Kawasaki Z000 Z1-Classic

HERE IT IS: MOTORCYCUNG'S FIRST FUEL-

injected engine. You may have been expecting it, this most-reasonable advance borrowed from the automotive industry. Indeed, some people ask what logic—or illogical love—first begat production bikes with four, even six, carburetors. It may have been our fondness for mechanical intricacies which prompted the Japanese to offer us many-cylindered machines with carburetors to match. A carb per cylinder is great in theory, and often returns splendid performance in practice. But a bank of carbs can also be a tuner's nightmare— and the EPA-era variety must be adjusted very precisely to function properly.

Aye, and there's the rub, as has been said. Manufacturers have been obliged to reduce hydrocarbon exhaust emissions by squeezing the jetting of their big street bikes down to the lean limit. But stifling the performance of a sporting roadster is as good as ringing its death knell. Witness the nearly complete demise of the two-stroke street bike. Witness also the current trouble with some four-strokes: nearly terminal cases of the hiccups, thanks to carburetors that are jetted ultra-lean and, in some modes, can be too lean.

So what's the answer? How can we feed our bikes the fuel they need to produce a good percentage of the horsepower they're capable of developing, and not get in return an unacceptable amount of hydrocarbons streaming—figuratively speaking—from the pipes? An electronic fuel-injection system designed to produce minimum emissions rather than maximum drag-strip performance is one solution a system incorporating sensors dictating when your engine receives a rich air-fuel mixture (for cold starts, idling, and full-throttle runs), and when it receives a leaner mixture.

Kawasaki has produced the first motorcycle to use fuel injection, and anyone with a practical mind has only one burning question about the bike: Does it work? The answer is an emphatic "yes." Through most of its powerband the Z-1 responds to throttle as cleanly as a perfectly tuned multi-carburetor bike no hiccups and no mid-range hesitation and it allows the 1015cc engine to meet 1980's tough emissions standards.

There's a certain ironic justice to the Kawasaki being the first motorcycle to have its fuel electronically metered. The use of fuel injection is a significant technological advance in motorcycling's history. Coldly objective technocrats would say that if there were any justice in the world the most technologically sophisticated machine currently in production would have the honor of being The First for fuel injection. As of spring 1980 only the most devout loyalists would call the Kawasaki "state of the art." Everyone admits it's gutsy. And exciting-yes. And decidedly functional, even though its personality is a trifle crude. But technologically sophisticated? Hardly.

There's the irony and there's the justice. Though no longer advanced in a nuts-and-bolts sort of way, the Kawasaki 1000 is still a significant machine. Some would say it's the most important motorcycle of the 1970s. Everyone remembers when the Z-1 was undisputedly King, and most people would grant that if it were possible for any machine to earn the right to survive, the KZ1000 has. EFI injects not only fuel but new life into the machine and forces us all to re-examine Kawasaki's workhorse.

Actually, the factory has a tradition of modifying the KZ in various ways cosmetically and technically which time and again have coaxed us to return our attention to the bike. In 1976 they produced the KZ900 LTD. It was the first factory "Special." In 1977 the KZ grew up: Kawasaki increased the cylinders' bores four millimeters in diameter, which boosted engine displacement to 1015cc. The following year Kawasaki introduced the Z-1 R. It was a Café'version of the 1000 and was the first stock motorcycle to turn an under-12-second elapsed time in the quarter-mile. Nineteen-seventy-nine was a big year for the KZ: Kawasaki developed two more versions of the 1000. The shaft-drive bike is still with us, but the TC1000 (the turbo-charger) didn't make the emissions cut. This year Kawasaki produces the Z-1 Classic, the standard chain-drive, the shaft-drive, the LTD and the Z-1 R (after a lapse in production of the Café bike last year).

The 1980 Z-1 Classic in fact, each of the incarnations of the Kawasaki 1000—is a direct descendant of the original 1973 Z-1. The powerplant has proven to be virtually bulletproof, and that's prompted moto-journalists to liken the KZ to Chevrolet's classic 327 and given countless racers reason to modify Kawasaki 1000s for the Superbike class.

Except for boosting the KZ's displacement in 1977, Kawasaki has refined the Z-1 powerplant only in subtle ways. Last year the company performed yet another in a series of crankshaft assembly modifications: they made the crank flywheels slightly heavier so the 1000 would rev a little more smoothly. (High-performance addicts have been keeping the dealers' shelves cleared of KZ900 crankshaft assemblies, installing them in their late-model 1000s to produce lighter machines with short fuses.) Nineteen-seventy-nine models were also updated with automatic cam-chain tensioners. This year the engineers have again modified the crankshafts, installing 31mm crank pins, two millimeters larger than before.

The most significant refinement this year (aside from the fuel-injection) is the substitution of transistor-controlled ignition for the old breaker-points setup. The TCI system consists of a rotor (mounted on the right side of the crankshaft) spinning within a magnetic field, a black box (which houses the transistors and amplifies the signal produced by the rotor) and ignition coils. This year's alternator output has been increased 20 per cent to handle the added electrical demands of the EFI.

Kawasaki introduced their KCA (Kawasaki Clean Air) emission-control device on the KZ1300. It's a simple, effective and lightweight assembly, and Kawasaki now includes it stock on all their four- and six-cylinder machines. The KCA system introduces fresh air into the exhaust ports, combining its oxygen with some of the un-burned hydrocarbons to produce non-polluting carbon dioxide and water vapor. The system is arranged like this: rubber hoses connect the airbox and the exhaust-side cam cover; the cam cover incorporates one-way reed valves; cast-in tunnels travel from the reed-valve openings to the exhaust ports. Pulsing pressure differences draw air through the reeds and into the exhaust ports, where the gases are oxidized. The system doesn't clean the exhaust completely, but it helps, and there's no drawback (aside from cost) to the smog-control device.

Because KZ1000 variants differ mainly in appearance, it's not surprising that they should all return similar performance figures. Mechanically, the primary differences between the bikes have been the size of their rear wheels (16-, 17- or 18-inch), their exhaust pipe configuration, their car-buretion and their means of final drive. According to Kawasaki spokesmen, LTDs have sacrificed some power for their stylish pipes. The first 1976 LTD (before emissions controls were really hurting big bikes) recorded a 12.52 elapsed time in the quarter-mile at 110 miles per hour and produced 74 horsepower. That was a little down from the 1975 903 Z-1B-a 12.37 ET bike. Though the 1978 KZ1000 was the slowest Kawasaki 1000 we had ever tested (12.65 in the quarter—barely faster than a Suzuki 750), last year's Shaftie turned a respectable 12.41.

The Z-1 Classic, hampered by its stylish pipes and helped by fuel injection, posts a 12.34 quarter-mile ET. That means it's about average for a Kawasaki 1000. It's faster than the 1976 LTD; but it ought to be, displacing an extra 112cc. It's slower than the 1977 1000, which turned a blazing 12.06 quarter-mile. It's quicker than the 1978 chain-drive 1000 and the 1979 shaft-drive, both of which ran lean carburetion to reduce emissions. In short, the Z-1 Classic is as quick as a well-carbureted pre-emissions-controls 1015cc bike should be. And that's exactly what Kawasaki was after when they chose to use fuel injection.

In actual around-town performance, the Classic is vintage Z-1. It's gutsy, developing over 44 pounds-feet of torque at 3000 rpm and maintaining at least that output until 8500 rpm. That wide and strong powerband has probably sold more people on the KZ than anything else, and EFI has given it power right down to idle. It makes the 1000 fun—you can stick it in fifth gear and roar from a trot to 60 miles per hour in seconds. And its powerband makes it practical you can roll on the throttle for high-gear passes and not bother with a jerky downshift.

There are also the familiar points of vibration. They aren't annoying levels, just very apparent. Just off idle to about 2000 rpm a rumble comes from the engine high amplitude, low frequency. Through the mid-range there's very little vibration, and that makes cruising on the Z-1 comfortable. The Classic is in its element during freeway jaunts and while you're cruising down long country roads. If you're going to hussle on the 1000, you won't help but notice a high-frequency buzz (felt almost exclusively through the handlebar) in the 6000-8500 rpm range.

The Classic also suffers from the traditional Z-1 ailment: driveline snatch. If you roll off, then grab a handful of throttle at low rpm, you both feel and hear the clunk. We suspect most of the problem is in the gearbox; its cogs have very long engaging slots and the shift-dogs are only loosely captured by them. To a lesser degree, the rear Surprisingly, and ironically, it's probably a side effect of the fuel injection's crisp performance which makes the Classic's drive-line snatch feel worse than that of any Z-1 in recent memory. At any rpm level above 2000 the engine responds so cleanly to throttle that you're encouraged to crank it on whenever you want to accelerate quickly. Of course, that's exactly the maneuver which makes any jerkiness even more apparent.

Disregarding the driveline snatch, you'll notice that the 1000 pulls without a hitch once it's under power thanks to the fuel injection. Try pre-loading the driveline slightly in fifth gear at 2000 rpm and then cranking the throttle; you can accelerate smoothly to the legal speed limit with no jerkiness, no hesitation.

The fuel injection has only a couple of glitches, and they're both apparent just off idle. When you're already moving—but slowly, with the engine turning 1000 to 2000 rpm—and you give the throttle a twist, there is invariably a hesitation lasting just a fraction of a second. Then the power builds smoothly. Also, when you're pulling away from a stop, letting out the clutch and easing on the gas, the Z-1 pulls smoothly about 19 times out of 20. On the 20th time the bike coughs, and instinctively you either pull in the clutch and blip the throttle, or just gas it. The engine never immediately coughs a second time—it seems to get its ailment out of its system—and you might even suspect that your clutch work is at fault. It's not. The fuel injection simply has a very minor problem off idle. Only occasionally, but it's there.

With its LTD styling, the Z-1 Classic is meant to be an around-town cruiser. Used as such it's a very practical and comfortable machine. Its 3.5-gallon tank (total capacity) allows you to wander about your city for 105 miles before you switch to reserve. That's based on the 35-mpg average we recorded during our testing. During weekend jaunts, stopping at a station every hour and a half may become tedious, and we honestly don't understand why Kawasaki didn't design a stylish but more practical 4.5-gallon tank.

It's also more comfortable to take the Z-1 on quick hops rather than on extended open-road trips. The handlebar does not cramp your wrists as quickly or painfully as those of some custom machines we've ridden, but it's still just a matter of time. The handlebar, seat and pegs position you pretty naturally, but the bar does not allow you to cant your body into the wind, and you may find it mildly straining to hold your upper body more or less vertical. The seat, luckily, is comfortable both for the rider and passenger and lets a five-foot-ten rider move around to avoid feeling cramped.

Except for one thing the Z-1 would be a perfectly acceptable twisty-road cruiser. That one item is the sidestand. It grinds heavily when you're barely flogging it, so don't be surprised when the stand touches down during only semi-hard left-handers. Right-side cornering clearance is good: the muffler assembly and peg scrape often with the shocks preloaded lightly, rarely with them preloaded fully.

Kawasaki uses air suspension for most of the LTD models, and we don't know why they didn't on the Z-1 Classic. An air-assisted fork would give suspension tuners many options when choosing a spring rate for a particular day's ride, be it two-up, loaded with camping gear or solo. As is, the fork is oversprung for normal cruising and it exhibits a hint of stiction, particularly when you're on the freeway where it should respond quickly to small expansion joints, and it does not. One advantage to the stiff fork is felt during hard braking: it doesn't use too much of its travel, as do some softly sprung forks.

Except for preload adjustment, the shocks do not offer any adjustability of damping or springing. They produce a fairly comfortable ride in most road situations, but their rebound damping is too light for their spring rate. You'll notice some mild harshness when encountering a series of small-but-sharp holes or bumps.

A variety of factors contribute to the Z-1's light, precise steering. Its 26-degree rake is steep, though that is concealed by the fork's "extended" appearance. That head angle and its short trail 3.5 inches-produce a quick response to any handlebar input. Also, the Goodyear tires' rounded profile allows you to ease the bike into turns.

Kawasaki has experimented with several caliper and disc-brake combinations. The setup they use on the Z-1 works very well. Dual disc brakes with calipers mounted behind the fork legs stop the front wheel, and a single disc halts the rear. Drilled slots in all the discs help dispel water, and the Z-1 stops in the rain much better than most bikes with disc brakes. In dry conditions both the brakes are pow-of1u\ and their actuation is linear.

It will do so for one primary reason: it has fuel injection. It's The First and, regardless of the fact that fuel injection doesn't produce tremendous gas mileage or help performance miraculously, it represents solid, progressive engineering. During the 1980s we may continually need to take a step forward to remain where we are. Super-bikes may need a shot of high technology merely to retain 1970's performance. Kawasaki has given the Z-1 the shot it needed, and we can't think of a nicer bike it could happen to. ®