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

[dave500]

has it got the factory installed parachute?

[Stev-o]

has it got the factory installed parachute?

No, I removed it when I jumped out of a plane a couple years back!

[grcamna2]

Steve,
Would you ride in a Kawasaki Triple rider's group if there was one in your area ?

[Stev-o]

Steve,
Would you ride in a Kawasaki Triple rider's group if there was one in your area ?

Yes, of course!  But have not heard of such a group, have you?

[seanbarney41]

Kawasaki triple riders group?...isn't that more like a ruthless band of wild hooligans wreaking chaos and havoc on the open road?...

[ekpent]

 I've heard of a group who ride Northern Michigan around Traverse City who are a real menace to society !! Damn them loud smokey dirty and dangerously fast machines and the riders who own them   

[grcamna2]

Steve,
Would you ride in a Kawasaki Triple rider's group if there was one in your area ?

Yes, of course!  But have not heard of such a group, have you?

I haven't although there might be one 

[grcamna2]

I've heard of a group who ride Northern Michigan around Traverse City who are a real menace to society !! Damn them loud smokey dirty and dangerously fast machines and the riders who own them   

A band of Hooligans for sure;residents of some small towns have been known to even call the local Fire Dept.,as it looked like those madmen had set the towns on fire..

[Stev-o]

I've heard of a group who ride Northern Michigan around Traverse City who are a real menace to society !!

Yeah, I've heard of that group too, Eric. We should have joined them when we had the chance, I think those days are over!

Smokin'!!!!!!!

[MauiK3]

And then there is the guy on YouTube that made a 5 cyl Kawasaki.
Lots of time on his hands.
It must be thrilling to ride, they were a bit scary as 3 bangers!

[Stev-o]

I love SOHC Hondas but how many CB750's can one guy have? A lot of you guys dream about owning a K0 [or already have one] but not me, I have a K1 and there isn't much differance.

My first "big bike" was a Kawasaki 1000, was a great bike and had it for a few years before getting into the Hondas. My brother once said "you should get another Kaw." And told him I would like to, but really would want a Z1!

They can be hard to find, only 85,000 made over a three year period, '73-'75.
And expensive. And some of you may remember I was looking for a 500 H1...'till I found this....





It's a '75, and not "correct". Has a horrible exhaust system, "custom paint" [I prefer stock] and a goofy 16' rear wheel.
Luckily, all this can be corrected and is in the long term plan.





The motor runs great and wow, it is fast! But, could use some fine tuning once the new exhaust is in place. Current pipes have no baffles, are very blue and love to pop on decel. But I was smiling on my 15 mile test ride today!





You can tell the bike was well loved at one time, had a high quality paint job, polished aluminum engine covers and pretty good tires [Bridgestone].
But, the last few years havent been so good to the bike as it has a big dent in the tank, quite a few scatches and battery acid stains [now has a sealed battery].
Bought from a 60 year old guy, ex road racer, but he just flipped it, so know no history and thats fine. I finally have a Z!



 

UPDATE!

Was riding the big Z1 the other day and realized it's ben ten years gone since I bought it!

I love the bike as much as ever and other than typical maint since the cosmetic restore, the bike has been trouble free.  Hope I get another 10 years out of it...at least!!!














PS. This thread has over 197,000 views! I think you guys loves Kawasakis whether you admit it or not!!

[craz1]

10 years goes by quick. Nice bike

[Kelly E]

I didn't know that there was a Kawasaki thread here.
Here's my 77' KZ 1000LTD. My uncle bought it in 78' I believe. I got it last August and did our usual thing to it. We've been through all of the systems and painted the frame. The carbs, bars, exhaust, shocks and seat aren't stock. I've only put about 45 miles on it so far, but the weather is finally starting to get better.

[RAFster122s]

Getting any good rides on Kelly? Z1 looks great. Any other Kawasaki in the rebuild/restore pipeline?

[Stev-o]

10 years goes by quick. Nice bike

Sure does....thanks

[Stev-o]

I didn't know that there was a Kawasaki thread here.
Here's my 77' KZ 1000LTD.

Yes, this is the unofficial Kaw thread! 

Always liked the LTD's, my first Kaw was the '78 1000 LTD, great bike.

[Terry in Australia]

I’ve got to pull the cover off my Z1-B and sort out some minor issues and take it for a Roadworthy Inspection so I can get a classic bike permit, I stalled when I thought I’d need to buy repop 4 into 4 pipes for it to pass the inspection, but just recently discovered that pre-1978 bike’s don’t require original style pipes to get a pass, so once I sort out a couple of things I can actually do some rides on it.

I’m just a bit busy at the moment collecting parts for my H1 projects, which will keep me busy this coming winter. I’ve also just discovered that a H2 engine will bolt straight into a H1 frame, so now need to find a H2 engine, for yet another Kawasaki project, should be fun….

[Kelly E]

Getting any good rides on Kelly? Z1 looks great. Any other Kawasaki in the rebuild/restore pipeline?

Yep, we're going through the 78' KL 250 A for the boy. Today we got the Hondawasaki exhaust system I built for it painted with VHT 2000° paint. Painted a bunch more small parts and sprayed the front side of the rock guard with rattle can bedliner. In the next few days we should have the frame sandblasted, hand sanded and painted. It needs to hang up and dry until we finish rebuilding the mechanical stuff. Then we'll start assembly and hopefully be done before school is out.

[grcamna2]

Looks like good progress on your Kawasaki 78' KL250 Kelly;I've been looking for that OEM Kawasaki "Carb. Holder" which you need;so far,I've only found the one on cmsnl.com and that generic looking blue one from China on Ebay.
I like how your automotive engine stand has a way to support the KL250 engine 

I know your Son is going to enjoy having that KL250 to ride around   

[Kelly E]

Thanks for looking.

Here's a couple of pictures before we got too far along. We can take a bike apart in about 4 hours

[Stev-o]

Nearly a year and a half since I posted on this thread, here is an update...


Last ride on the mighty Z1 was a few weeks ago, a fuel leak from the Mikunis was detected, the "screw driver knock on the bowl" trick did not work.
So decided yesterday was the day to pull the carbs and repair the issue.

Part 1.

Pulling the carbs is relatively easy on the Z1, the seat, tank and side covers come off as easily as a CB. It was rather warm in the garage so I rolled it out to my driveway...



With the carbs off and float bowls removed, the carbs looked immaculate!  I had them vapor blasted a few years ago and still look great, inside & out.



However, it did seem like one float was sticking but not #1 which was the carb that was leaking.  Once back together, I pulled out my "tank/carb bench jig", which is actually a wine box for the tank and amazon box for the carbs! [I do have a remote fuel jug but this was much easier]



Turned on the petcock and 30 seconds later #1 starts pissing fuel, WTF??  So, I pulled the float bowl back off, float is not stuck, no dirt, all looks good and put the bowl back on. A second check showed no leak, good.

Carbs back on, about a 15 min job, tank and seat on, bike fires right up.  Went for about an hour test ride all is good on the big Kaw again!




Part 2.
 
Last time I rode the Kaw H1 500, it seemed I fouled a plug and was only running on 2 cylinders.  Checked the shelf and found some new NGK's and slapped 'em in.   Took about 20 kicks, no elec starter, I hate that, but she roared to life, she's a smokin'!!!



A short test ride was all I had time for, had to meet the wife for Happy Hour.  But made time to give the bikes a quick wipe down, a great day for a couple Kaws.

[grcamna2]

Those bikes are Look'in Good Stev-o !! 
Do you think you might have just a tiny bit of sediment in the bottom of your fuel tank and it lightly flows into your #1 carb.. just enough to get between the float needle after sitting ?

[denward17]

Looking good.....I would love to find a '75 Z1B, got my eyes peeled.

[seanbarney41]

Looking good.....I would love to find a '75 Z1B, got my eyes peeled.

good luck!  You probably are gonna have to keep several $1000 bills peeled off your wad rather than you eyes! lol

[Kelly E]

This reminds me that I need to get the 77' KZ 1000LTD out for a ride as well as a couple of the other bikes. I need to dump the gas tanks and replace with fresh stabilized fuel.
There's way too many carbs around here to be lazy with winter storage.

We had a 75' Z1 B we got for $200 that was way more than we wanted to take on. It was left outside for quite a few years with a seized motor and was really rusty. We sold it in 10 minutes on Fakebook marketplace for 4K to a buyer in the Midwest. He sent a guy to pick it up. We were astounded but hey what do you do?