"Feedback"
"FEEDBACK"
Readers, as well as those involved in the motorcycle industry, are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, relia-
bility, service, parts availability, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but ill-founded invectives; include useful facts like mileage on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.
KAWASAKI Z-1s
In August ’73 I bought a Z-l, a trui^^ fantastic machine. But, it has a 4-gal. gas tank, of which 3/10 of a gallon is reserve. The owner’s manual and the shop manual calls for a 4.7-gal. tank with a 1-gal. reserve.
Naturally I ran out of gas, twice, before I could believe it. I complained to Kawasaki’s N.J. regional office. The “warranty policy” executive there accused me of “nit-picking” and urged me to buy a BMW. He said Kawasaki has no liability whatsoever.
I wrote to the president of Kawasaki in Tokyo. His office sent my letter to N.J. office and the general manager wrote, apologizing for the “policy” dude, offered me a free Kawasaki jacket, and suggested I check my petcock.
Kawasaki maintains no liability because “Specifications are subject ta^ change without notice.” This disclaims^* is on their pre-sale literature. However, it does not appear on either the owner’s or shop manual. Kawasaki dealers still maintain that the Z-l gas tank holds 4.7 gal. Business as usual! They are trying to pass off a faulty gas tank as a specification change. I wonder what they would say about DOHCs or valves and what about no rear brake.
I will continue to pursue Kawasaki, but I’m beginning to feel the frustration that comes with the knowledge of “buyer beware.” A word to my cycle brothers and sisters, “check it all out before you buy.”
Edward M. Blackoff New York, N.Y.
I’ve just turned the 3000-mile mark on my ’73 Kawasaki Z-l and thought I’d pass some feelings and ideas on to^^ anyone else suffering from bhp/get-it-^P on-in-the-corners combi soft ass.
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Having gone through one Trident, three Honda Fours and four H-Ds along with nine other two-wheeled machines, I figured nothing could impress me now. Was I mistaken. You know all that stuff written by Madison Avenue types and wrinkle faced motorcycle journalists relating to the Z-l’s Jekyll and Hyde personality? Simply—believe it! With a few small mods this thing has to be awfully damned close to 100 percent unadulterated you-know-what.
Riding home the first day from Bike World in Sunnyvale, Calif., after having deposited my ’73 lOOOcc, 2000-mile old “ego trip” with the highest bidder, I began to wonder if my poor, slightly slacken body was going to be able to take the punishment. Namely, first, the slow lack of feeling taking over my posterior and second the jolt someon^ in the Kawasaki Engineering Dep^P expected my spine to live through every time I negotiated any surface more irregular than that of the frontal plane on a 12-year-old girl. No rear suspension-nothing! It seemed pretty standard Japanese to me. What they lack in damping they make up for with Godawful stiff springs. First thing I did was replace the rear components with that offered by Tim Withim through his S&W shocks, \3Vi in. extended. After much experimentation I’ve finally settled on a pair of Girling 110-lb. springs part numbered for the Trident. These are very slightly too soft but the only other units I could find were S&W 125s, which are a bit too stiff for me.
The next thing to go was the seat padding. Anyone who has spent days on end on a Honda 750 learns to appreciate the seat. It’s just wide enough, not to^^ soft and holds its suspension qualiti i^^ mile after mile. Lo and behold after removing the Z-l seat cover the frame looks as if it was built by the same vender as the Honda. $10 to the local motorcycle junky gets me a 750 K3 seat. Out comes the padding which fits almost perfectly under the Kawasaki cover with no cutting involved. What a difference. I can feel for my wallet again with no hands. The effect of my seat and shock switch allowed me to thoroughly enjoy a recent 3-day 1000-mile trip I otherwise would not have even attempted.
The only other “problem” I’ve encountered is obviously EPA oriented and is basically OK with me. Namely the Z-l is equipped with extremely lean pilot jets which result in a lack of smooth transition to the needle and main circuits during the first quarte^^ throttle. Once the needle pulls hig enough to pass gas, the 900cc comes on with a surge slightly disconcerting, par ticularly when attempting to accelerate out of a 1st gear off camber corner. Like I said, it's OK with me, better this now than a smog pump and thermo reactor adding to the sprung weight in 1976
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I've also had the nervous tach prob 1cm, which seems to have been a passing problem, and the renown fork "klunk." Nothing has klunked off so far, so I'm not worried about its origin.
I work for a car manufacturer, so I'm not beyond calling the distributor for information from time to time. With Honda this was always a joy, but with Kawasaki forget it. The last time I called the secretary said, "Windy and the fellows here don't like to talk to cus tomers because they (the customers) usually don't know what they are talk ing about." I relayed a message to Windy through the girl as to my jetting question. His reply was that no other pilot jet would fit the Z-1. Oh yea, not so says American Mikuni, but that's another story.
One of you mag types said the Z-l might be the finest example of the state of the art. Could be!
Marc Parnes Aptas, Calif.
I have owned my ’73 Kawasaki Z-l for exactly seven months, and have ridden it 9300 miles in that time. It has had an oil change at the regular intervals, along with a filter each time. Shortly after I bought it, I shut off the chain oiler pump because I like a shiny rear wheel, and I use spray lube on the chain. When this chain wears out, I will definitely go to a non-lube type chain.
At 5300 miles, the speedometer cable broke, which my dealer happily replaced free of charge. At about 6000 miles, my clutch cable broke while I was about 300 miles from home, attending the Kawasaki Superbike International at Laguna Seca. This was on a Sunday night, while I was romping about in downtown Monterey.
Amazingly, I ran into the Kawasaki racing team at a motel, and I was soon begging for a Z-l clutch cable. I am not a name-dropper, but I swear Yvon duHamel happened by, and recommended that I drive around front and flag down a guy in a Mercedes Benz who was just leaving. The “guy” turned out to be, to the best of my knowledge, Pops Yoshimura (everyone called him Pops). I was amazed at my own gall, but I managed to ask them for help.
There was some discussion inside the Mercedes among the rather regal looking passengers, and “Pops” decided they could be of help. I ended up following the Mercedes and a Datsun full of mechanics about five miles through heavy traffic with no clutch, killing the engine at each traffic light, starting off with the starter motor. They had the local dealer open his shop for me. It was where they were storing duHamel's Pro duction-class winning Z-l, so I drooled over it for a while.
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When the owner of the shop and I had a moment alone together to finish the transaction, I confided in him that I couldn't believe this whole thing was happening. He confided in me that HE couldn't believe it was happening, either. I didn't have enough gall to ask if the cable was under warranty. I felt its breaking was my fault anyway, because I had never lubed it.
Well, I went outside, thanked m~ benefactors, watched them leave, and began the installation of the cable. Immediately some dude who had a van with a couple of racers in back jumped out of his truck and begged me to let him help. On getting the OK, he whipped on his truck lights, brought out his fully-equipped tool chest and went to work. When we were done, he hopped in his truck and left, refusing so much as a beer. Gawd, I heard the slogan, "come out ahead on a Kawa saki" but that was too much!
At 6400 miles, I replaced the rear tire. It should have been replaced much earlier, but I was waiting for a K-8 1. At 6600 miles, I replaced the front tire, which still had a lot of tread on it, but I wanted a K-8 1 there, also.
At ?~UUU miles, the valves we shimmed, free of charge, by Kawasa At 8500 miles, I replaced the drive chain, or actually, Kawasaki replaced it. That chain was not defective in material or workmanship, it died a natural death after a long, hard life, and yet Kawasaki renlaced it free
My left front turn signal malfunc tioned somewhere along the way (fixed with a little solder), and I had one flat tire.
Previously, I owned a Mach IV, and before that a Honda 750. Whereas it may seem that I am fickle, and whereas the sight and sound and smell of Mach IVs still turns me on, it would seem that my feeling for the Z-l is superficial. But it really combines the best of all streetmotorcycle qualities, and is as cheap and reliable to run as a Honda 750.
It’s not perfect, but I just may own this motorcycle 10 years from now; like each other. ™
Denys Arcuri
[Öl Ridgecrest, Calif.
