Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Peter Stevens in Elizabeth St have one in their window. Want $27,000 for it

Could be worth more if it was in mint condition and was totally factory original. Matching numbers etc., I reckon it's a nick at that!

Got twin discs, not factory, Z1A single disc...
Still wouldnt mind it parked in my garage though.

Strika wrote:....Could be worth more if it was in mint condition and was totally factory original. Matching numbers etc., I reckon it's a nick at that! ....

they don't have matching numbers mate - only the first 50 pre-production units that were never sold to the public had matching numbers. Motors were regularly taken off the production line for random quality-control checks right from the very first motor, and this ensured that no frame and engine numbers ever matched exactly.....

Even the other Z1000H I picked up in Bendigo a few years ago - has an engine number of 000039, and frame number 000065. One of the first 50 ever built, and a difference of 26 in the numbers even within that small range.

s man is dead right - a dinkum Z1 only has a single disc from the factory, and I am pretty sure that the 2nd disc factory option only came out with the Z1A of 1974.

Peter Stevens are bigger flogs than I realised. If that bike really is a Z1A, then it has entirely the wrong paint job and engine finish.

A Z1A looks like this ....



It uses the jaffa colours, but is a totally different paint scheme. The engines in the Z1A / Z1B and Z900A4 were also unpainted.

If these guys can't even get the model designation right on a bike that they are asking 27 large for - all I can say is what a pack of nobjockeys they are, and any punter who knew their Zeds should walk in there and laugh in their face ! I wonder what else is wrong with that bike - and its probably not even one of the early series Z1's, the ones with the small changes from later ones, that really ARE worth more than your average Z1...

This bike - advertised as a Z1A - and its outrageous price - is a fucking joke.

Right on Gos. But The first Z that came standard with twin disc's were the Z900 in brown with goldish pinstripe, & green with goldish pinstripe. I owned both.
The rearest is the Z1B in green with wide yellow & white stripes. Ive only seen a couple, they were a "stop gap" model between the Z1 & the Z900.
Jaffa models had the black motor. All other had silver engines. Funny enough the jaffa model was very popular, so dont pull the biggest money .. All good history either way, & very interesting..

yeh, those models you are describing was the Z900A4 model of 1976. These were the first model with factory twin discs. I have a Z1A that has the factory option of second disc - and in the spares that came with this bike, was a spare r/h caliper !! These things are like the teeth of hens or the shit of rocking horses.....

The Z1A and the Z1B were not *stop-gap* models - they were proper models in their own right, both of which had some detail improvements over the Z1. The Z900A4 model was the biggest-selling model in the entire 900 range, but it also had small 26mm carbs instead of the 28mm models, and was the most common model seen back in the day. The prices you see for Z1, Z1A and Z1B models reflect this, as these models were sold in much smaller numbers (especially in Oz) - and therefore are generally worth a lot more than the A4 model.

It just really pisses me off to the max, when I see absolutely insane money being asked by rippoff merchants like Peter Stevens, when these asshats can't even get the fuckin' model number right !!! what a joke......and the sad thing is that some cashed-up old bloke who knows SFA about these bikes, but just wants to re-live his youth - will be the unfortunate victim of this massively over-priced Z1, and never know any better......

If this Z1 turns out to be a Aug or Sept '72 build, with the vaccum balance take-off points tapped into the inlet manifolds, with an engine number inside the first 2000, with every single sticker under the seat in perfect original condition, with an odometer that reads less than 5,000km, with every single OEM bolt in umolested condition, with the correct 4-4 pipes ( and I will bet both of my spectacularly large testicles that the pipes on this bike have date stampings on them ) - with every single rubber drain hose in perfect original condition.....

.......then and only then will I rate this bike as a quality bike worth maybe 25 large on a good day.....

However - I would bet my balls - again - that this bike is just a normal 1973 model, with an engine & frame number up in the 18-20,000 range, with none of the features that give particular examples of the Z1 the *exclusivity* and valued pricetag that these models deserve. You can bet that none of the OEM toolbox would come with this bike, in fact it probably does not even have the tool-tray insert in the ducktail !! If you didn't know that it was supposed to have one, well you would never miss it and the salesman in PS is sure as hell not going to mention it !!!!

They obviously don't expect the average punter to have the encyclopaedic knowledge you guys have
Then again, the average punter probably wouldn't be interested ... someone should tell em they suck.

I swear if i ever buy an old kwaka, I'll be asking gos about it lol

I'd buy it coz it is a nice bike that I like the look of. I wouldn't pay ANYWHERE near what they are asking though. They're dreamin!

i can fully garantee Gos's "rockimg horse" is statement correct.... ive owned one for over 34 years and it hasn't even farted ...
as for the jaffa makes good reading

Look's like this one on ebay but it dosn't have the dual disc's....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Kawasaki-Z1-1973 ... 729wt_1132

I so want to go have a look at that bike in the flesh, after all the insight you've given Gos!
(but not to buy it.. just to look at the differences mentioned))

I'd be quite happy for anyone in Melbourne to prove me wrong on this bike........if anyone is serious about going to PS and having a nice *CLOSE* look, send me a pm, and I will send you a basic list of *what to look for* in a genuine Z1.

There are a number of small detail changes between the real early models - ie the rare ones that are worth a lot of coin - and the run-of-the-mill standard 'Jaffas' - the normal ones that generally peg in between 10 and 15 large when they are in really good condition.

I might even word the local Z Owners up about this bike, so they can go in there and pick the eyes out of it !! Those blokes would be able to do that in their sleep............

Duane wrote:I swear if i ever buy an old kwaka, I'll be asking gos about it lol

I know I did

Right on Gos, I forgot about the 28mm carbs on the Z1s & the 26s on the Zs. We use to put the 28 on our race Zs!! Dont know if it made a lot of difference, but it was a mind thing??
Didnt the Zs have a different air box too?
Its ironic I suppose, but we use to throw our brand new Z9 exhaust's, airbox's,lights, blinkers,side stands, centre stands, refectors, speedos, etc etc to the tip when we got them. When I had the H1 I throw out two sets of H1R barrels, pistons, & heads! Make ya cry.