Kawasaki Z750 Twin (76-79) 745

Bought one new, when it first appeared. A step up from an s3 400. It felt massive in comparison and had so much low down grunt.

Despite poor reviews in the motorcycle press at the time, it was a good bike.

My only problem with it was carb icing. Only in the driest, warmest weather was it not affected. In the winter, it was a nightmare.

I got a single wall 2 into 1 header & upswept exhaust system, had the head skimmed 10 thousands of an inch, got the intakes & exhausts ported by a retired ex-"NASCAR' mechanic friend who moved back to Canada, three angle grind on the vajves &seats, bored out the carb intakes, oversize jets, K&N air cleaners, Dyna coil, Boyer Ignition, halogen headlight, flat Vincent handlebars,18 inch front wheel, Avon Super Venoms, kz1000 front brake mastercylinder &"y" fitting, extra disc &caliper for better braking with the stainless braided teflon lined hoses front &rear with SBS pads, plus I removed the electric start when it failed,lessweight with it &the chain& sprockets gone &centre stand also. Shop stand at home for tire removal & chain lubeing, BMW900 type bikini fairing, off road brush hand protectors, replaced signals & stalks with flush "50s' bullet type. I went with a 40 tooth rear sprocket for a bit of help from a start and don't really notice much difference in top end as I do mostly sport touring riding here in southern British Columbias mostly mountainous terrain.

Amazing torque though low horse power. Broke the chain 4 times.Engine is so quiet on standard pipes. Put a 2 into 1 and it unleashes a lot more power but it needs jetting up as the down pipes glow red at night!

Toured all of Europe on it. Basically a very smooth Bonneville type that the engine rotates in reverse plus balance weights inside the smooth it out. Amazing smooth quiet twin.

I loved it, it was my first big bike, previously I had a Honda CB250 so any thing was great after that. But that first long impression has stayed with me and although almost every bike I've owned since has been so much better, I still love this one. I would pay good money for another one now. Sentimental of course, but that is the only way this bike will score these days.

In the past the Kawasaki Z750 got a bad press, but try one now and it's a real blast from the past. A 360deg twin is a thing of beauty, and especially to listen to. It's got as much power as you will ever actually need, and will pull Harleyesque gearing. It can go round corners fast and securely, and will stop when you want it to, unless it's raining. Parts are cheap from the States (thank you ebay) and it is just so chilled and practical. They should make them new, instead of the cheap fake retro junk.