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Kawasaki Z 900, MV Agusta Brutale 800, Suzuki GSX-S 750

Sporty naked bikes under 1000 cm³

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The Kawasaki Z 900 is one of the shooting stars of the 2017 motorcycle season. In the PS test, it meets Suzuki GSX-S 750 and Brutale 800 MV Agusta.

Driving impressions

The first impression of the Kawasaki Z 900 surprised: No Kawasaki has behaved like this for a long time. The raw, wild charm the brand is so famous for has given way to a well-mannered balance. At least on the first impression. Before we think about how to find it, let’s go first.

Kawasaki Z 900, MV Agusta Brutale 800, Suzuki GSX-S 750

Sporty naked bikes under 1000 cm³

Kawasaki Z 900 prefers to show its taillight

The Kawasaki Z 900’s today’s opponents are almost in close contact: the MV Agusta Brutale 800 with a 798 cm³ three-cylinder engine and the four-cylinder Suzuki GSX-S 750. Of course, the larger displacement can be an advantage for the Kawasaki Z 900, but it is Fair comparison on another level: Suzuki and Kawasaki both cost around 9,000 euros. And because of the stormy character of the MV, some nominally superior opponents have already been smashed. However, it costs a good one and a half times as much as Suzuki and Kawasaki.

The MV Agusta Brutale 800 rages wildly on country roads and accelerates resolutely out of the curves thanks to a short gear ratio; the three-cylinder hisses and looks angry. The Suzuki screams pure joy in the landscape from 8,000 rpm; so you are more likely to go down a gear to move forward quickly. But the Kawasaki Z 900 can only smile mildly about both: It shamelessly exploits its capacity advantage, generates almost 100 Nm of torque and shows its competitors the rear light in almost every situation. Vibrations, a constant issue at Kawasaki? Near zero.

Transmission and handling

The transmission of the Kawasaki Z 900 works so smoothly that you can hardly miss a quickshifter, and the clutch requires hardly any manual effort thanks to servo assistance – but the Suzuki GSX-S 750 does it a bit better. Despite the anti-hopping mechanism, a slightly jumping rear wheel can be observed on the Kawasaki, even if the driver does not downshift while braking. The Z 900 may simply be missing a little fine-tuning here.

With a full tank of 212 kilograms, the Kawasaki Z 900 is fully within the scope of its displacement class and is even two kilograms lighter than the Suzuki GSX-S 750. But somehow the pounds of the Kawasaki weigh more, it looks more massive when bent and needs you slightly stronger steering impulse. But it is then incredibly neutrally inclined. The standard tires of the Z 900 leave a little room for criticism: Dunlop D 214 Z, which offer very little feedback at the limit. The MV Agusta Brutale 800 is the handling queen of the trio: stable, accurate and wieselfink, it takes the tightest turns, even on the brakes. Your Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3 always give precise feedback. The GSX-S 750, which is padded with Bridgestone S 21 G, is also superior to the Kawasaki Z 900 in terms of cornering behavior;.

Chassis and brakes

The chassis of the Kawasaki Z 900 is balanced, depending on your taste maybe a touch too much in the direction of comfort. It allows the rebound damping to be adjusted at the front and rear, but this is hardly necessary. The factory setting is also suitable for tough country roads without any problems. The MV Agusta Brutale 800 may even deliver too much of the famous healthy hardness on this point. Its compression damping at the rear is theoretically adjustable, but the screw responsible for it can hardly be reached in practice. This problem does not arise on the Suzuki due to the lack of adjustment options.

What goes fast has to brake again at some point. Even if the Z 900 has conventionally mounted brake calipers instead of radially hinged, it brakes very well; the anti-lock braking system regulates sportily late and allows a clearly lifted rear. ABS is not a stoppie control, you should never lose sight of that, especially not with the Kawasaki Z 900 – and neither with the Brutale; she shows the same symptoms. The ABS of the Suzuki GSX-S 750 regulates much more conservatively, but still allows stoppies on sloping roads. The bottom line, however, is that all three candidates delay at a high level and with first-class controllability.

And how do we find it now that the Kawasaki Z 900 suddenly has more manners than three generations of green naked bikes before it combined? We think it’s great! The beefy character of the Kawa leaves no doubt as to its brand affiliation, and to be honest: All too often we have – not only from Kawasaki – small annoyances as "character" let sell. The Z 900 saves on other points: it does not have traction control, and neither does it have any selectable driving modes. And it changes a bit stormy from pushing to load operation. But in view of its other qualities, the bottom line is that the four-cylinder of the Z 900 is an inspiring companion, also and especially for sporty activities.

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