Beschreibung:

Having established its performance credentials with the Mach III two-stroke triple, Kawasaki went on to ace the opposition with the awe-inspiring Z1. The model had been planned in 750cc form in the late 1960s but was beaten to the showroom by Honda’s CB750. Kawasaki’s proposed superbike already had two overhead camshafts to the Honda’s one, so its designers redrew the motor as a 900. Launched in 1972 at the Cologne Show, the big ‘Z’ set new road-bike performance standards, at least as far as straight line speed was concerned. With 82bhp on tap, top speed was around 130mph, but if the rider used all that power on twisty roads, things could get exciting. As a fast tourer though, the Z1 excelled. Mildly revised, the model was renamed Z900 for 1976. Characterful in the extreme, these early ‘Big Zeds’ are served by an enthusiastic owners club and are increasingly sought after today. Few bikes from Japan have had as big an impact on the motorcycling world. This Z1A was purchased in 2008 by the vendor from a friend of his. The latter had owned it for the preceding 25 years (but not registered it in his name until August 1990) and kept the machine on display in his front room. ‘BNE 24N’ is unusual in retaining its original exhaust system, which has never been repaired, while the recorded mileage of only 9,194 is believed genuine. We are advised that the frame and cycle parts have been restored, though the related bills have been lost. The machine is presented in generally very good condition and offered with Swansea V5 registration document.