THE KAWASAKI Z1 STORY

The history of the Kawasaki Z1 is well documented, and as we celebrate the 50th ‘birthday’ of the Z1 (1972-2022) its place in the history motorcycle evolution has never been more significant.

 

Countless books, articles, websites and social media groups are dedicated to the history and on-going preservation of the Kawasaki Z1. Reccomended article here: https://bikereview.com.au/history-kawasaki-legend-z1-900-new-york-steak/

 

Rather than repeat what has already been so well documented, I will simply give my own short summary of what the Kawasaki 900 Super Four (model Z1) means to me.

 

When Honda released the CB750 to World in 1969 it was arguably the most advanced motorcycle ever produced for the masses. We later learnt that Honda had beaten Kawasaki by only a few months in terms of releasing a 750cc inline four cylinder, 4-stroke motorcycle. Had Kawasaki ‘won’ that particular development and release race, motorcycle history of the latter part of the 20th century would have been very different.

 

However, with the CB750 released to great fanfare, Kawasaki took the decision to not release their own 750cc 4-stroke motorcycle, but rather rethink, and reengineer their own ‘super bike’ and in 1972 the Kawasaki 900 Super Four (model Z1) was released to the public in October 1972 at the IFMA motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany,

 

At this time I was more interested in pedal cycles, but my father was a lifelong lover and rider of motorcycles and in November 1972 he took me to the Earls Court bike show for my 9th birthday. What I saw during that visit has been indelibly etched into my mind ever since, and non more so than the magnificent Kawasaki that I saw on the elevated stand on that day in 1972. The bike was of course a Z1, and in fact, what we now know is the bike in question was actually a press bike, notable by the large ‘Kawasaki’ emblem on the side panels. I was transfixed by the sheer beauty of the candy brown and orange paintwork, the ducktail, the black engine and of course those iconic exhaust pipes. Up until that time the only motorcycles I had ever really seen up close where my fathers AJS, Sunbeam S7, BMW R25, R50 and his prized R69S. You can imagine what an impression the beautiful Z1 had on me.