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PRINTER FRIENDLY TEXT PAGE |
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SUPERBIKE HISTORY The American Motorcycle Association Superbike racing series began in 1976, with the inaugural race at Daytona International Speedway. Motorcycles raced in this class were based on regular production models and were limited to a maximum of four cylinders and 1000cc displacement. In spite of this, the first race was won by a BMW with only 900cc and two cylinders. An identical BMW came in second, with a 900cc V-twin Ducati in third. The highest placing four-cylinder Kawasaki was in fourth position. BMW would go on to win the championship that year. However, the European dominance would not re-emerge until 1993. Superbikes of Japanese origin would control the class until then.
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KAWASAKI The Kawasaki KZ1000 had been raced in the AMA Superbike class since the first race in March of 1976, but hadn't won until the fifth race of the 1977 season. Reg Pridmore set the precedent for the domination of the class by Japanese bikes. Pridmore would go on to win the championship that year and also in '78. Until 1980, Kawasaki was content to let others, such as the Vetter and Racecrafters teams, race their bikes for them. Now they recruited a young rider named Eddie Lawson for a factory backed Superbike team. Another racer of great promise, Wayne Rainey, would later join the effort. Rob Muzzy would build and tune the bikes that Eddie Lawson rode to the championship in 1981. To commemorate the win, Kawasaki built "the most striking, most performance-ready street-legal Superbike ever. The brand-new 1982 Kawasaki KZ1000R Eddie Lawson Replica." (Quote from the KZ1000R brochure.) Based on the standard KZ1000J model, the R1 had the gas tank, rear-set footpegs, oil cooler and wheels from the GPZ1100. A GPZ style fairing and lower handlebar were added along with a Kerker KR-series four-into-one header. Revised steering geometry and suspension improved the handling. The motor was unchanged. Motorcyclist Magazine got an ET of 11.56 from their test bike in1982. That may seem slow in comparison to today's 10 second 600's and ZX12's running mid-9's, but it was quite respectable at the time. If you had the urge to go even faster on an '82 Kawasaki, you could purchase the KZ1000S1. This was no replica--this was the real deal. For a mere $10,999 a ready-to-race Superbike could be in your driveway. At the crankshaft, the motor put out 136 horsepower compared to the 79 of the R1. Eddie Lawson's race bike was said to have 149 horsepower. Harnessing all this power was a braced swing arm and huge brakes attached to the Dymag magnesium rims. The power may have been harnessed, but it certainly wasn't tamed. These motorcycles were being ridden much faster and harder than their designers intended. The frames would twist and flex from the horsepower and cornering loads. It was common for the riders to be seen sliding the bikes around the turns. Rob Muzzy was quoted as saying," those bikes were like dirt-tracking on the pavement. You really had to muscle them around." At Bikeweek, Eddie Lawson was signing autographs at the Yamaha tent. I asked him if they were fun to ride or just a lot of work. He replied that they were fun. Wayne Rainey was also there and said that the time with Kawasaki was a favorite period of his career. The GPZ750 that he won the 1983 Superbike Championship on (his first of two, the second in '87) was his favorite and he would like to have it again. This era was a turning point for Kawasaki, whose racing efforts in the 1970's had limited success. No longer would this be the case. To this day the green bikes are a force to be reckoned with, having a heritage of power and reliability.
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HONDA During the 1960's, Honda fielded a successful racing effort with their RC and CR series of motorcycles. It was capped off by a win at Daytona by Dick Mann on a CB750 in 1970. Throughout the 70's, Honda was content with a large share of motorcycle sales and had little interest in racing. Then in 1980, the company decided to re-enter the racing arena and formed a team to develop a Superbike that could win races. This bike was based on the CB900F; however, the original motor was not large enough to take advantage of the 1025cc displacement limit the rules allowed. In Europe and Japan, Honda was also competing in endurance races with a motorcycle called the RS1000. It had a 1024cc motor that was similar to the 900F motor with 104 horsepower out of the box. More power than this would be needed to win. Vance & Hines Racing ported the cylinder heads and titanium connecting rods and valves were used. Much time and effort would eventually get 147 horsepower from this motor. To reduce engine width and thereby increase cornering clearance, the ignition was moved from the right end of the crankshaft to behind the right side of the cylinder block and was driven by a belt. The rules required that a production based frame be used. Honda used lightweight chrome-moly tubing instead of the mild steel of the original. The head angle was changed to quicken the steering, and the frame was built with sloppy welds to emulate the stock frame and hide its race shop origin. A sixteen-inch front wheel replaced the original nineteen-inch to further enhance the handling. In spite of all the time and money spent on this effort, poor reliability would plague the team in the '80 and '81 seasons. For 1982, however, Honda was taking no chances. In the saddles would be Freddie Spencer, known as "Fast Freddie", Mike Baldwin, and Roberto Pietri. Extensive testing of both riders and machines at Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, and Daytona would ensure that this would be the time to win races. The 1982 Daytona Bell 100 Superbike race would be that win. Pietri would lead the first lap, then Baldwin would take over for a short time, with Spencer holding first place for the remainder of the race. Eddie Lawson on his Kawasaki would gamble and lose by trying to finish the race without the pit stop the rest of the field needed. He ran out of gas on the last lap but had no choice as he was out powered by the Hondas, falling behind at the rate of 3 seconds per lap. Finishing one, two, three, was a corporate dream come true. Spencer won, followed by Baldwin and Pietri. As you can see, their ad agency loved it too. Although the race was Honda's, the '82 Superbike Championship would again go to Eddie Lawson, as it had the previous year. Freddie Spencer would go on to win the Daytona Superbike race a total of four times in a row. In 1985, he would win all three classes at Daytona, along with the 250 and 500 World Championships.
I would like to thank Brian O'Shea for allowing me to photograph his motorcycles and share them with you, and for the valuable information provided for this site.
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S1 Replica I saw this bike at Daytona during Bikeweek 2000. Conversing with Brian O'Shea about his Honda Superbikes on display at the Honda tent, the subject drifted to Kawasaki race bikes. He then commented "I also have one of those in my truck." My instinctive response was "Can I see it?" Taking me to a rental truck in the parking lot, he rolled up the door. Sitting in the front of the truck was what appeared to be a KZ1000S1 that looked like it just rolled out of Kawasaki's race shop. Brian made it very clear, however, that this was not a real S1 or a Lawson Replica. It actually began its life as a GPZ1100. Other than having turn signals and mirrors, you couldn't distinguish it from the real thing. All the details are correct, the Dymag rims and the brakes are original S1 parts, while the swing arm, triple clamps and other pieces are exact copies. Though it was usually removed due to a high speed stability problem, The S1 came with the same fairing as the street bike. And that is what this bike is used for, riding on the street. It would be hard to think of a cooler bike to be riding than this.
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