73 or 74 Z

Hey all,
I have a line on a what is believed to be either a 73 or 74 Z. It's been in a barn for over 10 years. The owner says he thinks it's a 73. He has 2 of them, but he says the one he kept up is also a 73. he told me the one I can get has the green and yellow paint scheme. The other one he's keeping is the candybrown and orange.
I have 2 questions on this. #1 is did the 73 come in the candygreen? I thought the 73 was only one color. Or is the green one a Z1A?
The 2nd half of my question is would this be worth picking up and restoring? I have not seen it personally, but it was explained to me that other than not being run for so long, it is in mint condition.(pics are on the way)
I am not familiar with anything older than my 77. Any thoughts?

If it's in "mint" condition, it's definately worth restoring because all you'd need to do is clean the carbs, put air in the tires and ride away. That would be pretty hard to believe, but possible. According to the Kawasaki Z1 history book, Z1 in 1973 came in Candy brown/orange or candy green/yellow. Anything even close to original would be worth good money.

I was going by the Model history here, and all I saw listed was the Candytone Brown for the 73. I assumed that it was only in one color. I have all winter to think about it because I can't get it til June. Adding another one just seems the "Right" thing to do:woohoo:
I still have the 79 to keep me busy til then.
Thanks for the info

I don't thing the Green/yellow scheme was brought to the US in '73, just the orange/brown.

In any case as long as its a Z1 its worth owning and if its a '73 grab it before someone else might. Even if its not perfect you can always get it running and restore it correctly later.

Later, Doug

If it's green/yellow, the chances are it's a 74 Z1. The 73 green/yellow was not imported into the USA - although you could buy the green/yellow bodywork as a replacement.

The 1974 Z1A's started production in very late July 73, so there are plenty of the 1974 Z1A's with 73 on the steering head sticker.

Jeff.Saunders wrote:

If it's green/yellow, the chances are it's a 74 Z1. The 73 green/yellow was not imported into the USA - although you could buy the green/yellow bodywork as a replacement.

The 1974 Z1A's started production in very late July 73, so there are plenty of the 1974 Z1A's with 73 on the steering head sticker.

Jeff,

I'm glad you mentioned this...I had an email argument (on another site) with a long-standing VJMC member regarding this. This person stated that the Z1 (original Z1) green/yellow scheme was imported in 1973 and I countered that they were not. She stated that she has seen them in the US (I have also, but they were imports) and that she remembers them (in 1973) being on the showroom floor...I think her memory is flawed but I stopped arguing at that point.

Post edited by: Mcdroid, at: 2007/10/31 09:26

double--delete me, please

Post edited by: Mcdroid, at: 2007/10/31 09:00

It's a 74 ( I have the same one ) UNLESS... someone switched body work :whistle:
Pat

My '74 Z1A is the same color, green and yellow. I think it was called "Candy apple" Green.

I spoke to the owner about this, and he says that he bought his 73 Candybrown in the spring of 73, and the Candygreen was purchased in the summer by his brother.
According to him, these are both 73's. I guess it could be possible that the Green is an early 74. I still plan on making the trip next summer to pick it up, and also to do some riding while I'm there. He has several bikes, so I won't need to ride mine there.(can hardly wait)

All I can say is that if the deal turns out for you you're one lucky sucka, rdgrnr. Z1 or or Z1A makes no diff. Good ones of either year are like rocking horse manure and worth serious coin. Hope it works out for ya, man.
Oh...just dredged up another Z factoid....
I believe/believe that the 73's had black engines whereas the 74's had natural aluminum engines (no paint). That may help you sort out the year thing....

Post edited by: H2RICK, at: 2007/11/03 22:33