Kawasaki Z1 – World’s First Superbike completes 40 years

The Kawasaki Z1 celebrates its 40th birthday. It has been 40 years since the legendary bike made its first official entry at the 1972 Cologne Show from whence the  Z1 bike began its historical journey. Special events are being planned to herald in this momentous event.

Kawasaki Z1, which is also referred to as the first superbike in the world, is the phenomenon that changed what superbikes aspire to be. Kawasaki Z1 changed the way the world looked at two wheelers. The launch of this bike saw other leading two wheeler companies try to match its performance and power by bringing out bikes with a 150% increase in hp and decreasing overall bike weight by 20%.

Designed by Gyoichi Inmura , the Kawasaki Z1 journey is being marked euphorically this year. To mark this special occasion Kawasaki has planned a special tour of historical motorbikes in the Z series all across Europe during the coming year. This will end in a special exhibition to be held in October at the Intermot Show in Germany. This year, 22nd April is being celebrated at Ace Café as Kawasaki day.