KAWASAKI CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF Z BIKES

BMW isn’t the only one celebrating half a century of awesomeness: 1972 also saw the launch of Kawasaki’s mighty Z1 900 superbike. And the Akashi firm has been marking the anniversary with a series of global events, special bikes, and previously-unseen archive material from the time.

Our man Dowds went to Switzerland with the big K last month for a special presentation on the Z anniversary. Hosted by Kawasaki’s European marketing boss – and total Z geek – Martin Lambert, the gig was packed with history and facts about the firm’s Z1, and all the follow-up models that dominated the 1970s and 80s.

Why Switzerland? Well, the Swiss Kawasaki importer, FIBAG, has a huge museum packed with Kwaks from the 1960s through to the present day. From early Samurai twins, through the legendary two-stroke 750 triples to the later GPz range, as well as current models, they’re all on show in pristine condition. Most have never been run: The only miles on the clocks are from pushing them around, and they don’t even have oil in the engines or brake fluid inside the calipers: they’re all stored completely dry.

Surrounded by absolutely immaculate GPz1100s, 750 Turbos, Z1300s, Z1Rs and the like, Lambert took us through the history of the Z brand. We kicked off with the original 750cc design, which was tossed in the bin when Honda launched its CB750 in 1969 and replaced by a mighty 903cc revamp. Then we heard about Paul Smart riding a preproduction Z1 – disguised as a CB750 – across America, even entering it into a club race incognito. The Japanese riding launch attended by four American magazine editors, and the huge success of the Z1, which spawned the Z650, Z750, Z550 and grew into the mighty GPz1100, before the air-cooled era was usurped by the firm’s own GPZ900R superbike.

The event was rounded off by a test day on a series of special edition bikes: The modern Z650 and Z900 models, in base and RS form, which have been released for 2022 in anniversary and SE variants. The SE bikes boast Öhlins suspension and Brembo brake upgrades, and offer a much higher chassis spec, with the same engine performance and sharp styling. The 50th anniversary bikes are just cosmetic makeovers: The RS models get gold wheels and a ‘fireball’ paintscheme from the original Z1, while the standard Z650 and Z900 models use a firecracker red colourway, borrowed from the GPz range of the early 1980s.