Introduced in 1977, the Kawasaki Z650 (KZ650 in North America) was sometimes known as the “Son of the Z1” — a middleweight version of the mighty 900cc Z, the “King of the Superbikes.” The 652cc […]
Tag: Kawasaki KZ
Main Force Patrol: Mad Max KZ1000 “Kwaka”
Goose’s “MFP1000” from Unik Edition… Mad Max (1979) remains one of the most influential films of the 20th century, as powerful today as it’s ever been — perhaps because a post-apocalyptic future seems a more […]
Alternate Reality: Kawasaki-Meguro KZ79SP Raven
CROWS Performance injects Meguro soul into the KZ1000… Founded in the Shinagawa Ward of Tokyo in 1924, Meguro was a prestige brand that supplied Japanese military and police motorcycles, coming to be known as the […]
Mark II Missile: Kawasaki KZ1000 MKII Restomod
AC Sanctuary’s MKII Missile… In 1979, Kawasaki introduced the KZ1000 MKII, which offered new angular styling and a slight power boost out of the 1015cc DOHC inline four engine, now making 93 bhp. The crank […]
Déjà Vroom: Kawasaki “KZ1165” Restomod
RCM-554: 1165cc Zed from AC Sanctuary… The Kawasaki KZ900 was the direct successor of the mighty Z1. At the time of its introduction in 1972, the original 903cc Zed was the largest, most powerful four-cylinder […]
Street to Surf: Kawasaki KZ400 Café Racer
The Okinawa Project: KZ400 from Jerem Motorcycles… Introduced in 1974, the Kawasaki KZ400 would be built both in Japan and Lincoln, Nebraska — in fact, the latter made Kawasaki the first foreign motorcycle manufacturer to […]
La Distinguida: Kawasaki KZ440 Custom
Motorockers Garage’s Ribbon-Winning KZ… The Kawasaki KZ440 was a middleweight parallel-twin that evolved from the KZ400, proving itself a competent runabout with a solid blend of performance and economy. One owner who’s used his KZ […]
Classic Octane: Kawasaki KZ750 Scrambler
“I had a desire for a classic bike that could actually be ridden hard…” Introduced in 1976, the Kawasaki KZ750 twin was a big twin designed to compete with the Triumph Bonneville and Yamaha XS650. […]
Project Z: 1977 Kawasaki Z1000 Restomod
In 1972, Kawasaki unleashed the 903cc Z1 on the world, a four-cylinder freight train destined to outclass every other production street bike on the planet: “With one stunning model [Kawasaki] scooped up all the prizes […]
Bloody Evil: 1052cc Turbo KZ / GSX-R1100
Kai Bailey’s KZ1000 / GSX-R1100 Turbo… For 1977, Kawasaki introduced the KZ1000, their 90-hp inline-four successor to the mighty Z1 and KZ900. Not only was it one of the fastest factory bikes of the era, […]
