Z1 900 sells for WHAT?! 

Kerker 👍

I had a Kerker 4 into 1 on my Honda Magna V65👊

Yes, lots of fun. Had a 78 GS1000. I can still feel the buzz between my legs LoL

@@homeagain9692 a twist of the throttle 👍

Me too!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

That sound was the double overhead cams. I had an 82 Yamaha Seca 650 that sounded very similar to that. If that's what a 73 Kawasaki Z1 900 brings at auction I'd sure like to see what a 1979 Honda CBX brings.

I bought an 80 CBX1000 new. My preference but no way a CBX would sell for near $50000 US. They came and went with not much impact. The Kwack has provenance the CBX has 6 cylinders that's it.@@Cartier_specialist

Can't disagree with any of that john! The next most collectable Kwacker - the GPz900.

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp Technically, the GPZ is the more refined, better equipped, more tractable & much more capable machine. But looking at the Z9 & the GPZ side by side is like looking at a virgin in her underwear compared to an Olympian Wrestler in a potato sack. Both share similar mechanicals. Both share that notorious howling Kwakka spinetingling growl & both sound like a whole nest of hornets trying to escape a coffee can on idle. The DNA is largely the same & both bikes deliver, but the Z9 just has a fabulous stance, bare bones hot looks & from any angle, that Z9 just piles on the sex appeal. As we all know, plenty of early Nines ended up repowered & re-engineered with most of the goodies from the later bikes as they got bent & trashed. That, drammaticly improved punch, poise & braking & a few neatly added gussets and a longer swing arm soon made the Nine a genuine force to be reconned with. It's the Nine's stunning good looks that blows my mind still. I had a modified '74 Z1A. Gussetted, with a Thousand Kit, Aluminium Sprayed Four Into One, Hot Cams, Drag Clutch, Lowered with Short Rear Shocks & a 16 Inch Fat Wire Back Wheel, Tiny Pull Backs and an Open Exhaust... It was the love of my life. My mate had a jet black KZ1000 & another mate had a Z1R in the original frosty silver/light blue. Everywhere we went, crowds of admirers would gather & drool. It was always the Jaffa (striped) '74 Z1A that pulled the "crowds". It just looked so good! I couldn't keep up with the other two bikes & I didn't care. Hotted up old Honda B'Oldors and Katanas could blow me away all day. But... Every time we stopped for fuel of a toasted sandwich or to look at a map, people would stop, abandon what they were doing & zoom in on the Nine for a closer look. My bike was superlow! Even the seat was cut down. It just had a killer look about it & it was loved everywhere we went. I knew, even as a kid in 1973 that the then brand new Kawasaki Z900 had a presence you simply could not deny. I lived on the Northern Beaches of Sydney Australia as a kid & there was always a bit of money around. Bonnyvilles and 750 Commandos were the gun bikes to own. Many were tweaked & they went hard. Occasionally you'd see a Guzzi that could really move when the lights changed to green... THEN THE Z9s HIT THE STREETS LIKE A RANDOM BUNCH OF JET FIGHTERS! All those geezers who'd gone nuts hotting up Pommy & Euro bikes soon found themselves struggling to keep up. WW11 had reignited in suburbia & it was on for young & old! Those who rode the "traditional" bikes had to learn to cope with a genuine JAPANESE INVASION that exploded right there in their own neighbourhoods. Anyone could step inside a dealership & BLAST out of the place on a two wheeled rocketship that could easily incinerate a back tyre or wheelstand for miles at 60 MPH in SECOND GEAR! I was only eleven years old in 1973 when the same mob who'd built stinging ZERO FIGHTER PLANES to attack Pearl harbour started churning out & unleashing "STREET FIGHTER" bikes that went like shit off a shovel and they dropped them like "bombs" all over Australia! This madness caused all manner of conflict. Many diehard bikers took offense & HATED these JAP bikes. The fact they went so hard just rubbed salt into wounds. I always loved Z9s. I was too young to care about the war & any of that horrid history. Movie Makers like Sandy Harbutt made fabulous movies like STONE (which was filmed about 2 miles from OUR HOUSE!) and MAD MAX & the stars of those movies were the SCREAMING HOT KAWASAKI Z900s! They didn't just look good & go good.... they sounded AWESOMELY good as well! The package was complete. The first generation early Z9s just ticked all the boxes & they did it with functionality, high performance, jaw dropping good looks, reliability, low maintenance AND AFFORDABILITY! I've met plenty of goobers who find fault with the wonderful Z9. It's true... Faster, safer & more advanced bikes have since been & gone. Like, seriously... When was the last time a 1982 Katana flew past you on a country highway, like they did 40 odd years ago? They came, they saw, they concquered and they flew to bits & went to scrap & the bulletproof old Nines just kept on going. As far as I'm concerned, the Nine is the duck's guts & any dimwit who thinks otherwise aint up to speed. All up, the old Nine is easily the best overall package & Kawasaki should be praised eternally for doing such a great job right from the word go. Nothing compares to the Nine. She's the real stunner in every crowd & it's great to see her getting the sort of money, admiration & attention she rightly deserves. I'm too old & too smashed up to climb aboard another Nine. Impact injuries have ruined my "frame". I'd buy another one in an instant, but she'd probably kill me. I'd happily just sit back & stare at her because she's simply drop dead gorgeous & those prices at auction prove my point. What else ever looked that good?

@@johnbrooks9523 And in their first appearance in proddy racing here in the USA at Daytona - they got their lunch handed to them by the BMWR90's. Thrashed by an old Kraut boxer with a cool orange paint job! But I agree with your rants (!) - the yanks were welding up their cranks, and boring them out to God only knows what, 1,700cc, and a big load of nitro for the drags! And they never blew up! Great motor! And George KERKER got rich with his 4-1's Kawi pipes before he blew his own brains out! Take care mate. No worries.

@@DennisMerwood-xk8wp Am curious to find out which standard production Jap bike has made the most money at auction? Surely $50,000.oo US is the winner? Bikes with fine race histories & accompanying boxes of trophies that sit in museums are no doubt worth $Millions. I've never heard of a "common" street bike with no special credentials pulling $50K US... THAT HAS TO BE A RECORD PRICE? It makes my day that the dear ol' Nine is still so loved & admired by those who recognise a good thing... I was obviously "not alone".

@@johnbrooks9523 I think this is a record. I doubt it will be broken soon. You have got to remember that a lot of these Yanks that work for Apple, or Google, or Microsoft, or Tesla have money coming out their ears!

Yeah - didn't the early ones have "outragous" 81 hp or something like that? Things change.. :S

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

@BØRGE ODK I can't remember it wasn't much. I remember that in order to maintain high speed riding and torque we chose displacement. Even my zx750 turbo wasn't much hp but it was a blast to ride and fast.

@CycleDrag If I had the money I would bid around 25k at the max even though it is a first year bike. When i ride an older bike I always think about what I'm missing in New tech. That's my flaw. I sold my zx750 turbo many years ago because of my flaw. The mileage was I think 3400 miles. My first year R6 only had 350 miles when I sold that bike.

@@cycledrag I'm a fan of the v4! All brands

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

my gym buddy was selling his 73 so I said take me for a ride! He did........90 mph in a twenty five mph neighborhood and thats the last time I ever ride as passenger.!Bought her For $1,200 with 34 k miles sold her 34 yrs later later with about 37 k one fun bike ! and great investment

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

I can relate to your story. Mine was a 1975, Denco extractor header. Different carb jets for racing at different altitudes, as I traveled on the Kawasaki cross country and drag raced for fun and money on Saturday nite. I was a crew chief on F 4s in USAF, and traveled on leave time. Pictures of my Z 1 I have, and now retired, I still own...a 1982 LTD 1000KZ. Happy trails.

I had a 95 Z900 until 1980. I to sold it to buy an 80 Suzi GS1100E, I think that was the most fun bike I ever had! fast and easy wheelies. Sold that in 86, moved to abother state ans in 91 I got a KAW ZX-1100, which is a very close 2nd to being the most fun! Both the GS and ZX were fast (ZX almost scary fast!) cornering and braking excellent!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

My ‘76 KZ-900 is a metallic brown/orange with red & gold pin stripe

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Hi Tom how are you doing 😊

Yes this happened. Me and my Z 1. Man what a ride!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

I'll sell you my restored 71 Honda 4 K1, almost as good as these Kwakas, for 30K, if you want. Just hop on and ride....takes you right back to 1971 again.👍

The kwakas are about 10 K more now

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Hi Roadman how are you doing 😊

It is very simple to weld a few extra pieces in critical locations to stop that uneasyness at high speed. We have learned a few tricks over the years. I have one now, heavily modded, that I took to 180 on the GPS, completely smooth, no wobbles.

@@leesutterlin1757 I totally agree. The first thing I done was put a steering stabilizer on my bike. The Z1 900 was nicknamed the "Wobbly Goblin." Because it would tank slap. I'm a certified Kawasaki mechanic. The 73 and 75 -77 had 26mm carbs. Those years had transmission problems, if you were turning over 9000 rpm, you'd miss second gear.

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

@@ricktaylor3748 Hey brother, what's the fix for that second gear problem? Tearing it down for an 1135 kit, so I might as well address that issue now. Thanks.

I had a mate that bought a Vincent. As a basket case. The engine was totally rebuilt modern engineering. Usd forks re-engineered rear . It handled like it was on rails and for an old bike went as faf. Seen guys do the same with the z 900 s what a difference some tweaking does

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

You got it Raven. Much more coming from Mecum!

@@cycledrag bunch of crackheads with money

You're saying they are idiots with too much money? Agreed!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

I would love to have a stock kz turbo. Black with the orange decals.

Thank you! Please share with some friends!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

It was the rare original black engine Z1. Extremely rare.

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

@@cycledrag I would never buy a Z1 and not ride it, last big bike I owned was a Ducati Monster 750cc with straight through pipes.. A Honda C90.

The ‘76 was called KZ900 the 1000 came out in ‘77

@@stepside2839 That's right. My bike was made 8/76, came out '77. Still fast as shit.

@@wayneneeley2404 Absolutely Fast Suzuki, Yamaha, & Honda had to play catchup to to us during those years. The Japanese dominated the motorcycle market at that time. Same for their stereo systems.

Correct!

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

🤔 I wonder what my ‘76 KZ-900 is worth. The only thing that’s not original is the tires & rear shocks. Has not been used in 25 years👀

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

Thanks a lot for watching! What would you be willing to pay for a 73 Z1-900? And what motorcycle do you dream of adding to your collection?

@@cycledrag back in the days I sold a non running z1 for $350 to a collector on the opposite coast sight unseen just because we raced GS Suzukis and wouldn't think of owning a kawi!

My buddy was pissed when I didn't sell it to him and he had 74 z1..