1976 Kawasaki KZ750 Motorcycle

Description

Introduced in 1976, the KZ750 was the odd-man-out in Kawasaki’s lineup, especially considering the new bikes Kawasaki had planned for 1977, which included the 4-cylinder KZ650 and KZ1000. Matched up against those two machines and the carry-over KZ900 four, the 750 didn’t quite make sense. With its legendary 2-stroke triples a thing of the past, Kawasaki’s performance machines were being defined by four cylinders. Looked at from this light, Kawasaki’s move made sense. While the days of Rule Britannia were over, there was still a sizeable community of riders who wanted a big twin. For that group, the new fours were too much. They had two too many cylinders, too many camshafts, too many carburetors and too many spark plugs. For these riders, the best bike wasn’t defined by quarter-mile performance, it was defined by ease of maintenance and dependability. And on that score, the KZ750 delivered. Unlike Kawasaki’s last big twin, the BSA-clone W650, the KZ750 was thoroughly up-to-date. The 55 horsepower, 745cc twin had double overhead cams, shim and bucket valve adjustment, a Morse Hy-Vo primary drive chain and five forward gears. Vertical twins vibrate, so Kawasaki gave the 750 a pair of chain-driven counter balancers. It worked — mostly. Although smooth at low and moderate rpms, period testers faulted the twin for a distinct buzzing at anything over 4,000rpm, and feared it would shake itself apart at anything approaching its 7,750rpm redline: It wouldn’t, it just felt that way.