This excerpt from "Exhaustive Z1 Development History" seems consistent with the above reasoning and Kawasaki Heavy Industries preferring to remain distant from any unfavorable "KZ" connotation, at least on Japan's side of the pond. Otherwise KZ seems to fairly reference "Kawasaki Z" in line with KH (Kawasaki Highway), KT (Kawasaki Trial), KX (Kawasaki Motcross), and KE (Kawasaki Enduro).
CHAPTER SIX.
THE 1976 (K)Z900-A4 STARTING FRAME NO: Z1F-085701 ONWARDS.
1976 BROUGHT A LARGE CHANGE TO ALL KAWASAKI MODELS. A NEW METHOD OF IDENTIFACATION WAS INTRODUCED. ALL MODELS NOW HAD A PREFIX TO DETERMINE THERE INTENDED USE. "KH" INDICATED KAWASAKI HIGHWAY, "KT" INDICATED KAWASAKI TRIAL, "KX" KAWASAKI MOTOCROSS, "KE" KAWASAKI ENDURO AND "Z" INDICATED FOURSTROKE ROADBIKE. EVERYTHING ELSE MADE SENSE EXCEPT THE "Z". PERHAPS KAWASAKI WERE SO PROUD OF THEIR "Z" RANGE THAT THEY DID NOT WANT TO CHANGE IT. THE "KFR900" WOULD NOT HAVE SOUNDED NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD, WOULD IT ?.
AND SO THE FOURTH MODEL IN THE 900 RANGE BECAME THE Z900-A4. THE LAST NUMBER, IN THIS CASE 4, WAS THE NUMBER OF YEARS IN PRODUCTION. IN THE STATES IT WAS KNOWN AS THE "KZ900-A4".
JAPANESE PRODUCTION OF THE Z900-A4 STARTED IN OCTOBER 1975 IN READINESS FOR THE 1976 SEASON.
KAWASAKI DID NOT JUST CHANGE THE NAME, THE Z900-A4 WAS BESTOWED WITH MANY COSMETIC AND MECHANICAL DIFFERENCES. SOME OF THEM OBVIOUS SOME OF THEM NOT.
And here's some other neat stuff from Chapter One (admittedly only very marginally related, at best, but still neat nevertheless). IMO :lol:
CHAPTER ONE: DEVELOPMENT OF THE Z1 900 SUPER FOUR.
KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES OR KHI FOR SHORT. NOT QUITE THE NAME YOU WOULD IMAGINE WHEN YOU THINK OF A MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER. NEVER THE LESS, KHI WAS FOUNDED ORIGINALLY IN 1878 BY SHOZO KAWASAKI, PRIMARILY AS A SHIPYARD, BUILDING OCEAN GOING STEEL SHIPS.
IN 1886 THE OPERATION WAS EXPANDED TO BECOME THE KAWASAKI DOCKYARD, AND THEN TEN YEARS LATER ON, KAWASAKI STARTED EXPANDING INTO OTHER MODES OF CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION.
APART FROM BUILDING SHIPS, THEY BUILD HELICOPTERS, BRIDGES, TRAINS, ROBOTS AND AIRCRAFT, THEY EVEN BUILT THE MASSIVE BORING MACHINE THAT WAS USED FOR THE CHANNEL TUNNEL. THIS WAS INDEED A "HEAVY" IMAGE.
THE KAWASAKI AIRCRAFT DEPARTMENT, WHICH WAS FORMED IN 1918, WAS RENAMED IN 1937 AS THE KAWASAKI AIRCRAFT COMPANY AND BECAME A LEADER IN AIRCRAFT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. HOWEVER THE COMPANY FOUND ITSELF ON STICKY GROUND AFTER THE EFFECTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. PRODUCING PLANES FOR "KAMIKAZES" WAS NOW CONSIDERED A "NO-NO"! THEREFORE, THEY HAD A LOT OF REDUNDANT RESOURCES AND MANPOWER TO HAND. THEY TURNED TO PRODUCING SMALL PETROL ENGINES AND WHEN THEY DECIDED TO LIGHTEN THEIR IMAGE THEY JUST WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER. THE COMPANY IN QUESTION WAS THE MEGURO MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
KAWASAKI HAD ALREADY PRODUCED MOTORCYCLE ENGINES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MEIHATSU COMPANY. AS EARLY AS 1954 THEY HAD PRODUCED A 58CC TWO STOKE ENGINE FOR MEIHATSU, BUT THEY HAD BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE AND MEIHATSU DID NOT FIGURE IN THEM.
MEGURO WERE JAPANS OLDEST MOTORCYCLE COMPANY HAVING HAD PRODUCED BIKES FROM AS EARLY AS 1937, BUT THEY FOUND TRADE HARD GOING AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE DEAL WITH KAWASAKI SEEMED A CONVENIENT ONE. FOR KAWASAKI IT WAS PERFECT. MARKETING RIGHTS ALL OVER JAPAN AND SOUTH EAST ASIA FOR THE MEGURO OHV TWINS WAS THE PERFECT PLATFORM TO BUILD A DEALER NETWORK ON.
BY 1961 THE PRODUCTION LINE IN KOBE WAS TURNING OUT THE FOUR STROKE TWINS OF MEGURO AND THEIR OWN BRANDED NAME TWO STROKE MOTORS. THEY NOW HAD A RANGE OF BIKES FROM 50CC TO 500 CC. THE STAGE WAS SET FOR THE QUICKEST RISE TO FAME OF ANY JAPANESE MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER.
IN 1962 THE FIRST FULL MOTORCYCLE TO CARRY THE KAWASAKI NAME WAS PRODUCED. THIS WAS THE B8 MODEL, A 125CC TWO STROKE SINGLE. HOWEVER KAWASAKI DID NOT FORGET HOW IMPORTANT MEGURO WAS TO THEM AND CONTINUED TO USE THE MEGURO SYMBOL ON KAWASAKI MODELS UP TO THE EARLY SEVENTIES. THE SYMBOL IS STILL USED TODAY ON PACKAGING AND SIGNAGE.
BY LATE 1966 KAWASAKI HAD A 650 TWIN FOUR STROKE ON SALE, THE W-SERIES. THIS WAS A DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEGURO TWIN AND BORE A REMARKABLE RESEMBLANCE TO THE BSA TWIN OF THE TIME, BUT WHILE IT WAS A SALES SUCCESS IN THEIR DOMESTIC MARKET, SALES IN THE IMPORTANT USA MARKET WAS POOR. AFTER ALL, WHY HAVE A COPY WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE REAL THING. SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE.
THE OVERSEAS OFFICE IN CHICAGO USA, WAS FORMED IN 1965, READY AND WAITING TO FURTHER THE BRAND NAME ACROSS THIS VAST COUNTRY, BUT IN READINESS OF THE LAUNCH OF THE A1-MODEL 250 SAMURAI, KAWASAKI MOVED OFFICE TO LOS ANGELES AND IN MARCH OF 1966, AMERICA KAWASAKI MOTORS WAS ESTABLISHED.
KAWASAKI CONTINUED DEVELOPING THEIR TWO STROKES IN JAPAN, INTRODUCING THE INFAMOUS TRIPLE RANGE BUT THEY KNEW A FOUR STROKE WAS NEEDED TO CAPTURE THE HEARTS OF THE ALL-IMPORTANT AMERICANS. THE W-SERIES RAN WELL INTO THE EARLY SEVENTIES, SUCH WAS THE DEMAND IN JAPAN, BUT KAWASAKI WANTED MORE. THEY WANTED TO BUILD THE BEST MOTORCYCLE IN THE WORLD. IN ADDITION, THEY WANTED THE AMERICANS TO LOVE IT.
IN 1967 A PROJECT TEAM WAS FORMED AND A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO THE USA MARKET WAS STARTED. THE TEAM BACK IN JAPAN UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF GYOICHI "BEN" INAMURA WAS GIVEN A BRIEF OF WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF THEM.
A FOUR STOKE, FOUR CYLINDER SPORTS TOURER WITH A LARGE DISPLACEMENT ENGINE OF A TYPE NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN JAPAN.
THE CODENAME FOR THIS MACHINE WOULD BE N600. EVENTUALLY THE TEAM PRODUCED A WOODEN MOCK UP OF A 750CC DOUBLE OVERHEAD CAMSHAFT FOUR AND IN SEPTEMBER 1968 PRESENTED IT TO THE BOARD. THIS WAS GIVEN THE THUMBS UP AND MASS PRODUCTION WAS SET FOR 1969.WORK CONTINUED AND TESTING WAS CARRIED OUT IN JAPAN AND THE USA. ALL WAS GOING TO PLAN.
THEN DISASTER. UNKNOWN TO KAWASAKI, HONDA HAD BEEN WORKING ON A SIMILAR PROJECT. THE CB750 FOUR WAS UNVEILED AT THE 1968 TOKYO SHOW. ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THEIR OWN CONCEPT, THIS BIKE TOOK THE WORLD BY STORM.
IT WAS A BITTER PAINFUL BLOW TO KAWASAKI AND THE TEAM HAD NO OPTION BUT TO RETURN TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
THEY LOOKED CAREFULLY AT THE CB750 IN DETAIL. THEY OBSERVED THE REACTION TO THIS BIKE IN THE WORLD MARKET AND DECIDED TO GO AHEAD WITH THEIR PROJECT. RENAMED PROJECT T103 AND ARMED WITH MOUNTAINS OF DATA AND TEST REPORTS THEY SLOWLY MADE THEIR PLANS.
BACK TO AMERICA IN 1969 TO EVALUATE THE MARKET YET AGAIN. COULD THEY BUILD A BIGGER BIKE? UNDER THE USA CODENAME "NEW YORK STEAK" THEY CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT, TRYING ENGINES BETWEEN 900CC AND 1200CC.
A 900CC ENGINE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE THE OPTIMUM SIZE AND BY THE SPRING OF 1970 THE FIRST PROTOTYPE WAS READY FOR TESTING AT THE YATABE TEST COURSE NEAR TOKYO.
95 BHP AND A TOP SPEED OF OVER 140 MPH WAS OBTAINED BY ONE OF THE BIKES, WHILE ANOTHER BIKE DISGUISED AS A CB750 WAS DRIVEN MANY MILES IN AN EFFORT TO GAUGE HANDLING AND RELIABILITY. BY SEPTEMBER OF 1971, FINAL TESTS HAD BEEN COMPLETED AND IT WAS LEFT TO MR. T YAMADA, GENERAL MANAGER OF KAWASAKI'S MOTORCYCLE DIVISION, TO FINALLY GIVE THE ORDERS TO BEGIN PRODUCTION.
KAWASAKI WERE HAPPY. THE FIRST PRE-PRODUCTION MODELS WERE AVAILABLE FOR SHAKE DOWN TESTS IN FEBRUARY 1972 AND MASS PRODUCTION BEGAN IN MAY 1972.
THE NEW BIKE, THE 900 SUPER FOUR MODEL Z1, AS IT WAS TO BE KNOWN, WAS SHOWN TO THE MOTORCYCLE PRESS, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, AT A SPECIAL MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 16 1972 AT THE IFMA MOTORCYCLE SHOW IN COLOGNE.
THE RESPONSE WAS AMAZING. "BETTER THAN THE HONDA CB750" WAS THE OPINION OF EVERYBODY WHO SAW OR WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO RIDE IT. THE BIKE WAS RIGHT, THE PRICE WAS RIGHT, AND THE TIME WAS RIGHT. THE KING WAS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING.
THE Z1, PEOPLE WERE NOW FED UP WITH CALLING IT THE 900 SUPER FOUR-MODEL Z1, WENT ON TOUR. AFTER THE DEBUT AT THE COLOGNE SHOW IT WENT ON TO PARIS THEN OSLO AND IN NOVEMBER, THE EARLS COURT SHOW IN LONDON.
THE MOTORCYCLE PRESS IN THE UK WAS DIVIDED. THE AILING BRITISH BIKE INDUSTRY WAS STILL SMARTING FROM THE ONSLAUGHT OF PREVIOUS JAP BIKES AND THIS MUST HAVE SEEMED LIKE THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN. IT WAS NOT CHEAP AT £1088 BUT IT WAS A LOT OF MOTORCYCLE FOR YOUR MONEY. IT OFFERED THE AVERAGE MAN IN THE STREET THE ULTIMATE MOTORCYCLE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE. THE MEN AT KAWASAKI HAD DONE VERY WELL INDEED.
THOSE WITH RESERVE WERE SOON CONVERTED BY THE CHARM OF THE Z1. MOVIE STARS, POP STARS, THE RICH AND THE FAMOUS ALL PRAISED THE BIKE AND THE ORDER BOOKS WERE SOON FULL TO BURSTING.
"TO HEAVY", "TO COMPLICATED," "TO THIRSTY," "YOU CAN'T FIX IT AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD." THE CYNICS WERE SOON SILENCED. KAWASAKI HAD NOT SPENT 5 YEARS JUST PLAYING WITH WOODEN AND CLAY MODELS. THEY KNEW HOW TO MAKE AN ENGINE. THEY MADE THIS ENGINE MUCH TO STRONG FOR THE PURPOSE IT WAS INTENDED FOR. NO ONE WOULD BREAK THIS MOTOR. IT WAS "BULLET PROOF". SO STARTED THE LEGEND. THE Z1 "KING OF THE ROAD".
THE FINAL SPECIFICATION FOR THE Z1 WAS 903CC, 82 BHP @ 8.500 RPM WITH MAXIMUM TORQUE AT 7.000 RPM. THE MODEST 8.5:1 COMPRESSION RATIO ENSURED THE USE OF UNLEADED PETROL WHICH WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE US MARKET. INDEED THE WHOLE ENGINE WAS DESIGNED WITH ANTI-POLLUTION IN MIND. KAWASAKI FORESAW THIS AS AN IMPORTANT SELLING POINT TO THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AMERICANS. KAWASAKI CLAIMED A REDUCTION OF 40% IN HYDROCARBONS, DUE TO THE USE OF A POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND A LOW NOISE LEVEL OF 83DB.
ALL THIS WAS VERY WELL AND GOOD, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY THIS BIKE HAD WHAT REALLY MATTERED, PERFORMANCE WITH A CAPITAL "P". THE Z1 WAS NOT JUST A BIKE; IT WAS A STATEMENT, A WAY OF LIFE.
NEVER THE LESS, KAWASAKI WENT TO GREAT PAINS TO POINT OUT THAT THE Z1 WAS FOR THE EXPERIENCED RIDER AND SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT.
WITHIN MONTHS THE Z1 WAS BEING USED ON RACETRACKS ALL OVER THE WORLD. ENDURANCE RECORDS WERE BEING BROKEN, QUARTER MILES TIMES WERE BROKEN AND STILL THE MIGHTY Z1 COULD THEN BE RIDDEN HOME AND BACK TO WORK AGAIN ON MONDAY MORNING. THE POWER AND THE GLORY OF A RACE BIKE WAS NOW AVAILABLE TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE.
INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM WAS BESTOWED UPON THE Z1 IN EVERY COUNTRY. IN ENGLAND IT BROKE THE NORTON COMMANDO FIVE-YEAR STRANGLEHOLD IN THE "MOTOR CYCLE OF THE YEAR" AWARD AND WAS THE FASTEST BIKE THAT "MOTOR CYCLE NEWS" HAD TESTED.
IN EARLY 1973, THREE Z1`S WERE TAKEN TO DAYTONA RACE CIRCUIT IN THE USA AND BROKE EVERY RECORD IN THE BOOK. IN 24 HOURS THE Z1 WENT THE FURTHEST, THE FASTEST AND THE QUICKEST. THE FIRST TRUE "SUPERBIKE" WAS BORN.
BACK HOME IN THE UK, THE ONLY FLY IN THE OINTMENT WAS THE RELATIVE POOR PARTS BACKUP AND A RELUCTANCE OF SOME INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COVER IT. THE BAD CLAIMS RECORDS BETWEEN THE KAWASAKI TRIPLE RANGE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES IN THE UK WERE STILL STRONG IN THE MINDS OF SOME PEOPLE AND MANY WERE WARY OF THIS NEW EXOTIC EXPENSIVE MOTORCYCLE.
KAWASAKI UK DID NOT EXIST YET AND THE AGRATI COMPANY OF NOTTINGHAM HANDLED ALL SALES. THE SALES BACKUP LEFT SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED IN THOSE DAYS AND MANY DEALERS FOUND THE 6 MONTHS WARRANTY TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A HEADACHE. SOME DEALERS EVEN HAD TO FLY OUT TO THE KAWASAKI PARTS WAREHOUSE IN HOLLAND AND BRING BACK THE SPARES THEMSELVES. IT MUST OF BEEN WORTH IT THOUGH BECAUSE MANY DEALERS PROSPERED ON THE STRENGTH OF THE Z-RANGE AND WENT ON TO BECOME SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE BUSINESS.
NO RECORDS EXIST FROM 1973 BUT IT IS BELIEVED THAT LESS THAN 60 OF THE ORIGINAL Z1 MODELS CAME TO THE UK. MASSIVE INCREASE IN IMPORTS RECENTLY HAVE PUSHED THAT FIGURE UP CONSIDERABLY. WHAT WAS ONCE A VERY RARE BIKE IS NOW ALMOST COMMONPLACE AT A CLASSIC BIKE MEETING. PERHAPS A SHAME BUT THIS MUST SURELY REFLECT THE GREAT INTEREST IN THIS TRUE CLASSIC SUPERBIKE.
AN ORIGINAL Z1 IS A STRANGE BEAST. DEPENDING ON WHICH BROCHURE OR PHOTOGRAPH YOU LOOK AT WILL RESULT IN MANY DIFFERENT PERMUTATIONS ON WHAT EXACTLY IS STANDARD. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK I WILL BE CONCENTRATING ON BOTH THE UK AND USA SPECIFICATION.
THIS TRULY INTERNATIONAL BIKE DIFFERED IN NEARLY EVERY COUNTRY IT WAS SOLD IN. LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS COVERING LIGHTS, INSTRUMENTS AND FENDERS INSURED MANY DIFFERENCES.
THE OFFICIAL PARTS BOOK ISSUED BY KAWASAKI WAS EVEN INCORRECT. THE DIFFERENCE IN TIME BETWEEN PRINTING AND THE LAUNCH OF THE MODEL RESULTED IN SOME OF THE PARTS BEING SUPERSEDED BEFORE THE BIKE EVEN HIT THE SHOWROOM. WHERE POSSIBLE I WILL POINT THESE OUT AND TRY TO EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR THE MODIFICATION.
I WILL BE COVERING ALL THE 900 MODELS UP TO 1976 INCLUDING THE Z1, Z1-A, Z1-B, Z900-A4, KZ900-A4 AND THE KZ900-B1 (USA LTD VERSION). I WILL ALSO BE MENTIONING THE JAPANESE DOMESTIC MODELS, THE Z2. THIS WAS THE 750 VERSION THAT NEARLY WAS THE BIKE THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE HONDA CB750. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. HONDA!
Post edited by: Patton, at: 2008/02/05 17:21
1973 Z1
KZ900 LTD
Topic Author
Covina, So Calif!
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