It was late August and still warm out, and my wife Robin and I had begun planning our annual trip to Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival in Leeds, Alabama in October.
I recently had the privilege of purchasing this beautiful 77 KZ1000 from the original owner. We had serviced the bike for the last 10 years and we had planted a seed in the customer’s ear for quite some time. He finally decided to sell the machine and we were in the right place at the right time. The bike had only ~24,000 miles and we had just serviced it earlier in the year. I jumped at the chance to purchase the bike.
We did a few changes to the machine, as it had a Kerker header on it and K&N air filters, and our friend gave us the stock, mint original exhaust as part of the deal. I had taken my son with me and explained to him that it is very seldom that we can purchase an original motorcycle with a nice, original exhaust.
Our mechanic Hilo began to prepare the machine to be 100% original as he replaced the exhaust and stock air box. The machine had an LTD seat as well as a Dyna ignition. Our customer liked the LTD look and shortened the original turn signal stems. He had chromed a few of the covers and since we were starting to make the bike all stock, we changed out the chrome carburetor covers for nice polished ones as well as installing a brand new set of Avon Tyres. Our intentions were to bring the bike back to 100% and leave it on the showroom floor. The paint was the original Kawasaki Diamond Sky Blue, but had faded at the top to a brownish color and feathered out to the original green. A nice effect, really. Everyone thought it was a custom paint job, and it actually started to grow on us.
Hilo decided to give it a quick tune-up, put 4 quarts of Spectro oil in it out of the drum, and I went for my first road test. I took my son to a local high school football game and the police let me up front because I was on a bike and most people who saw the bike were floored by the condition. Most have stories to share. Keep in mind this is at a football game! We later met up with some friends and stopped to have a pizza. We couldn’t stop bragging about the bike so my buddy and his boy had to take it for a spin. They were both in awe after riding the 37-year-old classic. We wound up storing the machine for another month or so before deciding to put the bike through it’s paces – and ride it to Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival in Alabama the second week of October.
We were also celebrating our wedding anniversary. My wife and I took off that Wednesday morning after tying up some loose ends at the shop. I was lucky to have Robin with her 1994 BMW K75 RT with hard saddlebags to carry most of our gear and clothing, and a 5.5-gallon capacity fuel tank. We eyeballed the fuel level on the KZ before leaving figuring we’d get at least 100 miles behind us before stopping. To our surprise, the KZ sputtered to a stop on I-71 just north of Columbus, the first tank out. I had inadvertently left the petcock on reserve when we left the shop. With this motorcycle you must always be on the lookout for a gas station. At a range of roughly 29 mpg, the tank holds just over 3 gallons so we got a little nervous every 75 miles.
The ride was brisk at times, as I had no windshield and pretty mediocre gear. We made it to Munfordville KY the first night, stopping around 8:00 after traveling about 389 miles hitting traffic and some construction. I had no real complaints about anything with the bike except for the gas mileage. Because the bike had the LTD seat, I was able to move around and stretch my legs. At times I’d move to the passenger seat and move from front to rear pegs to offer more positions. We ran into zero rain the first day and life was good. It was always nice to be able to take the time to stop and talk to people who would share their stories of the Kawasaki experience growing up.
The second day we headed into a near monsoon south of Bowling Green KY. We stopped to put my rain gear on and when the rain started it came down hard and steady, yet we managed to keep a good pace of between 70 and 75 mph through it all. Sometimes it’s nice to have a naked bike, and sometimes it’s not. My wife was enjoying her ride on the BMW with the fairing through the rain, smirking in her helmet, watching the rooster tail off my rear tire fill my hood with water. Through it all, we made it to Leeds on Thursday afternoon, totaling 724 miles one-way by my speedometer, and 702 by Google Maps.
I have to say, having the new Avon Tyres gave me peace of mind traveling in the rain and keeping the pace at 70 mph or better.
We arrived at Barber at around 3:00 pm after gaining an hour from Eastern to Central time zones. The shopping at the swap meet and sightseeing soon began. While at Barber, we had many people come to the booth and admire our little stable of Kawasakis. I had also brought along a very nice 1976 KZ900A on the company truck transported by our mechanic Hilo and store manager Marie, along with some hand-selected inventory. The four of us camped at the swap meet, made deals, cooked and ate, and it was a nice time.
Robin talked me into signing up with the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club for the parade lap on the famous Barber Speedway to take place on Sunday morning. It was a treat to look at and ride with all the vintage motorcycles at the VJMC event and meet fellow Vintage Japanese motorcycle enthusiasts. I mentioned earlier we were celebrating our wedding anniversary, as we were married in the Barber museum 5 years before, and what better way of commemorating the event than to take a few laps together around the track on two vintage Kawasaki KZs. Robin on the KZ1000 that I rode down, and I on the KZ900.
Immediately afterward, in the interest of time we had to exit the track and head back to the motor home to pack and load up, then head toward the Cherokee National Forest. Our plan was to take the long way and ride the Dragon at Deals Gap on our return trip. It had begun raining soon into the trip, and continued the rest of day once we left Leeds. As we headed through Chat tanooga then into Cleveland TN we headed East into the Appalachian mountains. The sun had set, it was getting cool, I was getting pretty soggy from riding the naked bike and I wanted to find a room. Hotels AND gas stops were becoming fewer and farther in-between and I was getting nervous and pretty testy. Nothing was open in the forest; our first attempt at a Ma ‘n Pa place with a cruelly-lit “Vacancy” sign was not successful. To our disappointment our knocks on the office door remained unanswered as we sat bitching at each other in the parking lot, deciding what to do.
Continuing on route 64 in Ocoee, we followed the first sign suggesting gas and lodging, which took us even further into the darkness past Greasy Creek. The trail was getting more winding and narrowed as we went. Had it been daylight, and me with a full tank, it would have been an entirely different experience. I had visions of pushing this bike into the next town, getting hit and killed on the way. Robin had visions of leaving the KZ in the bushes and going 2-up into town for another gas can. It actually seemed like survival mode more often than not. I was NOT enjoying this part of the trip. We finally found a convenience store (no gas here) and got directions to the nearest town of Etowah. We made the gas station just minutes before it was lights out at 9 pm! We both breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. That night it didn’t matter if the hotel room was clean or if the dinner was warm. It was All Good.We were safe. Disaster averted. That situation could have become pretty ugly, pretty quick.
The next day after a huge breakfast and interesting conversation at Scotty’s Diner, we headed through more curvy and mountainous roads to Cherohala Skyway and pulled over at a scenic overlook. There we started noticing photographers set up on the curves to capture motorcyclists maneuvering their way through the mountain passes. They would later upload these photos to a website after time-stamping them and you could log on and purchase your photos. This shot of me on the filthy KZ1000 is testament to what we had ridden through earlier. The bike had quite a patina on it from the road grime.
The Dragon was a cool ride. The cars and some of the bikes would even pull over and motion for you to pass as you approached from behind. As long as you downshifted a couple of gears, the Kawasaki had plenty of power coming through the turns. The brakes never faded. The famous Dragon, route 149 between North Carolina and Tennessee boasts 318 curves in only 11 miles. It’s short, but it’s a workout. I would highly recommend a nice set of tires and good brakes before attempting to conquer this road. And going during off-season helps avoid the crowds and daredevils for the most part.
After “Taming the Dragon,” we proceeded to Knoxville, where we stopped for sushi and a look at the weather map. Flash flood warnings were surrounding us. We had planned to spend the rest of this travel day on some back roads, but once we saw the path of the storm, decided it best if we got as far North as possible on the slab that night. We wound up staying in Lexington KY and rode home through a steady downpour that next day.
All in all, my conclusion of the KZ1000A: Great power, good brakes, fair suspension, fantastic character; dismal gas mileage.
The vintage naked bike is not meant for everyone on a 1,500-mile trip. If you have to explain to someone why you are riding this bike, there’s a good chance most will just never understand. I have to give the KZ1000 a two-thumbs up, however. The character this bike possesses makes it very easy to make friends everywhere you stop. If you have time for this social interaction, I would highly recommend taking some nice back roads. I promise you’ll always find someone with a heartwarming story to share about the old Kawasaki.
My socks are just about dry now. Stay tuned for more road tests…
John Bova
