The same way I “always knew” that “cerveza” meant “beer”, I always assumed that every motorcyclist remembered seeing their first Kawasaki Z model in the wild. I never questioned it.
Mine was a Pearl Blazing Orange 2006 Z1000 on Dame Street, in Dublin, Ireland. Its stance, sound, four-into-four exhaust system, and je ne sais quoi scared the Jesus out of me in a way that made me want to ride it instantly.
It’d take nearly 20 years for me to throw a leg over a Z, and although the stance, sound, and exhaust are all different on the 2025 Z900 SE, the je ne sais quoi was still there, and engineers have worked to keep it that way. In fact, the je ne sais quoi has a name: Sugomi.
According to Kawasaki, Sugomi embodies the intense aura or energy of a predator poised to strike, and the design of the Z900 aims to evoke a sense of power, intimidation, and respect similar to how a predator’s presence would feel. The Z900, especially in the SE trim, made me feel exactly that, just as it did nearly two decades ago—I just didn’t know what to call that feeling.
The bike has a road presence that’ll either make young children fall in love with motorcycles forever or become terrified of them—think ‘80s Lamborghini Countach energy. Don’t ride it if you don’t want the attention that comes with it.
But, when it comes to riding the thing, you’d be hard pushed to find a bike in this category that’s easier to just get on with, while still being anything but boring looking.
Vicious Style
Most manufacturers will tell you about their ethos when it comes to styling a bike; sometimes it holds water, and other times, well, it smells like BS. When I heard Kawasaki’s team explain how important keeping the ethos of Sugomi alive in the Z series is, and then looking back through every iteration of a Z, it’s clear this holds water.
The Z900 SE has an all-around aggressive stance—you feel it when you see it, when you’re on it, and as you turn your back to walk away from it. Styling like this doesn’t just happen; it’s the cumulative sum of countless details, and I’d say it all starts from the front on the Z900. The headlamp cowl is mounted extremely low to look like an extension of the curvature of the fuel tank—this is the main stylistic feature that makes this model look like it’s waiting to pounce.
Further accentuating the aggressive front is a new LED headlight design, whereby the top two lights are the low beams and the singular lower light is the high beam. These lights are surrounded by black plastic, which almost looks like eyeliner. But if you see anything else except for the Predator from Alien vs Predator, you need to look harder.
The bike’s presence, its aura, will draw you in, but that’s when you discover the smaller details that make this iteration stand out from the competition. The highlight is the brushed aluminum shrouds engraved with a “Z” logo and, since they’re hand-brushed, no two are the same. For a bike that has an $11,849 MSRP, having something that’s genuinely unique on each unit is slick.
Designers have done equally as good a job setting up the rear-end for an aggressive appearance as they did the front. The new tail cowl is shorter, making the whole bike look more compact and nimble, and after riding behind the new LED taillight, which has a wraparound 3D look, I got the feeling I was riding in a sci-fi movie, ala Tron. The Z900 SE’s rear has a textured seat that not only looks the business but is noticeably grippy, especially as you’re hustling it around on track.
I can’t really talk about what gives the Z900 SE its stylistic character without mentioning the frame. Sure, a trellis frame isn’t revolutionary—actually, it’s past its sell-by. But if you’re using one, use it like Kawasaki does on the Z900 SE, as a statement. The Candy Lime Green frame and wheels are what make this model so loud.
The only thing I wish was louder is the bike’s exhaust note, because it sings so sweetly. Again, I’m reminded of the Countach because one way it set itself apart from the competition was its V12 engine, and the Z900 echoes that. There was a time when an inline-four was basically all you could get, but now, this category is ruled by stonking twins and three-cylinder powerplants.
Kawasaki’s not done with it, though.
Return of The Inline-Four
Triples and 285-degree crank twins were welcomed with open arms years ago when people were getting sick of peaky, unusable—in a practical sense—inline-four cylinder engines. But peaky and unusable are the exact opposite of how I’d describe the 948 cc inline‑four powering the Z900 SE.
There’s so much smooth, low-mid-range torque available that you’d almost forget you’re riding an inline-four that spits out 123 hp at 9,500 rpm because it’s not at all peaky. The powerplant has usable grunt from the offset, but it builds until you hit 7,700 rpm, and the engine peaks at 73.1 lb-ft of torque.
On the road, peak torque was where I was shifting—the buttery, endless midrange was grin-inducing and encouraged constant short shifting. Speaking of short shifting, the latest quickshifter on this model enables you to select the next gear at just 1,500 rpm. This might seem like a low point to shift, but when you consider the torque on offer from the get-go and how smooth the delivery is, the new quickshifter made burbling around Miami effortless.
If you’re a track fiend, you might grow tired of short shifting the SE, but if you’re hitting canyons and trying to spice up your commute, you’ll be hard-pressed to fault the thundering inline-four. Given the size and specs, you might expect this unit to be a handful—it’s anything but. If you’re jumping up from the realm of 70 hp bikes, the powerplant in the Z900 will welcome you with open arms.
Within the first 30 minutes of riding, I knew the Z900 inline-four didn’t want to pull a jump scare on me. And with the inclusion of a cruise control system, which was simple to operate as any modern one should be, paired with a relatively relaxed riding position, I was questioning if the SE model was more show than go.
Take it To The Track
Florida’s straight, seemingly never-ending roads let me enjoy the SE’s smooth, plentiful power and plush(ish) suspension for a bike intended to tackle twisties. But now it was time to push on track.
Although I’d spent the previous half of the day riding in straight lines, it didn’t take more than a few laps to get comfortable. It feels like you sit into this bike, becoming a part of it effortlessly, and there’s plenty to grip thanks to the tank flares, so after learning the track layout, I felt confident to start pushing quickly.
For the most part, the SE is stable and inspires plenty of confidence. It’s only when you start to push that its sit-up-and-beg riding position, thanks to the fact that its handlebar height has been increased by 30mm, leaves you wanting for a bit more feel over the front end.
In general, the bike was a bit soft for the track. It’s not a mark against the SE; this is simply how it was set up out of the factory, as it’s a tad slow to tip in initially, but finds its home in mid-to-high speed corners. Even when the somewhat soft suspension undulates beneath you, it’s not giving squeaky-bum vibes; instead, you feel like the bike is settling itself and isn’t going to give you any surprises on bumpier sections of the track. And the new, more roomy ergos give you more confidence when climbing around the SE, as it doesn’t upset its stability too much.
About two and a half turns of preload via the remote preload adjuster gave me a lot of the front-end feel that I was looking for, and took away the elements of understeer I was getting ‘round a few corners. I’m sure if I’d spent another day at Homestead Miami Speedway, there’s plenty more to get out of the rear Ohlins S46 shock and gold-colored 41mm KYB forks, which feature compression and rebound damping and stepless adjustable preload.
Another area that could do with a bit more performance for track use is the brakes. The SE uses 300mm Brembo front discs and M4.32 radially-mounted monobloc calipers, which are paired with a Nissin master cylinder and steel braided lines—not bad on paper.
The main issue I had on track was the initial brake bite, but once I’d dug into the Nissin master cylinder, the stopping power was decent and predictable, and there was more than enough feel through the front end to keep me pushing my braking markers without worrying about being the first rider to blow a corner and stick the SE into the runoff.
If you’re a serious track-goer and relatively serious about progressing, you’ll outgrow the SE quickly enough, but it’s absolutely spot-on for someone who wants to see if track days are for them or heads to the track a couple of weekends per year. The Dunlop Q5As it comes with performed well on track, especially given that they’re a more budget-friendly track day tire.
A Countach in Looks and Performance
Like the Countach, if out-and-out track performance is your goal, this isn’t the bike for you. But also like the Countach, it’s not slow, sounds great, will probably make you look like you’re going faster than you are, and has the performance to keep anyone happy in the canyons.
Compared to the rest, this is the model that’ll adorn bedroom walls of teenagers. Nowadays, we’re taught that these kinds of looks are equally matched by a show-stopping price, but that’s the Z900 SE’s second party piece. This bike is cheaper than rivals like the MT-09 SP and Triumph Street Triple RS and will save you $650 to $1,146, respectively.
It’s great that you can save some cash with the SE, but I don’t think that’s a reason to buy it. If you fall for this bike’s looks and engine character, none of the other bikes will fill that hole, and saving 10% is just an added benefit. So if you want the loud one, and out-and-out performance/tech packages aren’t at the absolute top of your priority sheet, it’s your lucky day because the Z900 SE is here.
And you’ll save enough cash to pop on an SC Project exhaust like you know you want to.
