1978 Kawasaki Other on 2040-motos

KZ650 / Z650 History

The Kawasaki KZ650 as it was known in the USA, or Z650 as it was know every where else, was truly the 'Son of Z1' as both the Z1/900 and the Z650 were designed by Gyoichi “Ben” Inamura in the mid seventy's. The Z650 came from the idea for a bike that was not too heavy and not too big, but with the character of a sport bike.

Important in the design of this bike was that it had to the agility of a 500 with the performance of a 750 and have the capability to drive long distances without the rider getting too tired. It was indeed the best all round bike that Kawasaki had released so far. The premiere release took place in the UK in 1976 where the world press had the opportunity to see and test the machine for the first time. It was announced as a bike with the impressive performance of the 500 and 750 CC three cylinder two-stroke engines combined with the suppleness of the Z900. As well as the 4 in 2 exhaust system, the huge cylinder head made you think that you have a Z750 rather than a Z650. The 64bhp was claimed with a dry weight of only 465lbs, making a top speed of nearly 120 mph possible. But more importantly, this new model handled like no other Kawasaki. For once all the available power could be used in relative safety.