My favourite motorcycles, part the fourth

part the first
part the second
part the third

It occurs to me that it is quite some time since I added anything to this series. When I was a little tacker and we had the servo, we became sort of sub-dealers for Kawasakis. We sold the entire range of G4TR/A ag bikes. High-tech beasties they were, too; high and low range, rotary valves. Cutting edge stuff. We got cool stuff, too, like Kawasaki overalls and, umm..., pamphlets.

So it should come as no surprise to you that number four on my non-graded list of favourite motorcycles is the
Kawasaki Z1, or as the one in this picture is called, the Kawasaki Z1B. In fact any of the early air-cooled Claggy saggy four bangers will do me. When arr woor yoong, my dear old daddy and I used to wait out the front every morning to listen to Somebody flog the crap out of his Z650 on his way to work. We lived on one side of a small valley and Somebody lived on the other side. He was either late for work every single morning of his life, or he was normal, but that Kaw copped a pizzling. It had a set of four into ones on it and sounded like (to quote dear old daddy) somebody tearing a sheet of cardboard inside a water tank. Aurgasmic.

Like a Hollywood actor, they got heavier and slower as they got older even though they looked leaner and meaner. I had one in the eighties. It started life as a Z1000. Before it departed it was up to nearly 1200cc and had a hodge-podge of bitties inside it. I don't remember the details and I'm not going to try and fake it, but it had bits on/ in it at various stages from Moriwaki, Yoshimura, Keihin, Tranzac, Ceriani, Two Brothers (I think, although I can't for the life of me think what it might have been) and ..., others. Went like shit off a shovel. Handled like shit off a ..., well, just shit.

I still wasn't even close to being as fast as this bloke, but. Graeme Crosby could ride the wheels off of these things. They were the weapon of choice for production and superbike racers. Jim Budd, in particular, used to impress me. Fucked if I remember why. Gregg Hansford never looked comfortable on them to me.

These bikes, along with the old sohc 750 Hondas, revolutionised motorcycle styling in a way that has never been fully recognised. Before these bikes came out (and with a very few notable exceptions, one of which is already on this list) motorcycles all looked cobbled together, like the engineering department wasn't talking to the styling department and vice versa. These were the first bikes that had a cohesive design; that looked finished. The engine wasn't something sent up from the workshop to fill a hole in the design, the engine was the centrepiece of the design from the outset; and rightfully so, it was beautiful.

In fact, it's so beautiful that you can buy a life sized pewter sculpture from the people from whom I stole the photo. I have no idea if it's any good; buy one and tell me.

Telly heads could tell me if Claggy Saggies were the bike of choice on CHiPS; I think so, but I lost my remember. All those persons who realise that real race bikes don't turn right would know that Bruce Penhall had a role on CHiPS.

Actually, while I'm tired and rambling, does anybody remember Barney Miller? The character Fish, played by Abe Vigoda (don't even try and tell me that I've got a poor memory) had a spin-off series called Fish. Would have paired well with CHiPS. Just sayin'.