Kawasaki Z900 SE (2025) – Review

2025 Kawasaki Z900

Technical review: Ben Purvis (30/10/2024)
Riding review: Luke Brackenbury (02/04/2025)

Evolution rather than revolution could well be the signature of Kawasaki’s Z900 – which enters its third distinct generation in 2025 but still remains instantly recognisable as sharing its DNA with the original model that replaced the Z800 in 2017.

It’s worth recalling that the original version’s debut was actually quite impressive, as not only did the new 948cc engine bring a substantial power hike over its 803cc predecessor, but Kawasaki’s shift from a backbone frame to a steel trellis design was largely responsible for a 20kg weight loss. Revisions for 2020 and a new set of emissions rules returned a couple of those kilos and tweaked the ‘sugomi’ styling concept but you’d need to be an aficionado to spot the changes, and for 2025 repeats that trick with all-new bodywork that that remains very clearly a Z900.

We pitched the SE model against rivals from Honda and Triumph as well as using the bike over a fortnight to give us some additional insight to what would ordinarily be available on a 100-mile, one-day press launch.

Pros & Cons

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE

Kawasaki Z900SE vs Honda CB1000 Hornet SP vs Triumph Street Triple 765RS

Three bike group test pitches three sporty roadsters against their nearest rivals, with insight from Michael Mann, Martin Fitz-Gibbons and Luke Brackenbury

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Price & PCP Deals

Kawasaki kept its UK pricing strategy for the 2025 Z900s very quiet after the initial announcement of the bike, partially because of potential market changes between the unveiling and its availability in the UK dealerships (March 2025), yet given the large number of carryover components it’s no surprise to learn that at £11,349, the new bike is just £50 more than the 2024 model. The standard bike starts from £9,199.

On a PCP deal with a deposit of £2,300 and an annual mileage allowance of 4,000, then it’s 36 x monthly payments of £138.74 with an optional final payment of £6,530 (at the time of writing – April 2025).

The 2025 Kawasaki Z900’s colour options will be all-black, grey and black with a green frame and graphics, or grey and black with a red frame and rims. The Z900 SE, meanwhile, will be in grey and black with a green frame and green wheels… not forgetting the gold forks. It’s a real multicoloured machine.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Engine & Performance

While the essence of Kawasaki’s 948cc four-cylinder is unchanged – it’s visually the same as the previous model’s and shares most of the same internals – there are updates lurking within to bring it into line with the latest emissions rules and to boost its midrange punch.

Kawasaki is careful to talk about the improved economy and stronger midrange, which tells us that the peak performance isn’t increased. In fact, peak power is down a fraction, dropping from 123.6hp (92.2kW) to 122hp (91kW) at 9500rpm. Maximum torque is also imperceptibly down from 72.7lbft (98.6Nm) to 71.8lbft (97.4Nm) at 7700rpm.

Importantly, the engine gets new ride-by-wire electronic throttle valves that not only improve economy but open the door to more sophisticated rider assist systems.

The internal revisions include new cam profiles, and Kawasaki says that the result is a boost of up to 16% in terms of fuel economy, as well as increased torque at low rpm – all pointing towards the new cams having less valve lift, increasing intake gas velocity. With the reduced fuel consumption comes improved CO2 emissions.

As on previous models, there’s a choice of riding modes and Kawasaki’s three-mode KTRC traction control, but finally it’s enhanced with an IMU to give the bike’s computer a clear idea of the lean, pitch and yaw as well as simply wheel speed and throttle position. That allows the fitment of ‘KCMF’ – Kawasaki Cornering Management Function – which gives lean-sensitive operation of the traction control, which at this price point should now be expected.

And what are all these changes like in the real world? Kawasaki have worked within the regulation restrictions without the fun feeling diluted; it’s all very smooth and not buzzy at all. The midrange does feel stronger and that’s the real joy of this bike - the induction noise (honestly, I wouldn’t fit a louder exhaust and just listen to that airbox noise) and the thrust from 5000rpm to just under 8000 is its best character attribute. After that, the party stops early where, in comparison, the Honda CB1000 Hornet SP comes alive and then pulls a crazy all-nighter with its additional 30 horses in the back pocket. And it doesn’t ever want the chill tunes to come on.

Making another comparison to the Honda, the Kawasaki’s electronic rider aids are a lot more sophisticated thanks to its IMU. It’s clear Kawasaki have done their homework with the electronics as they’re very smooth and not intrusive, even allowing the front wheel a little air time when coerced before it’s given a telling off and put back in its place on the floor.

In both the Z900 and Z900 SE the engine drives through an assist-and-slipper clutch to six-speed box with a standard-fit quickshifter. And I have to say this is one of the smoothest systems I’ve used on the road; full throttle charging or cruising through town, it’s effortless joy up and down. Although towards the end of our spell with the SE, the clutch on our test bike was juddering a little at the adjustable ratio lever on pull away, though.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

While the Z900 and even the Z800 that came before it have always had decent suspension and kit like upside-down forks, the 2024 bike has been starting to look a bit last-century when it comes to brakes, with its not-fashionable-anymore petal discs and those axial-mount calipers when even much less powerful, cheaper bikes have switched to radial-mount four-pots.

Those issues are solved with the 2025 bike, which gets Nissin radial calipers on conventional, round 300mm discs. That largely mirrors the kit that was previously exclusive to the Z900 SE, although it used – and retains for 2025 – Brembo four-pots rather than Nissins.

The SE continues, with the same visual and engine updates as the standard Z900, and as on previous years it bolsters them with Brembo front brakes and an Ohlins S46 rear shock. This braking setup gives incredible hitting-a-wall-like stopping power (without the pain) attached to amazing feel at the lever.

As for that gift of gorgeous gold holding up the rear of the SE, for 75kg me (plus riding kit) it’s very firm out of the showroom and felt like it needed more sag and increased rebound damping to control it. I didn’t play with the adjusters so can’t be too critical, but in stock trim it didn’t make some of our test route and my own person proving ground a bit of a rodeo in places when tramping on… I recommend using all the adjustability to suit you if you buy and just to be aware on a test ride.

The forks provided no such ride quality issues in stock settings, soaking up bumps and hard braking without fluster or wagging those wide bars, even over crests when hard on the throttle.

New Dunlop Sportmax Q5A tyres complete the chassis tweaks and they never gave any dramas on cold spring morning rides and warmer runs with very enthusiastic helpings of gas in ‘Sport’ mode. The drop-in to corners is also very sharp but never unstable - tight turns and roundabouts are all the fun.

Weight rises a fraction for 2025, with the Z900 coming in at 213kg, up from 212kg, and the SE at 214kg instead of 213kg for the 2024 model. And it doesn’t feel anywhere near that (in a good way) when manoeuvring or pushing it around the garage (or putting it in and out of a house by myself, as I also did…).

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Comfort & Economy

With new bodywork comes the opportunity to improve the rider’s lot and Kawasaki has added a new seat with thicker urethane padding than before and a revised shape.

That thicker padding means the seat height is raised a fraction, going from the previous 820mm to 830mm, but there’s an optional low seat that drops that figure to 810mm for riders of shorter stature.

The new shape of the seat does feel more comfortable than before and, because it’s flatter, it’s easier to shift your weight around on the bike. The extra comfort is welcomed on the SE when it's kicking off bumps (see above ‘Handling & Suspension).

Kawasaki has also changed the handlebar for a ‘fat’ aluminium one that’s claimed to improve rigidity. We can’t vouch for that, but they’re tasty looking, have arguably the most handsome standard bar end weights, and their profile adds to the aggressive, corner-carving riding position.

In terms of windblast, unlike some other sporty nakeds out there, the Z900’s clocks do nothing to deflect any wind at speed, even for a relative shorty (5’8”) me. So long rides at the wrong side of the national speed limit will require more stops for those without the neck of a rugby player. But if you wanted the practicality and comfort of a fairing, you probably wouldn’t be here reading a review on a naked sports bike…

With a claimed 16% improvement in fuel efficiency thanks to the engine changes, the 2025 Z900’s figures improve from the previous model’s 49.6mpg to a much more impressive 58.9mpg. On our rather energetic 50-mile test loop of dual carriageways, fast A roads and windy Bs, we returned a hugely different figure to that claimed, of 39mpg, using E5 fuel just so you know.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Equipment

The uprated electronics of the 2025 bike don’t just include new cornering rider aids thanks to the addition of an IMU, but also mean it now has cruise control (an actual joy, easy to operate, and something I used a lot) as standard and the 5-inch TFT now has the ability to display turn-by-turn navigation. That’s achieved using smartphone connections and the Kawasaki Rideology app, which also includes a voice-control function. We didn’t use that on the test, but the display layout is really easy to read on the road. While the layout of most switchcubes and function menu navigating is intuitive on a lot of bikes, it took me a little while to learn the Z900’s when choosing ride modes and resetting trips.

Although the styling is clearly related to the previous generation, all the panels are actually new and there’s a higher-spec look thanks to metal sections let into the reshaped radiator cowls. And of all the new bikes I’ve brought home in the past few years, the SE has had the most amount of praise heaped on its looks. Of course looks are subjective, but the SE is a busy bunch of lines and if you like a bit of bling, its colours sparkle in the sun all green and gold - it gets attention.

The new twin headlights are smaller than the old design but thanks to more modern tech provide better performance at night. As for daytime recognition, the SE doesn’t show up well in the mirrors compared to the design of the Street Triple 765 RS or Hornet SP, with its awesome amber running lights (all bikes need these) we had on test at the same time (see this video). As a consequence to this discovery, I rode around with full beam on in the day and received no abuse from other road users. I’ll let you decide if this makes the lights and day visibility of the bike good or bad.

The SE version also benefits from a USB-C charging port near the instrument display, which is super handy. Speaking of convenience, the metal fuel tank also allows the easy use of a small magnetic Oxford tank bag I like to store my phone and visor wipes in. Literally, it’s the little things.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Rivals

From 765cc to 1000cc, the playground for the Kawasaki Z900 has, in my fellow tester, Martin Fitz-Gibbons’, words ‘smooshed together’, from what was once a middleweight class and a litre class into an area where those with sportsbike derived engines can jostle with the purpose-built roadster/nakeds. Our three choices here can easily extend to half-a-dozen by including Suzuki’s GSX-S1000, KTM’s 990 Duke, BMW’s S1000R and Ducati’s Monster or even Streetfighter models.

Triumph Street Triple 765 R | Price: £10,095

Read more

Power/Torque

118.4bhp / 59lb-ft

Weight

189kg

Yamaha MT-09 | Price: £10,106

Read more

Power/Torque

117.3bhp / 68.6lb-ft

Weight

193kg

Honda CB1000 Hornet SP| Price: £9999

Read more

Power/Torque

155bhp / 78.9lb-ft

Weight

212kg

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Verdict

We've only ridden the SE version so far and pitched it up against the Triumph Street Triple RS and Honda CB1000 Hornet SP. But if you were to line this up against other similar engine size and power machines with a similar price tag, you’re going to be looking at a very extensive list of wide-barred tackle. But what an epic few weeks of test rides that would be and whatever you came away with would still be all the awesome.

The Kawasaki Z900 SE is a really really good bike - not a great one. The motor is a refined and smooth four-pot of joy with a helluva mid-range shove. But it’s not exciting at the top end when compared to the much cheaper Honda CB1000 Hornet or as fun at low speed as the Street Triple 765 RS, that - at a very similar price to the Kawasaki - has a lot more character and more track ability, if that’s your thing.

If I owned an SE, I'd be doing the best I could with the adjusters to get that rear shock working better as opposed to my spine doing all the compression. Again, that might be my size and weight. On smoother roads, together we had an absolute riot on slow and fast turns - short shifting with that super-slick shifter to stay in the middle of that mid-range punch. And that’s the thing - don’t hold onto the revs.

It’s a danger to just focus on performance at speed with a sporty naked boasting an engine like this, but I have to say that battling through busy cities and towns is so easy on the SE. If your commute or need to get across towns regularly without needing to take more than a rucksack, the Z900 can be a daily source of joy; I ran all sorts of jeans and jacket errands during our loan I would have usually held off on!

And while going slowly, riding around on the SE gets the attention of those in its vicinity, and that’s part of the pull of motorcycling that rarely anyone admits to. Opening the garage door to see the SE looking back at you will evoke a feeling the cheaper and understated Hornet won’t.

If you’d like to chat about this article or anything else biking related, join us and thousands of other riders at the Bennetts BikeSocial Facebook page.

Do you own this bike? Tell us what it’s like, or ask us questions about it at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE - Technical Specification

What is MCIA Secured?

MCIA Secured gives bike buyers the chance to see just how much work a manufacturer has put into making their new investment as resistant to theft as possible.

As we all know, the more security you use, the less chance there is of your bike being stolen. In fact, based on research by Bennetts, using a disc lock makes your machine three times less likely to be stolen, while heavy duty kit can make it less likely to be stolen than a car. For reviews of the best security products, click here.

MCIA Secured gives motorcycles a rating out of five stars (three stars for bikes of 125cc or less), based on the following being fitted to a new bike as standard:

• A steering lock that meets the UNECE 62 standard

• An ignition immobiliser system

• A vehicle marking system

• An alarm system

• A vehicle tracking system with subscription

The higher the star rating, the better the security, so always ask your dealer what rating your bike has and compare it to other machines on your shortlist.