Report this message as spam or having improper contents
Thank you for reporting improper contents. Reported messages will normally be checked manually within 24 hours. To avoid misuse of this forum by programmed robots, we have to ask for the characters in the picture below.
RE: Kawasaki 1000 D model aka Z 1 R
Emmery Neuperger said 2005-07-04 15:47
Hi, Ive got a Kawi Z1R 1978 that i got 15 years ago in a partially wrecked state. I´ve spent the last 10 years getting it up to almost new condition with lots of hurdles along the way. It is a great bike with a few drawbacks. The best thing I like about it is that the styling is almost timeless...meaning that when you look at it, it is hard to tell when it was made since it is so unique. The only thing I don´t like about it is the willowy frame that shows a propensity for high speed wobbles above 90 mph. I do believe that many people have solved this problem by tig welding some gussets in the gas tank area of the frame. An interesting thing about this bike is that when it was first reviewed back in the late 70´s they claimed it as the first production jap bike that did under 12 second quarter miles. Several of the testing facilities noted that the bike performed better with riders that are heavier than the normal 100 lb jockeys they use for this. A friend of mine did an 11.4 second quarter on my stock bike and he weighs 195 lbs. I think it has to do with getting weight on the rear wheel for traction. Anyways...its nice to see another appreciative owner of what I think is one of the nicest bikes of its era. Emmery