That is a very pretty KZ. Not exactly stock (your mileage may vary on the aesthetic appeal of those blacked-out pipes, for example), but gorgeous nonetheless.
Driven by a 1015cc air-cooled inline four, promising 83 horsepower, the KZ1000 was first introduced in 1976. At the time, Cycle World referred to it as “the hottest thing on the street,” but just two years later the world of motorcycling had moved on and the Kawasaki was suddenly a different beast.
“Yesterday’s rocket is like Saturday’s hero; it grows up and goes on to a broader range of pursuits,” the magazine observed in 1978. “It becomes a touring bike.”
Or a cop bike. The KZ1000 was the platform used for the iconic KZ1000P police bike which remained in production all the way until 2005. In Terminator 2, it’s a KZ1000P that the T-1000 android uses to launch himself out of a building onto a helicopter.
Back to the year this bike was manufactured, though, and it was being compared to the iconic Honda GL1000 Gold Wing ─ hardly an insult. Comfortable and quick, it was seen as a lighter alternative to shaft-driven machines.
This particular example has had a lot of love put into it, with the seller giving a long list of jobs done. “Completely stripped down to every nut and bolt,” the ad states. “During restoration I made some changes to my liking.”
If it’s to your liking, you can find this KZ1000A2 with 2,186 miles on the clock for sale in Cranston, Rhode Island, here on eBay.