Now we're talking ...

[02GF74]

This in my opinion is how Kawasaki should have made it.

Z1300 with Z1000 tank, tail and panels. If only I had garage space......

 

[maleko89]

She's a beaut Clark!

 

[gentsvmax]

This in my opinion is how Kawasaki should have made it.

Z1300 with Z1000 tank, tail and panels. If only I had garage space......

View attachment 79414

Oh man would I love to hear it with that bad-*** exhaust, serious that bike is F&")in Perfect!

 

[VMAXXIMUM]

This in my opinion is how Kawasaki should have made it.

Z1300 with Z1000 tank, tail and panels. If only I had garage space......

View attachment 79414

Wheelie machine!

 

[desert_max]

Heavy as hell. I sure wouldn't want to have the front end up on it. My Hack Z1300 is a beast. Same motor but with fuel injection. (Did I mention it was heavy?)

 

[ga_max]

I like it....

 

[patate657]

Got a question. A friend wants to sell me a running Kawasaki ZG1300, Cheap but has fuel injection issues (Just the fuel pump I think). What do you think of naking this bike out and making it a plain Jane. In other words getting rid of all the fuddy-duddy stuff. I did it to an 82' GL1100 and it came out very well. I'm looking at the bike up above and it looks very nice and was wondering.
This was my 82' Naked Goldwing completed.

 

[Fire-medic]

How cheap is it going to be? And more-importantly, how-deep financially are you going to be into it, the way you intend to make it?

I suspect those two figures are going to be 'fluid.'

Take a look online to see the reported issues with the FI system, look at desert_max's posts on his not-completed bike. The Kawasaki owners' website has some significant complaints about getting them squared-away, easily. I suppose it's no-worse than a bike like Dream V-4 has until you find-out it was last registered in Louisiana parish in 2005 (New Orleans-Katrina says, 'hello.'). "Ran when parked (flooded)."

Maybe try to get it running (just the engine), no anything-else, to see if it can be made operable. Set a price 'not to-exceed,' to make the engine functional, and see where you are if (when) you reach that 'go/no-go' outlay.

I do like the looks of the Z1/KZ1000 bodywork on one (post #1 on this thread). Desert_max's choice of body parts looks good, too.

(77) How about something different? Z1 6 cylinder | Yamaha Star V-Max VMAX Motorcycle Discussion Forum (vmaxforum.net)



A pic of three manufacturers' six-cyl bikes, taken pre-COVID at an AMCA show in FL. 750cc, 1000cc, 1300cc. This show is usually late in January, by the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport (FLL). They usually get several hundred bikes on display, the variety is across 100+ years, many countries of origin, and the parking lot has a great assortment too. There is also a swap meet, and I always find something to take home, usually parts, not another bike.

 

[user 16790]

Z1300's are great bikes, here is a picture taken in 1991 (the year my vmax was born) of the one I had parked by a boating lake, it went through a few changes in the years I had it

 

[Parminio]

What do you think of naking this bike out and making it a plain Jane. In other words getting rid of all the fuddy-duddy stuff.

I don't drop F bombs often, but here it comes:

It would be ******* epic.

 

[RadiumPHX]

I really like my 84 ZN1100. Basically the KZ1100 Spectre shaft drive carb'd. The photo is when I picked it up, It now has a Delkevic 4-1 and Daytona handlebars.

 

[Fire-medic]

I really like my 84 ZN1100. Basically the KZ1100 Spectre shaft drive carb'd. The photo is when I picked it up, It now has a Delkevic 4-1 and Daytona handlebars.

The KZ LTD's were great all-around bikes. No, they didn't handle as-well as a standard, but they were reliable, and being the ubiquitous Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) they were plentiful and easy to maintain. There was a reason the LTD's outsold the standards and the sportbike versions of the same engines. I owned 550, 750, and 1000 cc versions of the LTD's. Each had its special qualities.

The 550 was easy to park in an urban setting, maneuverable in city traffic, and with the camming it had, there was a decent surge if you wrung it out. Smaller, relatively lightweight, and able to stay ahead of traffic on the expressway if necessary, the 550 was a great urban runabout.

The 750 was better-suited to carry a passenger, due to its greater power and larger seating area. It also had a good mid-range and top end urge, and was more-capable if you got on the expressway.

A KZ1000 will always be one of my favorite bikes, and I think the LTD gives a good account of itself in this guise. Reliable, loaded with sufficient power and torque to do anything you want, the 1000 LTD earned respect for its strong engine and comfortable ergonomics. Cross-country? No issue to do that. Take the backroads, what William Least Heat Moon called the 'blue highways.'

The Kawasaki Spectre and the Yamaha Midnight Editions filled the same niche. LTD or (Yamaha) Special-based, they used gold trim and black paint to set themselves apart from the more-plain versions. Some riders thought the gold trim was the motorcycling equivalent of a "Mr. T starter-kit," but for the rider willing to spend the extra-cost for one, it was exclusive, flashy, and easy to maintain. Think of the U.K. John Player Specials, with their glossy black paintjobs and gold striping. From Nortons to F1 cars, the JPS vehicles were distinctive and easy to recognize.

A stripped-down KZ1300 in black with a JPS gold striping would be a distinctive ride.

 

[tbird71]

I loved the KZ13s, you could get out on the Interstate crack the throttle wide open and ride it at 120MPH all day long. It was so heavy 120 was just cruising on the beast. Here's my KZ1300, as well as a couple shots of my last KZ1000, which I still own.

 

[maleko89]

Sharp rides. Anyone else have the CHiPS theme song stuck in their head now?

 

[RadiumPHX]

The KZ LTD's were great all-around bikes. No, they didn't handle as-well as a standard, but they were reliable, and being the ubiquitous Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) they were plentiful and easy to maintain. There was a reason the LTD's outsold the standards and the sportbike versions of the same engines. I owned 550, 750, and 1000 cc versions of the LTD's. Each had its special qualities.

The 550 was easy to park in an urban setting, maneuverable in city traffic, and with the camming it had, there was a decent surge if you wrung it out. Smaller, relatively lightweight, and able to stay ahead of traffic on the expressway if necessary, the 550 was a great urban runabout.

The 750 was better-suited to carry a passenger, due to its greater power and larger seating area. It also had a good mid-range and top end urge, and was more-capable if you got on the expressway.

A KZ1000 will always be one of my favorite bikes, and I think the LTD gives a good account of itself in this guise. Reliable, loaded with sufficient power and torque to do anything you want, the 1000 LTD earned respect for its strong engine and comfortable ergonomics. Cross-country? No issue to do that. Take the backroads, what William Least Heat Moon called the 'blue highways.'

The Kawasaki Spectre and the Yamaha Midnight Editions filled the same niche. LTD or (Yamaha) Special-based, they used gold trim and black paint to set themselves apart from the more-plain versions. Some riders thought the gold trim was the motorcycling equivalent of a "Mr. T starter-kit," but for the rider willing to spend the extra-cost for one, it was exclusive, flashy, and easy to maintain. Think of the U.K. John Player Specials, with their glossy black paintjobs and gold striping. From Nortons to F1 cars, the JPS vehicles were distinctive and easy to recognize.

A stripped-down KZ1300 in black with a JPS gold striping would be a distinctive ride.

I'm still in the hunt for the 81-83' KZ1000

 

[patate657]

I loved the KZ13s, you could get out on the Interstate crack the throttle wide open and ride it at 120MPH all day long. It was so heavy 120 was just cruising on the beast. Here's my KZ1300, as well as a couple shots of my last KZ1000, which I still own.

They are nice. This is one of the modded ones I found googling around and I'm getting ideas here....

 

[Fire-medic]

Yep, tbird71 has a cop bike. The jurisdiction I worked-in used the KZ1000's for the motormen (PD motorcycle officers) and Kawasaki continued to manufacture the KZ1000 for many years after they stopped selling the KZ1000 to the public, to service the demand from law enforcement across the country. They also announced they are now manufacturing complete cylinder heads for the KZ1000 again.

A couple of KZ's my friend built and has for sale. These are not-stock! He is a retired Kawasaki dealer located in western NYS. The burgundy one was done by a fellow schoolmate of the retired Kawasaki dealer and mine, that bodywork is all hand-formed real-steel. That's in my retired dealer's personal collection, and is not for-sale. The friend who built it awhile-ago restored Mario Andretti's rookie Indy Car.

 

[02GF74]

I said it before and I'll say it again, the Z1 and derivatives (Z900 and Z1000
up to A3 when the cam covers and tanks became square) are IMO the best looking bike ever made (air cooled roadster type).

 

[Parminio]

Anyone else have the CHiPS theme song stuck in their head now?

No.

Never.

Until now, you *******.

 

[desert_max]

I said it before and I'll say it again, the Z1 and derivatives (Z900 and Z1000
up to A3 when the cam covers and tanks became square) are IMO the best looking bike ever made (air cooled roadster type).

I don't know, man. I had a brand new ZL900 Eliminator in '85. Had a really nice one that got totaled ten years ago. They were a beauteous bike in my eyes. Low, mean, all business. In '85, I had very little competition...well except for my buddy with the '84 (first year) Ninja. (Er, uh...and another buddy who one-upped me and bought an '85 Vmax).

Dang, the 80's were a good time for motorcycles.

Here's the ZL900 I had here in Phoenix:

Immediately after purchase - stock except for D&D exhaust and painted sidecovers (should be plastichrome <ugh>)

And not too long before its demise. I did add a small black flyscreen (kinda like the clear Vmax one)