Kawasaki Z1

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The motorcycle

The Z1 Kawasaki was a motorcycle introduced in 1972 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It has been described as the world's first superbike, but that term is probably more accurately applied to the BSA Rocket 3. The Z1, along with Honda's CB750, introduced the four-cylinder, across the frame, disc-braked layout.

History

The Z1 Kawasaki was developed in strict secrecy under the project name "New York Steak". Some years previously, Kawasaki, already an established manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles, decided to make a 750cc 4-cylinder 4-stroke sports motorcycle; they were beaten to the market place by the Honda CB750. Apparently, the bosses at Kawasaki were horrified and ordered their designers to come up with something overwhelmingly better.^[1] The subsequent design was a 903cc bike with styling details that took the motorcycling world by storm and set a benchmark against which all future motorcycles would be judged. Since then it has been surpassed many times in terms of advances in technology but the timeless beauty of the original remains as fresh to this day as it did in 1972.This iconic motorcycle has a huge and dedicated worldwide following.

Overview

The combination of a 903cc engine, dual overhead cams, high performance and civility at modest engine speeds created a motorcycle of a type that had never been seen before.

Impact on the industry

All other manufacturers had to change their mindset to keep up with popularity of this motorcycle. By the end of the decade all Japanese manufacturers had developed machines featuring dohc across-the-frame layouts. This particular motorcycle changed the life of Ron Christie (who went on to be a well known motorcycle historian).

Design changes

The basic design of the Z1 remained relatively unchanged until 1975, when the Z900 was introduced, with changes including reduced power output, improved suspension, a stiffer frame, revised styling and improved braking.

References

External links

• "STONE" - Australian film (released 1974) that heavily featured several Z1's ridden by a post-Vietnam veteran's outlaw biker gang
• Video of an original 1973 Z1 pulling away
• Kawasaki Z1 specs, model information, and pictures

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