Do I own a 1978, 79 or 80 Kawasaki Z1-R?

Do I own a 1978, 1979 or 1980 Kawasaki Z1-R?

I'm told the Frame/Engine number is the standard way to tell.

FACTS:

Used Bike was bought as a registered 1978 Kawasaki Z1-R and
looks like a 1978 is everyway including engine/frame numbers
but Date of manufacturing on the same frame as the frame
number says Sept 1979. It's Impossible for a 1978 bike to
be made in 1979 unless you own a time machine.

Date of manufacturing 9/79 or Sept 1979.

The Frame number of mine is KZT00D-0166XX and Engine number
KZT00DE-0166XX but 1979 models numbers start at KZT00D-017501.

Body parts Small gas tank, 18" front wheel, METALLIC
STARDUST SILVER paint, all indicating a 1978 model.

What is this? The serial numbers don't show any signs of tampering
with so I believe the date may be a misprint or the published
frame numbers are wrong. Any other suggersions? It looks like a
78, serial numbers of a 78 but date of a 79.

DETAILS:

I have a 1978 Kawasaki Z1R, atleast the registration
and serial numbers say so but the date of manufacturing
is Sept 1979. What goes on here. The serial # of the
motor and frame are only a few away and are less then
the starting frame #'s of the 1979 model's KZT00D-017501.

The bike has all the features of a 1978 like small tank,
18" wheels, Mark I engine (not Mark II) etc. Is the info
on the UK site correct, or did Kawasaki make a mistake on
the manufacturing date? My bike has none of the features
that were changed on the 1979 or 1980 models like 19" wheel
and no signs of being altered.

Either the bike was made in 9/79 and the serial #'s are wrong
or the serial numbers are right meaning it's a 1978 and the
Date is wrong and maybe it should have been something like
9/78 but a type-O in printing the VIN on the stearing column
of the frame.

The US and Canadian websites say the bike was made only
in 1978 and 1980 but not 1979. I don't believe I've ever seen
a 1979 model Z1-R before and one person told me that less
than 300 bikes were made world wide. How can it be a 1979 with
serial #'s and features of a 1978? Both the frame number and
date of manufacturing is on the frame so it can't be a converted
bike like some people did with GPZ bikes to make Eddie
Lawson Replicas.

I'm wondering that maybe from FRAME NUMBER: KZT00D-000001 to
FRAME NUMBER: KZT00D-017501 are Mark I make bikes including
most 1979 models and sometime late in 1979 they changed to
the NEW mark II models with the changes to the bigger front
tire, etc. That would also explain the small production run
of 300 bikes for 1979 (they only included Mark II models).
This would explain why I have a model made in 1979 but has
all the markings of a 1978 model. It is strange that it's
registered as a 1978 model and I'm told no 1979 models were
sold here except in Germany.

What Countries sold 1979 models and are they really the rarest
model Z1-R?

Info on all Z1-R's made that I could find on the web:

Information from UK website http://www.z-power.co.uk

1978 Z1000-D1 Z1R
FRAME NUMBER: KZT00D-000001 >
ENGINE NUMBER: KZT00DE-000001 >
COLOUR: METALLIC STARDUST SILVER.

The Z1R was the first Japanese custom 'cafe racer'.
The angular styling was not to everybody's taste. Major
changes were the four into one exhaust, a cockpit
fairing, solid wheels, drilled discs and self-cancelling
indicators. The front wheel was reduced to an eighteen
inch one and the engine was once again painted in black.
The kick-start pedal was considered redundant and fitted
as an emergency measure under the seat. A move back to
28-mm carbs increased the power to 90 bhp making this
the most powerful Z yet. Poor sales resulted in Kawasaki
producing a larger 20-litre fuel tank and a sintered metal
brake kit in an effort to increase sales. UK dealers were
still selling this model four years later!

1979 Z1000-D2 Z1R
FRAME NUMBER: KZT00D-017501 >
ENGINE NUMBER: KZT00DE-017501 >
COLOUR: EBONY OR LUMINOUS DARK RED

For 1979 the Z1R was fitted with the MK11 engine and all
it's improvements. A four into two exhaust system was
fitted and there was a move back to a nineteen inch front
wheel. It was known as the Z1R-II but was not sold in the
UK due to poor sales of the D1. Power was up to 94 bhp.

1980 Z1000-D3 Z1R
FRAME NUMBER: KZT00D-017801 >
ENGINE NUMBER: KZTOODE-017616 >
COLOUR: EBONY

The only changes worth while mentioning on this model was
the graphics and side panel badges. The UK still went
without this bike.

 

Of the 1979 Z1-R D2 ...

"It was known as the Z1R-II but was not sold in the UK due to poor
sales of the D1."

No reason your 1978 model could not have been *made* in 1979.

Is there?

When did the 1979 model first get made? January? December?

Z-Power also tells you that the UK didn't get the D3, either.

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'^' RBR-Visited:35 Pts: 705 Miles:2429

 

OK, here's a possibility:

The bike was made in 1978, and in late 78 or 79 it was crashed, and
the frame damaged. NEW FRAMES ARE NOT SUPPLIED WITH FRAME NUMBERS!
So, the new frame would have had a date of manufacture of 1979, and
then, as part of the rebuild, the frame number of the old frame was
stamped on it (this is the proper practice).