Kawasaki Offering Factory Reproduction Cylinder Heads for Your 1970s Era Z1

If you’ve been to any gathering of vintage motorcycles or if you keep your eye on motorcycles for sale, you might have noticed how many beautifully restored Kawasaki Z1s keep showing up. The Z1, fast approaching 50 years old, was and still is extremely popular and for good reason, they are a great looking bike and they really set the bar for performance when they were introduced. Kawasaki is obviously aware of the many enthusiasts working on these classics and they decided to lend a hand by reproducing the cylinder heads, using today’s manufacturing technologies. This is really cool.

Kawasaki describes the heads as:

Reproduction Z1 cylinder heads using current methods based on original part design plans and specifications. Not intended to be an exact copy of the original, including the shape and surface quality, based on production standards at the time.

In other words, better than the originals.

The heads finished in black are compatible with:
Police 1000 1978
Z1 1973
Z1R 1978

Silver finished heads are compatible with:
1000 LTD 1978
900 LTD 1976
KZ1000 1978 1977
KZ900 1977 1976
Police 1000 1978
Police 900 1976 1975
Z1 1975 1973

There’s already a very good supply of parts necessary to restore these early bikes, and as the price of Z1s continues to climb, these heads will likely find a place in many restorations already in progress or on a few bikes in need of some work. If you’re an owner of one of these beauties, you should check these out.

Press release follows:

New Reproduced Parts for Legendary Z models

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. is excited to announce that it will now offer reproduced cylinder heads, manufactured in Japan, for the legendary Z1, KZ900 and KZ1000 motorcycles. Introduced in 1972, the original Z1 was one of the first models designed with the US market in mind and went on to solidify Kawasaki’s position as a global leader in the large-displacement bike category.

The Z1 gained popularity immediately after its debut and sold well over 100,000 vehicles around the world. It is a historic model that came to be recognized as a symbol of Kawasaki motorcycles with its impressive power and high reliability that have been retained over the years, passed down to current-generation models.

As these long-popular, classic models near their 50-year anniversary, they remain loved and admired by many riders. Numerous Z1s are restored to beautiful, working condition, and can be found around the world today In order to meet the needs of Z1 owners and collectors, Kawasaki has decided to reproduce cylinder heads for the Z1, KZ900 and KZ1000.

Kawasaki will reproduce the cylinder heads using current methods based on original part design plans and specifications. The cylinder heads will be manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. in Japan and will be available in two colors, silver and black.

To be one of the first to receive one of these reproduced cylinder heads, pre-orders can be placed by contacting your local Kawasaki dealership and placing an order before June 30th, 2020. Orders placed by this date are expected to arrive by Fall 2020. For more information please contact your local Kawasaki dealer or visit the product information page on Kawasaki.com.

Additional Information:

• Not intended to be an exact copy of the original, including the shape and surface quality, based on production standards at the time
• Cylinder Head includes camshaft brackets, tappers, valves and peripheral parts
• Does not include camshafts, cylinder head cover, gaskets, etc.
• Features M8 exhaust-pipe-attachment stud bolt dimensions from later models
• Does not fit on the Kawasaki KZ1000 MKII and other so-called “square head” models, which feature a second-generation square cylinder head cover that is slightly thicker