10 Jul Back to Stock: 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900
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Creemore Valley Classics VIP Stories #83
This is my 1973 Kawasaki 900 Z1. It started life in Montreal, Quebec and was owned by a beautiful, tall, red haired lady. Either she was a motorcycle aficionado or she may have throught her red hair and the candy brown colors of the Z1 complemented one another. I am sure not the latter. She owned the bike for 3 years before putting it into a sidewalk after which she decided to hang up her helmet.
My previous bike was a 1972 Honda 750 but unfortunately it was stolen so I bought the 900 from her for the sum of $750. I had to replace all of the instruments as they had been stolen off the bike. In 1980, I moved to Toronto with the bike.
Two years ago, my mechanic and I restored the bike which took a year and a half. Until the restoration, the bike was painted in baby blue and Mazda 3 purple/blue with a Kerker 4-into-1 exhaust. As for the engine, we repleced pistons and up except for the cam shaft and intake valves. Z1 Enterprises of NY (now defunct) secured the pipes and an outfit in California the tank, sides and tail all new and pretty much exact. Gord Bush formerly of the Honda Racing Team bored out the motorby just a half mil as I wanted a stock engine.
The Z1 is considered the worlds first super bike. If you google Z1 900 you can learn more about the history of these great bikes.
Owner: Marc Lessard
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