Post Sale Update: This Z1-R sold for $23,000 after 38 bids on eBay in San Jose, California.
Wayne Moulton has had quite a career in the motorcycling industry, including roles as President for Triumph Motorcycles America and Vetter Fairings, as well as Vice President of Kawasaki. He was known for a philosophy that “a popular motorcycle can have four different variations – a standard, a limited, a cafe racer and a touring bike.” He’s also known as the “father of the Japanese cruiser” because he created Kawi’s LTD line…and he created the Z1-R, a sport-tourer with a smaller front wheel and a cockpit fairing.
Unfortunately, the Z1-R was a bit of a commercial failure. It seems that over a 3 year period, only about 500 were made. Kawasaki had excess inventory so Moulton got creative with the leftovers and partnered with American Turbo-Pak to add turbocharging – and the Z1R-TC was born.
This example (VIN: KZT00D-007158) was restored over a year ago and is claimed to be a “numbers matching 100 point show bike.” It scored a 98.25 at its first show “and those problems have been corrected.” Since then it has won 2nd place in the Japanese class at the 2019 Quail Motorcycle Gathering, won the Coyote Creek Concourse D’Elegance, won the Blackhawk Concourse, and was the cover bike for the November/December 2019 issue of Motorcycle Classics.
Find this Z1-R for sale in San Jose, California with bidding up to $16,100 and the reserve already met here on eBay.