Z1 Kawasaki

Z1 Kawasaki

THE CW LIBRARY

IF YOU ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH THE KAWASAKI Z-1 and its children, you will understand and want Micky Hesse’s bilingual book, Z1 Kawasaki. If you are not, you may dismiss the book as an anthology of press kits.

Micky Hesse is a German super-enthusiast of the Z-1, a person who gave up his formal education the better to concentrate on studying, collecting, photographing and eulogizing Kawasaki’s classic, big, air-cooled Fours-even including the turbo bikes. Almost every page of his book is covered with photographs-many from Kawasaki archives, some from Hesse’s own studio. There are detailed close-ups, factory cutaways, standard ad photos and foldouts. There are pages of specifications for each model, U.S., domestic market and Euro-market.

There is little text, and what there is, is reproduced in both English and German. The English translation is gushy and hero-worshipping, but the basic origin of the machine is presented, with comments from Osamu “Sam” Tanegashima, who was project leader on the Z-l, and from others at Kawasaki’s Akashi plant.

Some motorcyclists identify so strongly with one brand, even with one model, that they are almost blind to all else. I first encountered this among Vincent owners, and we have all met riders for whom only Harley exists, or Indian. Hesse’s book shows that Japanese machines will not be immune to this kind of two-wheeled tunnel vision.

There is nothing here about the Z-l’s central role in the development of Superbike racing, or about its 25 years

as the durable backbone of motorcycle drag racing. For the author, the Z-l motorcycle family is a beautiful, powerful, evoca-

tive image, a preeminent industrial design, an idea. If you agree, Hesse’s book will be a feast for your eyes.

Kevin Cameron

Z1 Kawasaki, Micky Hesse, 238 pages, $70; American Classix, 51777 Northridge Rd., Morongo Valley, CA 92256; 760/3639141; www.americanclassix.com