of low down grunt this will make it an absolute blast to ride around town and up into the mountains as well with the zero to 100 time being around three and a half seconds and the claim top speed of 230ks the xsr however grabs the high torque 847 cc three cylinder engine from the mt-09 and in this version produces 113 horsepower at 10 000 rpm as well as 87 and a half newton meters of torque at eight and a half thousand that allows this bike to also have very similar acceleration stats to the kowi with the zero to 100 time being in the three seconds and onto a top speed of around 230 k's an hour now the mt-09 that this bike was based off was very very front-end happy and that has translated to this bike too with people claiming the xsr 900 to be a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing and very willing to pop a wheelie whenever possible both of these bikes shouldn't be underestimated and are packing some serious grunt the yamaha while having a 99 cc smaller engine does produce two more horses however the kawasaki does have 11 more torque which is a lot bigger of a difference so overall for engine and power the kawasaki does take the win kawasaki does also claim to have engineered the exhaust note on this bike as well so let's have a listen to both of the exhausts [Music] all right moving on to the weight there is quite a large difference between these two bikes when it comes to the weight with the kawazaki being a full 19 kilograms heavier with a wet weight of 214 kilograms i'd say that's in part due to it having a 99 cc larger engine with an extra cylinder as well as the fact it has a trellis high tensile steel frame the yamaha is the clear winner in this department with a wet weight of 195 kilograms both of these bikes are quite heavy and it may be a bit of a lug around when moving them on foot but that all changes once you're underway so let's talk about suspension and brakes the general consensus among reviewers is that these two bikes handle very well both manufacturers have thankfully not just put a nice face on them and then buggered them off but actually taken the time to ensure that they have both well-rounded and actually really good motorcycles on the z900 rs up front you have a 41 millimeter inverted fork with rebound damping and spring preload adjustability and at the rear a horizontal backlink which is also adjustable with quite a tall seat height of 835 millimeters and an upright and relaxed receding position this makes the cowie a great bike to ride they've also upgraded the brakes over the regular z900 with it now featuring dual 300 millimeter semi-floating pedal discs with dual radial mounted monoblock opposed four piston calipers at the front and single 250 millimeter pedal disc with single piston caliper at the back it also comes with nissan abs as standard the xsr 900 at the front has telescopic forks with adjustable preload compression and rebound damping and an adjustable monoshock at the back the yamaha also has quite a high seat height of 830 millimeters and an upright seating position just like the kawasaki for its brakes it's rocking twin 298 millimeter discs with four piston radial mounted calipers up front and a single 245 millimeter disc with single piston caliper at the rear again just like the m209 this xsr has quite a short wheelbase which means that this bike is very agile and accurate when being thrown into corners n means that wheelies are a common occurrence both motorcycles handle and brake better than expected with their weight not becoming an issue once moving they definitely allow for a lot of fun to be had both around town and in more adventurous settings next is features both kawasaki and yamaha have sprinkled quite a few features onto these motorcycles so while they may look retro the tech inside is definitely not on the z900 rs the notable features include comfortable seat retro styling tuned exhaust note trellis high tensile steel frame nissan abs lcd center display with analog style taco and speedo assistant slipper clutch leds classic style spokes kawasaki traction control and eco mode indicator really though the standout feature is of course that beautiful styling and paint scheme with the xsr 900 you get power and riding modes traction control assist and slipper clutch retro styling nissan abs and retro styled multi-function lcd display reports are that the seat on the yamaha isn't quite as comfortable as on the kawasaki but it still looks great as well now i think there's a fine line between overwhelming a bike with too many electronic aids and making sure that it's properly equipped and i think on these two machines they've pretty much nailed that balance they aren't super sports so do they really need the entire suite of electronic aids you'd find on the top of the line race bikes nah plus these motorcycles are already coming in at a premium price the z900 rs in my area has a right away price of 18 022 australian dollars on the kawasaki website but a quick look at bike sales showed dealer demo and almost new bikes for a few grand less between 14 to 16 and a half thousand you can also get the cafe version with that sweet cow and color scheme too the yamaha xsr900 however is a fair bit cheaper than its competitor with the yamaha website providing a right-of-way price of 15499 for the base and an extra 200 for the sp model which has a really sweet black color scheme to be honest with you if i were getting the yamaha i'd be getting the sp because i think that color scheme makes the bike look awesome and for only an extra 200 bucks bargain you can also find used ones for a lot cheaper as well please note these are prices in my area and may be different in yours due to taxes so the kawasaki is definitely the more expensive bike but it does also have a bigger engine more torque and that beautiful design the yamaha is the lighter cheaper and more rowdy option that brings the question which one would you pick either way though you're going to be getting a brilliant bike that allows you to claim a little bit of that legendary status that the originals once held i love the look of both but i think for my money i'd be going the z900rs i can really see it becoming a future classic but let me know what you think thanks for making it to this point of the video if you haven't already make sure to give it a like and tell me what two bikes you'd like to see on the shopping block next if i use your suggestion i'll give you a shout out you can also find me on instagram and facebook at quaker jack underscore thanks again for watching guys until next time see ya

Channel: Kwackajack

Views: 124,816

Rating: 4.9182878 out of 5

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Id: REo-rTKtbWM

Length: 8min 49sec (529 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 28 2021