[Sangwan]

Hello everyone, today I am going to take you on my journey of buying an almost brand new USED 2022 Kawasaki Z900RS 50th Anniversary Edition. This thread will always remain updated, and we will see how the Z900RS fares in long term use.

The beginning:

In my last post (My Journey : From an International Student to a Permanent Resident in Canada) in my other thread I mentioned that I got my motorcycle license in Canada and there was this strong itch that I need to buy a motorcycle. I was without one since 2021, and driving an automatic everyday was super boring. Motorcycle was going to bring back some fun in my driving life. Back in India, I was lucky enough to experience the Triumph Street Twin (Time with my now-sold Triumph Street Twin) , so I was not going into these big bikes without experience. Street Twin was my first big bike and I remember when I decided that I will spend INR X amount on the purchase, I went through all the brands’ websites and checked all the models on the internet one by one. On the Kawasaki page, I saw for the first time Kawasaki Z900RS, what a beautiful machine! It was love in first sight; I had never seen this motorcycle in person (and I never did until last year) but the pics were enough to convince me that this is the bike I wanted. And then I saw the price and that was it, I was not going to spend INR 15-16 Lakhs which was only the ex-showroom price, so the dream of this beauty died then and there. Besides the Z900RS, there is another bike which remains close to my heart all the time, and it is the Triumph Tiger. BMW GS series could be great, but I don’t know I always found the Tiger very appealing. Especially the Tiger 1200 of the previous generation. Those LED lights stole my heart. So, now we have two motorcycles which always interested me. Due to the prices in India, I was happy with my Street Twin and thought if God willing I would buy another one later in life. And God willing I got one now!

Irritating my wife day in day out:

On the day I had my motorcycle license with me, my wife knew that I will be getting a bike soon. But we had (we still do, being an adult is such a pain!) a lot going on in our lives. We were switching jobs, had to take care of our son, had this mortgage to pay and the rest of the bills too. Canada is a great country but there are bills to pay every month and then you’re not left with much. Also, this year the weather sucked big time in British Columbia (BC). It was very cold and rainy in March, April and even in May. Somewhere in June, the summer really started for us. But this didn’t stop me from talking about motorcycles, I was always on the FB marketplace, checking local dealerships, their websites, their used inventory and also taking my wife and son on the weekends to the dealerships and checking their inventory in person. This constant obsession and me talking about motorcycles irritated my wife a lot and so she was also like get one and shut up.

[Sangwan]

The conditions:

After spending time with the Street Twin, I had a better understanding about what my next bike is going to be. The following were the priorities for me:

1. It must be an in-line 4 or a 3 cylinder. The V-twin in Street Twin was great, but I wanted to experience other engines as well. Twin cylinders would be considered only if the deal being offered is amazing.

2. Fuel tank capacity of 15 liters or more. This was very important to me as the Street Twin had only 12 Liters of fuel capacity and so after 200-220 Kms, it was time to fill up and it was a little annoying. The bigger the tank the better.

3. It will not be a Harley-Davidson. Some of them are so good looking, but it never clicked for me. But Indian Motorcycles are great!

4. Open to all brands but preference to Japanese as I don’t have the time and money right now to deal with occasional breakdowns if any.

5. It must be good looking. No matter what sort of bike it is.

6. Something in range of CAD 15000 as I didn’t want to drown in debt.

7. Preference would be given to used ones instead of new ones.

Overall, it was a tough situation for me because the choices available were astonishing. I could buy a Hayabusa or a R1 or a Fireblade or a Triumph Tiger. I could buy a Ducati or an Indian or Aprilia or BMWs or something which I only saw on car magazines while growing up.

Another lover at first sight: The MV Augusta Superveloce:

I only knew that MV Augusta is a motorcycle company. That’s it. I never actually bothered to look into them, and one day just like I did in India, I again went through each and every brand’s webpage and saw Superveloce for the first time. It is the most beautiful bike I have ever seen on the internet and in person, even more than the Z900RS. There may and might be many in the future more beautiful motorcycles, but this is going to be in the list always. I never found a used Superveloce and the local dealerships had stock, were offering decent discounts too but it was still going to be super expensive. It is almost CAD 30,000 motorcycle and when I am spending this much, I would rather spend a little bit more and buy something special in Used Cars. So, for now MV Augusta Superveloce would be only a dream, might become reality someday but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.





My new nemesis, Motorcycle Insurance:

If you had followed my car ownership thread (paste link here), you would know that there is only one Insurance company in BC, known as Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). ICBC has made 4 categories for motorcycles as per engine size and so the greater the engine size, the greater the insurance is going to be. If I am thinking correct, it is:

1. Below 400 CC.
2. Between 400 to 750 CC.
3. Between 750 to 1150 CC.
4. Above 1150 CC.

Just for curiosity, I went into ICBC office and asked for the monthly insurance of a 2007 Suzuki Sport Tourer, which was having 1250 cc, listed at CAD 5500 and it came out CAD 175/month. This is more than my car! And I understand the reasoning behind it but still it is not fair and the way how life is for me right now, I don’t think I would be able to insure both motorcycle and car at the same time as it would be too much of a waste. Also, ICBC charges a premium if you insure for less than 6 months, called short term fees, and you must give the whole premium in one go, you can’t get monthly payments if you’re insuring for less than 6 months. So, what is the plan for long term and short term?

Short-term: Use the motorcycle on weekends for now, I could get insurance for one day for CAD 36 and for two days I think it is CAD 56/57.

Long-term: Being part of different motorcycle groups on Facebook helped me to understand that getting basic coverage from ICBC and additional coverage from private insurance could be a great way to save some money enjoy riding more. I will be looking into it more in the coming weeks and sharing details with you. As ICBC is the sole corporation when it comes to vehicle insurance, I would need basic coverage from them so that I can ride and have a license plate.

Let the games begin:

Like I mentioned earlier, I was checking dealerships and their inventory in person on the weekends, I came to the realization that currently I would be happy with something costing less than CAD 15,000. When I was visiting dealerships, the salespeople would come over and talk about different financing options and I realized I could easily do this and so I narrowed down my search to motorcycles who fit these criteria. I was interested in the following motorcycles:

1. MV Augusta Superveloce: I loved it in person, it is so beautiful but it was out of my budget and also my younger brother said to me over the phone after looking at pics of this bike, “bhai, iss ki tanki par toh tera pet tikega, ye bike ke liye fit hona jaruri hai (brother, your tummy will cover the tank of this motorcycle and these bikes are for people who are slim”). I watched all the reviews available on YouTube for this motorcycle and realized that even though it is exceptionally beautiful, it can’t be an everyday bike for me.



2. Kawasaki Z900RS: Apart from Kawasaki 1000SX, none of the Kawasaki interested me. The interest in the 1000SX was also due to TeamBhp, after reading so many wonderful ownership logs of this machine I was very interested in it but my heart was like if its going to be a Kawasaki, it is going to be the Z900RS. I was not going to go for anything apart from this motorcycle from the Kawasaki Stable. I have no complaints against Z900RS, well one actually, I wish they remove that Yellow color paint scheme, it doesn’t sit well with this machine and yes you could get used to it but still it doesn’t look pretty at first.



3. Suzuki Hayabusa: Every boy’s dream. What a bike this is, beautiful, ferociously fast and it just oozes personality. The newer ones start around CAD 22,000 and I didn’t find many used ones. Also, by this time I had started realizing that even though I am not old or anything, but I didn’t wanted to be in a committed posture, I wanted to be upright and relaxed. Maybe someday I will have a Hayabusa with me.



4. Suzuki V Strom 650: Robust engine, fuss free ownership, less insurance amount and go anywhere capability. Well, that’s about it for this Suzuki. There was no flare, it is a great bike, but I wanted something special.



5. Indian Sport Chief: My wife loves the Indian motorcycles; I showed her the Indian Scout because it fell in our “budget” but she was not interested in it. She went around and found The Indian Chief, very beautiful and macho but I didn’t want the cruiser kind and it was costed CAD 18,000 plus other fees and taxes, so it was rejected.



6. Honda CBR 650: This was the motorcycle which planted the finance way in my brain. It costs around CAD 11,000 and it’s a Honda so really nothing was going to go wrong, it was a committed posture and I thought well maybe I could give it a go. I went online, read everything about it and checked many reviews on YouTube. You really need to wring this one to feel the power and then I realized that maybe I should look for something which has more torque.



7. The Triumph Bonneville line up: Speed Twin, Thruxton and T120 are the ones which I really like but they are not in-line 4 and their tanks are also of only 14.5 Liters and so I didn’t think about them much.



8. Triumph Tiger 1200: This is the motorcycle which really makes me think twice about the Kawasaki. When I was about to pull trigger for the Z900RS, I found two listings of the Tiger 1200 and they were both 2019 models, one had 33k on odometer and other had 27k. They were costing similar to the Z900RS and this made me think so much because look at that behemoth! It is so cool and those LED Lights, those LED lights! I wasn’t getting good deal on it and then at the end of the day they were now 5 years old and had so many electronic gadgets on them that it was giving me cold feat, so I dropped the idea.



9. Yamaha Stable: Maybe they are making great bike but they are certainly not beautiful. I checked the newer models and none of them appealed to me. Of course this R1 in the pic is drop dead gorgeous, but look at XSR lineup and you'll know what I mean.



10. Fireblade/R1/Aprilia/Suzuki GSX 750R/Street Triple/Speed Triple: Once I realized I am not really into committed posture, I gave up on these, otherwise they are all great motorcycles, and I would have lived an experience if I had bought one.



Courtesy: Google Images

[Sangwan]

The Timelines:

July 19, 2024:

It was around 3 or 4 PM, my son, wife and I had just woken up after a long nap (Yes, the naps are coming back on weekends in this household!). My kid went to eat something and watch some TV and I just grabbed my phone without any real agenda and went onto FB Marketplace and I saw these two Kawasaki Z900RS listed for sale!
Until now, I had seen only one Z900RS for sale in the local area but it was sky blue in color and looked awful, otherwise there were none which were used. I have seen few listed on the Autotrader, but they were located on east side. So, seeing these two together made me really curious.
One was a 2018 Kawasaki Z900RS, which had around 10,000 KMs on the odo, and was listed for CAD 9400. It was black in color and was missing the Kawasaki badge on the fuel tank. The tires were new (late 2023) and it had few accessories too. The other one was a red-maroon-brown 2022 Kawasaki Z900RS 50th Anniversary Edition. It had only 557 KMs on the odo! Yes, you read that right, only 557 KMs! I couldn’t believe it, so this bike hasn’t be used at all in almost 3 years and was listed for CAD 12,500. I immediately called the dealership and asked like hey what is the final discount you could offer, they said we are okay with $300-500 discount, so I can get this almost brand-new bike for CAD 12000!? It piqued my interest and over the week my wife and I decided that we will at least check both these motorcycles even if we don’t buy it.

July 26, 2024:

Its Saturday and we are ready to visit Mountainview Motorsports, Chilliwack. It was 57 Kms from my place and so we drove there, and I saw the 2022 basking in the sun, couldn’t locate the 2018. When we went near it, we realized how new it is, I think there is a paint fade on one side near the footrest and that is too because of the riding shoes (I might be wrong too as I checked it only once and also checked the 2018, so details might be mixing up), otherwise this bike was immaculate. No scratch, no nothing, totally stock. The odometer was now 564 KMs I guess, but it was so clean. A salesperson came and asked me if I wanted to have a test ride, and I said yes, I will. So, after 7-8 years since I first saw this motorcycle on my phone, I was going to ride it.

The first test ride:

You might think being an almost three-year-old motorcycle with such low kms, the starting might be an issue but it fired up on the first crank. Those 4 cylinders were singing at the same time and the view was amazing! Clutch pressed and slotted in first gear and this bike is eager to jump. Maybe I was riding a proper motorcycle after a longer period of time or maybe it’s the way it is tuned, this motorcycle was just eager to jump, like I was leaving the clutch slowly but I could just feel how eager it is. And then I was on the road and I started the ride, I took it to the twisted roads and while I was reaching there I realized that it has the horsepower but it doesn’t have the Street Twin’s torque (although on paper the torque is more than the Street Twin). When I rode the Street Twin, it felt like sitting on a train engine, that bike just pulled and pulled and pulled. Like OMG, stop now. The Z900RS felt so much quicker but I didn’t get the feeling of torque, don’t know if it made any sense but that’s how I felt. Maybe when I first tried the Triumph, I never had experience of big bikes but now when I rode the Z900RS, I had the experience and maybe that’s why I felt things different. Onto the twisties, and even though I had just started riding this bike, I felt at home and had already started to push it a little but seeing it hasn’t even crossed 1000 KMs I rode gently afterwords. Brakes felt okay, and overall, it felt solidly put. No complaints.

When I returned, I was sharing the riding experience with my wife while my son was getting on top of every single machine present in their yard. My wife said she could see the Twinkle in my eyes and knew that we would be getting this home.

Before even I could start the negotiations, the salesperson came with a quotation, and they were offering this motorcycle for 11,155 (instead of CAD 12,500) + 595(administrative fees, this I can’t get reduced no matter what the price was going to be) + 12% tax = CAD 13,160. The offer was irresistible. But I held my calm and asked for the spare key, which he said he will ask as the bike was just traded in few days ago. Then I asked as this is so new, did an oil change ever happened? The salesperson said oil change did happen, but he will confirm. It was taking long for him and while he was finding out, I talked to the finance guy, and he told me about monthly payments on the two Kawasaki.

After seeing the 2022 mode, I was not even remotely interested in the 2018, although it was black in color. Also, due to their age difference, the monthly EMI was almost the same, so it made sense to get the newer one.
The salesperson still had no answer for my two queries and so I hadn’t decided yet if I would go ahead with the purchase or not, but I made a deposit of $500 as it was totally refundable if I decided to not go ahead with the purchase.

July 30, 2024:

Monday is off for all most all of the motorcycle dealerships; they work from Tuesday to Saturday. So, I couldn’t really contact other Kawasaki showroom and ask if this bike had ever turned up for the first oil change. July 30 was Tuesday and I got text from salesperson if I have decided, I asked him to update me with key and oil change situation. To my disappointment, I found out that the new original owner had lost the second key, or the dealership didn’t bother to find it and there has been no oil change on this motorcycle. So, this brand-new motorcycle has only one key and is sitting with the original oil when it came out of the factory! I was not happy. I told him to wait and let me again think about it.
I spent the remaining day contemplating if I should go ahead with this purchase or not. In the end, I had made up my mind that I will most likely go ahead.

July 31, 2024:

I texted them that hey, I am going to purchase it, send me the paperwork but I have one condition, please give me some discount related to the key and the first oil change because I would need to get them sorted and its just extra cost to me. They gave me a very vague reply, they said that they will get the key for me and see what discount I could get from their service department for changing the oil.
Guys, you won’t believe but I was offered $27 as discounts! I was like damn what would I do with all this money. I told them this discount means nothing to me and I asked for key again, like hey at least the key would be free right? But then the reply was it depends on me, if I need an original OEM key or one, they will cut for me? For me it was the last straw, I was kind of disappointed.

On the same day, I called Kawasaki Burnaby (Burnaby is one of the city in the lower mainland Vancouver) and they said they will charge $70 for the second key. I discussed all the developments with my wife when I was on lunch break, and we decided we will give them a new number and if they agree then I buy this motorcycle or I will keep on looking. I texted the dealer stating that I am not at all happy with the response related to key and oil change. Let’s just reduce the price to CAD 11,500 plus taxes and the guy agreed! So, I got a deal and the Z900RS will be now My Z900RS. The final purchase was going to be CAD 12,880 or INR 7.83 Lakhs! Which I still find as a steal considering the condition of the motorcycle.

I had already filled the credit application and I sent it to their finance team. The credit application was a single page form, I mentioned my Driving License number and Social Insurance number and it was around 12:50 PM. By 3 PM I had received the email that I am pre-approved and all I need to do is send a cheque for payments and sign the paperwork on the day I plan to come to the dealership. I love this thing about the west so much, there is no running back and forth and things happen so smootlhy. Being an ex- PSU banker in India, I really appreciate it because it would be a hassle if the same was being done in India.

August 3, 2024:

Like our elders say, we shouldn’t buy metal on a Saturday, but I really didn’t have a choice, I wanted us a family to go and get the bike. I didn’t want to take leave just for picking up the motorcycle and the day I entered this great country, I didn’t have an auspicious time planned or when I changed places when I was renting, I moved as per convenience not because of a “particular time”, things happen and so I was not really worried about getting the bike on a Saturday. If something bad must happen it will, and the day won’t be the reason for it.

On Aug 2, I went late to bed after midnight and the next morning at 6:30 AM, I woke up, there was just so much excitement in me. But I tried to sleep again and woke up at around 8:30. A friend of my wife came with us, so the 4 of us got ready and by 10:45 AM we were on our way to Chilliwack, BC. Being a weekend, the roads were busy and in around 1:15 hr we reached. I met the sales guy, and he said that there is one person ahead of me signing the paperwork, so I need to wait a little. That wait turned into 2.5 hours of waiting which was frustrating a little bit, but it was all worth it because then I will have my motorcycle with me. The dealership threw in a couple of T-shirts as free goodies because of the waiting. After that we went to the Insurance place, got insurance for the day with minimum coverage. It costed me $26 for the insurance and I registered the motorcycle in my name which costed another $28. Went back again to the dealership, got the temporary License plate fixed to the bike and then bid goodbye to the dealership folks.



Finally with my loved ones being around, I fired up the engine and went to the backside of our Santa Fe. I put on my riding gear and went to the local fuel pump. The fuel is cheaper in Chilliwack compared to Langley/Surrey and we filled up the car and the motorcycle. The destination was now not my home but “The Red House” in Langley. It’s an old abandoned red house in middle of a field and its kind of a customary thing for the bikers in the area.
So, we went there. It was a 55 Kms ride.

The following were my observations:

1. The seat is great, it is on the firm side, and I didn’t feel tired or sore at all.
2. The handlebars are wide, and the posture is upright, which is very relaxing.
3. So much windblast! The highway speed limit was 100 KMPH and I was at around 105, maybe I was riding after few years and I wasn’t used to the wind anymore, but I held the handlebars tightly when I was riding on the highway.
4. Motorcycle is a cop magnet. As soon as I got on the highway, I realized a ghost car was following me. It was an F-150 pickup truck and the cop kept on following me for a while but as I was following the limit and not a nuisance on the road, he went ahead to bother someone else.
5. It is so much fun on the twisted roads and sounds amazing. It is not loud nor silent, it felt perfect to my ears.
6. This is a very powerful machine, and I loved every second of it.
7. It looks so pretty and because of this special color, it looked so different when kept under different intensity of sunshine. The color just keeps on changing.

We had a small photoshoot and then went home as my wife’s friend had to grab her car. Then I rode around a bit and finally parked the motorcycle at around 8 PM. The odometer now stands at 696 KMs! So, I used the motorcycle for almost 125 Kms on the day of the purchase. I am still amazed that even though it’s a used motorcycle, I will be the one completing the first 1000, then 10,000 and so many more milestones!

[Sangwan]

The Review:

Now, lets discuss My 2022 Kawasaki Z900RS 50th Special Anniversary Edition. Moving forward, I am not going to write this whole name again. And RS means Retro-Styled.

At the moment, I am missing out the following things:

1. No paperwork or owner’s manual from the original owner. When I sold my Triumph in India, I gave the owner all the paperwork I had on the motorcycle since day 1.
2. Missing the second key.

So, on the internet I found out regarding this edition:

Kawasaki celebrates the 50th anniversary of the iconic Z motorcycle with the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Z900RS. The iconic "Fireball" colorway honoring the legendary 1972 Z1 was chosen with its elegant curves resplendent in the lustrous, rich red pattern.

And it has the following things making it the “anniversary edition”:
• Heritage 2-tone colors of Candy Diamond Brown & Orange
• Gold colored wheels
• Gloss black frame finish
• Commemorative Z 50th emblem and logos
• Chrome headlight and meter trim rings
• Special textured seat leather with contrast color stitching
• Chrome passenger grab rail.
• Z 50th Anniversary coffee table book included (I don’t have this with me)

Let’s, get the specs out of the way and then we can start discussing the various aspects of this motorcycle. So, the Z900RS is:
• 948cc, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC 16-valve in-line four



• 216 Kg curb weight.
• 17 Liters of fuel tank.
• Seat height of 800 mm/31.5 inches.
• 41 mm inverted fork with compression and rebound damping and spring preload adjustability / 120 mm (4.7 in)
• Horizontal Back-link, gas-charged shock with rebound damping and spring preload adjustability / 140 mm (5.5 in)
• Front tire: 120/70Z R17
• Rear tire: 180/55Z R17
• Front Brakes: Dual semi-floating 300 mm discs with radial-mount, monobloc, opposed 4-piston calipers



• Rear Brakes: 250 mm disc with single-piston caliper





• Torque of 98 Nm at 6500 rpm.
• 111 Bhp at 8500 rpm.

If you’re more interested in the specifications, just do a quick search on the internet and you’ll have tons of webpages.

Looks:

I believe this is the most talked about thing about this motorcycle. And I really don’t think that anyone would say that this isn’t good looking bike. It is pretty from every direction. It looks big and round. Those fat tyres front and back look fabulous and so does the 4 pipes margining into single unit. The tank looks huge, and the color is pleasing to look at. I would like to talk about the paint scheme though; depending on the light it changes its appearance. For example, in the pictures it looks like black and red, when there is full sunlight on it then it appears brown/maroon. Now, let’s just look at all the pics I took instead of me explaining the looks to you.















Instrument Panel:

The instrument cluster looks old school which I genuinely love. No touchscreen, no gizmos. Its pretty straightforward. On the left is the speedometer and on the right is the tachometer. The small LCD is in the center. When I turn on the ignition the dials move all the way to the end and everything on the screen is on. Then it settles down to Zero. The screen displays the following details:
1. The fuel on the left side of the screen.
2. The temperature of the bike on the right.
3. The space between these two bars shows the gear we are in and the level of Traction Control we have selected.
4. Underneath the gear number is the digital clock.
5. There are three buttons on the left side controls which control the other information on the screen. There is an up and down arrow, and we have access to the odometer, Trip meter A and B, Current Average, overall average as of date and the Range with current level of fuel present.
6. An “Eco” symbol appears when the RPMs are at 3000 or lower than that and I feel it is very hard to keep the “Eco” mode on because of the constant fun you’re having while riding.

The indicators need to be turned off manually after use and they have their sperate space underneath the dials on the panel.

There is no dedicated button to change/reset things and I had to use the internet to figure out some of the things:
1. You press “Sel” button and then with the arrows you can control KTRC (Kawasaki Traction Control). There is off, Level 1 and Level 2. At present TC is at level 2.
2. If you keep on pressing “Up arrow” for few seconds, then you can change the time on the clock.
3. If you want to reset the trip meter A or B, using the arrows get the desired meter on the screen and then keep pressing the “Down arrow” for few seconds, and the meter will reset.

Fuel Economy:
I have not calculated the fuel economy until now myself. On the gauge cluster I see it as 18.4 Km/L.

Other observations:
1. The ABS light remains on even after the bike is ON, and it goes away as soon as I start moving. I paid attention to it when I was fueling up. Wife and I decided to head back to the dealership but once I started moving it went away. This happened every time while I was riding on that day, and I think it is a natural thing. I might be wrong too, will find out more in the future.
2. The fuel bar is digital and is not the most accurate. It keeps on going up or down depending on how I am riding and so I am not sure how much Kms I will get from a full tank. I will update you on this in the future.
3. I haven’t ridden in much in city traffic, so I am not sure how the heat management is but until now I think it is better compared the Triumph I had.
4. The radiator has a huge grill on it, I am not sure if that was from factory or an aftermarket thing.
5. There are no accessories on it, and it is absolutely stock apart from the radiator grill.
6. The speedometer doesn’t display MPH which sucks because I plan to take this motorcycle even to the USA.
7. LED headlamp looks fantastic but real-world usage is unknown as I drove it in daylight and days are long here in summer even though I was riding till 8 PM.
8. There is a helmet lock on the left side of the motorcycle.
9. Underneath the rear frame, there is a rubber covering which keeps the seat lock hidden from dirt and muck. You have to unlock the lock and then you can access the seat.
10. Underneath the seat there is a power outlet which I feel could be used for charging or running cameras but we'll see in the future.

Instrument cluster:





Indicators and with Hazard Lamps ON:



Different Information on the screen:

Note: The pics where nothing is showing up is because they are real time data and are displayed when bike is in motion.



Seat Removed and the small toolkit provided with the seat:





Helmet lock is on left side of the motorcycle which I feel is a great feature, but not really bulletproof way to secure your helmet:



The small horn, please excuse my beautiful face visible on the chrome!:



Levers are adjustable on both the sides:





Switches on LHS and RHS respectively:





The rubber cover underneath the seat to hide the seat lock:



This plastic parts on the front is overdone in my humble opinion:

[Sangwan]

Advice on purchasing motorcycle in Canada:

My two cents to you is don’t do it! You can justify the purchase as much as you want but at the end of the day it is not a need but rather a want. CAD 13000 or almost INR 8 Lakhs is not a life altering amount for me or for the most of us on this forum and so I went ahead with the purchase. But here’s why it is a bad idea going for a motorcycle:

1. You need to buy gear and they are expensive.
2. You will be paying more in terms of insurance because if your moto is “rain or shine we ride” then you would be fine but if the weather is not great then you need the comfort of your car and so that and the motorcycle both need insurance at the same time.
3. You are more likely to be pulled by a cop. I drive fast in general, and I never had to worry about cops but being on a motorcycle is different, you’re scrutinized more.
4. Traffic sense is much better compared to India but still your injuries could be fatal compared to a car wreck. People are always on their phones and sometimes they just miss you on the motorcycle while taking a turn or doing something else and things could go south quickly. Also, traffic moves much quickly compared to India.
5. I felt service expense related to motorcycles would be more. But we will know more about this in the future.

Overall, there is no way to justify the purchase no matter how you put it. The Vancouver Islands and the lower mainland have the best weather in Canada because in the rest of the country the winters are more brutal and longer, and so, you have very limited window of riding. When the motorcycle isn’t in use in the winter then you’ll need to think about winter storage too.

I was bored driving the automatics and I wanted something which is fun and the Z900RS was always going to be out of budget for me in India but here I got the opportunity, and I grabbed it. But I can’t say that this purchase was necessary or is for the greater good.

[Sangwan]

The future ahead:

I am not sure how many more motorcycles I will buy in the future or how my garage will look like, but one thing is certain for now. I am never selling this one. I love it so much and it makes me so happy whenever I am down in the underground parking lot. On August 5, it was a holiday and my son and I went 4 times to the parking lot just to see this motorcycle. I have planned a small solo ride to get this thing near to 1000 KMs mark and then will get the oil change done on the same day.

Yes, there are few accessories which I want and will probably buy them as life moves forward. I am not riding it to work because the parking is paid, and I am in no mood to give the payments, insurance and paid parking all together. I also don’t plan to put all the accessories on it and get ceramic coating or PPF done, after this year it won't be a garage queen. Yes, it is special, but I will keep it clean myself, polish it and put only those accessories which are really needed and don’t mess up the look of the motorcycle.

We are already in August, and in November winter would be here, so riding window is very limited. I plan to ride it on the weekends for now, like wake up early and go on a ride of 150-200 KMs. I will pen down every single trip.

Ending Note:

This review is not the best review of this motorcycle, nor it is as detailed as the other reviews of cars/motorcycle available on this forum, but it’s just been few days since I got the motorcycle, so I am totally new to it and still learning.

I am not into social medias at all. I use facebook to download memes on my phone, I like to soak in the view and make memories rather than making videos or posting on the internet but this motorcycle makes me want to record each and everything related to it and post them everywhere so that everyone can enjoy looking at it.

I also plan to keep the thread updated and I am hopeful that I will post here often. I am so grateful that you went through the read. Feel free to ask any questions related to this beautiful piece of machinery.





Cheers,
Sangwan

[Sangwan]

Aug 10th, 2024:

I had already insured the bike for today as today I had set few targets:

1. Hit the 1000 KMs mark.
2. Get the oil changed, which marks the first service.
3. Do the short ride.

The ride:

I had already planned my route for today's trip. Here is the route:



This route consisted of everything except for city traffic because I planned an early morning ride, so that I am home when my son is up and is not waiting for me for a while (sigh. Dad life).

The first half were country roads, they were straight, not crowded, had many twisted section in between and was full of natural beauty. The second half was all highway and straight to home.

I woke up at 4:30 AM and by 5 AM I was on the road. All the zips were open for air to pass through my jacket and eventually I was on the country roads, the temperature displayed on the motorcycle was 15 degree Celsius and I felt cold at that time. Even the motorcycle temperature dropped from normal to lower bar. So, it was indeed a little bit cold. I kept on stopping on my way to click pics and I clicked many. During my first half the legal speed limit was fluctuating between 60-80 KMPH and so it was a great stretch for me to use the motorcycle in different gears and rev range.

I made it to Harrison Lake, relaxed there for around 10 mins and then moved to Hope, BC. From Hope it was 119 KMs to home. I went over speed limit too many times, and that was only because I had to overtake big Semis. Otherwise the legal limit was 100 KMPH and I was cruising easily at 100-110 KMPH.

I will stop providing observations once I know everything about this motorcycle and how it behaves:

1. Windblast at around 120 KMPH doesn't bother me anymore.
2. When I was finishing up my run, my bottom started hurting so maybe seats are not meant for these distances but I could be wrong as I have just started riding again and my resistance might increase in the future.
3. There is no fuel light when fuel is low. The whole fuel bar starts blinking and also way too early. It is not at all dependable and the warning comes up way too early. I relied on the range data. The range shows the distance to empty and when the fuel bar started to blink, I saw that depending on current riding conditions I could still ride 84 KMS but after about 20 KMS I gave up and refueled. I put in 13.9 Liters of fuel, so there was still 3 liters of fuel left.
4. I made the blunder of putting in 87 octane fuel when I bought the bike. Today, the highest grade available at the pump where I refueled was 91 Octane.
5. DRL are good and low beam was adequate for me but someday when I will go on day long rides, then I will really know how good or bad they are.
6. These stock tires are grippy enough, don't know how they will perform in the rains.
7. Rear view mirrors are big and provide great field of view. For my frame, they are perfect.
8. I need to purchase a puncture kit and small portable pump for emergencies.
9. Just like Triumph, the handle locks only on left side, it doesn't lock if it is turned on right side.

The Oil Change:

I had booked the oil change for a near by shop in Langley area. It is such an easy task and next time I will do it on my own. As I mentioned earlier, this bike never had an oil change and it is from 2022, so after 2-2.5 years, the oil is being changed. I felt so happy that this is done and cost to bank balance was also not much, $214.

The next service is due at 6000 KMs and then it is multiples of 6 for service intervals.

And the 1000 KMs mark:

I had planned everything for today and the route, the oil change was planned in such a way that I would be close to 1000 KMs. When, the service happened, and I started moving back to my home, the Odometer showed 980 KMs and so I took an extra long route to home and hit the 1000 mark!

I am happy that I will be the one achieving all the major milestones. Next target is 10,000 KMs but that will happen by the end of next year.

Cleanliness:

I believe you might not be very happy with some of the pics as dirt is clearly visible. Well, I haven't had the time yet. Tomorrow or day after tomorrow, I will thoroughly clean this motorcycle and polish it and will share all the pics with you guys.

I have also gotten the brush and chain cleaner/lubing cans, so I will take care of those too in next couple of days. Lets enjoy all the pics I took today.

Back roads between Maple Ridge and Harrison Lake:


















Harrison Lake:













Last few pics at Hope before heading home:





Final Odometer read of the ride:



Oil change happening:



And after service, ready to roll:



Yay, 1000 KMs:



Cheers,
Sangwan

[Sangwan]

Continued Post

I wasn't able to upload all the pics maybe due the pics size. So, here are the remaining ones.

Pics taken at around 5 AM before I started:












Cheers,
Sangwan

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[Miyata]

Fantastic review. Thanks for sharing. Wonderful bike. On those longer rides, do you not miss a footboard - something like this in the image (from google) below -



I've recently re-initiated by biking-abouts and got a Highness 350 as warmup. On a 400-km roundtrip I did, I felt the one thing that needs to be replaced for the rider comfort is the footpegs - replace them with a sturdy footboard. This will ease the journey.

I asked around, but none of the accessories shop I spoke with had this for the rider. Although they do have it for a pillion - I've got that installed.

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by Miyata

Fantastic review. Thanks for sharing. Wonderful bike. On those longer rides, do you not miss a footboard

Thank you for the compliment. The ride I shared with you guys is the longest I have done on this one. Although, I get your point. When I feel tired I either stop and stretch a bit or I stand on the pegs itself while riding.

Cheers,
Sangwan

[ex-innova-guy]

Excellent review, Sangwan, and thanks for sharing your joy with us. All your emotions were quite evident in the writing. It is interesting to learn how there are daily plans for bike insurance.

Wishing you many more smiles per miles on this beauty.

Also, time to change the avatar? ;-)

[Aakash]

What a review man! I was planning for a motorcycle too but high insurance for my age, plus living in London put me in the high premium band.

Even though I was just considering a used Street Triple.

But it is what it is. It won’t make sense when I have to sell it when I’m moving back to India in the next few months.

Cheers and Happy Riding,
Aakash.

[maybach76]

Hey Sangwan,

Congrats and cheers on the bike - to many more rides going forward. At first when i read the headline to your thread, I was super excited that someone else has bought the Z900RS in India too. I stood corrected within ten seconds of reading your review. But join the gang ! I own a 2019 Z900RS in Mumbai. Yes i paid the hefty price but a certain dealer + company offering back then made it a sweet spot for me.

I have been doing rides on and off with office colleagues and friends for quite some time. longest ride has been to Ahmedabad from hometown.

Evertime I get on the bike, the engine sound of that in-line four is music to the ears

guess words cant express what a big fat smile i get whenever i see it that should suffice the extra money you have spent on the riding gear and all the other miscellaneous expenses you may have borne till now.


So Happy Ridin !

Sharing a pic of my Kawa !

I wasn't able to upload all the pics maybe due the pics size. So, here are the remaining ones.

Pics taken at around 5 AM before I started:

Attachment 2640221

Attachment 2640222

Attachment 2640223

Attachment 2640224

Attachment 2640225


Cheers,
Sangwan[/quote]