Dancing, but not with the bride

In the Netherlands, the country with kilometers of motorways that could be driven without speed restrictions ... Well: in the seventies, the trend in the Dutch motorcycle world was 'A heavy is your true'. That was all nice and nice, but the toppers of the major manufacturers were priceless for most motorcyclists. The toppers of the small manufacturers? Those were the machines that could only be dreamed of on Sundays and public holidays.

Less power, more success

Kawasaki thought that a lighter version of the Z900 and 1000s would not only be a nice volume model, but that a lighter four-cylinder engine in a good steering and braking bicycle part could also be a bike that would make many European motorcyclists happy.

That is why we have issue of in the June Auto Motor Klassiek the story about Kawasaki Z 500.

The Kawasaki Z500 was highly dynamic, but civilized, well-balanced and reliable. The bicycle part, suspension and damping were fine tuned to the power and a solid practical use. The tightly spaced, tightly shifting six-speed gearbox and a good set of brakes made riding on the half-liter Kawa a party.

In fact, the new 500 cc four-cylinder engine with its twin overhead camshafts was quite expensive to make. But in the late XNUMXs, the trees in motorcycle land grew to the sky. Motorcycling was discovered and accepted as a hobby that non-social fringe characters could enjoy. The market was there and this market stimulated the Japanese suppliers to bravely bid against each other for the favors of the buyers.

There was full of competition

The new Kawa had to compete against Honda's CX 500 and Suzuki's also astonishingly good GS550. But even the European brands fought back in a rear-guard fight within the half-court class: Benelli's 500 LS, the legendary poor Ducati 500 S Desmo, the Laverda 500 and Moto Guzzi V50 have never been very successful, but they were there. So the bar was high for Kawasaki, and the Japanese had estimated that correctly.

The Kawasaki Z500 did good things for Kawasaki's cash flow.

Then the model was quickly outdated by time and until recently you could buy a reasonable Kawasaki Z500 for a few hundred euros and for a hundred euros more you had a topper.

This also applied to middle classers such as the CX500 and the small four-cylinder Suzukis.

That time is passing rapidly. The Kawasaki Z500s have been discovered. And many are screwed up to scrambler. With such an obligatory brown spring roll as a buddy seat. So the choice is yours: Buy a neat Kawasaki Z500 immediately before it's too late and then read all about your new pride in the AMK June issue, or first just do that June issue quietly and then go hunting for Kawasaki Z500. Try to score as original as possible. Because even for the lighter old Japanese, new parts are not always easy to find and certainly not cheap.

Have fun with your Kawasaki Z500. And with the June number of AutoMotorKlassiek!