1973 Kawasaki Z1 900 – $50,000

SELLER SAYS: Have had the bike for around three years, having spent more time refurbishing it, than riding it, so time to move it on. Given this, the bike is in as-new condition. The engine has not been touched as it is in good mechanical condition. Some of the work carried out are; both gauges completely refurbished, fuel tank cleaned and lined, new Dunlop tyres, lots of re-chrome and re-zinc, fork seals replaced and both wheels respoked. Engine number is Z1E 17973 and frame number is Z1F 17929. The miles on the clock are genuine. Heaps spent on the bike, nothing more to do! Contact Colin on 0477 664 000 (Wagga Wagga, NSW).

EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: The early 1970s really were exciting times for motorcyclists. Once Honda dropped the four-cylinder CB750 onto the market in 1969, it was like a trumpet calling everyone else to step up to the plate. And they did. Legend has it that, when Honda released the big CB, Kawasaki was on the verge of releasing its own 750 Four. Beaten to the punch, management decided to pull back and consider a counter-punch, rather than proceed with a bike that risked looking like a Honda copy. And so, when it hit the market in 1972 with a 903cc double overhead cam engine, the Z1 was hailed as the new king of the road. It also was the first serious retaliatory shot at the Honda, sparking a horsepower war that would run for decades. Honda’s head start gave it a huge market advantage of course, and while Kawasaki (and others) were designing, redesigning or tweaking their open-class bikes, the Honda was selling its socks off. As a result, more than 50 years later, there are a lot more old CB750s on the market than Z1s – and that relative rarity is a big part of the reason that early Z1 900s generally fetch higher prices than early Hondas. This bike of Colin’s looks like a beauty, with the preferred jaffa colour scheme, black engine components and four-into-four exhaust ticking three of the most important boxes for collectors.