A legendary “power monster,” the Kawasaki KZ1000 Z1R TC, is the ultimate 1970s speed machine, with a fascinating back story. Kawasaki has existed in various permutations since 1878 and, in common with every other “survivor” of the Japanese “motorcycle wars,” was a major aircraft manufacturer during World War II. A relative newcomer to the Japanese motorcycle scene, the company produced its first motorcycle in 1961. The following year, it absorbed Meguro to gain a quick foothold in the ultra-competitive Japanese bike market; the next Kawasakis were rebadged Meguros, which are known as the model W1 and W2. Essentially a copy of the BSA A10, it was, in fact, technically superior to its forbear but more expensive and slower, in an era where faster quarter-mile times were the key to sales. Back to the drawing board; the next machine was a hit: the A1 “Samurai,” a 250cc 2-stroke, essentially a detuned racer for the road, with performance superior to its rivals. A pattern was set. The next outrageous machine, the H1 500 “Mach 3,” a 3-cylinder 2-stroke Hot Rod, was lighter and far more powerful than its rivals. Honda had beaten the company to the 4-cylinder punch in 1969, while Kawasaki was still developing its own “four,” but the H1 certainly put Kawasaki on everyone’s lips for its outrageous wheelies and 125 MPH performance. Tales of suspect handling had more to do with the combination of very low weight and sudden power delivery, but the H1 cemented Kawasaki’s reputation as the builder of the fastest bikes around. In 1972, Kawasaki’s four was finally ready, and the 900cc Z1 not only trumped the Honda CB750 in engine capacity but had two overhead cams to boot. It was a big hit, and again, placed the company out front in the speed stakes. In 1978, the Z1-R used a beefed-up chassis and tuned engine, enlarged to 1000cc, combined with café racer styling with a small fairing as standard equipment to stake the factory’s claim further into “fastest bike” territory. The coup de grace arrived with the addition of a turbocharger on the Z1-R; the Z1-R TC had arrived, the first production motorcycle with forced induction. Selling for one-third more than the already dear Z1-R, the TC provided a new benchmark of performance, with quarter-mile times in the high 10-second range, made even more remarkable by carrying more than 500 pounds of solid metal. Few were sold (around 500 in the U.S.), as was certainly the plan; the machine was clearly intended to be a “statement” of Kawasaki’s prowess in the speed bike stakes. It certainly was, and still is. This superb example shows just over 5,000 miles on the odometer and is a remarkable motorcycle from the SK Trading Collection of Japan. S204 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 Z1R TC
