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2017 Kawasaki Z650 Replacing ER6-N, Upgraded Z900 Debuting at EICMA

Kawasaki pulled wraps off two new exiting bikes at INTERMOT (the revised H2 and the new Ninja 650) but it also recently revealed two extra models that will be officially presented at EICMA next month - the new Z900 and Z650 that will replace the ER6-N.
2017 Kawasaki Z900 and Z650 3 photos
Photo: Kawasaki
2017 Kawasaki Z6502017 Kawasaki Z900
Starting with the bigger machine, the 2017 Kawasaki Z900 gets quite a big change, receiving an all-new steel trellis frame to hold the 948 cc engine that develops 125 hp, which is also based on the 1,043 cc inline-four planted in the Z1000.

A new 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) swingarm found its way at the back along with ABS brakes. The overall 210.5 kg (464 lb) weight of the bike and a seat height of 794 mm should make the Z900 pretty nimble and manageable.

The rider sits in a slightly forward position and grabs on some wide bars. Kawasaki was cool enough to also offer an assisted slipper clutch to make it easier to manage the lever in heavy traffic and also reduce back-torque on down-shifts.

The front also gets inverted forks with stepless rebound damping and pre-load adjustability, the latter also being available for the rear shock.

Aesthetically, the new Z900 looks even meaner, with chunky curves and pointy surfaces fighting over territory at the front end. It is available in black, black & green, blue & gray or metallic black & spark black.

The smaller 2017 Kawasaki Z650 will replace the previous ER6-N. Fans of this machine shouldn’t worry too much as it’s mostly a renaming strategy, with the middleweight naked still retaining its previous characteristics.

The biggest change comes from the new trellis steel frame that embraces the 650 cc parallel-twin engine. Speaking of the power unit, it should be the same on the new Ninja 650, so it’s down 3 hp as a result of retuning for Euro 4 regulations.

It also features the same assisted slipper clutch, a nice underbody exhaust, banana-shaped swingarm, Tokico brakes, restyled headlamp, dashboard and side panels. No belly pan is offered apparently, but it is available in white and black, ‘raw titanium’ and black or metallic black and ’spark’ black.
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