Kawasaki Z1

The Kawasaki Z1, or KZ900/Z900 as it was also known, was one of the meanest motorcycles in history. It started in 1971 when Kawasaki was developing a large four cylinder four stroke bike under the code name "New York Steak". The bike was meant initially to be 750cc's, but when Honda revealed their CB750 a year before the Kawasaki the development team went back to the drawing boards. They came back with a 903cc air cooled dohc bike that successfully upstaged Honda, as well as just about everyone else in the industry. With about 80hp the Kawasaki's motor was a beast, giving the bike the nickname "The King". Not only did the Z1 over power Honda's revolutionary CB750, but it outsold it. The Z1 was not with out its faults. While the engine of the Z1 was second to none, the rest of the bike was not quite as impressive. This bike carried on the tradition started by Kawasaki's Mach III and Mach IV, with a monster motor and a relatively limp chassis. Steering was downright scary and the brakes were adequate at best.

Despite the Z1's quirks the bike was a huge success for Kawasaki and the Z1 lived on through the years in various disguises. In the early 1980's a racy version called the Z1R was introduced. Racer Eddie Lawson was made famous riding this mean green machine. The 900cc Z1 eventually evolved into the 1000cc KZ1000, which lived on as a police motorcycle for many years. In Japan the Z1's basic design lived on in the Zephyr model line. Z1 DNA can be seen in many of Kawasaki's bikes. The ZRX was introduced in the 90's as a retro tribute to the Z1R of the 80's. Today the Z1's spiritual successor is the Z1000 a "naked" bike based of the ZX-9R. This bike set the tone for Kawasaki's four stroke street bikes, and helped create an identity for the brand that lasts today.

Family tree (for US market)
1972-1976 Z1 (KZ900)
1977-1983 KZ1000
1978/1980 Z1R