Kawasaki Z650RS unveiled.. Finally Z650 gets a retro treatment

Retrovolution begins...

The most anticipated and awaited motorbike from the Japanese manufacturer is now unveiled. The unveiled machine is a product of both the modern and retro culture and it'll be available on UK markets first from the month of November. The motorbike starts from £7,549 for metallic spark black color which is roughly about Rs 7.65 lakhs and other two colors that is candy emerald green and metallic moondust grey from £7,699 which is roughly about Rs 7.8 lakhs ex-showroom. Z900 gets this RS treatment back then in 2018 and from that, there's a talk about this Z650RS and finally the manufacturer managed to launch the product. Now, let's see about the motorbike.

Design language
The overall design element of the motorbike is inspired from the Z650-B1 from the early 70s and some of the components including the internal contains modern tech stuffs. The elongated teardrop shaped fuel tank with the Kawasaki badging looks awesome. Green color scheme gets a golden treatment for alloys. Other two color scheme gets a black rims along with the minimal graphics on the fuel tank. Handlebar is raised and the fuel tank is flanked with a simple single piece seat where the rear is raised slightly. I personally love the rear fender where the tail lamp is integrated in it also along with the LED winkers.

Coming to the front, LED circular headlamp with the integrated DRL is present with the LED turn indicators. The twin analog dials are bigger which gives a good look. Rear view mirrors also gets a circular treatment. Like its other naked sibling, this model also gets a underbelly exhaust treatment where I expected a dual raised chrome finished exhaust on both the sides. Other elements like aluminum swingarm and alloys tells us that the motorbike is from the present age.

Engine
Like the other products in the 650cc segment, it also gets a 649cc, LC, parallel twin, DOHC 8 valve motor churning out 68PS of power & 64Nm of torque at 8,000 & 6,700rpm respectively. Engine is mounted on the high tensile steel trellis frame and it is synced to a 6 speed transmission system with the assist & slipper clutch. To enjoy the retrovolution more, 35kW tuning kit will also be available at the authorized dealerships.

Hardware and others
The motorbike weighs about 187kg and the fuel tank capacity is 12L. Seat height comes with 820mm. Braking duties are handled by twin 300mm discs with dual piston standard mounted calipers at the front and single 220mm disc with single piston caliper at the rear assisted by a Bosch ABS program. Suspension duties are done by a conventional non-adjustable 41mm telescopic forks at the front and preload adjustable monoshock at the rear. Upper triple tree is integrated with the analog speedometer and tachometer also along with the multifunction LCD display showing various info like trip meters, fuel level, gear position etc... Lowered seats, pillion grab rail, frame sliders, radiator guard, front axle slider and under seat USB socket will be offered as accessories. I think the motorbike after making its presence in the European markets, will enter into our country sometime by next year... Just a guess.

My opinion
This motorbike is not a pure retro roadster but a modern retro roadster and stands down as a best machine for a old school lover plus slight modern maniac. Definitely we need this machine in our country and it'll compete against its rival GT 650 which is also a retro roadster. But I think the motorbike still lacks something like the dual sided exhaust setup, chrome finish and wired spoke rims. Though there's no announcement were made regarding the Cafe variant of the same just like its elder sibling Z900 RS, we can also expect the same to be revealed soon.

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