Who here thinks Kawasaki is the best bike maker and why?

Hey again everyone.
I was at my local Kawasaki dealership recently, chatting away to the parts department guy, I said something like "I love the old air cooled kawasakis, dont you think they're the best bike maker?"
his response was No! He said "I've owned many different bikes, I think Honda make the best"
That's fair enough, I asked his opinion and he gave me an honest answer.
my thoughts are, there are many bikes beside Kawasaki that I admire and would be more than happy to own and also I feel that with the sports bike boom of the late 80s and 90s the big four became very similar to look at and technically quite evenly matched.
there's one big reason why Kawasaki will always be king for me and some of you might agree, the birth of the Z1 in 1972.
I think they got everything so right, they wanted to make the king motorcycle and I believe they did, if you want to knit pick, the frame did come under some criticism but it didn't stop the bike from being the wonderful, fast and beautiful machine that it is.
of course the older two stroke triples were also brilliant but I think everything just really came together for the Z1.
the bike is so good that in my mind they have the number one spot with me permanently. 
Another thing is its screen presence in the original mad max, yes there was a Honda CB and even a Laverda but most of the bad guys had kawasaki zeds, some close to stock and others full of lovely period modifications particularly the black toe cutter thousand and the Goose thousand both with the same big fairing, single seat and rear sets etc.
not to mention the sound from assorted custom exhausts too, nothing sounds quite so powerful and aggressive as a 900/1000 on open pipes!
dont get me wrong, its great that there are many different bikes in many shapes and sizes, it makes the world a more interesting place but Kawasaki will always have a very special place with me.
I'm interested to hear what you guys think and what you relate to 

As you say there are many great bikes out there but few are legends like the Z1. For a lot of the guys here there are emotional links to a time long since passed. For me my first experience of a big Z was as a passenger when I was 16 years old (77 kz1000) It scared me shitless and left me with the feeling “I gotta have one of these”

I completely agree with you on every point!
The "Z" virus really got a hold of me back when the Z1 was first released... and in '79, I got my first Z1—'73 model. I felt absolutely invincible on that machine back then... When the movie *Mad Max* was showing in theaters, and I walked out to my Kawasaki Z1 parked right in front of the lobby, everyone stared at me as if I were from another planet. It was an incredible feeling to fire up that beast and speed off.



((...and even some 26 years later, that was reason enough for me to build a total of four "Mad Max"-style Kawasaki Z1000s between 2005 and 2012... I always thought they were really cool; I even went to the trouble of fabricating the "crossover" exhaust system for my "Goose" replica... (That bike is currently still for sale on eBay Germany; the owner bought it from me in 2016 and now, unfortunately, has to part with it...)




 
 

That's a brilliant story mfp Joe   a few years ago at a bike meet a guy showed up with a very good toe cutter replica, all the right details were there from the thin front mudguard to the matt black side exhaust apart from it had indicators and the motor was the 1015cc mk2 square cam cover type.
it was for sale at £7500 I never wanted 7500 so bad! It sold within about 10 days!

Yes, that was a wild and busy time for me. Back then, after building the prototype + mold for the fairing, I had a small batch produced by a professional fiberglass specialist—though it required a significant investment on my part, and also,as did manufacturing the windshields for them. I had thought—or hoped—there would be more interest here in Germany, but that turned out not to be the case. I did sell a few to Japan (and, unsurprisingly, copies of them suddenly started appearing there...). I sold the "Toecutter" to a buyer from Belgium in 2016. After selling the "Goose" at late 2016, i finished with that all,...and sold the molds for fairing and seat in 2018 or so..

All I know is when I put my 73 Z1 next to a Honda 750 of the same year Cant help but think the Honda is a bit ,Well kinda ugly like a square box. I have had my share of CB750's and yes they are pretty nice but pretty mild in comparison to the Z1 in looks and performance. I prefer Kawasaki and Yamaha over Honda. I think both feel like motorcycles compared the any Honda. That said I do have a Honda Blackbird that should be up and running in a couple of weeks so maybe I may rethink this answer. But as of now I will stick to what I have said above.
My friends 70 CB750
 

One of the 73's I did for a friend
 

Cant beat the styling 



 

I feel very much the same way you do, Cra-z1:

I’ve seen plenty of beautifully restored Honda 750 K0s, but compared to the Z1, it strikes me as "boxy and small"... and from a technical standpoint, I find it absolutely "unrefined" compared to the Kawasaki:
The valve cover and cylinder head can only be removed with the engine taken out, there are no bearing shells for the camshaft, to change the spark-plugs is a mess, folr everyting, you have to pull the nengine out of the frame,... and there are a hundred other examples... in terms of design and ease of repair, the Kawasaki Z1 engine is a masterpiece of engineering and mechanical design! Howgh !!!
 

Fantastic, I do like the cb750 (especially the red one in 1984 the Terminator! ) but yes the Z1 is the full package , I love how power speed and style we're what Kawasaki was all about in the 70s into the 80s 
I found the pictures of the Toe cutter replica at the bike meet a few years ago plus a cb750 was there that day plus a Vincent 1000 

Great nice bikes!!

( That was my "Toecutter--bike", standing there in my former livingroom in 2014 or so..



But that´s all dust from yesterday...and long time gone.. ;-)But the fact and truth is, I still love both my Kawasaki Z1000s and ride them as often as I possibly can—and as often as my circumstances allow.
 

'Best' covers much territory.

Examples of:
Industrial art?
  Overall, eye-catching design? 
Ongoing parts availability?
  Engineering superiority? 
Serviceability?
  Absolute reliability? 
Brand cachet?
   Rarity?
Collectibility?

Have we missed anything?

A 'best' case can be made for at least one bike and / or most any brand.

We're gonna carefully step over this deep rabbit hole, and continue on our way.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

The "Toecutter" would have said: "...what a beautiful philosophy you have..."
 

In the late 1970's my buddy Pete (on his 74 Z1) and I (on my 76 CB750) rode to the Quabbin reservoir (in western Massachusetts), about a 90 mile round trip. When leaving to return home Pete suggested we switch motorcycles for the ride back. What a difference!  A month later the CB750 had been sold and I was the second owner of a 74 Z1. (Pete's was an early 74 Z1, mine has the later carburetors).  Still ride it regularly. Other motorcycles have come and gone over the years but always kept the Z1.

Taken on a ride a couple weeks ago.