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I am going to date my self here, but I bought a new 1975 Kawasaki Z-900 in 1975. I had great fun with that bike and made some simple mods to it such as a Denco 4 into 1 exhaust and some other goodies. I unwillingly sold that bike after I got married and after a few years went the Harley route and eventually around 2005 moved to BMW 4's and later K1600's. I always missed my '75 Kawasaki and lately before I get any older, I would like to get another mid 70's Kawasaki to play with. Here's my question to the forum, what year 4 cylinder 900/1000 cc Kawasaki would you choose to purchase, other than a '73, to have some fun and enjoyment with? My first thought was to find another nice stock '75, but there were some positive changes made on later 900's and 1000's that may make for a better all around motorcycle. By positive changes I am referring to the strengthened frames after '75 and the addition of disc brakes a bit later. My year range would end in '78 or so. Thanks for any input.

Rick H.

I own 2 1977 z650's a 1975 Z1B and a 1977 z1000A1. The 650's are every bit as quick as the other bikes on normal non motorway riding but lighter and easier to ride quickly. They benefit from stronger frames and better handling as does the 1000, over the 900.
The 900 is a lovely bike and iconic and gets all the Oohh's and Aahh's when you stop for fuel or a cuppa. I only use it for model specific meets.
The 1000 is just a bigger version of the 650 essentially and only gets used when I know there will be a significant amount of motorway mileage involved in the trip.
95% of the time I use a 650's simply because they do everything, except the outright grunt, that the bigger bikes do with less effort input by the rider.

I have two Z1B's and a 1980 KZ1000 LTD. All three are stock, but the 1000 has a '78 head.

For riding I prefer the 1000 because it holds the road a little better and it has significantly more power. But overall there's not a lot of difference.

I also had a Z1B back in 1975, which is why I have them now.

I am a relatively big guy so the KZ1000 works for me.

I think if you go 1980 and older you retain that vintage vibe, have lots of different choices and parts compatibility to play with.