A little Observation!

I've been around the bike would for most of my life and Kawasaki has always been basically front and center but it wasn't always with the big ones like the Z1900's or KZ1000's. I started on dirt bikes.
I had a conversation with Jeff Saunders at the Mid Ohio Vintage Bike Days about his turbo. It revolved somewhat around the resto or rebuild talking about the rake. He was kind of wishing it hadn't been raked and I understood why he felt that way, it took away from it's originality.
So, here is my take after thinking about it, and I thought about it a lot!!
Had they not modded the motor, someone who modded their cb750 would have waxed our ass and the old Kaw would have been labeled a pig!
Had someone not raked an old Kaw, we wouldn't have a clue just how fast it was capable of being! Trust me, this is a true statement!!
Had someone not painted it with a wild 70's scheme, we wouldn't have been noticed in a show till now, and that would be only for originality.
Had we not have played with it, Jeff from Z1E, Jay from KZZone wouldn't have the jobs they do now!
The public's personal expressions on their precious baby's, their little girl, what ever they called that 2 wheeled beast that they skipped a mortgage payment on so they could put a Denco Pipe on or a set of Mikuni smooths on so they would be the king for a while is what has made the Kawaski KZ or Z1 what it is today!! So, the next time you come across an old Kaw that has been raked, stretched, slammed, turbo'd, shaved, painted, or for a lack of words, raped! Look at it as a contributor to the heritage. Not every manufacture has a model that is so sought after as the Z1 has become by it's own designers and it has a reason!

FYI, Just food for thought.

Les Holt

The Z1 and big KZs were truly iconic.
A few years later, and new model was designed, fixing some of the short comings of the early Zs.
The 1977 KZ650.
About the size of a 550, and the power of a 750,
In it's day it beat out most if not all 750s.

"The KZ900 & KZ1000 models were faster than the KZ650, but not more reliable, and their frames were inadequate for their power leading to handling issues. Their pressed together crankshafts sometimes twist and cause serious problems, so their owners often have the crankshaft removed and welded to prevent the twisting. The KZ650 has a better frame, a one piece crankshaft, and overall is a better bike. It was designed after the Z1 / KZ900 was in production, so the lessons learned from those production bikes taught Kawasaki what mistakes to avoid when building the KZ650." Ed

"The 650 engine, in my view as a mechanical engineer, is the superior engine. One piece crank, plain bearings, under bucket shims, etc."

"Gyoichi Ben Inamura was the head designer of the original Z1 in 1973... the 1000 is a bored out version of the 900 motor, identical in every respect. The same design team was used on the 650 in 1977 - I doubt they went backwards at that point and in fact a lot of lessons learned from the Z1 made it into the design of the 650 as improvements - how could the 650 ever be considered a inferior machine as compared to a 1000?
If you look at a 1977 650 and the same year 1000 (first year) they looked pretty similar except the 1000 was a lot bigger (heavier) and faster because of the larger displacement... this however did not make it a better motorcycle."

"The 650's are a better bike in my own opinion , when they came out they were the fastest 750 that year but also beat the 1000 in 24 hours of continues riding. My hopped up 650 also takes 1000's in a straight line too, at the race track I'd kill my friends by 1/2 second every time on their 1000's.
Mark"

The 650 set many 1977 AMA/FIM 750cc records, not beaten until the GSXR750 came out in '85 (I've heard).
The 650 never did get the same following as the Z1s/kz1000s, which I guess is good for the 650 owners, as prices for parts have not gone up like the big KZs.

A little while back, kawi//twin went to the ROK (Rider's of Kawasaki) Owners Club Koffe Meet at Kawasaki's USA Headquarters.
Here's are his words:

Yesterday I went to Kawasaki's USA Headquarters in Irvine, California, about 40 miles from my house. ROK (Rider's of Kawasaki - Kawasaki owners group) was having their 1st Kawasaki Koffe Meet. Great fun and met and talked with some interesting people.

The most interesting person I met that morning was Martin Carney who I believe was from England, but don't hold me to it. I am not great with accents . He was a tech/mechanic with Kawasaki back in the 70's and was instrumental in building up the engine side of the 3 1977 KZ650's for the 24 Hour record in the 750cc class. He said that the only changes to the stock bike were these:

1) Wider rims on Goodyear slicks, but laced to the stock hubs
2) Custom rear shocks
3) Customized gas tank to hold 2 more gallons
4) Bottom end of engine remained untouched, but received custom cams and larger valves
5) Carbs used were from a Z1 even though the pics show stock carbs
6) Points and Ignition remained stock
7) Custom rear sprocket. I did not count the teeth.
Exhaust is straight through, no baffles. Custom to look like stock.
9) Lockhart oil cooler from a period Triumph.
10) Airbox was empty with no filter and modified carb hoses to connect the Z1 carbs to the KZ650 airbox

Anyways he was a fountain of information. He retired 4 years ago, but Kawasaki keeps calling him back to work on "special projects". EVERYONE seemed to know him. I talked to him for a good hour as I have a '78 KZ650 and he loved talking to me about the racers involved in the record run. He told me how stone reliable this and other Kawasaki motors were. Good fun. Here is a picture of him next to the only remaining survivor of the 3 record bikes that Kawasaki knows of. He said that one was dismantled and the other sold very early on after the record was smashed to a collector.

Updated some more info.

As much as I like both the KZ1000 and KZ650 and have of course owned and ridden both in mostly stock form for many thousands of miles, I can't comment on the turbo much as I think I tried a turbo 650 for 100 miles and a Z1R turbo for about the same and found I'll keep my turbos on the diesel F350, no more aftermarket after those two mistakes, but anyways, both the KZ650 and KZ1000 have their advantanges over the other. To me I would call the roller bearing crank on the KZ1000 a plus except for the pressed design that negates that. I would call the overshim on the Kz1000 an advantage to the basic rider over the Kz650 under design. The KZ650 is a less vibey engine and easy to use in the real world, better than the KZ1000 for short rides and commuting. THe KZ1000 although more vibey, is 10x better for long highway trips, more relaxed, power is there, weight is an advantage, more stabil going down the road at 75mph. The KZ1000 uses quite a few orings in Japanese rubber and can and does eventually leak, however the KZ650 uses several "HUNDRED" orings and can and does eventually leak 100 times worse. OK exageration, but the KZ650 they wasn't considering rubber hardens and leaks and in a high mile engine leaks will be all over, all over is mildly stating it. KZ1000 engine is all around a more robust engine really in all regards, at least up till 1981, after the J came out the robust was gone.
Really if you put a 1977 Kz1000 and a 1977 KZ650 side by side and had to pick one it would depend on what you want to do, long distance and long life the Kz1000 hands down. Short distance, commutes to work, possible a little more aggressive twisty roads, the KZ650. KZ1000 will outlast the KZ650 engine in stock form. Just my own opinion of course, but have ridden both a lot.

I think my 1982 GPz1100 looks bitchin'.

Bikes like the Z1 and CB750 changed the motorcycle industry.

The CB750 put a reliable and decently fast motorcycle in the hands of the average person. No longer did you need to be a mechanic to own a motorcycle. No longer did you endure the puddles of oil under the British bikes and Harleys.

The Z1 turned the motorcycle into a performance machine. The CB750 was civilized, but uninspiring to ride. The Z1 was fast. Not just fast, but over-engineered massively. The first few performance tuners paved the way for many to follow. The handful of companies like Yoshimura and RC Engineering grew in a long list making and marketing parts. The drag strip and race track were showcases to the power these bikes could deliver.

Certainly back in the 70's, nearly everyone I knew who had a Z1 wanted it to go even faster. Customizing was the 'in' thing. From Amen Savior choppers to café racers like the Rickman, everything was about customizing. Repaints, 4-1's, pistons, cams, - and a fair share of ugly fairings and seats - all very normal back then. Even the automotive industry took note with companies like Crane making cams.

The business casualties are many. Very few of the performance and aftermarket companies from back then survived to current. Jay's APE is one, V&H was spawned from RC Engineering, but many of the names from back then are long gone...

Times change... I like the stock Z1's - but I do appreciate the custom bikes too. The funny thing is the USA and much of Europe are more into the showroom condition bikes than Japan. When you look at Z1 pictures out of Japan, you rarely see a stock looking bike. They are all tweaked in some form - many radically. Turning the Z1 into art seems to be the current Japanese thing.

Jeff.Saunders wrote: No longer did you endure the puddles of oil under the British bikes and Harleys.

stator grommet..... :whistle:

My uncle was a giant 6'9" about 250 and rode motorcycles all his life. Both off road and on, brits, japs and he also had a Mammoth iV. His favorite bike straight up was a 1977 KZ650. Now he did look better on some of his larger bikes including his 76 KZ900Ltd but given the chance he rode his 650 or his 750 Triumph. When he passed he had whittled down his bikes to 6. My father took over the estate and built back to 11 bikes. I now run the estate and have 14 bikes in the barns. My cherished bikes are my 2 1977 KZ650B1's that are both stock. One stock green and one stock red. I get the others out at least once a season but I work the 650's. We all have bikes we love and some do certain things better than others. Having had my uncles 76 900 and a few 1000's as well as some others I can say that I appreciate the 650's more than the others. To me they got it right with them. Then again I'm not hunting races or that "Crap! this guys bike means he knows what he's doing!" kind of thing!. I am merely enjoying a great day with wind on my face and bugs in my teeth. Playing fighter jet cruising down Mig Alley splashing the enemy, waving at Harleys watching them piss off when they realize they just waved back to a jap rider and getting appreciation from people who just love riding and wrenching on motorcycles. Your results may differ and that's cool too!

Kidkawie wrote:

Jeff.Saunders wrote: No longer did you endure the puddles of oil under the British bikes and Harleys.

stator grommet..... :whistle:

Ron nailed that one. 40 year old rubber is 40 year old shrunken and dried out rubber.... I must admit, the vast majority of my Z1's have leaked there - but it's not the puddles of oil you used to get under BSA's and Triumph's....

Jeff.Saunders wrote:

Kidkawie wrote:

Jeff.Saunders wrote: No longer did you endure the puddles of oil under the British bikes and Harleys.

stator grommet..... :whistle:

Ron nailed that one. 40 year old rubber is 40 year old shrunken and dried out rubber.... I must admit, the vast majority of my Z1's have leaked there - but it's not the puddles of oil you used to get under BSA's and Triumph's....

I never did figure out why they thought vertically split crankcases were a good idea. Or why they did not rectify their mistake. Of course, Lucas electrics and Amal carbs also helped their reputation. I rode with a Bonneville in the late sixties, and I was always tickled to see him "tickle" the carbs before he jumped on the kickstarter.

Thanks for the input! Each and everyone of us have our likes and dislikes, our preferences, the "this is the best thing since sliced bread" bike. Most are the bike they have in their garage and ride as often as they can. FYI guys, it ain't the best there is!! It's the best for you, hence, it's your best!! Jeff put it out there! The Japanese are modifying their own stuff more than we are! The biggest collectors, the guys that originally built these things are modifying them and they ain't screaming foul what so ever! So, with that being said! Enjoy!!'

Les Holt!

I can't speak with much authority about the good and bad of each model's mechanical design, but I have been fortunate in that I have had the chance to ride many different bikes over the years. I have found that each has it's positive and negative points, whether the bike was stock or modified. All in all, I still like my Z but must admit I would love someday to add a few different models to my garage. After seeing the kind of work folks are doing to the full range of model types here; I can say that with conviction.
I bought my KZ900 new back in 76 and quickly grew to love it as it came straight out of the box. Didn't change a thing until the warranty ran out. After that, like a lot of guys back then, I started to make changes as soon as I could afford them. Something about having so much of that "Get Up And Go" feeling really worked on me. Just owning a Z, in those days, meant you were on Quicksilver with not a lot of competition. And the basic model Z had a great deal of possibilities and made a pretty good platform on which to build and modify the machine to the individual needs or wants of the rider. The sky seemed the limit.
Stock or modified, city street, freeway or drag-strip, in my mind they all have a solid place in the world of motorcycles. I've always enjoyed seeing where the craft goes. There are a lot of bright and talented people out there doing some pretty cool stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that someone has built an Off Road version. Who knows; maybe out there somewhere is an In-Line 4 lurking in the bush just waiting for some unsuspecting Taco or Husky to go buzzing by. And Hill Climbing? Think of the amount of dirt a machine like that could throw.
Riders have always been a kind of R&D for the manufactures. Each change a rider makes adds to the body of knowledge and effects the models that come down the line in future years. Even the Stock machine tells a story as the years pass and broaden the field. Every since the In-Line 4 was introduced, the world of motorcycles has gone through rapid growth and change. And whether the change has come by way of the guy on the street working to add a few horsepower or make the bike handle better in the curves, or the Company filling the needs in the market place called for by the rider; it's a good time for Bikes.
It's said that one can tell a tree by it's fruit. Judging from what I've seen in the gallery and the posts, plus my own time with a KZ900, I understand why the Z and it's generation is so prized.

Peace, Good Health and No Speed Limit To All, Intrepid