1973 Kawasaki Z1: King of the Road

(Page 5 of 5)

May/June 2006
By Margie Siegal 
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One of the bikes Troyce kept an eye out for was another 1973 Z1 — the bike that had turned towards him as he was leaving it that fateful day long ago. He started by buying pieces of the exhaust system. “I have had several '75s, and a '76 K1000, but I was looking for another '73. Finally, I found this one in Fort Lauderdale in good condition. It had the wrong handlebars, a king/queen seat and the wrong exhaust, but it was otherwise okay and ran fine. The guy didn't know what he had.” Troyce located the correct components and set the bike straight.

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 “I've always had a special attraction to this bike. I still enjoy the way it feels pulling from low rpm up to where the afterburner kicks in. It's a big bike, but I'm 6'2” and it fits me,” Troyce says. “It has a few faults. Vibration may not have seemed so bad in 1973, but it blurs the mirrors at cruising speed, and the seat is hard for an extended trip.

“And it's hard to get to the valve adjustors. The valves adjust with shims that sit in a depression on top of the valves. Kawasaki decided to use the shims to get precise valve clearances — at the time, it was an innovation. But you need special tools to adjust the valves, and if you race the bike and miss a shift, the bike may spit the valve shims out of the valve cover,” Troyce says.
You might say beauty is in the mind of the beholder. The Kawasaki Z1 has to be appreciated on its own terms — not as better or worse than the contemporary Norton Commando or Honda Four, but as an innovative motorcycle, a step ahead of the competition in many ways, but still very much of its time and place. As Troyce says: “The bike gives me a heavy dose of nostalgia. The color is perfect — hey, the overall visual is perfect. It does it for me: I like to sit on a stool and stare at the bike.” MC

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  • Lindy 12/11/2008 6:48:11 PM

    This is one of the rare times where I have the first hand experience regarding an article published here. I currently own a 1975 Norton Interstate and have been both grateful and impressed with its good road manners. It remains composed during unexpected situations such as a surprise pothole while substantially leaned over in a tight left hand turn. Although I expected pain I maintained by line through the hole with no road rash, no bobble not even a wiggle. During a Kawasaki Z1 test ride many years earlier, I was applying moderate throttle from a stop sign making a right turn when the rear tire began steering the bike. There was no lose of grip, but the direction of travel and balance were very scary causing me to back off the throttle. I did not dump the new Z1, but was glad to return it to the Dealership. I have enjoyed numerous other makes since then, loved the Suzuki 750 Four in a test ride in heavy traffic on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California. Wish I had bought that one. Has no else experienced this handling issue on a Z1?

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