2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year winner: Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe

Kawasaki’s Z900RS Cafe has been crowned bikesales.com.au’s Bike of the Year for 2018.

The retro-themed Kawasaki came up trumps after impressing the judging panel in a three-day ride across Tasmania in October, an outing which also included eight other category winners in the 2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards (BOTY).

The Z900R Café was in Tasmania as the best retro/café bike, and such was its impact it’s now added the overall BOTY award to its CV.

"The Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe is a deserved winner of the third instalment of the bikesales.com.au Bike of the Year award," said bikesales.com.au editor Mark Fattore.

“It’s a motorcycle that not only looks superb, but it also rides beautifully and presents a superb bang for your bucks proposition. It’s also incredibly easy to ride and, for sheer fun factor, the Z900RS Café presents a compelling case.

“Its lime green livery paint, flowing tank, minimalist ducktail and beautifully sculpted bikini fairing hark back to an age when Kawasaki was famed for its bold engineering and fire-breathing four-stroke superbikes.

“A large part of the Kawasaki’s appeal is its sheer simplicity: it’s refreshing to just jump on the bike, turn the key, thumb the starter, snick first and head off down the road.

“However, it's not completely devoid of gadgetry, and once you’re hitting the city streets or gliding across your favourite piece of twisty road, the electronic aids include traction control and ABS.

“It’s nimble enough to have a heap of fun, but it’s stable, too – no nasty surprises, just completely predictable progress. Congratulations Kawasaki.”

The Z900RS Café went on sale locally in February 2018, offering a major point of differentiation from the Z900RS donor machine with the adoption of a bikini fairing.

“We’re excited and honoured to have the Kawasaki Z900RS Café edition announced as the Bikesales Bike of the Year for 2018,” said Robert Walker, National Sales & Marketing Manager for Kawasaki Motors Australia.

“The Kawasaki Z900RS Café is a blend of Z1-inspired styling and modern craftsmanship and, along with the Kawasaki Z900RS have been great additions to the Kawasaki line-up.

“With a powerful and torquey engine, KTRC traction control and ABS this bike is just a pure pleasure to ride.

“The iconic styling and great comfort mixed with some modern technology has really appealed to our customers all over the world. We would like to thank Bikesales for this award.”

The bikes in all 11 BOTY categories must have been on sale by September 1, 2018, and met specific criteria to be included in the judging. From there, the experts at bikesales.com.au determined the 11 category winners based on factors including excellence, innovation, performance and value for money.

The Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe then received the ultimate prize after 900km of real-world testing in Tasmania, with all the bikes rated across five key criteria:

• Engine and drivetrain;
• Brakes and handling;
• Build quality;
• Value for money; and
• Fit for purpose.

The Z900RS Café received the highest score from the judging panel, finishing ahead of the BMW K 1600 Grand America (which won the Touring category) and the Ducati Panigale V4 S (Supersport).

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