No self-respecting Kawasaki collector avoids owning one or more Z1s. However, a really nice -75 was missing and by chance I met a person during one of the few motorcycle meetings that were arranged during the Covid -19 pandemic. We came to talk about a little of each and then he mentions that he has an older friend who has owned a nice -75 for many years and apparently he has thoughts of selling it. I got a phone number and a few days later I call Bertil and we make an appointment fairly immediately. Yes, there it is under a curtain in a dark basement garage and I immediately see that it looks to be completely in original condition and to my surprise it also remains original untouched and not broken, exhaust system. So far everything ok. and the only thing that is not original is a slightly higher handlebar as well as an aftermarket tachometer and a pair of bright yellow Accel ignition coils. It had lasted a long time but according to the owner would go fine. Well, with a little starting help, it hacked into two or three cylinders but sounded very good mechanically, so after a few trips we agree and the find takes a trip from Malmö, home to Helsingborg. And that’s where the project starts…
This is what it looked like when I started disassembly. Most of it was in very good condition but almost nothing was perfect so now it was important to make an important choice for the project. Very good condition or mint condition were my two alternatives and after some thought, alternative 2 was chosen. mint condition, which then puts the whole project in a special situation. There are no compromises here. Perfect original parts or NOS parts are what counts. Such a renovation requires a certain amount of patience because certain parts are in principle no longer available and you therefore have to wait until and if the right opportunities arise. Today, a complete renovation with aftermarket parts is almost “a piece of a cake” because you can buy basically everything from e.g. Z1 in the USA or Z-Power in England, but then it will not be “real thing”, so to speak. Maybe nerdy, but to be able to roll it out with only perfect original parts is hard to beat. The project is now approx. 75% clear and it is now clear that the only deviation I was forced to make is that the main wiring harness is an aftermarket, but is in principle an exact copy of the original. This hurts a little but everything else is genuine, including a brand new original exhaust system! The pictures below show some different stages in the project.
