2022–2025 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
Reliable Fun, No Drama
This generation of the Z900 is about a big-hearted engine at a fair price. The 948 cc inline-four makes 125 hp at 9,500 rpm and 73 lb-ft at 7,700 rpm. The number that matters more is how wide it pulls: from around 4,000 rpm to the 10,500 rpm redline you get smooth, even shove with no peaky drama. It sits in a steel trellis frame with ABS, traction control, ride modes and a TFT dash with smartphone connectivity. At $9,199 for the 2022 standard bike, it's the budget way into the midweight super-naked class, and it gives up very little on the road.
It's easy to live with. The steering is light, you can lean it a long way, and it stays settled when the pace goes up. Kawasaki's reputation for reliability holds here, and a huge aftermarket means you can build it into whatever you want. Budget for some fixes, though. The stock suspension is soft and runs out of damping when you push, and the OEM tires don't give much confidence, wet or dry. Expect the original chain to be done somewhere between 9,300 and 12,000 mi (15,000 to 20,000 km). The real quirk is an abrupt on/off throttle in first and second at low speed. It suits riders who want real four-cylinder pace without paying for exclusivity.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 125 hp (92 kW) @ 9,500 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 73 lb-ft (99 Nm) @ 7,700 rpm |
| Displacement | 948 cc |
| Engine | Inline-four |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 57.3 in (1455 mm) |
| Seat height | 32.3 in (820 mm) |
| Wet weight | 467 lb (212 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.5 gal (17 L) |
| Top speed | 149 mph (240 km/h) |
| Fuel economy | 36 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Lighting
Safety
This section isn't my ride. It's what owners of the 2022–2025 Z900 have told me over the years in paddock conversations, at club nights and gas stops, and in the emails and messages riders send once they've lived with a bike for a season or two. The pattern is clear. Owners rave about the engine, the value and how well the bike holds up. The complaints come back to three things: low-speed throttle manners, the base suspension and the stock tires.
The engine gets the most praise. Riders describe the inline-four as turbine smooth, with broad torque and more refinement than the triples and twins sold at this price. Value comes a close second. At launch the standard bike undercut the MT-09 SP and Street Triple R, and the SE cost well below the 765 RS. The SE package gets its own praise: Brembo M4.32 calipers, an Öhlins S46 shock, a fully adjustable KYB fork and braided lines for roughly $1,500 over the base bike. Owners consistently say that's less than the same parts would cost aftermarket. Long-term owners rate its reliability and build quality highly. Plenty of them also just like looking at the Sugomi styling.
Riders call the chassis planted and predictable. It flatters mid-skill riders and still doesn't feel slow to experienced ones. Thanks to the upright bars and neutral reach, many owners use the same bike for the weekday commute and the weekend canyon run. The 4.3-inch TFT with phone alerts and ride logging came standard from 2022, when some rivals charged extra for that. The screen also gets criticism: owners find the menus unintuitive and the display small next to newer rivals, and a 5-inch unit arrived for 2025. The rider seat gets uncomfortable after about two hours, and passengers call the pillion small and hard. Some owners notice the extra weight compared with the MT-09 at walking pace and on tight backroads.
The most common complaint is low-speed fueling. Owners describe the bike jolting on and off the throttle, worst in first gear and when picking the throttle up again after a shift. They blame lean Euro 5 fueling and fix it with a plug-in fueling module, an ECU reflash or a throttle-tamer tube. Just as many say the standard KYB fork and shock turn soft and bottom out on bumpy roads when ridden hard. SE owners say the Öhlins shock also arrives set soft and needs more preload for a quick pace, which they describe as a setup issue, not a defect. The stock Dunlops lose front-end trust in cold weather and slow corners, and many riders fit Pirelli Rosso or Michelin Road tires in the first season. Owners of 2022–2024 bikes also miss cornering ABS, a quickshifter and cruise control, and those gaps were closed for 2025.
STD KYB suspension soft / under-damped under spirited riding
The standard suspension lacks sufficient damping, causing wallowing and reduced precision when riding aggressively.
Stock Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 tires lack wet-weather grip
The original-equipment Dunlop tires offer limited grip on wet pavement and can feel slippery in the rain, which leads some owners to replace them early with better-performing rubber.
Snatchy on/off throttle response at low RPM
Abrupt fuel cut-on results in jerky behavior when transitioning from closed to open throttle in first and second gear.
Mirror blur and mild handlebar vibration at certain RPM bands
Vibrations around 4,000–6,000 rpm can blur the mirrors and cause hand numbness on longer rides.
OEM final-drive chain shows wear at lower mileage than expected
The original chain often needs replacement between 9,300–12,000 mi (15,000–20,000 km) due to accelerated stretch and rust.
Bluetooth pairing failures with Rideology app on iOS; isolated TFT Bluetooth chip failures
Owners using iPhones have had trouble pairing the bike with the Kawasaki Rideology smartphone app. The cause was how the app handled short pairing PIN codes. Kawasaki later released a software update that fixed this, so affected bikes should get the latest app and instrument-cluster software. In rare cases, the Bluetooth module inside the TFT instrument cluster has failed and the dealer had to replace the cluster.
Where this Kawasaki Z900 ABS pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Z900 ABS is actually built for.
It fits your weekends. The four pulls hard between canyon corners and has plenty of lean. Put better tires and suspension on your list early, because the stock parts are the first things you'll outgrow.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
Light steering and lots of cornering clearance make it a good tool for tight, repetitive curves. Learn to be smooth with the low-speed throttle and it rewards good technique turn after turn.
Made for Tail of the Dragon · Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway
It handles the weekday commute and the weekend ridge run without complaint, and it connects to your phone. Just know it's an honest gas-powered four, not a showpiece for new tech.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2017–2019
Speed With Nothing Wasted
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Kawasaki Z900 ABS. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
Competitor · 2021–2023
The Engine That Plays Itself
Roughly $1,000 pricier used than this bike at 3 yr
Competitor · 2020
Reach the Tarmac, Not the Sky
Same Platform · 2018–2024
Z1 Soul, Modern Muscle
Roughly $2,400 pricier used than this bike at 4 yr