Topic: Yes, a Z1 & H1- unofficial Kawasaki thread - H2 is now a rider!!!

[Retro Rocket]

Here we go again with Retro Rocket being an asshat.

The Bonneville is a GREAT bike. But it's a very generic bike. You can easily have a GREAT, generic bike. The CB750 is an example.

Sorry, it just doesn't fit my image.

Do you actually think a stock Bonne will smoke a CB750 in straight line performance? I beg to differ.

Haha, being an asshat because i actually know what i'm talking about and have ridden all the bikes mentioned here..?  Your a real tool Fenders...You make stupid statements about stuff you have absolutely no idea about, you set yourself up for ridicule every time, you also seem to have trouble with comprehension mate... I said..

A bonny will smoke your 750 in most aspects expect maybe top speed

But still, you wouldn't have a clue because you've never ridden one.....there's a theme starting to evolve here....

[fendersrule]

I'll let you continue to argue with yourself because you are not making any sense, so carry on.

If you "bullied" someone in real life as you do with others in the forum, one day you are bound to get a knuckle sandwich. It makes me wish you lived a bit closer.

[Retro Rocket]

I'll let you continue to argue with yourself because you are not making any sense, so carry on.

If you "bullied" someone in real life as you do with others in the forum, one day you are bound to get a knuckle sandwich. It makes me wish you lived a bit closer.

And i'll let you continue to make a fool of yourself Fenders, at least your consistent.... There's a big difference between bullying and pointing out bullsh1t , when you work that out things may just change....

[Retro Rocket]

Here we go again with Retro Rocket being  rude and condesending. Are you that bored to search my post history and reply to every post that I make being an "asshat"?

The Bonneville is a GREAT bike. I never said anything different. The Corvette is a great car, too. But it's a very generic bike. You can easily have a GREAT, generic bike. The CB750 is an example of this.

Sorry, it just doesn't fit my image. Are you actually saying that the new Bonneville is a unique bike that's suited for a young man? Sorry, but it's completely the opposite.

And why are you continually bashing my bike? What does the Boneville have to do with my 30+ year old bike? What point are you trying to make?

Well it looks like you continually go back and edit your posts Fenders, which puts things into a different context so i'll clear things up for you..

Rude and condescending, pointing out that your wrong is rude now..You make statements about things you have only read about and try to make out they are fact or from your experience, not once have you said "I've read" or "i've been told", you just blurt out statements that make it clear that you haven't actually ridden the bikes you are telling everyone about so its , well not true.?  Didn't you post on the forum last year some time that you've "just got your bike license"..?     Search your history, are you for real, you are commenting in a thread that shows up in my reply list FFS, your getting a little paranoid don't you think, you really aren't that important to me Fenders...

Sorry, it just doesn't fit my image. Are you actually saying that the new Bonneville is a unique bike that's suited for a young man? Sorry, but it's completely the opposite.

Is that what i said..? The bonnie has been around for 50 years Fenders in all shapes and sizes and it suits who ever decides to buy one, just because it doesn't suit you doesn't mean young people shouldn't buy one..?
Bashing your bike, I can't even find anything even remotely resembling "bashing your bike"..WTF does that mean..?  you are a real weird one mate..

[Terry in Australia]

High speed wobble, ill handling...

You must have

... good taper roller bearing ...

...Steering damper..



...Konis..



What they had in those days were ill tyres.

Drove 210 km/h yesterday.... and survived!!

That's a beautiful bike Sarge, good to see someone who doesn't mind making a few sensible mods to improve his bike, just like we did back in the day. Cheers, Terry.

[Stev-o]

High speed wobble, ill handling...

You must have

... good taper roller bearing ...

...Steering damper..



...Konis..



What they had in those days were ill tyres.

Drove 210 km/h yesterday.... and survived!!

That's a beautiful bike Sarge, good to see someone who doesn't mind making a few sensible mods to improve his bike, just like we did back in the day. Cheers, Terry.

+1 looks great Sgt. I plan these upgrades to mine soon.

Fenders - I've had my Z up to 100 a number of times, never had a wobble.
You may want to ride one before you come on the Z thread and knock it.

[754]

I for one think the z looks better without grab bar, same thing for CB750.
 As for Bonnie were you guys talking new or old?..I dont like the new ones..

[fendersrule]

We need to have a nice frosty beer 754.

I think the new Bonne is a nice re-creation of the old one to be honest. It's more faithful than any of Honda's re-creations (even though the CB1100 is not a re-creation of the CB750 even though Honda does market it that way). But the problem is that every weekend warrior, grandpa, and sunday church-goer buys them. Us guys with the younger spirit deserve the Kawasaki w800.

Kawasaki, please bring it to the US!

But wait. I haven't ridden both so I have no opinion. I'm just a stupid little kid that likes old bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anBP8peR8pQ

Be careful about voicing your opinion on the Z1's grab bar. You just might get someone to slam your bike for saying that!

[754]

I think the new bonnie is an insult..
 I have much more respect for their triples, new bike looks good.. They made a new bike.

The bonnie look like a mistake...

[Terry in Australia]

I like the new Bonnie, but it's unreliable, oil leaking, vibrating, ancestor was a prettier bike for sure. The new Bonnie will last 10 times as long as the old one with modern engineering and fuel injection, but I must admit if I was offered an old one for cheap I'd buy one.

The W800 is an uprated W650, and looks like a good thing. It's a lot closer to an old British design than the new Bonnie, and very popular here with the retro set. It's smaller, slimmer and lighter than the new Bonnie, with similar power, and should last a long time with minimal maintenance.

With all that said, I'm not really into retro bikes, there are plenty of much better new bikes around for the same money, and I just don't get the whole repro/retro thing, with the possible exception of the new Indian, they are an entirely different kettle of fish, and I want one. Cheers, Terry.

[MoMo]

I like the new Bonnie, but it's unreliable, oil leaking, vibrating, ancestor was a prettier bike for sure. The new Bonnie will last 10 times as long as the old one with modern engineering and fuel injection, but I must admit if I was offered an old one for cheap I'd buy one.

The W800 is an uprated W650, and looks like a good thing. It's a lot closer to an old British design than the new Bonnie, and very popular here with the retro set. It's smaller, slimmer and lighter than the new Bonnie, with similar power, and should last a long time with minimal maintenance.

With all that said, I'm not really into retro bikes, there are plenty of much better new bikes around for the same money, and I just don't get the whole repro/retro thing, with the possible exception of the new Indian, they are an entirely different kettle of fish, and I want one. Cheers, Terry.

What do you want with a kettle of fish Terry??     Cheaper than an Indian I assume....Larry

[Sgt.Pinback]

*Fender,

in German tests they claimed wobble as well. Tricky was (and still is) to close the throttle in fast corners. When she starts to wobble, you have to pull the string  and keep her pulling.

With a flat Kawa Mach3 bar, steering damper  and Konis they were able to do the Nürburgring in 11:00 min in 1973.
Top speed was incredible 227,85 km/h  going down the long straight

In my memory, the Z1-R (I drove that bike for 20 years) with the smaller 18" front wheel was much more critical from 180 km/h onwards.

The bike with worst high speed wobble I had was the CBX 1000. Man THAT bike was realy dangerous with its overcharged CB 750 F2 front fork!

With tyres we have nowadays the Z1 is mch more better than she was in those days.

[fendersrule]

Thanks for the info Sgt.  Good stuff. Love the magazine cover. I wonder if Mach 3's are also hard to find as well.

[754]

What I like about the old triumphs, is the clean crisp lines, and the minimalistic rawness.
 A trackmaster Triumph. With lights added is about 310 pounds.
 Every part of the motor looks nice.

But when I look at the timing cover on the new one and compare mentally with the old, I. Wondered why they even bothered...Its so far off there is barely a resemblance.  And the fakey carbs.. My neighbors has one, I used to like it, but the more I look at them, the less I like them..

Mostly I think the retro,s appeal to those that lack confidence to ride a real vintage bike...mostly due to never having owned one previously . Those of us that thoroughly ran the piss out of them back on new the day..KNOW....what they can do..

 That said, back to grab rails, I like them off, cleans up the back, I ran a Z tail on my 836,would not consider running the rail.
 Riding a lot 2 up might run it , or a backrest.

[754]

Back in the day,we 754 guys sorta rode together, and the Zed guys too..so we never got to compare much.
 But I do remember a few were smoky, guides I think..

 One day I caught up with a Zed, coming into town on the backroad I rode daily. We were about 2 corners from a long downhill straight. We got on the straight, sorta even, so I ran the 754 up to 9,000 or so in fourth,  115 or so indicated, then shifted to 5th, beside him.. Then I ran outa steam.
 I still snicker thinking what he must have thought when I shifted at that speed..lol..

[Stev-o]

 One day I caught up with a Zed, coming into town on the backroad I rode daily. We were about 2 corners from a long downhill straight. We got on the straight, sorta even, so I ran the 754 up to 9,000 or so in fourth,  115 or so indicated, then shifted to 5th, beside him.. Then I ran outa steam.
 

And he?

[754]

He wobbled on down the road..

[754]

Actually he had more steam and went a bit faster.. No..Wobble..
 Bet he thought he would reel me in quicker..
 I would love to do the same thing on my 836..

[Retro Rocket]

Actually he had more steam and went a bit faster.. Nice. Wobble..
 Bet he thought he would reel me in quicker..
 I would love to do the same thing on my 836..

I had 2 close friends that had a Z900 and a Z1000, i used to p1ss both of them off in the back streets, They couldn't get near me on my 750's,  they usually cruised away over 100MPH+ on the straights but they still had to catch me first...   I miss the good old days but i'm also glad to have survived them, self preservation is foremost now {well, most of the time}....   I will say, the 1000 handled better at high speed than the 900, and the 900 only weaved on an open throttle on high speed bends or sweepers , apart from that it was great to ride, best looking old Jap bike ever made...Before i upgraded the suspension on my 900 Boldor Honda, it weaved like a b1tch as well, same traits as the 900 Kwaka, in stock form it didn't like an open throttle on sweeping bends at speed either...

[Terry in Australia]

What do you want with a kettle of fish Terry??     Cheaper than an Indian I assume....Larry

Ha ha, it's just an expression Larry, how are your Indian dreams panning out? I'm glad you decided against a Victory, they're uglier than your golf cart! Cheers, Terry.

[754]

There was a few of us 754 guys rode together a lot..like 3-5 of us, and a similar bunch of mostly Kawi fours, but we just never rode together.
 But a few time I would ride with a guy that had a Rickman Kawi.
 With a wildy exaggerated. Speedo..
 He would Always say,  I was holding it at 140..
One day we went down a long straight and wound on it, we were pretty much side by side.  Asked how fast he was going,  he said 125.. Mine was showing 115!

[Sgt.Pinback]

Bought another "Z1"

[Terry in Australia]

That's a clean Z1R mate, you don't see too many of them around anymore! Cheers, Terry.

[Sgt.Pinback]

Thanks, Terry.
Yes, I just could not pass that one. Very rare here as well.

But not in my garage yet, will have to wait some days.

Thats me in 1983 or so

[Stev-o]

Congrats Sgt.   Is that the only pic you have?  Would like to see a side view.