From endurance records, to the drag strip, to proddie racing, to full-on road racing, to movies, the original Zed in one form or another could do it all. Here are just a few of its many highlights
How can one motorcycle dominate an entire decade?
The Z1 ruled the 1970s because it was mechanically and aesthetically right first time, so far ahead of anything else on offer when it arrived in Britain in 1973, and not until Suzuki’s GS1000 turned up in 1978 did it have any serious rivals.
The beleaguered British bike industry (such as it was) flailed away making already overstretched twins bigger (750 Bonnie in 1972 and 850 Commando in 1973) – but couldn’t come anywhere near the Zed’s levels of refinement and reliability.
The Italians came closest to usurping the Kawasaki with Laverda’s Jota, Ducati’s 900SS, and the Moto Guzzi Le Mans. But pricewise they could not compete. Bargain basement Brit stuff was £739 for a T140V Bonnie, £849 for an 850 Commando in 1976. A Zed was £1400, a Le Mans or 900SS £2000. No contest.
And aside from the stark performance/ value for money figures, Kawasaki cleverly massaged the equally important reliability message with a 24-hour speed record stunt at Daytona in 1973.
This attempt was conceived expressly, in Kawasaki’s words: “To prove the Z1 could live up to its press clippings.” And to this end KMC (Kawasaki Motors Corporation USA) recruited Motorcycle Weekly editor John Weed and Cycle magazine associate editor Cook Neilson to join a roster of factory racers; Yvon Duhamel, Gary Nixon, Art Baumann, Hurley Wilvert and Cliff Carr, along with Japanese factory rider Masahiro Wada, and KMC R&D manager Bryon Farnsworth.
This posse turned up at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona beach, Florida, USA in March 1973 (just after Jarno Saarinen had won the 200 on a Yamaha TZ350), armed with a selection of Yoshimura-prepped Z1s.
The main weapon was a fully-faired Zed with a single seat and clip-on ’bars, a stock bottom-end, but fitted with a Pops-tuned top-end (ported, reground cams, Keihin CR ca
