Back in the 1980s, I was a poor college student with two obsessions (well, maybe three) outside of my scholastic misadventures: Motorcycles, and audio gear, which we called “stereo equipment” back in the day.
One day while combing through the motorcycle classified ads in the local paper, I came across a peculiar listing that simply said “Kawasaki KZ1000, $1,000.” Brief and to the point, but a bit short on specifics. Intrigued since big Kawasaki Zs were going for a lot more than a grand even then, I called the number and spoke to the owner, trying to suss out what particular model he had, and if it was rideable – or in pieces in a garage full of boxes.
I was stunned when he said it was a ready-to-ride Z1-R (below), one of the rarest variants of Kawasaki’s four cylinder KZ1000 powerhouses, with a 4-1 exhaust as stock, mini fairing, triple disc brakes and powder blue “moondust silver” paint. He said it was in perfect shape with low miles. And it was, as you can see below.
Seeing as I had about $42.36 to my name at the time, I began scheming for a way to quickly raise the other $950 and change. Then I had a thought: Would he be interested in trading the bike for some decent stereo equipment – and a TV… and a VCR? Turned out he would. He was a new father and his riding days were now on hiatus, so a TV, VCR and a good stereo seemed like a worthy upgrade for his new family, especially if I got it all hooked up for him, which I would. We made the deal. I could hardly believe my luck.
At the time, the Z1-R was barely ten years old, but with new-tech 1980’s bikes like Kawasaki’s brand new “Top Gun” GPz 900 Ninja (above), Honda Interceptor and Suzuki GSX-R all the rage, everything made before 1983 now looked… old. And slow.
But not to me. A 1,000cc Kawi, especially in that lovely Z1-R livery, had me nearly drooling. I took the Z1-R to my local mechanic who tuned it to perfection (and put me into debt). Well worth it since in my opinion, I had the hottest bike on campus.
Years later, I very reluctantly but also quite profitably sold that Z1-R. I then bought another clean, stock Z1-R in the late 1990s for far more than $1,000 and rode it for over 20 years before selling it to another Kawasaki Z-bike enthusiast who made a generous offer. And I’ve kind of missed it ever since. The great bikes of that all-analog era seemed to slowly fade away into collections – or junkyards.
But manufacturers know the value of nostalgia and in 2017, Kawasaki debuted the Z900RS, a “retro” bike that is perhaps the best modern homage to a vintage bike from any of the Japanese Big Four. It is modeled on the original KZ900 Z1 from 1973 (above) rather than my beloved 1978 Z1-R, but no matter, I was smitten once again.
Kawasaki now makes several versions of the Z900RS, including a base version, along with a “cafe” model with a small bikini fairing (above) that was a popular addition by riders back then. I was able to wrangle the top-spec 2024 Z900RS SE (top and below), which features fully adjustable Öhlins rear suspension, and is clothed in a classic yellow-striped and metal flake brown color scheme on curving, just-right bodywork that lovingly echoes the original era of the KZ900 Z1. You can even get a chrome rear grab handle to add some retro bonus points.