Kawasaki Z1000 MkII

More information and photographs to follow soon.

In 1979 Kawasaki introduced their “Future Image” Z1000-A3 which was better known as the Z1000 MkII.
The A3 was available in Luminous Dark Red or Luminous Dark Blue, both with Gold pinstriping on the fuel tank, side panels and tailpiece.
Unlike earlier Z1000s, apart from the first ‘K’, the letters of the Kawasaki badges on the fuel tank were in lower case.
The engines were finished in black similar to the Z1 but without the polished edges on the cooling fins. There were some other changes in the appearance of the engine in that the cam covers and gearbox casing had a ‘squared off’ look to them.
The outer edge of the clutch cover was finished in black with the centre in polished aluminium.
The alternator cover and ignition cover both featured a black circle with polished aluminium fins and the word Kawasaki where previous models had stated DOHC.

As with the Z1-R, 28mm carburettors were used. The power was up to 93 bhp.
The silencers of the four into two exhaust system were styled differently from those of the A1 and A2.

The A3 featured many improvements including drilled disc brakes with sintered metal pads which were much better in wet conditions than previous models.
I recall seeing a picture in a magazine that led me to believe early US models only had one disc brake up front. However, this may have been a prototype.
The MkII had a nineteen inch front wheel and an eighteen inch rear wheel.
The wheels were a seven spoke cast alloy design with a black finish. The edges of the spokes and the rims were polished aluminium.

Another improvement was the use of electronic ignition.

In 1980, the Z1000-A4 was introduced. This was mostly the same as the A3 with improvements such as a quartz halogen headlamp.
The A4 was available in Luminous Ruby Red or Luminous Navy Blue, again with Gold pinstriping.
The instruments on the Z1000-A3 and A4 were similar to those on the Z1000-A1 and A2, however the tachometer was calibrated to a maximum of 11000rpm with the redline starting at 8500rpm.