Why I’m Not Buying a Kawasaki Z900RS (And I Know That Sounds Insane)

If you’ve been watching the channel for any length of time, you already know I’ve had a thing for the Kawasaki Z900RS. So yeah, I get it. This probably needs some explaining.

I’m in the middle of replacing my 2018 Honda CB650F. Good bike, treated me well for a year and a half, but I was ready for something different. So I went out, put a deposit down on something new, and while I was waiting for it to come in I figured I’d walk through some of the bikes I seriously considered and decided against. The Z900RS is one of them and it’s probably the one that’s going to raise the most eyebrows.

The short version: I don’t think the Kawasaki Z900RS is worth buying new right now. And I want to explain exactly why, because it’s not really about the bike.

The Model Was Starting to Feel Tired

When I first started looking at the Z900RS back around 2018 it was a genuinely exciting motorcycle. The retro styling, the 900cc inline four, the whole package made a lot of sense. But here’s the thing. Since then the biggest update every year has basically been a new color. Green in 2018, that stunning gray a couple years later, now black.

Meanwhile Kawasaki has been putting real engineering work into the standard Z lineup. They rolled out a Z900 SE with fully adjustable suspension front and rear, competing directly with something like the Yamaha MT-09 SP. That’s a meaningful update. The RS got new paint.

I’m not saying the RS is a bad motorcycle. It’s not. But when you put it next to what else Kawasaki is doing, it’s hard not to notice the gap.

The Price Is Where It Falls Apart for Me

This is the bigger issue and honestly the one that sealed it.

The Z900RS comes in around $12,100 to $12,200. That already puts it above the standard Z900 SE at just under $11,000. But the sticker price is just the starting point. Kawasaki tacks on a destination fee of around $450 and lately there’s been an additional surcharge on top of that, probably a fuel surcharge, somewhere around $250. So you’re already at $13,000 before you’ve done anything.

Then you add taxes, title, and the DMV paperwork. That’s realistically another thousand dollars. Now you’re somewhere between $14,000 and $15,000 for a motorcycle that hasn’t seen a meaningful mechanical update in years.

At that price point I start asking what else I could buy. And the honest answer is a lot. The Z900 SE at $11,000 gives you a more modern, more updated platform for about $1,500 less all-in. That’s a real difference. And it’s not just the money, it’s what you’re getting for it. With the RS you’re paying a premium for the retro niche, for the styling, for a smaller market. That’s fine if you love it enough. I do love the look of it. But when I try to make the numbers work in my head, they don’t.

Kawasaki’s New Z900RS SE Changes the Conversation (Sort Of)

So here’s where I have to pump the brakes and add some context, because when I was pulling photos for this post I stumbled onto something I hadn’t seen yet: Kawasaki announced a 2022 Z900RS SE.

This is Kawasaki doing what Yamaha has been doing with the SP lineup. Take the base model, add meaningful upgrades, sell it as a special edition. The Z900RS SE gets an Ohlins rear shock, fully adjustable forks up front, and a higher spec package overall. For about $1,000 more than the standard RS you’re getting real hardware improvements. If you’re already committed to buying a Z900RS new, the SE is a genuinely compelling upgrade.

But here’s the thing. It doesn’t change my math. It actually makes it worse. Now instead of being at $14,000 to $15,000 all-in, I’m looking at pushing even further past that. The value gap between what the RS platform offers and what the Z900 SE offers for less money just gets wider, not narrower.

I don’t feel like I’m getting my money’s worth out of a new Z900RS. That’s really what it comes down to.

Where I’d Actually Buy One

Here’s the part that might surprise you: I’d absolutely buy a Z900RS used.

I had this conversation with John from Road Reality in the WaltInPA Discord not that long ago. We both like the bike a lot. Neither of us can make the new price work when you stack it up against the competition. But a 2018 Z900RS with reasonable miles somewhere in the $6,000 to $8,000 range? That’s a completely different conversation. At that price it makes a ton of sense as a step up from the CB650F.

The problem is supply. A 2021 or 2022 RS is still a relatively young bike and used examples aren’t exactly flooding the market. The ones that are out there still command prices that eat into the value argument. So for now, the used market isn’t quite there yet either.

Maybe it will be. And when it is, I’ll be looking.

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Ride With Me

If you want to follow along as the new bike comes in and the CB650F heads out, subscribe to the WaltInPA YouTube channel for more riding content. There’s a lot more coming on this bike search and what I ended up with.

If you know another rider who’s been going back and forth on the Z900RS, share this post with a friend who rides. This is exactly the kind of thing worth talking through.

And if you want to get into the weeds on stuff like this in real time, come hang out in the WaltInPA Discord where good people talk about riding. John from Road Reality is in there and we have these conversations all the time.