The Legendary Kawasaki Z1--FIRST inline-four SUPERBIKE?

Comments · 182

• JO

  @JohnvanWyngaard · 2 years ago

  Kevin Cameron! He is the guru of gurus, as articulate and sensible and entertaining and easy listening and understanding as anyone imaginable. Could listen to him anytime, everywhere, maybe even on anything, bless us all.

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• CO

  @coarsegoldkid · 2 years ago

  The 1974 Z1 was my first four stroke in a long line of previous two stroke motorcycles. &nbsp;One being a H1. &nbsp;The stock Z1 was truly a Super bike. &nbsp;In &apos;75 I raced mine at Willow Springs twice in the Cafe Class sporting a Kerker that kept banging the tarmac in turn nine. &nbsp;I&apos;m hear to tell you they did wobble a good bit in 8a and 8b with that tiny swingarm axle and Dunlop K81s. &nbsp;However that bike blew the side covers off of every machine in class between my last position on the grid and turn one. &nbsp;Drag racing experience helped. To my astonishment I got the holeshot into turn one. &nbsp;Full of adrenaline and in the lead I ran off the track entering turn three, if memory serves, at the carousel. &nbsp;By the time I got back on the track I was several bikes back in the pack. &nbsp;By the end of the race I had captured first place. &nbsp;My second race was a clone of the first until I was passed, one on each side, by non-other than Cook Nelson&apos;s BMW and Kaz&apos;s Honda 400 Four in the Super Cafe Class in turn 8a and b. &nbsp;Scared the heck out of me and wobbled it off into the desert until the tall berm perimeter of the track. Wow! &nbsp;Those were the days. &nbsp;Never did it again.<br>I think the Z1s had an optimistic speedo though because it read 140+ a time or two during my ownership. &nbsp;Somehow I made it out alive and now ride dual sport bikes in the Sierra.

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• JE

  @Jerry-ff3ry · 2 years ago

  In Nov 72 I bought a tomato orange and brown Z1. I was wrenching at the local Kawasaki dealer. I learned how to be risk avererse rider on this bike. I rode until 2016 having only one injury ( one of those dumb mistakes we all make) never having an accident with an animate or inanimate object. &nbsp;Previous to the Z1 were a Mustang Pony, &nbsp;T110C, a B50, and a couple dirt bikes<br>I put the model numbers in for you sleuths. The Z1 was stolen in 74 and not recovered. I still somtimes weep. Around 75, Kawasaki came out with improved swing arm bushings eliminating rubber band flex<br>Those stories here of 135/140 mph speeds on a stock Z1 were down a Utah mine shaft, with a tail wind. I asembled, seviced many Z1s and dreaded triples. Speedometers were wildly optomistic. BTW I have a pristine 73 Z1 maintenane and sevice manuel. Please excuse spelling and grammer mistakes. I&apos;m old.

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• KE

  @KenAustin-i4x · 1 year ago

  the valve springs exclaiming &quot;oh ! &nbsp;I need a rest !&quot; &nbsp; fabulous

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• SE

  @seanwood137 · 2 years ago

  This is fascinating, &nbsp;rider vs engineering. I&apos;ve been reading Cameron&apos;s stuff since 1975, it&apos;s very interesting to hear him speaking. A literal encyclopedia of m/c knowledge, &nbsp;thank you.

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• GO

  @gordonwallin2368 · 2 years ago

  Zed 1 was the ultimate in &apos;70&apos;s. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

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• VX

  @vxe6vxe6 · 2 years ago

  I bought a basket case Daytona Special RD400 as my first 2 stroke street bike. It was a &quot;race bike&quot;, huge RS flatslides, big bore kit, &quot;ported head&quot;, LOL!<br>The first time I rode it, SEIZE. Too lean. I fixed that issue, rode it to the rock store, no issues.<br>After a couple hours it would not start.<br>Fouled plugs. LOL!<br>A friend had to go to Thousand Oaks Suzuki to get plugs.<br>Rode it to work the next day, coming down the street where I worked I goosed it in second gear and brought the front end up in a killer power wheelie in front of all the guys.<br>as I was pulling into the parking lot the engine seized. LOL!<br>At that point I broke it loose ad got it running.<br>I took it to the Yamaha shop in Ventura, the owner said NFW he was going to buy that bike from me or trade it in.<br>One of his mechanics saw it and had to have it.<br>I sold it on the spot for $500 and put a down payment on a 1985 RZ350.

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• TE

  @tedecker3792 · 2 years ago

  I bought one of the very first Z1s in 73, I remember its sweet spot was 100mph. College was 200 miles away, a two hour trip when you knew where the highway patrol hung out.

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• JO

  @Johnnyfreitas1 · 2 years ago

  I had two friends in high school that had this bike, one was killed on a hit the side of a truck at 140 miles an hour roughly and the other one had zero problems. It was a bad ass bike back then.

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• RI

  @richardkeller4234 · 2 years ago

  In 1974 i was a 14yr old living in japan on a US navy base and our base store had on display a Z-1 along with a yamaha motorcross500, along with one or two others. &nbsp;It was fun sitting on that Z-1 imagining what could be.

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• MA

  @magellanicspaceclouds · 2 years ago

  I like this &quot;milestone motorcycle&quot; series. Please cover more of them.

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• MA

  @mattrohr1266 · 2 years ago

  The first Z1 did just look good, it was the sexiest thing with two wheels I had ever seen. And I was 14 years old. If you put a Honda 750 next to it, it looks 10 years newer and better in every way.

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