Are you ready for the onslaught? It is the time of the year when we start learning about bikes that we may or may not get in Canada. The Tokyo motorcycle show unveiled a couple of interesting models late last week. Proving that there is always the option of going back to the well, Kawasaki is this year reminiscing about the early 1970s. Arguably Kawasaki is the most successful of the Japanese brands for tapping into the retro – sometimes with bikes from their own past and sometimes from other manufacturer’s back catalogue – Kawasaki Drifter 800 and 1500, the W800 Bonneville tribute, the ZRX1200 Eddie Lawson, the Vaquero … Is is good to keep looking back? In Kawasaki’s case it has been, in some incidences both for themselves and the manufacturer whose bike they were paying tribute. In this case it is the 1970’s era Kawasaki Z1 that gets the 
nod so should you be in the market for an orange and brown retro bike with a classic rolled seat, here you go – the Z900RS (there will be other colours available but it was jarring combinations like orange and brown that made the ’70s go around so we are going to stick with it). Underneath the old style is a completely modern bike based very closely on the Z900 so while 
the look may be 40 some years old, the internals are blessedly not and for that we can forgive the faux finning on the engine. There are going to be a few hurdles to overcome prior to getting this bike in Canada, one of which may be whether the US decides they want the bike. We think it is pretty obvious that the answer will be yes because you know, everyone else is doin’ it and as they say, there is no escaping the past.
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