Since 2012, the Kawasaki Z800 has been a crowd-pleaser in Europe, turning heads like nobody’s business. America was left out of it, but now, the bike is finally headed stateside, or at least to every state in the US except California.

No announcement was made on why the Z800 isn’t going to the Golden State but the most obvious reason behind it probably lies in the strict regulations set by the California Air Resources Board. Whatever the case may be, all 49 states in the US not counting California will finally receive the Z800 ABS.

It’s a glorious day for Kawasaki->ke299 and fans of the company’s streetfighter line. The Z1000->ke1862 has been around for quite some time now, but with the Z800 ABS’ arrival, American riders can enjoy a mid-level version of the bike that packs an equal amount of aggressive, albeit stripped-down, styling with powerful performance numbers to boot.

Kawasaki has a lot of high hopes on the Z800 ABS, especially now that it’s headed to a market that enjoys its streetfighter bikes. The Z800 ABS should fit in nicely, too, thanks in

large part to the road paved by its big brother, the Z1000.

The new-to-North America street fighter is expected to retail for $8,399, $3,600 cheaper than the Z1000. That should be enticing enough for American riders who may prefer something a little tamer to go with a more affordable price tag.

It’s still unclear how California can get in on the fun, but I have enough faith in Kawasaki to believe that the company will do what it can to bring the bike to the country’s biggest motorcycle market. It would be a shame if all those riders in Cali end up missing out on the bike.

Continue reading to read more about the Kawasaki Z800 ABS’ arrival in the US.

Why it matters

It’s a shame that California won’t be getting the Kawasaki Z800 anytime soon and from the looks of things, it likely won’t get it until the Japanese company adheres to the certification process required by the California Air Resources Board that requires the bike to receive a slew of modifications. That’s a stark contrast to the requirements set forth by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which didn’t require too many modifications to homologate to the agency’s standards. But that’s neither nor there because none of us can really do anything about it.

What we can do is appreciate the fact that the Z800 ABS is finally heading to (most of) the US. If it’s a case between 49 states or none at all, I’m pretty sure everybody will have a unanimous answer on that.

Kawasaki has yet to indicate when exactly the Z800 ABS will arrive, but it did already announce the price tag attached to the street fighter, giving us a clear idea on how much we’re going to have to save up to buy the bike when it becomes available.

I really hope that Kawasaki does what it can to bring it to California, but until then, I’m more than happy knowing that every other state in the country will get a chance to finally ride it after having to wait three years for the opportunity to do so.

It’s been a long time coming, but finally, the Z800 will be coming to the US. Hooray on that end.