Had a blue '72 H2 at 16 years old (1977) graduated high school rode it cross country to LA discovered Mullholland Drive. A short time later got my hands on a used '74 Z1; low bars, better shocks, Kerker exhaust I was in business! Lord knows why or how I'm still here. Two of the best production bikes I've ever ridden/owned never left me on the side of the rode, would take either one over most of today's models.
My Dad raised me as a single father. I was born in '79. He had me on the Z1, right in front of him, when I was just 3 years old. I had my own little helmet with my name on it, my own little leather jacket, and a little backpack with a patch on it that said, "My Daddy Rides a Kawasaki." It was a great time and I had an awesome childhood. I'm so happy to see that people still love this bike today. So many memories. My Dad was a rebel. When I had nightmares of my mom's death and couldn't sleep, he'd take me out on the bike, we'd roar through town past the cop shop, watch them run out, then go up a drive way, kill the motor and lights, and watch them race by. He told me that one time he allowed himself to be pulled over - he told me he just didn't feel like outrunning them that day. The way he tells the story, a PA constable walked up and said, "Don't you know I can take you to jail?" That was it. My Dad knocked him out and took his badge. I still have the badge. For good or bad, I turned out just like him. I'm still proud that my Daddy rode a Kawasaki.
I graduated High School in 1975, remember the classic motorcycles from the mid 60's when HONDA flooded AMERICA with cheap reliable cool bikes to the 70's Muscle Bikes and beyond. Grew up in a cool time. In 69' HONDA gave the World the CB750, it wore the Crown until the 73 Z1 came to Dealerships and took the Crown! I rode HARLEYS all of my adult life and then I bought a new 2022 Z900RS which is a Retro modern issue of the Z1... Beautiful machine with all the modern technology. Tomorrow I'm taking delivery of a new 23' ZH2 SE. I gotta sit up straight so a Hyper-Naked bike w/197hp will join my 2011 RoadGlide & the 2022 Z900RS in the garage!... I'm thankful that my Dad bought me that 1st Kawasaki 100 dirt bike in 1969......that started the ADDICTION...😅
Bikes may be faster and more hi tech than back then, but nothing was more cool than these men and machines that broke new ground. Z1's and Ivon will forever be remembered.
i still remember my father getting the very first one delivered to central Illinois in 1973 ,He rode it back and forth to Borg-Warner Factory 30 mile round trip every day and none of his buddy's on there other brand 750's could touch him.The 70's were a Wonderful time to live in.
Yes it was. I too had a 73 Z1 and rode it back & forth to work and everywhere else. Fast, comfortable, and very dependable. Good on gas too if not throttling too hard. I did put a 5.20x18" tall rubber on the rear. Made it more stable.
jerome8469 I was younger & on lesser machinery, but even my first bike, a well used Yamaha YAS1 125 twin stroker was just such a hoot. I recall thrashing up & down the seafront road on Hayling Island through those late 70s summers. Bliss it was to be alive.
I'm such a lucky old fart, amongst 14 Iron Horses in my collection are 2 Rickman Kawasaki Z1000's, one is a factory built, 1978 Rickman frame and running gear with a 1977 Z1000A2 motor, the other is a 1977 Rickman frame kit with a 1977 z1000A2 motor. I find myself grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat when I take them out to play...they can still cut it against more modern motorcycles, just goes to show how a combination of excellent engineering (Rickman & Kawasaki), an experienced rider (me) and some positivevibes can make your day!!!!!!
Richard, I had a Rickman with a Stage II Yoshimura motor that got me into a bit of trouble a few times. Foolishly, I ended up selling the bike to Craig Vetter, the U.S. Importer for Rickman. Craig raced the bike for a while after replacing the Yosh motor with a full-race Russ Collins unit. He eventually donated the bike to the AMA museum where I believe it remains. Of all the bikes that have passed through my hands, that Rickman was the one I most regret selling.
I was at the Daytona 200 when Yvonne and Art Bowman were team mates and going into the infield they both fell trying to avoid a fallen rider. No one was seriously injured but one wasn’t able to pick up his bike and restart. I believe they were riding H2R’s. There is nothing that sounds better than a 3 cylinder two stroke with straight,un silenced expansion chambers. The bark they make when they are back shifting is awesome! I miss those years.
Hard to believe Kawasaki smoked the 24 hour record just 4 years later on a KZ650 Averaging 120 Mph. I have had many of Kawasaki's Coyote Mini Kv75 KH400 H2 3 Cyl Gpz550 two times Wife's 2nd bike was a Gpz550. Gpz750 Turbo Can't sleep some night knowing I sold that bike. ZX11 ZZR1200 ZX14. Then we got cruisers. Vulcan Meanstreaks 900 and the big daddy V2K125 CI monster. Wife had 2 knee replacements and the bikes just sit now. Nothing even to this day sounds better then a Kawasaki inline wicked up on a Kerker header. Great video brings back some good memory's. Thanks,,,,,
in 1976 I bought one secondhand gave the motor a workover (so to speak) got 114 hp at the back wheel. never had it on the track but scared the crap out of some riders on the road. I still have the bike. I am 71 years old now, still ride it but a bit more gently now
Bought a second hand Z900 when I was posted to Germany with the British Army. A bike that was clearly faster than I was, I count myself luck to still be here...but I loved every minute of it and wouldn't have changed that for the world.
Had my Z for 32 years.....modern bikes have come and gone....but I still enjoy the Z so much ....I wish I was there watching that Record setting ....must have been great to have be part of.
z190075 Yes. Much of the work for those records, but it was never mentioned, was done by Yoshimura Racing of SimiValley California. This is clearly shown by the T shirts worn. I was part of Yoshimura Racing.
Well these records were set long before Yoshy everything were made. It had Stage 1 cams, Stock pistons, Headwork and valve springs and exhaust. Thing just got better after this but these were largely stock or lightly modified bikes.
Thanks, Steve, for the clarification and details. Some seem to have skipped over the description in the film of the work done to the speed record bike in particular.
In the beginning seventies, motocycles seemed to get out of style in germany. Always more people earned enough money to buy themselves cars and left their sturdy motocycles stand. At that time, the presentation of the Honda CB 750 four an the Kawasaki Z 900 were like a thunderstorm that struck into the 2-wheeled-scene. Such big and mighty 4-cylindered 4-stroke machines surpassed everything that had been there before: unearthly acceleration, very high end-speed, a scary sound of thunder . . . Two incidents imprinted my adoration of large-volumed 4cylindered bikes and it is still a memory like yesterday : In 1970, as i was a ten years old pupil, starting at highscool, my first contact to a CB 750 Four was in fact of a little accident of the owner across the school. While he had been taken into the hospital, his bike was replaced nearby the street. I had the chance to walk around this impressive bike. The wonderful speedometer showed me a max. speed of 220 km/h ( 137,5 mph ) and i couldn't imagine, how fast this would be. That big motor, these 4 shiny crome exhausts and the crackling sound of the cooling machine gave me the rest. The sound of those 4-cylinder-bikes with lower rpm's than 9.000 is still the most beautiful ever for me. In 1972 the 2nd incident came over me, as a light-damaged Kawasaki 900 stood at my neighbor's woodsheet. The driver was the son of a rich hotel-owners-family visiting my neighbors ( they were making room-service their at that time ). When leaving, he speeded up a little bit too much an in spite of this he fell into the street, kissing the stony underground. This time i had been also very impressed about this terrifying machine with 240 km/h on the speedometer ( 150 mph ) and the blood on the handlebar and on the indentet tank . . . In 1980 i bought me a used K5 CB 750 Four and fast driving with her wasn't always harmless. Meanwhile i drive a BMW K 1300 S und driving is no comparison to former times. The developments for secure driving did make huge progress in every sense. For me, the CB750 Four and the Z 900 are still one of the most beautiful bikes that exist, but the new Kawasaki Z 900 RS isn't only very beautiful, but also much more secure and super driveable. Let's talk about her after the next 30 years . . . 🖐
I got the second Z 1 to come in this part of the country.(the dealer kept the first) I cleaned up the intakes, geared it a little lower, re jetted it, and put a 4 into one header on it. I beat all comers, mostly cars, street racing 1/4 mile. People hauled cars in from all over the country, and no one ever came close to beating it. One night I had at least a dozen cops after me. That old Z 1 made a fair moto cross bike that night, but they never caught me either.
Great old video. I'm glad they mentioned the sound these bikes make. My KZ1000 sounds very much like the first bike when I run with an open pipe. A nice, throaty two-valve roar. Another thing I noticed was when they bring the bike in at 16:45 to fuel it up, the guy resetting the odometer cracks me up because that is one of the annoying things about these bikes. You need to fuel up every 100 miles -ish but that odometer goes up to 1000 miles. You have to dial it all the way up past 999 to zero to reset it. That sound it makes like you are winding an old clock is one of the quirks of owning these things. 542 pounds, you can really feel it when you are trying to load it onto a truck!
Now that little recollection of yours has brought back memories of my own z1a & z650b1, gathering dust for many years after serious leg injuries but I'm now off to the rear of my workshop just to twiddle the trip meter knobs - a little inspiration from your comment will see them pulled further towards the front door & out of hibernation. Thanks 👍.
The legend of the mighty Z1 continues to live on. Had my first a 1975 Kawasaki Z1 in 1983 and it has left an everlasting impression on me. And had multiple KZ 1000s after that, those were beautiful bikes but the Z1 style was best.
I agree! I own a ‘76 KZ900 LTD and I’ve removed all the ‘ cruiser ‘ parts that made it so ugly! Plus I’ve added some Superbike styling and frame mods too!
This was what Bryon Farnsworth wrote.."Preparing the Record-Run Z1's..."First we decided on what records were available in the AMA and FIM record books and decided on two standard-engine machines, and one with cylinder head, carburetion and exhaust system modifications by Yoshimura Racing Engines of Simi Valley, California. Yoshimura reground the standard camshafts for more lift, flow tested the intake and exhaust ports for more efficient breathing, installed racing valve springs, Kehin carburetors and four-in-one collector exhaust system. This semi-modified cylinder head on a completely standard bore and stroke Z-1 lower end, pumped out 105 hp at 10,500 rpm.This Yoshimura engine arrived at KMC R&D in Santa Ana two days before the U-Haul van had to leave for Daytona, R&D technician, Jeff Shetler, put it into a standard Z-1 chassis with a Mike Harper-built fairing and H2R seat installed, Goodyear 325x19 racing front tire and 350x18 rear, and clip-on low bars. We put 13.4 inch Koni shocks on the rear with S&W 135 in/lb springs. Wheels, forks and frame were left as is. Actually it was just a stock Z-1 with some head work and a fairing. What is really amazing, is that this bike lapped Daytona at 161 mph average with a top speed of around 175 mph. The two 24 hour test bikes were also prepared by Jeff Shetler. He started by tearing each engine completely down for a careful re-assembly. The heads went to Jerry Branch Flowmetrics for a port and polish job. This just perked up the efficiency of the double overhead camshaft top end. Jeff put it all back together in standard chassis with Koni shocks, added low contour handlebars and removed the turn signals. We even left the center stand in place so we could service them easier during pit stops.These two machines ran for 24 hours without a hitch, except for a tire change and to replace a few master link clips that came off."
No, ....master link clips..?? No wonder the ones we eventually sold at the dealership I worked at had chains with no master links. The swing arm would have to be removed to replace the chain. We sold a fair number of Z-1s and the owners were universally very happy with these fine machines. I was a service manager and mechanic and had many opportunities to road test and enjoy them. I consider the '70s to be the most impressive era in motorcycle development that has not been surpassed in over all integrity as products for a large cross section of the enthusiast public.
zedsforfun Thanks heaps for that information. I was lucky enough to own and ride one 30 years ago but a 77 z1000 Australian delivered. The only regret I have in life is parting with my beloved Kawasaki.
Good ole Canadian Boy, who sired the Alternate Mr. Daytona, the one with the short leg...but until then , ... Yvon held the lap record for almost 20 years!
Alastair Cunningham I met Yvonne at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 90’s when he was traveling with his son Miguel. I told him I was a fan going way back to 1970. He spent some of his valuable time talking with me that I appreciate even today. A very nice gentleman. I was a big fan of his son too.
I had a 74 Z-1 for many years, I never knew they were riding them that fast regardless, 160+++ is sick on one of those-- I had mine at 140 once with megacycle 417 cams, 1015 cc wiseco kit, 29 mm smooth bore carbs, head and cylinder decked, etc.
I had a 83 GPz750 in the late 80's while in the USAF. I had it up to 145 once. Scared the crap out of me when my buddy passed me on his Yamaha Seca turbo.
Miss my full dressed 76 KZ900. Bought in California, when in Air Force. Put over 50k miles on it. Now ride a 37 year old 82 XJ1100 Maxim and love her just as much.
Yep. I’m old. I remember when it hit the dealership. They had a worked 750 Triple in the showroom and it was the only bike in San Antonio I remember that could even stay close to the Z1 tail light.
The first Cow-900 I seen was at Milan Drag-Way, and it was called "Bounty Hunter", back in 1978. A high school friend of mine achieved a few runs in the high 15s riding a '73 Yamaha 350.
I ride a 1980 Z 750 E1, the power of that old engine still surprises me every time I open the throttle! Unbelievable bike, I love it! It's just so hard to find replacement parts for the engine!
The suzuki gs 750 only made ten hp less. I imagine the 1000 would keep up. If we are really talking though an h1 or h2 with race pipes would probably spank it.
"The two 24 hour bikes are undergoing preparations... pads are added,".... Preparations like duct taping a couple folded towels(pads) on the gas tank, lol XD 9:40
I currently have three little Kawasaki bikes: Ninja 250r, Ninja 300r and KLX250 dual sport (with road tyres). If I sold my Yamaha FJR1300 I'd consider the retro Kawasaki Z900 cafe, especially the green one with the white strip. This was a great video and so happy it's been uploaded onto UA-cam
Did they ride for 24 hours with all those keys jangling about in front of their faces? I rode Daytona in '92 and you couldn't hear any bird song, how the place has changed!
I had one 1978 Z1R silver blue with a Kerker k&n air filters bigger jets, with advanced electronic 😢ingnition …unfortunately was stolen in march/17/1979 with a key with the same code from another Z1R (both bikes where bought from same dealership in Woodbridge, New Jersey…kind crazy…) from a guy in my area…still today my favorite motorcycle👍🏼
makes me even more amazed at the Velocette 24 hr record in 1961, 100.05 mph. on a 500 cc single. now thats really something. Going to Montlhery banked track near Paris where they did it next week for the 100 yr anniversary of the circuit - it will be quite something to stand at that track and imagine the riders thundering past in the night to get that record.
Strapping the cushion on the tank reminded me of the old board track racers. Never seen this video before, it's got old man DuHamel, the old Yosh team guys and causally smoking in pit lane.
"Kawasaki Engineers designed the Z1 to give the 'Touring' Rider with Passenger and saddle bags full of gear, the Power to pass quickly on the open highway" ... .. . oh hell yeah they sure did.. many many cars passed on the Open Highway... and I'm still here to tell You about that. Let the Good Times Roll. KAWASAKI
ZED 1000 1978 brilliant first class seventies bike so great I had to buy z650 and H1E 500 to compare others they are so great too ! Epic bikes world class
Makes me so glad that I kept my 1976 KZ900. I’ve owned other Kawasaki’s but I kept the best one. I had a ZRX1200R in 2002, and a 2008 Concours 1400, with the Ninja 1400 engine in it. I had to quit riding at age 65, for health problems (three kinds of really bad arthritis), but my oldest son has the green KZ900 now. It was always my favorite bike. I miss riding so much. I rode (fast) for 50 years, and I never crashed or got hurt, and somehow I never got a ticket.
Solid disks State of the art for the day. Makes me really appreciate my 1999 bmw r1100s with Brembos I’ve never ridden a bike made in the 21 century I literally just realized that!
You’d be shocked to ride Bimmer’s top sports bike, the S1000RR. I had the first year’s release, it was 192hp. They’re over 200hp now. Mine was timed at 6.4 seconds...0-200 kmh! I once did 306kmh gps timed. Crazy fast.
The only thing bad about this video is the dismal music played. What the hell were they thinking? Had a Z1. Outstanding bike and would love to have another. With a Kirker 4 into 1 (open) pipe it sounded fabulous and mean.
They probably weren't thinking that over 20 years from then everything would be what it is for one thing and if you've never seen "On Any Sunday" which, if you're a motorcycle type person, that film is a must see & if you haven't seen it..well the music sucks and the rest is history, fast history! And you can say thanks one day if you choose but enjoy!
Fantastic looking 'resto-mod' style bike! Somebody ought to build a replica of this very same bike. With the white fairing and clubman bars etc. leaving everything else bone stock. Of course, I'd personally rather have some polished ALLOY rims on those hubs, but the chromed-steel rims have the LOOK you'd want. Gotta get some non-shouldered Akront or San-Remo rims, something close to stock but definitely wider, maybe 2.50x18" front and 3.00x18"-3.50x18" early "SUPER-Akront" rims (((I've got this same pair on hand as a spare/alternate wheel-set for my "CB900K0 BOL BOMBER" retro-fried CB900F done up in homage to the '65 CB450K0 Black Bomber - google it sometime. ANYWAY yeah, sadly my front rim in this pair is shouldered, as are the 3.00x16" front and rear Borrani rims with Suzuki 4LS drum and maxi-scooter spec low-profile radial tires 110/70-16 & 140/70-16, on the "KZ440LOL" I'm building for my teenaged Ex-Daughter - But yeah, NONE of these pairs looks close enough to the bone-stock chromed-steel rims on SOHC Honda OR ZED-1 etc. But perhaps a non-shouldered 2.50x18" or 2.15x18" WM3 up front, with the "skinny" pair 3.50x18" rear - my primary rim sets for the Honda are 3.50x16" Super-Akront with 4.25x18" Akront plus additionally a 3.00x18" Morad with another 4.25x18" Akront - maybe I should chrome a pair of THESE rims???))) Well yeah anyway, I think the key would be rims that aren't TOO ridiculously over-wide, only a couple or three WM-sizes over stock at the maximum, non-shouldered non-drop-center etc - and CHROME them - Then you'd have that OEM aesthetic with the race-spec light-weight rim set. Pair this up with all OEM accoutrements, a bar with an ever-so-slight pull-back & lift but then invert the thing over the top yoke, use a converted "Sport-Kit" style throttle (see DOHC-4 Honda if you don't know what I mean! - It's a stock throttle/switch clamshell housing but it's got a blob of weld on the top/front of the switch and this is drilled and tapped, such that instead of throttle cables dangling down BELOW the handlebar, you get 'em pointed forward & up, away from the paint on your clean restored gas-tank! DOHC-4 Honda had a plastic version of this on certain models, CBX550F for instance, exact same part. WELL - I'M working on doing the same damn thing in ALUMINUM, see. Yeah, well whatever - All I'm getting at, is I love a good race-modded bike, which nevertheless retains it's OEM looks. The DOHC-4 Honda also had "Sport-Kit" REAR-SETS, but what I'd much prefer is the Zed-1 or SOHC-4 CB750K passenger peg hangers (got a set cut off from a SOHC hard-tail project, gonna weld 'em onto the DOHC-4 750 frame with 985cc engine etc!) And then instead of the stock front/rider peg mounting lugs, you simply weld more lugs in a better spot. Aft of the rear down-tubes from the shock & sub-frame etc. With a small triangulated welded-on mounting lug, a very compact steel or alloy plate could be bolted on, painted to match the frame - and then you've got all OEM style pegs & pedals etc, (OEM brake pedal shortened and welded up "telescope style" for best strength) But it's all re-located to the ideal ergonomics for "monkey-fornicates-football" race posture. As though Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha - any of the UJM types really, had been built from the get-go as a RACER, rather than as an upright posture "standard" - Which only looks fugly & unoriginal with the more universal-aftermarket "Go-Fast Parts" you ADD to the thing. 'Cause as they're added something else is taken AWAY - that something else is the OEM aesthetic, the NOS original authenticity, the "NEW-NESS" of those first introductory models. And yeah, what better specimen to reflect what I'm talking about, but the very one first introductory ZED-1 TRACK-BIKE????
Great bike. My pal had a Z1. . At speed it was a little hairy though. Rubber frame?. Very powerful for the time. I still preferred my H2 with Denco ported barrels and pipes etc for an urban burn up. I could beat the Z1 to over a Ton . My H2 was supposed to be 110BHP ?. The H2 had a rubber frame as well. Love strokers. Too old now. The later Z1000 was not quite as quick as the Z1 as I remember. The Z1 was a great fast touring bike and the H2 was too thirsty and wanted to be "on the pipe" all the time and you needed plenty of petrol stations on a run to Cornwall.
I owned and street raced and drag raced an H-1 and then an H-2. I have no idea where this rubber frame stuff comes from. If you really owned an H-2 what bike prepared you for what was going to happen if you got throttle happy on the exit of high-speed turns? There was nothing and control was always in how and what rev you laid on the power. If the bike scared you from time to time it was easier to blame the bike instead of admitting to yourself that may have made a mistake, and learned from the mistake. People go on about speed wobble. I've never known anyone who rides a fast bike hard, to this day, that hasn't encountered wobble on turn exit at high speed hi power. Do you watch Moto GP bikes often buck when transitioning from high-speed corners onto a full power stretch? The rider could easily keep that from happening by being smoother with the throttle, but they'll get beat by the guys that stay in the throttle, keep it pointed down the road and let it settle. I've never heard of ANYONE getting bucked off an H series bike. Of those that did encounter an oscillation coming off a turn the ones that came close to losing it was the ones that bailed out of the throttle when it happened. Riding hard on winding open roads exposes you to many things that can unsettle a bike. Just transitioning patches of asphalt seams in asphalt or going from asphalt to concrete or the other way or water from someones A/C or drops of oil can create a little front push when power is laid on which on its own makes the front light. The H bikes were high hp light weight. To get the most out of corner exit you had to learn to deal with the front end getting light and dancy. In fact, especially on the H-2 if you were a brute with the throttle on exit you could spin the back tire and then you're in danger of serious bad mojo called hi side. And notice none of these things involve "rubber frames" or flexing. In short, if you want to ride it like a racer you have to take responsibility for your errors like a racer does and not blame it on the bike. Racers that blame their errors on the bike never get very far because the mechanics can't fix rider miscues and end up chasing their tails all the time. They end up getting replaced by someone only bothers the engineers with engineering problems. BTW, I couldn't stomach the way expansion chambers sounded. I raced my H-2 (and H-1 before it) at National Trail Raceway east of Columbus oh as a street stock bike. I eventually ran consistently less than 12.1's with the fastest trip tick of 11.98. The National Record was 11.81, and it just so happened that the guy that held the record showed up at the same track most weekends and beat me. he trailered his bike in, I rode mine. 2 stroke engines make max power stone cold, unlike 4 strokes. His record runs where as soon as the track opened in the morning cool and he pushed the bike to the start line, fired it to spin the back tire up in the water, shut it down, pushed it to pre-stage, fired it again, stages and go. The back up run had to be done on the next run because the bike would get slower by small amounts after every run and as it got hot out, all day long. That leveled the playing field a bit between us and I could occasionally get lane choice and steal a final from him, but not often. He was realy good. He was called Pistol Pete because he could really cut a light and was so good in first 50 ft. Pete Graselli. High school band teacher and Reynoldsburg high school. Great guy, came by and gave pointers on tire pressures and start posture and refining clutchless shifting, and usually beat me. I got so sick of him having half a bike length on me at the top of first gear. BTW again, I've tried to search for old NHRA record from that era with no luck. NHRA has become as sickly commercial now as NASCAR. They have no links to record books even though it would be easy to do for us old gearheads who want to check our memories against the records. Records are meant to be stored and available to be scrutinized. The superbike era begins with the H bikes, not the Z-1. I admit though it pissedme off that I got sold my H-2 in April 72 and articles about the Z-1 were out by June. I would have waited. One thing is it would have make a much better cross country bike that my Mach IV did.
These bikes were 'race ' prepped , no way were they stock road going 900's ... The main point is that Kawasaki changed the rule book completely . They created what we all now regard as the 'UJM's' and all bikes that followed owe some connection to that period in motorcycle development. A game changer in so many ways ...
I'm restoring and 1975 Z1 I'm trying to figure out what they're going for to see how much I can make off of it an old mans trailer and had been sitting there in his living room for 30 years .
![[HD] 1957 Daytona Beach Race 335 Mercurys, Supercharged Fords, Fuel Injected Chevrolets](/img/n.gif)
Had a blue '72 H2 at 16 years old (1977) graduated high school rode it cross country to LA discovered Mullholland Drive. A short time later got my hands on a used '74 Z1; low bars, better shocks, Kerker exhaust I was in business! Lord knows why or how I'm still here.
Two of the best production bikes I've ever ridden/owned never left me on the side of the rode, would take either one over most of today's models.
My Dad raised me as a single father. I was born in '79. He had me on the Z1, right in front of him, when I was just 3 years old. I had my own little helmet with my name on it, my own little leather jacket, and a little backpack with a patch on it that said, "My Daddy Rides a Kawasaki." It was a great time and I had an awesome childhood. I'm so happy to see that people still love this bike today. So many memories. My Dad was a rebel. When I had nightmares of my mom's death and couldn't sleep, he'd take me out on the bike, we'd roar through town past the cop shop, watch them run out, then go up a drive way, kill the motor and lights, and watch them race by. He told me that one time he allowed himself to be pulled over - he told me he just didn't feel like outrunning them that day. The way he tells the story, a PA constable walked up and said, "Don't you know I can take you to jail?" That was it. My Dad knocked him out and took his badge. I still have the badge. For good or bad, I turned out just like him. I'm still proud that my Daddy rode a Kawasaki.
Such a nice memories bro💘✌👍
nice story 👍🏾
@@krete69 ...except for assaulting the cop! thumbs down to that ending.
you definitely had a proper upbringing...kudos to your dad
Cool story bro.
I graduated High School in 1975, remember the classic motorcycles from the mid 60's when HONDA flooded AMERICA with cheap reliable cool bikes to the 70's Muscle Bikes and beyond.
Grew up in a cool time. In 69' HONDA gave the World the CB750, it wore the Crown until the 73 Z1 came to Dealerships and took the Crown!
I rode HARLEYS all of my adult life and then I bought a new 2022 Z900RS which is a Retro modern issue of the Z1...
Beautiful machine with all the modern technology. Tomorrow I'm taking delivery of a new 23' ZH2 SE.
I gotta sit up straight so a Hyper-Naked bike w/197hp will join my 2011 RoadGlide & the 2022 Z900RS in the garage!...
I'm thankful that my Dad bought me that 1st Kawasaki 100 dirt bike in 1969......that started the ADDICTION...😅
Probably the best bike ever made.
She's the best!👍
Disagree!! The CB750 SOHC always will be for many reasons.
Bikes may be faster and more hi tech than back then, but nothing was more cool than these men and machines that broke new ground. Z1's and Ivon will forever be remembered.
i still remember my father getting the very first one delivered to central Illinois in 1973 ,He rode it back and forth to Borg-Warner Factory 30 mile round trip every day and none of his buddy's on there other brand 750's could touch him.The 70's were a Wonderful time to live in.
Yes it was. I too had a 73 Z1 and rode it back & forth to work and everywhere else. Fast, comfortable, and very dependable. Good on gas too if not throttling too hard. I did put a 5.20x18" tall rubber on the rear. Made it more stable.
jerome8469 I was younger & on lesser machinery, but even my first bike, a well used Yamaha YAS1 125 twin stroker was just such a hoot. I recall thrashing up & down the seafront road on Hayling Island through those late 70s summers. Bliss it was to be alive.
I'm such a lucky old fart, amongst 14 Iron Horses in my collection are 2 Rickman Kawasaki Z1000's, one is a factory built, 1978 Rickman frame and running gear with a 1977 Z1000A2 motor, the other is a 1977 Rickman frame kit with a 1977 z1000A2 motor. I find myself grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat when I take them out to play...they can still cut it against more modern motorcycles, just goes to show how a combination of excellent engineering (Rickman & Kawasaki), an experienced rider (me) and some positivevibes can make your day!!!!!!
Richard, I had a Rickman with a Stage II Yoshimura motor that got me into a bit of trouble a few times. Foolishly, I ended up selling the bike to Craig Vetter, the U.S. Importer for Rickman. Craig raced the bike for a while after replacing the Yosh motor with a full-race Russ Collins unit. He eventually donated the bike to the AMA museum where I believe it remains. Of all the bikes that have passed through my hands, that Rickman was the one I most regret selling.
I was at the Daytona 200 when Yvonne and Art Bowman were team mates and going into the infield they both fell trying to avoid a fallen rider. No one was seriously injured but one wasn’t able to pick up his bike and restart. I believe they were riding H2R’s. There is nothing that sounds better than a 3 cylinder two stroke with straight,un silenced expansion chambers. The bark they make when they are back shifting is awesome! I miss those years.
Yvon.
Hard to believe Kawasaki smoked the 24 hour record just 4 years later on a KZ650 Averaging 120 Mph. I have had many of Kawasaki's Coyote Mini Kv75 KH400 H2 3 Cyl Gpz550 two times Wife's 2nd bike was a Gpz550. Gpz750 Turbo Can't sleep some night knowing I sold that bike. ZX11 ZZR1200 ZX14. Then we got cruisers. Vulcan Meanstreaks 900 and the big daddy V2K125 CI monster. Wife had 2 knee replacements and the bikes just sit now. Nothing even to this day sounds better then a Kawasaki inline wicked up on a Kerker header. Great video brings back some good memory's. Thanks,,,,,
Loved my KZ650. Just a rock solid performer you could rely on completely.
Bought mine brand new in 1975 will never forget that feeling riding it home from the dealer wished I still had it ! Long live the king !
Top quality and handling, and reliable from my Z900RS . My dream motorcycle, Will never sell it .
in 1976 I bought one secondhand gave the motor a workover (so to speak) got 114 hp at the back wheel. never had it on the track but scared the crap out of some riders on the road. I still have the bike. I am 71 years old now, still ride it but a bit more gently now
Bought a second hand Z900 when I was posted to Germany with the British Army. A bike that was clearly faster than I was, I count myself luck to still be here...but I loved every minute of it and wouldn't have changed that for the world.
Had my Z for 32 years.....modern bikes have come and gone....but I still enjoy the Z so much ....I wish I was there watching that Record setting ....must have been great to have be part of.
Still rember the day I picked my Z1 up, what a killer machine it was, loved that bike.
As one who was part of this process it is great to find a copy of the video!!
Seriously?!
z190075
Yes. Much of the work for those records, but it was never mentioned, was done by
Yoshimura Racing of SimiValley California. This is clearly shown by the T shirts worn.
I was part of Yoshimura Racing.
This bike would need Yoshy everything to hit those speeds.
Well these records were set long before Yoshy everything were made. It had Stage 1 cams, Stock pistons, Headwork and valve springs and exhaust. Thing just got better after this but these were largely stock or lightly modified bikes.
Thanks, Steve, for the clarification and details. Some seem to have skipped over the description in the film of the work done to the speed record bike in particular.
I miss this generation of bikes. A pumped up old school kz or gs is so much fun..
Fantastic times, in the 70's I worked as a mechanic at a Kawasaki dealership, I loved working on the big fours, it was the best job I ever had.
In the beginning seventies, motocycles seemed to get out of style in germany. Always more people earned enough money to buy themselves cars and left their sturdy motocycles stand. At that time, the presentation of the Honda CB 750 four an the Kawasaki Z 900 were like a thunderstorm that struck into the 2-wheeled-scene. Such big and mighty 4-cylindered 4-stroke machines
surpassed everything that had been there before:
unearthly acceleration, very high end-speed, a scary sound of thunder . . .
Two incidents imprinted my adoration of large-volumed 4cylindered bikes and it is still a memory like yesterday :
In 1970, as i was a ten years old pupil, starting at highscool, my first contact to a CB 750 Four was in fact of a little accident of the owner across the school. While he had been taken into the hospital, his bike was replaced nearby the street.
I had the chance to walk around this impressive bike. The wonderful speedometer showed me a max. speed of 220 km/h ( 137,5 mph ) and i couldn't imagine, how fast this would be. That big motor, these 4 shiny crome exhausts and the crackling sound of the cooling machine gave me the rest. The sound of those 4-cylinder-bikes with lower rpm's than 9.000 is still the most beautiful ever for me.
In 1972 the 2nd incident came over me, as a light-damaged Kawasaki 900 stood at my neighbor's woodsheet.
The driver was the son of a rich hotel-owners-family visiting my neighbors ( they were making room-service their at that time ). When leaving, he speeded up a little bit too much an in spite of this he fell into the street, kissing the stony underground.
This time i had been also very impressed about this terrifying machine with 240 km/h on the speedometer ( 150 mph ) and the blood on the handlebar and on the indentet tank . . .
In 1980 i bought me a used K5 CB 750 Four and fast driving with her wasn't always harmless. Meanwhile i drive a BMW K 1300 S und driving is no comparison to former times.
The developments for secure driving did make huge progress in every sense.
For me, the CB750 Four and the Z 900 are still one of the most beautiful bikes that exist, but the new Kawasaki Z 900 RS isn't only very beautiful, but also much more secure and super driveable. Let's talk about her after the next 30 years . . . 🖐
I enjoyed a Z900RS demo ride last week. For what it is, a modern bike with retro aesthetics, it's pretty cool. Strong motor, too.
I was 15 when dads best friend let me ride his. At Night. By the airport. Tulsa. First time I ever went a hundred and thirty miles an hour
My old Z1 I bought new in the 70s is still on the road today. Wish I hadnt sold it, would be worth a small fortune now.
Love The Classic Images 👀
I still have my 1978 KZ1000. Mostly stock and still fun to ride. A truly great motorcycle.
BICE
AND NICE -WATCH IT ---THEY ARE VERY FAST
I got the second Z 1 to come in this part of the country.(the dealer kept the first) I cleaned up the intakes, geared it a little lower, re jetted it, and put a 4 into one header on it. I beat all comers, mostly cars, street racing 1/4 mile. People hauled cars in from all over the country, and no one ever came close to beating it. One night I had at least a dozen cops after me. That old Z 1 made a fair moto cross bike that night, but they never caught me either.
Nice!
You don't know how cool you are
Great old video. I'm glad they mentioned the sound these bikes make. My KZ1000 sounds very much like the first bike when I run with an open pipe. A nice, throaty two-valve roar. Another thing I noticed was when they bring the bike in at 16:45 to fuel it up, the guy resetting the odometer cracks me up because that is one of the annoying things about these bikes. You need to fuel up every 100 miles -ish but that odometer goes up to 1000 miles. You have to dial it all the way up past 999 to zero to reset it. That sound it makes like you are winding an old clock is one of the quirks of owning these things. 542 pounds, you can really feel it when you are trying to load it onto a truck!
Now that little recollection of yours has brought back memories of my own z1a & z650b1, gathering dust for many years after serious leg injuries but I'm now off to the rear of my workshop just to twiddle the trip meter knobs - a little inspiration from your comment will see them pulled further towards the front door & out of hibernation. Thanks 👍.
The legend of the mighty Z1 continues to live on. Had my first a 1975 Kawasaki Z1 in 1983 and it has left an everlasting impression on me. And had multiple KZ 1000s after that, those were beautiful bikes but the Z1 style was best.
I agree! I own a ‘76 KZ900 LTD and I’ve removed all the ‘ cruiser ‘ parts that made it so ugly! Plus I’ve added some Superbike styling and frame mods too!
This was what Bryon Farnsworth wrote.."Preparing the Record-Run Z1's..."First we decided on what records were available in the AMA and FIM record books and decided on two standard-engine machines, and one with cylinder head, carburetion and exhaust system modifications by Yoshimura Racing Engines of Simi Valley, California. Yoshimura reground the standard camshafts for more lift, flow tested the intake and exhaust ports for more efficient breathing, installed racing valve springs, Kehin carburetors and four-in-one collector exhaust system. This semi-modified cylinder head on a completely standard bore and stroke Z-1 lower end, pumped out 105 hp at 10,500 rpm.This Yoshimura engine arrived at KMC R&D in Santa Ana two days before the U-Haul van had to leave for Daytona, R&D technician, Jeff Shetler, put it into a standard Z-1 chassis with a Mike Harper-built fairing and H2R seat installed, Goodyear 325x19 racing front tire and 350x18 rear, and clip-on low bars. We put 13.4 inch Koni shocks on the rear with S&W 135 in/lb springs. Wheels, forks and frame were left as is. Actually it was just a stock Z-1 with some head work and a fairing. What is really amazing, is that this bike lapped Daytona at 161 mph average with a top speed of around 175 mph. The two 24 hour test bikes were also prepared by Jeff Shetler. He started by tearing each engine completely down for a careful re-assembly. The heads went to Jerry Branch Flowmetrics for a port and polish job. This just perked up the efficiency of the double overhead camshaft top end. Jeff put it all back together in standard chassis with Koni shocks, added low contour handlebars and removed the turn signals. We even left the center stand in place so we could service them easier during pit stops.These two machines ran for 24 hours without a hitch, except for a tire change and to replace a few master link clips that came off."
No, ....master link clips..?? No wonder the ones we eventually sold at the dealership I worked at had chains with no master links. The swing arm would have to be removed to replace the chain.
We sold a fair number of Z-1s and the owners were universally very happy with these fine machines. I was a service manager and mechanic and had many opportunities to road test and enjoy them. I consider the '70s to be the most impressive era in motorcycle development that has not been surpassed in over all integrity as products for a large cross section of the enthusiast public.
Nowhere near standard then.
zedsforfun Thanks heaps for that information. I was lucky enough to own and ride one 30 years ago but a 77 z1000 Australian delivered. The only regret I have in life is parting with my beloved Kawasaki.
My '74 Z1 was my favorite of all the bikes I owned over the years. Sure wish I'd hung onto it.
Thanks for posting this!
Good ole Canadian Boy, who sired the Alternate Mr. Daytona, the one with the short leg...but until then , ... Yvon held the lap record for almost 20 years!
Alastair Cunningham I met Yvonne at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 90’s when he was traveling with his son Miguel. I told him I was a fan going way back to 1970. He spent some of his valuable time talking with me that I appreciate even today. A very nice gentleman. I was a big fan of his son too.
Never seen this Great video! Thankyou for posting this!
I had a 74 Z-1 for many years, I never knew they were riding them that fast regardless, 160+++ is sick on one of those-- I had mine at 140 once with megacycle 417 cams, 1015 cc wiseco kit, 29 mm smooth bore carbs, head and cylinder decked, etc.
Nothing like a standard bike at all. These records are meaningless
I had a 83 GPz750 in the late 80's while in the USAF. I had it up to 145 once. Scared the crap out of me when my buddy passed me on his Yamaha Seca turbo.
@@deanmays7133 Did you have a puncture?
THIS IS WHY WE LOVE THE "ZEE ONE" SO MUCH........T.C.
Miss my full dressed 76 KZ900.
Bought in California, when in Air Force. Put over 50k miles on it.
Now ride a 37 year old 82 XJ1100 Maxim and love her just as much.
I rode a tricked out H1 500 Cafe racer. Lusted after the Z1. Wonderful video. My Bud had the Z1R 1000. Lucky man👍
Love that whistle sound from the intake
This is superb. i still have a z1b with a a4 engine. matt black and well used.england.
Yep. I’m old. I remember when it hit the dealership. They had a worked 750 Triple in the showroom and it was the only bike in San Antonio I remember that could even stay close to the Z1 tail light.
its so cool to see my grandpa's camerawork on youtube
Really, can I ask you grandfather's name?
@@zedsforfun don shoemaker
@@zedsforfun I’m sad I missed your reply
My 1975 Z 1, did very well. Never broke down on me, drag strip, AND cross-country. Z 1 would cruise @ 100 mph, all day.
Jesus wept that sound...beautiful
The first Cow-900 I seen was at Milan Drag-Way, and it was called "Bounty Hunter", back in 1978. A high school friend of mine achieved a few runs in the high 15s riding a '73 Yamaha 350.
I Had a 74 Z-1 900 and a 78 KZ-1000 LTD. Those were the days...
This was awesome, I wish I still had mine, Still have my CB750 1972!
I ride a 1980 Z 750 E1, the power of that old engine still surprises me every time I open the throttle! Unbelievable bike, I love it! It's just so hard to find replacement parts for the engine!
I had a 1980 z11000 fuel injected,parts were non existent.the engine was finicky but hauled ass.
the good ol' days
This is Priceless,Love Anything Old School 🤘🏁
Comment from Japan.
I have 1974 Z1.
I think the Kawasaki motorcycle is strong.
I think Z series are beautiful design.
The suzuki gs 750 only made ten hp less. I imagine the 1000 would keep up. If we are really talking though an h1 or h2 with race pipes would probably spank it.
@@damiendoisher7812 yes the KETTLE
"The two 24 hour bikes are undergoing preparations... pads are added,"....
Preparations like duct taping a couple folded towels(pads) on the gas tank, lol XD 9:40
I still ride my Z1000 from '78 and I'm mighty proud of her.
全開のZ1サウンド鳥肌が立ちます。最高です。
Rip Yvon Duhamel a legendary pilot
this video brings back some great memories! the number 3 bike was very cool.and fast.
Thanks for sharing; this is awesome !
This was an awesome video to watch, being someone who bleeds Kawasaki green.
I currently have three little Kawasaki bikes: Ninja 250r, Ninja 300r and KLX250 dual sport (with road tyres). If I sold my Yamaha FJR1300 I'd consider the retro Kawasaki Z900 cafe, especially the green one with the white strip. This was a great video and so happy it's been uploaded onto UA-cam
Yvon Duhamel is a legend.!
And his son wasn't half bad, either! I reckon Miguel had the talent to be World Superbike champion, given an opportunity.
in its day now thats damn fast
yeah,I'm OLD
Did they ride for 24 hours with all those keys jangling about in front of their faces? I rode Daytona in '92 and you couldn't hear any bird song, how the place has changed!
that bike tried to kill me so many times. I love pushing that thing over my limits. Just too much fun.
I ride a vintage 1976 KZ900 with original paint and tasteful modifications.
I had a Z1 , I didn’t know that went down at Daytona !
I loved that machine.
I had one 1978 Z1R silver blue with a Kerker k&n air filters bigger jets, with advanced electronic 😢ingnition …unfortunately was stolen in march/17/1979 with a key with the same code from another Z1R (both bikes where bought from same dealership in Woodbridge, New Jersey…kind crazy…) from a guy in my area…still today my favorite motorcycle👍🏼
I own a nice 75 Z1b. Still turns heads. 😎
I own 75 CB750F with a billet 1000cc cylinder I make. 106 HP. It turns heads too.
Thanks Kawasaki .
supergeil !!! was für ein Sound !!!!!! Klasse !!!!! Schöner Reihenvierzylinder.
makes me even more amazed at the Velocette 24 hr record in 1961, 100.05 mph. on a 500 cc single. now thats really something. Going to Montlhery banked track near Paris where they did it next week for the 100 yr anniversary of the circuit - it will be quite something to stand at that track and imagine the riders thundering past in the night to get that record.
Strapping the cushion on the tank reminded me of the old board track racers. Never seen this video before, it's got old man DuHamel, the old Yosh team guys and causally smoking in pit lane.
I miss my 1972 Z1...........great bike, fast bike.
Beautiful bike!
"Kawasaki Engineers designed the Z1 to give the 'Touring' Rider with Passenger and saddle bags full of gear, the Power to pass quickly on the open highway" ... .. . oh hell yeah they sure did.. many many cars passed on the Open Highway... and I'm still here to tell You about that. Let the Good Times Roll. KAWASAKI
my god I want a Z1 or even a kz900, hhmmmm that engine is just soo good.
I had a 2001 ZRX 1200R for a few years. Awesome, awesome bike.
When bikes were proper bikes 👍
Amazing sounds from that amazing engine 😮😊
Great name great brand
Duhamel - Kawasaki
Forever
Z1 900 the king motorcycle
ZED 1000 1978 brilliant first class seventies bike so great I had to buy z650 and H1E 500 to compare others they are so great too !
Epic bikes world class
A great chapter in motorcycling history.
@ 11:00 chills. :) oh that sound
That sound around 7:10 is the best sound ever
this shit makes me proud to have owned one of the first ones!
Makes me proud to still own a 73.
Makes me so glad that I kept my 1976 KZ900. I’ve owned other Kawasaki’s but I kept the best one. I had a ZRX1200R in 2002, and a 2008 Concours 1400, with the Ninja 1400 engine in it. I had to quit riding at age 65, for health problems (three kinds of really bad arthritis), but my oldest son has the green KZ900 now. It was always my favorite bike. I miss riding so much. I rode (fast) for 50 years, and I never crashed or got hurt, and somehow I never got a ticket.
初めてまして!デイトナは伝統的なコースですよねぇ〜感激です!
Solid disks
State of the art for the day.
Makes me really appreciate my 1999 bmw r1100s with Brembos
I’ve never ridden a bike made in the 21 century
I literally just realized that!
You’d be shocked to ride Bimmer’s top sports bike, the S1000RR. I had the first year’s release, it was 192hp. They’re over 200hp now. Mine was timed at 6.4 seconds...0-200 kmh! I once did 306kmh gps timed. Crazy fast.
The only thing bad about this video is the dismal music played. What the hell were they thinking? Had a Z1. Outstanding bike and would love to have another. With a Kirker 4 into 1 (open) pipe it sounded fabulous and mean.
They probably weren't thinking that over 20 years from then everything would be what it is for one thing and if you've never seen "On Any Sunday" which, if you're a motorcycle type person, that film is a must see & if you haven't seen it..well the music sucks and the rest is history, fast history! And you can say thanks one day if you choose but enjoy!
Fantastic looking 'resto-mod' style bike! Somebody ought to build a replica of this very same bike. With the white fairing and clubman bars etc. leaving everything else bone stock. Of course, I'd personally rather have some polished ALLOY rims on those hubs, but the chromed-steel rims have the LOOK you'd want. Gotta get some non-shouldered Akront or San-Remo rims, something close to stock but definitely wider, maybe 2.50x18" front and 3.00x18"-3.50x18" early "SUPER-Akront" rims (((I've got this same pair on hand as a spare/alternate wheel-set for my "CB900K0 BOL BOMBER" retro-fried CB900F done up in homage to the '65 CB450K0 Black Bomber - google it sometime. ANYWAY yeah, sadly my front rim in this pair is shouldered, as are the 3.00x16" front and rear Borrani rims with Suzuki 4LS drum and maxi-scooter spec low-profile radial tires 110/70-16 & 140/70-16, on the "KZ440LOL" I'm building for my teenaged Ex-Daughter - But yeah, NONE of these pairs looks close enough to the bone-stock chromed-steel rims on SOHC Honda OR ZED-1 etc. But perhaps a non-shouldered 2.50x18" or 2.15x18" WM3 up front, with the "skinny" pair 3.50x18" rear - my primary rim sets for the Honda are 3.50x16" Super-Akront with 4.25x18" Akront plus additionally a 3.00x18" Morad with another 4.25x18" Akront - maybe I should chrome a pair of THESE rims???))) Well yeah anyway, I think the key would be rims that aren't TOO ridiculously over-wide, only a couple or three WM-sizes over stock at the maximum, non-shouldered non-drop-center etc - and CHROME them - Then you'd have that OEM aesthetic with the race-spec light-weight rim set. Pair this up with all OEM accoutrements, a bar with an ever-so-slight pull-back & lift but then invert the thing over the top yoke, use a converted "Sport-Kit" style throttle (see DOHC-4 Honda if you don't know what I mean! - It's a stock throttle/switch clamshell housing but it's got a blob of weld on the top/front of the switch and this is drilled and tapped, such that instead of throttle cables dangling down BELOW the handlebar, you get 'em pointed forward & up, away from the paint on your clean restored gas-tank! DOHC-4 Honda had a plastic version of this on certain models, CBX550F for instance, exact same part. WELL - I'M working on doing the same damn thing in ALUMINUM, see. Yeah, well whatever - All I'm getting at, is I love a good race-modded bike, which nevertheless retains it's OEM looks. The DOHC-4 Honda also had "Sport-Kit" REAR-SETS, but what I'd much prefer is the Zed-1 or SOHC-4 CB750K passenger peg hangers (got a set cut off from a SOHC hard-tail project, gonna weld 'em onto the DOHC-4 750 frame with 985cc engine etc!) And then instead of the stock front/rider peg mounting lugs, you simply weld more lugs in a better spot. Aft of the rear down-tubes from the shock & sub-frame etc. With a small triangulated welded-on mounting lug, a very compact steel or alloy plate could be bolted on, painted to match the frame - and then you've got all OEM style pegs & pedals etc, (OEM brake pedal shortened and welded up "telescope style" for best strength) But it's all re-located to the ideal ergonomics for "monkey-fornicates-football" race posture. As though Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha - any of the UJM types really, had been built from the get-go as a RACER, rather than as an upright posture "standard" - Which only looks fugly & unoriginal with the more universal-aftermarket "Go-Fast Parts" you ADD to the thing. 'Cause as they're added something else is taken AWAY - that something else is the OEM aesthetic, the NOS original authenticity, the "NEW-NESS" of those first introductory models. And yeah, what better specimen to reflect what I'm talking about, but the very one first introductory ZED-1 TRACK-BIKE????
in the process of rebuilding mine right now, wrecked it last year....
+Sterling Elmquist Easily done !!.
is it back on the road now.
The endurance record went to the guy in the shack counting laps .
Damn. Vintage
The riders also included Cliff Carr. He is the first rider seen after the records are finished.
And Hurley Wilvert.
cool film .
Anyone know the beginning song?
A real stress test
They should have produced a version with the speed record bodywork. Would ve been epic.
Outstanding speed, the best of the 70s right here
Zee or Zed, you pays your money and takes your choice :)
Motos antigas, mesmo assim incríveis !!!!!
so good
和田BOSSも偉大ですね
That sound
Great bike. My pal had a Z1. . At speed it was a little hairy though. Rubber frame?. Very powerful for the time. I still preferred my H2 with Denco ported barrels and pipes etc for an urban burn up. I could beat the Z1 to over a Ton . My H2 was supposed to be 110BHP ?. The H2 had a rubber frame as well. Love strokers. Too old now. The later Z1000 was not quite as quick as the Z1 as I remember. The Z1 was a great fast touring bike and the H2 was too thirsty and wanted to be "on the pipe" all the time and you needed plenty of petrol stations on a run to Cornwall.
+Crobular I Maybe I am mixing up the Z1000 with the Z900,.. Sorry, it is over 40 years ago and I am 74 now.
I owned and street raced and drag raced an H-1 and then an H-2. I have no idea where this rubber frame stuff comes from. If you really owned an H-2 what bike prepared you for what was going to happen if you got throttle happy on the exit of high-speed turns? There was nothing and control was always in how and what rev you laid on the power. If the bike scared you from time to time it was easier to blame the bike instead of admitting to yourself that may have made a mistake, and learned from the mistake. People go on about speed wobble. I've never known anyone who rides a fast bike hard, to this day, that hasn't encountered wobble on turn exit at high speed hi power. Do you watch Moto GP bikes often buck when transitioning from high-speed corners onto a full power stretch? The rider could easily keep that from happening by being smoother with the throttle, but they'll get beat by the guys that stay in the throttle, keep it pointed down the road and let it settle. I've never heard of ANYONE getting bucked off an H series bike. Of those that did encounter an oscillation coming off a turn the ones that came close to losing it was the ones that bailed out of the throttle when it happened. Riding hard on winding open roads exposes you to many things that can unsettle a bike. Just transitioning patches of asphalt seams in asphalt or going from asphalt to concrete or the other way or water from someones A/C or drops of oil can create a little front push when power is laid on which on its own makes the front light. The H bikes were high hp light weight. To get the most out of corner exit you had to learn to deal with the front end getting light and dancy. In fact, especially on the H-2 if you were a brute with the throttle on exit you could spin the back tire and then you're in danger of serious bad mojo called hi side. And notice none of these things involve "rubber frames" or flexing. In short, if you want to ride it like a racer you have to take responsibility for your errors like a racer does and not blame it on the bike. Racers that blame their errors on the bike never get very far because the mechanics can't fix rider miscues and end up chasing their tails all the time. They end up getting replaced by someone only bothers the engineers with engineering problems. BTW, I couldn't stomach the way expansion chambers sounded. I raced my H-2 (and H-1 before it) at National Trail Raceway east of Columbus oh as a street stock bike. I eventually ran consistently less than 12.1's with the fastest trip tick of 11.98. The National Record was 11.81, and it just so happened that the guy that held the record showed up at the same track most weekends and beat me. he trailered his bike in, I rode mine. 2 stroke engines make max power stone cold, unlike 4 strokes. His record runs where as soon as the track opened in the morning cool and he pushed the bike to the start line, fired it to spin the back tire up in the water, shut it down, pushed it to pre-stage, fired it again, stages and go. The back up run had to be done on the next run because the bike would get slower by small amounts after every run and as it got hot out, all day long. That leveled the playing field a bit between us and I could occasionally get lane choice and steal a final from him, but not often. He was realy good. He was called Pistol Pete because he could really cut a light and was so good in first 50 ft. Pete Graselli. High school band teacher and Reynoldsburg high school. Great guy, came by and gave pointers on tire pressures and start posture and refining clutchless shifting, and usually beat me. I got so sick of him having half a bike length on me at the top of first gear. BTW again, I've tried to search for old NHRA record from that era with no luck. NHRA has become as sickly commercial now as NASCAR. They have no links to record books even though it would be easy to do for us old gearheads who want to check our memories against the records. Records are meant to be stored and available to be scrutinized. The superbike era begins with the H bikes, not the Z-1. I admit though it pissedme off that I got sold my H-2 in April 72 and articles about the Z-1 were out by June. I would have waited. One thing is it would have make a much better cross country bike that my Mach IV did.
These bikes were 'race ' prepped , no way were they stock road going 900's ...
The main point is that Kawasaki changed the rule book completely .
They created what we all now regard as the 'UJM's' and all bikes that followed owe some connection to that period in motorcycle development.
A game changer in so many ways ...
I'm restoring and 1975 Z1 I'm trying to figure out what they're going for to see how much I can make off of it an old mans trailer and had been sitting there in his living room for 30 years .
my best 136mph 1972