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Difference between revisions of "Kawasaki KZ1300A"
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==Kawasaki KZ1300== | |||
At the end of the Seventies, [[Kawasaki]] was riding high. Several of its models had proved a fantastic success, from the 900cc Zl to its three-cylinder two-strokes of 350 to 750cc. The marque' had carved itself a solid sporting image, crowned in 1978 by the 250 and 350cc world championships. More crowded than ever, that year the range consisted of no Fewer than 16 models -including three 1000cc machines! The time could not have been better to make a grand gesture, and Kawasaki seized the moment by launching its KZ1300 at the Cologne Show in 1978. | |||
==Run of Bad Luck== | |||
But its luck ran out. Kawasaki, who had been beaten to the draw by Honda with the launch in 1969 of the [[Honda CB750K|first Japanese 750cc four cylinder]], suffered the same mischance in 1978, when the [[Honda CBX|Honda CBX1000 six-cylinder]] appeared at the beginning of the year, leaving Kawasaki holding only the honor of making the largest-capacity machine in that period of burgeoning technology. | |||
==Over the Top== | |||
Even so, Kawasaki could justifiably be proud of having made the most impressive two wheeler, though it proved a bit over the top for Europe, which only gave a half-hearted welcome to this very efficient(in terms of sheer performance) six-cylinder, which seemed too heavy and insufficiently sporting. In America, too, early enthusiasm faded away and the KZ1300 failed to make its mark, for the US market seems indissolubly wedded to the big [[V-twin]]. | |||
==1979== | ==1979== | ||
[[Image:1979-kawasaki-kz1300-a1.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Kawasaki KZ1300-A1]] | [[Image:1979-kawasaki-kz1300-a1.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Kawasaki KZ1300-A1]] | ||