First was the whispers growing louder following the announcement of the Z900RS SE, then came a mysterious ‘Retrovolution’ trailer that… didn’t really reveal anything. Now there is some leaked documentation that confirms some of the spec of the upcoming Kawasaki Z650RS - and with it, the existence of the latest Kawasaki Z650RS.
The eagle-eyed amongst you may be keeping up with the Japanese manufacturer's YouTube page also, where a new trailer was released on the 7th of September asking you to pen a September 27th date. Also on screen for a split second is an older Z650 conveniently placed in frame behind the protagonists of the 7 second skit.
So, yes, a Z650RS is definitely coming, and it’s likely to be launched fully in 2022 - but what’s the spec looking like?
According to leaked type approval documents retrieved by Cycle World, the middleweight retro bike will sharestyle similarities with its older & bigger brother, and unsurprisingly sharing a power unit with the current Z650 (67 bhp (50.2 kW) @ 8000 rpm & 47 lb-ft of torque (63.7 Nm) making it A2 compliant.
An upcoming Z650RS will give an alternative option for A2 retro riders who have the Z900RS pinned up on their wall at home - do kids still do that these days? Anyway, it’s no surprise that the Z650 will act as the base for this RS version, with specs pointing in much the same direction.
Shared across the 650s is the steel tubular frame and identical 17-inch tyres front and rear, but differences are the RS having a 5mm shorter wheelbase - perhaps a new fork arrangement the culprit - half an inch longer (a tail unit?), plus taller and wider (handlebars set for a touch more upright riding), and the RS is a touch lighter than the Z by 2 pounds.
Diving further, it appears the Z650RS doesn’t receive its own exhaust system as the Z900RS does, instead sharing the Z650 unit part number - but we could be surprised here.
We’ll have to wait until the 27th September launch date, where no doubt a live presentation will be the first glimpse at the retro model that is set to pull on our heartstrings. Who’s looking forward to it?
We’ll bring you more as it comes.
