What keeps you on a KZ?

wrote:

Well said Matt!   Thanks for posting one of my all time favorite videos,  I remember watching it for the first time in the factory early in 1975.  The KZ650 video is pretty cool also.

Mike

Mike, I can’t imagine what a moral boost watching that video must have been. To learn that you work on and build such highly acclaimed machines had to be a great feeling. The list of records broken at the end of that video stands on its own. 

wrote:

I like that closing shot with the on-board camera.  A bit of wiggle here and there entering the banking at 130mph, then up close to 140 on the straight.  A nice thumbs up to the pit crew at 120+.  That's a serious machine.

wrote:

wrote:

 

I like that closing shot with the on-board camera.  A bit of wiggle here and there entering the banking at 130mph, then up close to 140 on the straight.  A nice thumbs up to the pit crew at 120+.  That's a serious machine.

I wonder if they could have gone .5mph faster if they left their house keys off of the keychain!

wrote:

I wonder if they could have gone .5mph faster if they left their house keys off of the keychain!

It looks like a bottle opener to me.  24 hours is a long time.  What if you get thirsty at 130mph?

One of the records listed is a 1-lap record of 160.199 mph.  I always thought the 160mph speedo was pretty darn optimistic, but it turns out it's just enough.

wrote:

wrote:

wrote:

 

I like that closing shot with the on-board camera.  A bit of wiggle here and there entering the banking at 130mph, then up close to 140 on the straight.  A nice thumbs up to the pit crew at 120+.  That's a serious machine.

I wonder if they could have gone .5mph faster if they left their house keys off of the keychain!

I did notice that. Funny. 

Truth is they mentioned tire wear as the bottleneck. They had to balance wear against speed. Time to change out more tires would increase lap times. Affecting total distance and average speed. What could have really been achieved it tires were less of a factor. Unless I missed something they broke all those records on the first attempt. All that was completed in 3 days, extremely impressive. 

I've always likes the look of the KZ 650 C with the mag wheels and duckbill in the back. Except with a 750 GPz engine and oil cooler.

My return to KHI after 40 years was a bit of nostalgia, as I owned a Z1B back in the day.  I told myself that I would buy another one if the opportunity came around, and it did.  As I began to do work on my acquisition I was pleasantly surprised by how thoughtful the designers were when it came to pulling things apart.  They are very easy to work on.  A lot of thought must have gone into how to maintain them....other than the seat....that feels like sitting on a 3/4 inch slab of plywood!

I've owned Yamaha products but never a motorcycle.  I couldn't believe how complicated their snow machine was.  Very well engineered but little consideration for maintenance.
 

To paraphrase what Ed said:

 


That was taken after her first bath in a long time.

The best answer I could give about my Zephyr 750 is pictures. It is but a short excerpt of our story.  The oldest and the newest photos stand 12 years apart. I do not dare to insert those pictures in the post body because it likely will bury the thread.  
 

I'll just let the picture speak a thousand words...
 

wrote:

.
 

Ed

Whenever I think about having a KZ650 I have Ed's bike in my mind. Beautiful. 

wrote:

I'll just let the picture speak a thousand words...
 

LOL. It was the same with me except I was on a moped borrowed from a girl I was "seeing" at the time. Every day I parked next to an ELR in the college MC parking lot. Humiliating. 
I have had this since 2007. I have a few  Yammys but will always be a Kawasaki Guy.