Kirkus Indie Media Book Review
Oehl documents the myriad components of a legendary Kawasaki motorcycle series in this illustrated guide.
Kawasaki rider Eddie Lawson won the title of AMA Superbike Champion in 1981 and then again in 1982. After these historic wins, Kawasaki began selling a stock bike series modeled on Lawson’s championship motorcycle: the Z1000 R1. “With its white and blue stripes on a lime-green base, the Z1000 R1 couldn’t be closer to the original,” writes Oehl in his preface. “Soon the Z1000 R1 was considered a collector’s item, despite low sales figures and strong competition from technologically higher-developed bikes.” This book is an exhaustive documentation of the Z1000 R series, including the Z1000 R1 from 1982, the Z1000 R2 from 1983, and the Z1100 R2 from 1984 and 1985. From the footrests to the meter faces and everything in between, Oehl takes the reader on a fully illustrated tour of the bikes, offering detailed explanations of how they worked and how they changed between installments. In addition to the photographs of the parts themselves, the author includes numerous schematics, as well as beautiful shots of the assembled bike. Oehl’s prose is purely descriptive and highly technical, and the reader without the requisite mechanical skill can quickly become lost: “The Kawasaki Z1000 R1 and Z1000 R2 motorcycle models are fit with the same type of engine, a so-called J-engine. It is an air-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 998cc. The valves of this engine type are operated by dual overhead camshafts, and its crankshaft is supported by roller bearings.” This is a work for readers with a particular interest in this motorcycle rather than a general audience. That said, Oehl’s guide is so comprehensive that superbike lovers will feel like they could build one of these from scratch. More volumes documenting other Kawasaki bikes are planned to follow.
An exhaustive nuts-and-bolts catalog of everything that went into a Kawasaki Z1000 R series motorcycle.
Z1000 R & Z1100 R: Book Review by Kirkus Indie Media
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Posted: August 9, 2024 by Stefan R. Oehl
Kirkus Indie Media Book Review
Oehl documents the myriad components of a legendary Kawasaki motorcycle series in this illustrated guide.
Kawasaki rider Eddie Lawson won the title of AMA Superbike Champion in 1981 and then again in 1982. After these historic wins, Kawasaki began selling a stock bike series modeled on Lawson’s championship motorcycle: the Z1000 R1. “With its white and blue stripes on a lime-green base, the Z1000 R1 couldn’t be closer to the original,” writes Oehl in his preface. “Soon the Z1000 R1 was considered a collector’s item, despite low sales figures and strong competition from technologically higher-developed bikes.” This book is an exhaustive documentation of the Z1000 R series, including the Z1000 R1 from 1982, the Z1000 R2 from 1983, and the Z1100 R2 from 1984 and 1985. From the footrests to the meter faces and everything in between, Oehl takes the reader on a fully illustrated tour of the bikes, offering detailed explanations of how they worked and how they changed between installments. In addition to the photographs of the parts themselves, the author includes numerous schematics, as well as beautiful shots of the assembled bike. Oehl’s prose is purely descriptive and highly technical, and the reader without the requisite mechanical skill can quickly become lost: “The Kawasaki Z1000 R1 and Z1000 R2 motorcycle models are fit with the same type of engine, a so-called J-engine. It is an air-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 998cc. The valves of this engine type are operated by dual overhead camshafts, and its crankshaft is supported by roller bearings.” This is a work for readers with a particular interest in this motorcycle rather than a general audience. That said, Oehl’s guide is so comprehensive that superbike lovers will feel like they could build one of these from scratch. More volumes documenting other Kawasaki bikes are planned to follow.
An exhaustive nuts-and-bolts catalog of everything that went into a Kawasaki Z1000 R series motorcycle.
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