Kawasaki Z1, Z/KZ900 & Z/KZ1000: Covers Z1, Z1A, Z1B, Z/KZ900 & Z/KZ1000 models 1972-1980

About Chris Rooke

Chris was brought up in a mechanical family inheriting his love of all things mechanical from his father who was always tinkering with clocks and engines. Where he gained his love of motorcycles from is anyone's guess! His first bikes were a Vespa 125 and a Lambretta SX200 at the tender age of 13 followed by a Raleigh Runabout and then a Casal moped when he was 16. He purchase a BSA Starfire 250 when he turned 17 - the first bike he ever rebuilt that went again afterwards! After a short dalliance with a Suzuki Rebel 350 he bought the love of his life - a 1954 Matchless 350 GLS Heavyweight single that he stripped down and turned into a bobber/chopper and this remained his sole means of transport for many years. Sadly that bike was stolen and after rebuilding a Triumph T100 for a friend he purchased a Triumph Bonneville T140 which was duly rebuilt and pressed into service but later sold to fund a house purchase (familiar story?) and for many years he remained bikeless. When his fortunes changed for the better he bought an E-type Jaguar 4.2 FHC Series II which he completely restored from the ground up. The whole process took nine years but as soon as he completed it he had to sell it for financial reasons. Undaunted he was then able to buy two Triumph Tridents a 1973 T150V and a 1975 T160 which he completely restored - these are the subject of another of his restoration manuals. He has now turned his attention to one of his most coveted classic motorcycles - the Kawasaki Z1. Having lusted after one for so long he bought two! - a 1974 Z1A and a 1976 KZ900. The complete restoration of the latter and complementary work on the Z1A forms the basis of this real life restoration book.