Kawasaki Z1300
With Ian Falloon
Kawasaki has always shown a penchant for being the biggest and fastest kid on the block. It started back in 1968 with the dreaded 500cc H1 two-stroke three-stroke and continues to this day with the awesome supercharged H2R.
In between are the incredible Z1 of 1972 and the huge six-cylinder Z1300 of 1979. While there have been an impressive array of high-performance Kawasakis since then and some important machinery, the Z1300 is still is a mystery. The nearly 30 years that have passed are testament to the days when Kawasaki was obsessed with the company’s independent spirit and prepared to break away from the four-cylinder “Common Japanese Motorcycle” stereotype.
Although launched only 4 years after the Honda Gold Wing, in 1979 the idea of a 1300 cc, six-cylinder, 120 hp, 296 kg motorcycle was extreme. The six-cylinder Honda CBX 1000 produces only 105 hp, only the Harley-Davidson Classic has a larger displacement engine and the Gold Wing weighs 265 kg. Kawasaki sees the Z1300 as the giant motorcycle to beat all the others.
More powerful than many cars at the time, the Z1300 was the most complex motorcycle available in 1979. At its heart was a liquid-cooled twin camshaft engine, the assembly alone weighed 130 kg, more than some 125 cc motorcycles.
The dimensions below (62 x 71 mm) keep engine width to a minimum, but this is still a substantial 635 mm. The crankshaft is a forged one-piece, with plain bearings and a Hy-Vo chain driving the jacks for the clutch, camshaft and oil pump.
On one end of the crankshaft is a dynamo and on the other is an automotive rubber and elastic harmonic balancer (Lanchester damper) to smooth out torsional vibrations from the long crankshaft.
A Hy-Vo chain drives two one-piece camshafts, and a PCV (active crankcase ventilation) system of reed valve chambers behind each exhaust is controlled by the exhaust valve. Compression ratio is 9.9:1 and three flexibly mounted dual-barrel Mikuni BSW32 32mm vacuum carburetors. The indirect 5-speed gearbox, with both input and output on the right, drives a bevel gear to the drive shaft.
Shocking and terrifying, in every respect, the Z1300 screams. While in conventional design, the tubular steel frame is very large, with a 45mm backbone and pressed reinforcement.
The twin shock absorbers are mounted directly to the crown wheel housings and the box that houses the brake calipers and the front fork is a 41mm air-assisted lead-axle type. The wheels come in 18- and 17-inch sizes with triple disc brakes, and extend to a large 1580 mm wheelbase, with a seat height of 809 mm. But despite its size and weight, the Z1300 is not easy to classify. Kawasaki may have thought of the Z1300 as a touring bike, but it’s a far more capable motorcycle than any of the specs on paper.
But the Z1300 was too radical to succeed. It evolved into a complete touring car called Voyager in 1984, which operated until 1989. Never produced in large numbers (20,000 Z1300s and 4,500 Voyagers), in Australia, the Z1300 has always been popular. sold to order and only about 400 were imported within 10 years. Stage.
For 1984, the Z1300 got electronic fuel injection (as in this example), increased power to 130 hp, and many were converted into sidecars or specially customized today’s rare original Z1300s. when seen. While not a Kawasaki landmark bike like the Z1 and GPz900R, the Z1300 is still an important example of the individualist style that comes from Akashi.
In the late seventies, the days of the giant muscle car were over. The Japanese have been developing a new wave of lighter, more compact Superbikes with more power and proper handling. In this context, critics often dismiss the Z1300 as an irrelevant example of redundancy, but they miss the point.
More than just a high-performance Superbike, the Z1300 is an example of a company that is prepared to take a radical path against the norm. Motorcycle manufacturers are no longer eager to invest in risky alternatives, and classic, vintage machines of the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as the Z1300 have will probably never appear again.
Six facts about Kawasaki Z1300
- Initial instructions for the six were given in June 1973, codenamed “Model 203”. With the first drawings completed in April 1974 and Functional Prototype Drawings in December 1974, a prototype was run in September 1975.
- After considering V and four cylinders, an inline six was chosen. The original size was 1200 cc and the original prototype was a supersport with a small bikini strap.
- With the release of Harley-Davidson’s Evolution 1340 cc engine, Kawasaki decided to increase the displacement to 1286 cc. The debut of the Z1300 was at the Cologne Exhibition in September 1978.
- Gary Thomas and Clive Knight fought on the Z1300s in the 1979 Production Unlimited race at Bathurst. Thomas took the lead, eventually finishing second. The fastest Z1300 overcame the speed trap, at 241.6 km/h
- The engine was so powerful that two turbocharged Z1300 engines powered Don Vesco’s record-breaking 318,598 mph (513 km/h) motorcycle in 1980.
- In December 1982, Ross Atkin set a new circumnavigation record, traveling 15,000 km from Melbourne to Melbourne in six days, 22 hours and 51 minutes in a Z1300A4.
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