Kawasaki Z650 Review and Rating

The Kawasaki Z650 is the naked version of the Ninja 650: same 649cc parallel twin, same steel trellis frame, same wheels and brakes, no fairing and a wide handlebar instead of a screen. It is built for riders who commute, ride back roads on weekends, and would rather have leverage at the bars and a clear view of the front wheel than wind protection. For 2026 the United States range is a single model, the Z650 S ABS at $7,699 plus $685 destination, which makes ABS standard for the first time on this bike.

Two riders should skip it. The first does long highway miles, because a naked bike at 75 mph is a wind tunnel and the faired Ninja 650 costs $500 more for exactly that reason. The second wants modern hardware for the money: MCN's launch review of the Z650 S was direct about telescopic forks and axially mounted two-piston calipers looking dated next to the inverted forks and radial calipers on rivals, and there is no ride-by-wire throttle, so no rider modes and no cruise control.

What the 2026 Z650 S Changed

The S is not a performance trim, and Kawasaki has been reasonably honest about that. The changes are bodywork, ergonomics and equipment. MCN measured the handlebar as 40mm further forward, 10mm higher and 30mm wider than the outgoing Z650, with the footpegs moved slightly rearward so more of the rider's weight sits over the front wheel. The seat gained 15mm of height through extra padding, which is why Kawasaki's listing moves from 31.1 inches to 31.7 inches.

The rest is tidying. The TFT dash now flips between light and dark backgrounds automatically and offers two layouts. ABS is Continental sourced and traction control has two modes that can be switched off, against the three modes Kawasaki lists on the older bike. The styling picks up the tri-lamp face and shoulder cowls from the four-cylinder Z900. A quickshifter and a USB-C socket remain accessories rather than standard fitment.

• 2026 Z650 S ABS: $7,699 base, $685 destination, ABS standard.

• 2025 Z650, still on Kawasaki's site: $7,249 without ABS, $7,749 with it.

• Curb weight 416.7 to 419.0 lb for the S against 412.3 to 414.5 lb for the 2025 bike.

• Kawasaki lists the S at 47.2 lb-ft against 48.5 lb-ft for the 2025 Z650.

The Naked Trade, and Who Fits

Strip the fairing and the bike gets 2.6 inches wider across the bars and 2.6 inches lower at the top, from the Ninja's 45.1 inch overall height to 42.5 inches on the Z650 S. That width is the point. A wide bar on a 55.5 inch wheelbase with 24 degrees of rake gives leverage the faired bike cannot match, and it is the reason riders who own both usually reach for the naked one in town.

Fit has been the recurring complaint, and the S exists to fix it. RevZilla's launch tester, at six feet three and 205 pounds, called the original Z650 cramped and said the bar was pulled back too far with too much rise. MCN's tester, at five feet six, found the standard riding position cramped too and preferred the optional taller seat. The revised bar position and the extra padding on the S address both, at the cost of a taller seat that shorter riders will feel. Anyone under about five feet six should sit on both the 2025 and 2026 bikes before deciding.

The Engine Is Twenty Years Old, and That Is the Point

This 649cc twin traces back to the ER-6n of 2005 and has changed very little since, which is the single best argument for buying the bike. Kawasaki claims 67.0 hp at 8,000 rpm, with a footnote on its own page admitting the figure was taken to ISO standard 4106 and may read higher than an SAE number. Cycle World settled it with a dyno: about 58 hp at 7,900 rpm and roughly 42 lb-ft at 6,600 rpm at the wheel, with close to 40 lb-ft available from 3,500 rpm through 7,500 rpm.

That is a genuinely flat curve, and it is why the bike feels quick in traffic and ordinary on a fast road. Cycle World also measured it as about 10 hp behind a Suzuki SV650 and a Yamaha FZ-07, the bike now sold as the MT-07, so the Kawasaki is the slowest of the three despite the largest headline claim. In exchange you get an engine with no reputation for anything: MCN's owner panel scores it 4.7 out of 5 for reliability and build quality even while marking the bike down elsewhere.

What Testers Keep Criticising

Two things, and they have not changed in nine years. The first is the tyres. MCN criticised the Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 fitment on the 2020 bike for vague feel in the wet, repeated the criticism in the Z650 S launch review, and one owner review on the same page dismisses the stock rubber outright. This is a cheap fix and the most worthwhile hundred dollars you will spend on the bike.

The second is the front end under load. RevZilla found the brakes lacked initial bite, felt wooden and needed a strong pull. MCN reported the fork diving noticeably under aggressive braking and the ABS intruding on bumpy roads. RevZilla also found the KYB suspension undersprung for a 205 pound rider. None of that matters at commuting pace. All of it shows up on a fast back road, and it is why MCN's owners give the bike 3.7 out of 5 overall while giving it 4.7 for reliability.

Buying Used, and the Recall Question

The generation that matters starts in 2017. That year Kawasaki gave the Z650 a new trellis frame, swingarm, clutch, brakes, wheels, seat, tank, dash and handlebar, dropped the throttle bodies from 38mm to 36mm, and brought the bike down to a claimed 410 pounds with ABS. The 2020 revision added the 4.3 inch TFT dash and Euro5 compliance, which MCN notes cost 1.3 lb-ft of peak torque while leaving peak power at 67 bhp.

On recalls, the answer is unusually clean. A sweep of every NHTSA safety recall campaign filed between 2016 and 2026 returns 31 Kawasaki motorcycle campaigns, covering the Ninja 400, Ninja 500, ZX-6R, ZX-10R, KLR650 and others, and not one of them covers the ER650 Z650. NHTSA's vehicle detail page for the 2017 Z 650 also shows zero recalls. Be aware that NHTSA's recalls-by-vehicle lookup reports a count of zero even for bikes with known open campaigns, so the count on its own is not evidence of anything.

Z650 Against the MT-07, the SV650 and the Ninja

The Yamaha MT-07 is the one to beat. Yamaha lists 689cc, a 31.7 inch seat, 403 pounds wet and an inverted 41mm KYB fork at $8,599 plus $675 destination. That is about $890 more than the Z650 S once destination is counted, for a lighter bike with a better fork and, on Cycle World's dyno, more power. The Kawasaki answers with price, a TFT dash and standard traction control.

The Suzuki SV650 ABS costs $8,149 plus $600 destination plus a $250 surcharge, and brings a 645cc 90 degree V-twin, four-piston Tokico calipers and the lowest seat here at 30.9 inches, but also the highest curb weight at 437 pounds. Inside Kawasaki's own showroom, the Z650RS is the same engine in retro clothing at $8,999 with a smaller 3.2 gallon tank, and the Ninja 650 is the same bike with a fairing at $8,199 with ABS.

Common Questions

Is the Kawasaki Z650 a good first big bike?

It is one of the most forgiving 650s sold, and the 2026 S is the easier of the two current versions to live with. Power arrives flat with no step, the clutch is light, ABS is now standard and traction control is fitted, and MCN's owner panel rates reliability 4.7 out of 5. The counterweight is a 31.7 inch seat on the S and a listed curb weight around 417 pounds, so it is not a small motorcycle.

What is the difference between the Z650 and the Z650 S?

The S is a 2026 ergonomics and styling revision, not a faster bike. Kawasaki lists the same 67 hp, and MCN measured the bar as 40mm forward, 10mm higher and 30mm wider with the pegs moved back and 15mm of extra seat padding. ABS becomes standard, the traction control drops from three modes to two, and the price moves from $7,249 for a 2025 non-ABS bike to $7,699.

Should I buy a Z650 or a Ninja 650?

Buy the Z650 unless you regularly ride at highway speed or in cold weather. The two share engine, frame, brakes, wheels and suspension, so the real difference is a fairing, about eight pounds, and $500. The Ninja gets a screen and a narrower profile; the Z650 gets a wider bar, standard ABS and a lower price.

Should You Buy One

Buy a Z650 S if you want the cheapest well-made middleweight naked with a colour dash, traction control and standard ABS, you ride mostly at back road and city speed, and you plan to put decent tyres on it in the first season. Buy a used 2020 to 2025 Z650 instead if you want the same engine and frame for meaningfully less, and do not mind a slightly lower seat and older dash software.

Skip it if you spend real time on the interstate, in which case buy the Ninja 650 and accept the extra $500. Skip it also if outright performance is what you are paying for, because the Yamaha MT-07 is lighter, stronger on the dyno and better suspended for around $890 more, and the Suzuki SV650 undercuts both on seat height. Gear for a naked bike is a real consideration too: without a fairing you take the full airstream, so look for a CE rated armoured jacket with shoulder, elbow and back protection rather than treating any unarmoured leather as safety equipment.

Rating: 4 out of 5. This is the most sensible thing Kawasaki sells under $8,000, with a proven engine and no recall history in the United States. It loses a point for suspension, brakes and tyres that every tester flags, and it will not be the fastest bike on any group ride.