As we jump past midweek here’s a bright yellow Kawasaki GPZ900 in cigarette livery. This tobacco company has traditionally been a sponsor of motorsports.
December 16, 2019
Annie get your gun
Would I lie to you? While I was cruising some 80’s music videos this evening I happened upon this snippet in the opening sequence of a Eurythmics hit from 1985. Her unruly boyfriend has a Kawasaki GPZ 900. Best color scheme too! That’s a great bike!
July 18, 2019
I feel the need…
He’s Dangerous | The official trailer for the sequel to Top Gun was released today. Called Top Gun Maverick it stars Tom Cruise as the titular character – this time an aged fighter pilot rather than a brash young jock. Kawasaki motorcycles feature again. A brief sighting of the original Ninja 900 as well as a speeding Ninja H2. The Need for Speed.
June 22, 2019
Two Wheels Good
Motoblot | The annual pilgrimage to Chicago’s main open air motorcycle gathering was had today. Weather cooperated after stormy forecasts. Plenty to look at amongst the offering. The KZ900 in sparkly brown and oranges was a notable example; as was a display of the Danish in-line 4 workpony’s Nimbus.
May 20, 2019
Austrian Racer
Niki Lauder | He won the F1 world championship in 1975, 1977 & 1984 racing for both Ferrari and Maclaren. He had a horrific accident at the Nurburgring in ’76 where a fiery crash severely burned his head and toxic fumes damaged his lungs. His rivalry with James Hunt is legendary. He died earlier today aged 70.
January 9, 2019
Fettled & Fast
Pops – The post-war period in Japan saw a push in engine tuning to wring out any available additional horsepower to not just be faster but the fastest. This would eventually lead to the superbikes of the seventies and eighties and the current flock of hyper sports.
Leading this evolution of power and speed was Hideo ‘Pops’ Yoshimuro (1922-1995). After maintaining aircraft for the Japanese Empire during WW2 he redirected his masterful talents to the British bikes being brought to the land of the rising sun by American servicemen. This photo shows our man astride a fettled BSA preunit drag bike readying for a speed run.
Later he shifted his works and racing team to California where big reliable Japanese superbikes like the Kawasaki KZ and Suzuki GS’s went on to dominate the burgeoning AMA road racing circuit.
August 24, 2018
Magnifying Moto’s
Close-Up – finishing off the week with some choice details of several motorbikes from last weekend. From Arial, Honda, Kawasaki, BMW, to Norton and Triumph. Some original, some personalized; from badges to pinstripes; tank, fairing, frame and fender.
August 21, 2018
Kawasaki Kool
Big Zed – a couple of smashers at the weekend bike show. A 1975 KZ900, which was the Charles Atlas of its day, imbuing pure adrenaline inducing brute power. This one in immaculate condition with a glossy metallic ‘rootbeer’ and orange paint scheme. Also parked up was a new Z900 which takes its styling cues from the old venerable drag strip king. Retro! Retrah!
February 19, 2018
Felix Frame Fame
Fritz the Cat – Egli frames are seen to be the perfect chassis for high horsepower powerplants such as this olympian KZ beast. The large diameter backbone and triangular geometry tubing give a stiff mount to impart the engines capabilities to the road. The cat approves in true feline curiosity.
November 30, 2017
Le Moto Vert
TBT ’99 – here’s a younger me heading off to work on my green Kawasaki Ninja 600. When we lived in downtown Chicago it was the best way to commute along Lake Shore Drive up to Evanston. The bike was a 1996 ZX6E… solid and quick.
October 12, 2017
Sur la Route
Normadie. – an image taken during a weekend cycling trip along the north coast of France in ‘97. I spied this couple zooming across the countryside under crisp April skies as I took a break from pedaling the same landscape. “That’s for me!” I said to myself.
Pentax ME Super 50mm Fujichrome 100
September 27, 2017
Rocket
Mach 3 – Redhot firestarter. Three cylinder 500cc two-stroke in immaculate restored condition. This hooligan toy was loud, fast, and dangerous. Kawasaki H1 was the quarter mile king for a short while in the early 70’s
September 16, 2017
A Door Ajar
When is a Triumph not a Triumph? When it’s a Kawasaki KZ400… some youth punk has blacked-out his little twin; draped an old anorak over the back as a saddle; and daubed the Triumph logo across its tank in red, the modern Hinckley logo mind you! Like some Lisbeth Salander (she with the Dragon Tattoo) heap- it’s both goth and grunge.
August 22, 2017
Mr Universe
Pumping Iron – each of these were forces to be reckoned with in their day. From the ’71 BSA Rocket Three which briefly had its moment in the spotlight before Honda’s CB750 turned up on the scene. Honda’s 450 Black Bomber heralded reliability in mechanics and electrics. The scaremongering H2 Mach IV 750 from Kawasaki to quote a contemporary Moto journalist “scarily fast, good-looking, no holds barred motorcycle”.
Finally the grandsire of all modern superbikes Kawasaki’s Kz900. The example here was sublime in finish, a looked like its engine was straining at the seams for a good thrash along the highway. It was also for sale…
June 24, 2017
Motoblot 2017
Bikes etc. – the annual gathering of the ‘alternate’ motorcycle scene on Fulton Street was enjoyed with plenty to look at. Here’s a taster in a four panel collage. The Kawasaki KZ was in more-than immaculate condition. A bobbed Triumph in ratty patina had a fun tank badge and leopard motif. A 1912 Indian with oily rag wipe down appearance. And a latter-day Royal Enfield looking the part for twisty secondary roads. More to come!
