Those were some great times. I grew up in a small town of 3000 and we had my buddy Jay's Kawasaki shop and the shop that sold Indians(the two strokes like the mini-mini)Hodakas, Bridgestones and starting in 1973, Nortons. Jay started his Kawasaki dealership in 1965 and had two new B8Ss on the showroom floor. Those were the only two bikes on the floor until 1968 when he and his little brother finally just kept them for themselves. The engine numbers on those bikes were: FE0005 and 0006. Jay sold 0006 to Fast Trax Sports, a Kawasaki dealership in Sully Iowa I think in the late 90's and 0005 disappeared to we don't know where. In 1969 the dealership got it's next bikes, a 1969 350 Avenger which Jay also kept for himself and a 1969 H1 that his little brother hotwired and stole off the showroom floor one Sunday. He made it about 220 miles and the CDIs burned out. He had to call Jay to come and get him
. When they got back Jay fixed it and Fred kept it for a couple of years(he never did pay for it)and then the chain of ownership started that went to, Bob M, then Gene B, then Dave B(no relation), then Dan V, then Charles L, then back to Dan V, and then to Wayne S, and finally me last August. Fred took me down a gravel road 100mph when I was 13 back in 1970 and almost made me start crying, so me and this bike go way back. Jay started selling a lot more bikes in 1971 and in 1972 he had the whole model line in the showroom. I remember helping him put the bikes together out of the crates, I wanted one so bad, any one it didn't matter but alas I had no cash so I could only dream. I got to ride every new Kawasaki that came out from 1972 to 1975 when I graduated from high school. I remember the day Jay got the new 1973 Z1, we couldn't believe it, what a bike! When Jay started it up on the showroom floor it sounded like a formula one car. His brother Fred liked it too so he took it off the floor one afternoon when I was there and we pushed it out the front door and it was his, he never paid for it either. He let me get on the back and we rolled down main and onto the highway and he took off. He ran it hard all the way to the top and we went all the way to the next little town(20 miles)at about 120mph, it was a freakin blast. At that time I owned my first motorcycle, a G3SS 90. Being as how I hung out at the Kawasaki shop, the 90 wasn't really a 90 anymore and it ran real good. Fred had taken the Z1 in April and it was now June and he wanted to sell it. My best friend Zimmy wanted it real bad and somehow talked his Mom into helping him pay for it. He was 15 years old and had a pretty much new 1973 Z1, a great starter bike in anyone's book 
. He did have a 100 Bridgestone Taka so I guess he wasn't a complete rookie. I envied Zimmy so much you could never know, it actually hurt, riding along on my 90. He couldn't even ride it after 8:00 at night because he only had a learners permit. I was 16 so I would ride it out of town with him on the back and then switch so he could ride. He turned 16 a couple of weeks later and then it was game on. A friend of mine had bought the gold 1973 750 that Jay had in the showroom and within two months he had flipped it over backwards, rode off a 30ft embankment and got hit by his friends car, and this is how me, the broke 16 year old and the gold 750 came together. Tom was riding down main and his friend was coming along behind him in his car. Tom pull a couple of feet over towards the center of the street, stopped, and with his right hand gestured for his pal to pull along his right side, stop and converse a moment, his pal wasn't looking ahead at the time and ran into the back of Tom, sitting on the 750, at about 15mph. Tom went over the hood, smacked into the windshield, bounced in the air and hit the street, he was okay. The bike shot forward on it's wheel for about 30ft and then went over on the right side and skidded to a stop. Me and Zimmy were standing in front of the local hangout and watched it happed. We went over and after the cops were done we pushed it a block to Jay's shop. It had suffered a bent rear wheel, a bent front wheel, a smashed tail light and housing, the U shaped frame piece was also bent up a little and there was the oil cover and blinkers. The insurance company totaled it and Tom told me I could buy it for $300. I didn't have any cash so I once again was bummed. The next day was Saturday and I was sitting on the couch when my Grandma came over and sat down by me and put $300 in my hand and said "I want you to have that motorcycle", she was the greatest Grandma ever! I bought the bike and Jay helped me fix everything and then me and Zimmy could finally ride. It was pretty cool being 16 year old kids and having the two fastest, quickest superbikes on the planet. We raced any and everything all the time and my 750 never lost a race, it was bad ass quick. Zimmy's 900 was very close but it never would beat it in the quarter. Top end seems like it was a tie also. Zimmy worked at his Dad's Mobil station until 9:00 pm and after he got done we would just tear it up till the sun came up. Most of the bikes around were the Nortons and we taught those guys early that they were wasting gas to try to keep up. I just thought I would tell you guys my Kawasaki background let you see why I am so enthused about the triples now. Let's here some stories about how you guys got hooked on Kawasaki green!
I kid you not! When recovered it just had the bare motor, no pipes or jugs Etc as all those parts were taken off to get at the tranny and got separated or sold from the recovered bike. It then ended up at Larry Stones in Detroit where he replaced all the parts and sat on it for the next 30 years until I bought it, the only way that you could ever relate to the bike is that it did have a Canadian flag decal on the inner rear guard. Do you have any other details? Frame number off an old insurance or registration 
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and yes it is 
don't know why 
