TOPIC:

Hi I have a really nice kz900 bottom cases and kz1000A barrels 
looking to sell or part ex as I need a set of kz1000A lower casings and crank and front RHS caliper 
I am not greedy just need some parts 

Post the engine number please.

Are you interested in buying them or just looking for 72 cases ?

72 cases are very rare Sammi and would be very desirable, when selling cases or claiming they are of a rare year the claim should be backed up by photos of the numbers and the front and sides of the cases to insure they are are what is being claimed, the more transparent you are in  a sale like this the more people will be interested.
72/73 Z1 ENGINE NUMBER: Z1E-00001 to Z1E-01999 the majority of the 72 being under the Z1E-09999 mark, (correct me if im wrong)
74 Z1A ENGINE NUMBER: Z1E-02000 to Z1E-047499
75 Z1B ENGINE NUMBER: Z1E-047500 to Z1E-086000
76/77 Z900 ENGINE NUMBER: Z1E-086001 and above.
 

Sammi, I just thought you could weed out a lot of inquiries if you posted the serial numbers. I’d bett 99% of people looking for 900 cases are going to be looking for a specific serial number range. 

The internet has validated a non truth. The only true 1972 Z1 bikes are the prototype, I have only seen engines from them never frame numbers. The prototype engine numbers start with V1- xxxxx. For the 1973 Z1, the first 200 Z1E- 00001- 00201 were not originally available to the public. They were promotional bikes sent to top sales dealerships, given to KHI executives, and magazines to generate sales. Unfortunately it has been said so many times on Internet forums that a 1973 production year bike built in 1972 is a ‘72 Z1. Not true, if this was the case then I could claim my 1975 November built Kz 900 A4 as a Z1B. Don’t I wish. But it’s been said so many times it’s just being accepted. The Z1 900 was built for 1973 through 1975. 

Open to any corrections if I’m wrong. 

Gar's sports center in Grand Rapids received #150
A guy in Plainwell bought the bike new, sold it to my friend in 74, my friend owned it two years then sold, built in September 72.
A few of the bikes are titled 72, dependent of the title procedures of various states.

wrote:

A few of the bikes are titled 72, dependent of the title procedures of various states.

Yes! Some 1973 production year built in ‘72 we’re mistakenly titled as ‘72. That’s an error. It doesn’t make it a ‘72. 

What is a 1973 production year ?
When does a 1973 production year start ?
When does a 1973 production year end ?
Who defines what a 1973 production year is ?
Think carefully, I worked at a cycle shop in 73,74,75,76 and know what the Michigan dmv rules were for those years.
 

wrote:

What is a 1973 production year ?
When does a 1973 production year start ?
When does a 1973 production year end ?
Who defines what a 1973 production year is ?
Think carefully, I worked at a cycle shop in 73,74,75,76 and know what the Michigan dmv rules were for those years.


Dont know if this helps or if you have seen it all ready?


 

There are three separate things here.  One is the model year, one is the production date, and one is the date that appears on the title.  These things are related, but they are very often not the same.

I think Mikaw's point is that Kawasaki did not build a 1972 model year Z1 and a then a 1973 model year Z1.  They built the Z1 across '72 and '73, and they made notable engineering changes throughout the run but did not designate it as a new model.  But they did designate it as a new model, the Z1A, for the 1974 model year.

Take the 1978 Z1R for example.  In another thread we talked about how every single 1978 Z1R that was sold in the United States in 1978 was manufactured in 1977, in order to avoid new requirements in California that went into effect at the start of 1978 (the headlight on/off swing being one).  No one would claim there was a 1977 Z1R, and yet zero Z1R that were manufactured in 1978 were imported to the US.

An alternate example is the 1978 KZ1000A2 and the 1978 KZ1000A2A.  This model was produced in both '77 and '78.  This split was driven the same CA law.  The A2 bikes started production in '77.  The A2A was revised (different carbs) to meet CA emission standards that went into effect in 1978.  It was still a model year 1978, but it was a running change to the production.  

If you do the numbers they hit the 20,000 mark by mid July of 1973, if every bike after the 20,000 mark is a Z1A then maybe July to June is the manufacturing year?

Forgive me but my greatest knowledge of production dates and model years comes from the 1968 to 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle.  They always began the next model year production in about September of the previous year.  I think this would be similar to motorcycle production as well.