Motorcycle specifications KawasakiZ 900 SE 2023 A touch of rigor

When you start having a lot of fun with a roadster, you start thinking about moving on to a hairier machine. Kawasaki's middle ground is the Z 900. Above that, it gets a little too ferocious.
Once you've got your hands on it, you'll enjoy its 125s, its willingness to have fun and be versatile, its good humor and its very healthy behavior.

But we've found that it can wiggle from the rear when pushed hard, like a sago. So, if we want to improve it, do we change the suspension or add some gri-gris that looks nice on the café terrace?

Or how about this Z 900 SE? Kawasaki has found a recipe for improvement. It's the installation of an Öhlins S46 shock absorber in the machine. The same approach has very recently led to the creation of the Z 900 RS SE; before it, Kawa had done a similar graft to offer the Z 1000 R.
The 900 intends to improve its road-holding qualities with this single-tube unit featuring a large 46 mm piston. Other features include an aluminum body, separate oil and gas chambers, and a separate preload adjuster.

Oh , the fork has changed too. This golden color goes well with the Öhlins rear set. Is it Swedish too? Not here; it's just a gimmick, but it works and it's classy. The tubes look much better with their solar coating, but appearance isn't the only change. Specific adjustments have been made to match the amorto work. The front end is adjustable for compression, rebound and preload.

Let's be incisive and brake later. The 900 SE has been upgraded to more generous equipment, with Brembo supplying the discs (still 300 mm), pads and M4.32 calipers. Efficiency remains constant, with braided hoses connecting everything to the Nissin master cylinder. Power and feel will be much more in evidence. But.... This special edition would have gladly accepted sportier elements. Kawasaki could have given a little more, with M50 in the jaws - like Triumph for its Street Triple RS. Note that the calipers are radial-mounted, a rarity in the Z mid-size dynasty. More muscular tires would also have been a good match.

The SE has its own color scheme. It's very similar to the Candy Lime Green / Mettallic Spark Black of the standard Z 900, with more black on top and a green layer on the hoof. There are very few differences between the 2023 and the 2022. But it's really the suspension colors that give this series its cachet.

No change on the engine and electronics side. There are 948 cm3 to allow gas flows to be transformed into watts. Then a bit of electronics in the gut, with several driving modes, traction control, ABS, a TFT screen with Rideology connectivity app (parameter control, data logging, smartphone control, etc.).

M.B. - Manufacturer's photos