History
New York Steak was the Kawasaki project name for this model when it was first introduced. The 1976 Z900 is the 4th and last interation of the first generation DOHC 903 cc air-cooled transverse 4 cylinder, 4 into 4 exhaust Kawasaki Superbikes. The first being the legendary Z1 or Jaffa, followed by the Z1A, Z1B and this the Z900. The Carburretors on the Z900 were 26 mm down from 28 mm on the earlier models and this caused the power output to reduce from 82 BHP to 81 BHP with no noticeable drop in acceleration or top speed which is claimed as 120 MPH. The frame wall thickness on the Z900 was also increased to overcome the flexing of the earlier model frames resulting in a better handling bike. The Z900 also came standard with twin front discs, they were an option on the earlier models.
This bike is a genuine 3 owner, including me, with less than 20,000 kilometres at the time I purchased it from the 2nd owner who had owned it since 1978, some 34 years. He only sold it as he was too old to ride. The Z900 is unrestored, in excellent condition and it appears the engine has never been opened. When purchased it needed all the consumables replaced, such as tyres, chain, sprockets, hydraulic master cylinder and a good tune. The carburettors were cleaned by a Z1 specialist who also tuned the engine, adjusted the cam chain, shims etc.
This bike is a pleasure to ride, it stops, starts and runs like a bike that is well cared for and only a few years old. Yes the engine is a little agricultural in comparison to second generation 4 cylinder 1980/1990 Japanese multis, but it is so much fun. It can easily keep in front of modern fast moving traffic, it handles well, it has a great upright seating position which doesn’t affect my back (Hooray). Back in the day they didn’t call these bikes “The King” for nothing. They were 5 years in front of the competition when the first Z1 was released in September 1972. I saw my first Z1 in a small Victorian country town in December 1972 and couldn’t believe that a motorcycle manufacturer would build such a huge powerful awesome motorcycle. Thumbs up Kawasaki!
Now sold.
