Rare Kz model?

New to the whole kz seen.I recently purchased an 1978 kz1000.
My question is!What is the rarest model?Or most expensive?

The rarest is the early year Z1. They launched the bike in 1972 but the models were designated as 1973s. The Kz models beginning in 1976 are less valuable but can still pull in a pretty penny if in unmodified, original form.

I saw a clip on Youtube of Z1 - The Movie and there was a guy who had one from the second day of production. I think the number was #124 or in that range. A bike like that in mint condition would have the worldwide collectors lining up. The bidding would start to get serious around $30K and go upwards from there. There are some members on Kzr that have some of these rare bikes and Jeff from Z1 Enterprises is one of the Z1/Kz experts who really knows his K bikes.

Another rare bike is the Turbo Z1R model. They were only offered for a couple of years and while they may not bring in the same type of coin as an unmolested early year Z1 they are still pretty high priced.

Cheers and welcome to Kzr.

Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

Right you are Reborn650.

ricerocket-here is the clip we all have seen on Youtube, its really been itching me to purchase the DVD so I could see the whole show.

enjoy:

I bought a '73 Z1 new, and sold it the next year to get a newer bike.

It is one of 3 bikes I wish I had never sold.

After typing that I realized that 2 of my 3 'wish I kept' list are Kawasakis.

In my search for a 1000 I ran across this on E-bay.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Kawasaki-KZ...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's a 750.

Well, the rarest and most expensive is a model that is rarely, if ever, chatted about on this forum as few people (on the planet) know anything about it. They don't come up for sale and all but one are in private collections...1982 KZ1000S1 model. Kawasaki released a race-ready version of the 1981 Eddie Lawson Superbike champion ...a total of 29 were sold...price unknown but exceptionally desirable...I would guess maybe between US$30,000-40,000...I've seen photos of one on the web and in 4 years, one bit of literature on eBay (and I missed it...drat!)

dannyg40 wrote:

In my search for a 1000 I ran across this on E-bay.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Kawasaki-KZ...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's a 750.

I stand corrected...that has to be the world's rarest Kawasaki :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Someone needs to be gentle when they tell him.

The European Z2 750 4 cylinder bikes are starting to
get rare. The 1980 Z1R is collectable.1984 KZ1100R
Canadian? is hard to find.

Yea I agree with McDroid. The S1. Most have been purchased by Japanese collectors though

Rarity is kind of hard to determine vs. value. Maybe a KZ250 is actually rarer than a Z1 but doesn't make it worth a bunch of money. Sometimes there is reason for rare. The S1 was a race only motorcycle that even if you had the money, Kawasaki would not sell you one. You had to have a large racing resume and they determined who would be able to buy the motorcycle at the time. I could be wrong but it seems like they were close to $20,000 at the time. I could be way off, but they were a lot of money. They are rare for good reason. The 73 Z1 was never rare as it was a very great seller. They made a lot of them, but being the first year and arguably the best looking Z1 they are worth money and finding one not all butchered is rare.

The S1 was $10,999.00 US in 1982 but they didn't sell them to just anyone with the $. As a matter of fact Rob Muzzy told me at a dragrace in 2000 that the last 6 or 8 were sold to someone in Europe (Holland ?)for
$ 8000.00 each. Two were in Canada,Rhys Howard and Rueben McMurter both raced them and I got to see Rueben's up close and personal a lot back then.

Another rare model is the 79-80 Mkll. Especially the black USA model, gold striping and no MKll on the sidecover badge.Not many MKll's survived for some reason,best cases for dragracing maent lots of donor bikes I guess.

1976 Kz 900 LTD was first LTD only 900 LTD and they were only made 1/2 year. the ELR is the rarer of the Kz line but was a one off piece for the people with more dollars than sense.I saw one in Barstow Calif. in 84 or 85 chained to alite pole in a truck stop parking lot.it looked like they drug it home behind a truck.

Post edited by: 76 LTD, at: 2007/07/10 19:04