Why did you get a KZ?

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Well, madderkaw, that's quite a story...and it ain't THAT sad. It's always interesting to get a little history like that on "one man's bikes through life".
You wish you had that toaster-tank Beemer back right now. They are SERIOUS collector bikes because of being one-year-only models. Oh well, hindsight is always 20-20....

I Like Steel have owed way to many bikes of other brands my first larger street bike was 76 KZ750 twin .. I never really liked that bike though.. Funny how things come full circle ,, I find myself only looking at Kawas now ,, In my case I have so much experiance with them it only makes sense ,, Then there is the mountain of parts I still have as a lot interchanges ,, I find these stories interesting .. I wish I would have found that 50.00 KZ1000 ,, although I did buy my Police bike for 500.00 ,, In my little town .. The Kawasakis were the Muscle cars of bikes ,, 440 Roadrunner with 6 pack .. Kaw 1000 .. whats there not to like

Bought mine after learning to ride on a yamaha xs400. Once I sat on the 82 kz750, the yami felt like a dirt bike. I had to have it. After riding it for about 2 years I wanted it to be faster, i knew i needed to begin a project. Couldnt find a 900 or 1000 ANYWHERE in the South Dakota area, so I began to rebuild my 750. Decided to go with wiseco pistons, gpz head/cam, kz1000 street/strip clutch springs, 4 into 1, and pods. For the frame: gsxr 1000 swingarm/rim/monoshock setup. Then after I began this project many random small fours began showing up left and right for a couple hundred dollars each. So I am snatching up as many as I can(Just dont know what I'me gonna do with all of them)

cause it was 150 bucks and looked like the bike from the purple rain movie, lol. and also cause i was sick of working on all the cb750s cluttering up the backyard

I started riding on a moped in 1972 (the only legal thing you could ride at 16 in England), stepped up through Yamaha 250's and 350's, a GT750 Watercooled Suzuki - until I had the chance to get a used Z1A in 1976 - bought that and ran it hard for a couple of years until I installed a big-bore kit, 0.410" cams and 29mm smoothbore carbs to drag race / street race. Sold that bike in 1980 with 50,000 very hard miles on it. Been hooked on the old Z1 / KZ's ever since.

Post edited by: Jeff.Saunders, at: 2007/12/01 18:30

Gotta love those Z1a's.

I don't own a KZ at the moment. But I can feel one in my future. Maybe a 1981 GPz550. Presently I own a 2001 Kawi W650. It's like a Triumph Bonneville clone. Pretty cool and trouble-free.

I used to own a 1982 GPz550. Bought it new and kept it a few years. And my dad was a Kawasaki guy. His last bike was a Z1 he bought new. Before that he had a Bushwacker 175, a Sidewinder 250, then a Yamaha XS650 that he customized. But that Z1 and my GPz made me a Kawasaki-only guy.

Somehow or other Jeff.......I can envision you riding a moped still today.:laugh: :laugh:

Short story, someone died in 1984, and I picked up his best friends Z1 the next day for 300 bucks. Other dude was on another Z1 just like it. I have had the bike ever since. Probably has 50k hard miles on it by me. I never spared the throttle on that bike, the entire 20+ years I have had it.

I wanted the Z since they came out in '73 and bought my first '74 Z1 in 1976 from the original owner...said the bike was too much for him. Just what I wanted to hear. ;o)

The bike was all stock, except for a sissy bar and a(paper) grocery bag sized aluminum box mounted to the factory luggage rack.

Rode the bike home the next day and for the next 14 years. 135 mph got my attention! Needless to say, all the grocery-getter stuff came off immediately.

Sold it when my kids were small and had no time to ride. Thought seriously about a new bike but really wanted another Z ever since.

Bought my '76 KZ 2 years ago, made some upgrades this past season. The Z is just the right blend of power, speed, handling (now), and fit for me. Planning on a big bore this winter.

My wife just got an '07 T100 Bonneville...Sweet! Life is good! Looking forward to a few sunny winter days.

BTW - New Harleys are nice but the Z's still stand out in a crowd.

Post edited by: JBKZ9, at: 2007/12/26 22:23