It was in 1972 that the first Kawasaki Super Four Z1 hit the streets, and to celebrate Kawasaki are releasing four special 50th anniversary Z models; a Z650, Z650RS, Z900 and Z900RS.
“What’s so special about them?” I hear you ask. Well really, as you might have guessed, it’s the lovely red paint jobs. ‘Firecracker Red’, to be precise. With some ‘Candy Diamond Brown’ on the ‘RS’ models.
Yes, the Z650 and Z900 are both sporting the same red colour scheme, with red wheels. It’s the red which some may remember adorning the Z1100GP in the 80s, as well as the GPZ900R. In fact it was Kawasaki’s signature colour at the time, rather than the green we associate with them today. It’s for that reason, according to Kawasaki, that the vivid red paint has been specially blended for these 50th anniversary Kawasaki Z models.
As well as the paint, you get fancy seat leather, some nice pinstripes and a commemorative ‘Z 50th’ logo on the front mudguard. Lovely.
In the slightly more retro Z650RS and Z900RS camp, it’s a fairly similar story. Except the special paint job is a bit browner. And you get gold wheels, rather than red ones. Interestingly (or not), they’ve developed a new painting process which brings out a deep glossy texture to ‘enhance the inherent beauty of these machines’… On second thoughts, that’s not particularly interesting, is it?
You get a few ‘Double Overhead Cam’ logos and the odd ‘Z 50th’ logo, but aside from that, like the Z650 and the Z900, both RS models are actually very similar to their standard counterparts. Oh, but you do get a special book commemorating 50 years of the Z brand. And that’s absolutely free; once you’ve paid for the bike, of course.
And they start from £7,349, that’s for the Z650. The Z900 is £9,799. The Z650RS is £8,049. And the Z900RS is £11,449. They should be available by March, if you’re interested.
