BIKES FROM BRUNS PART 1 . . . . TRAGICALLY, OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEKEND THERE WAS A MIND NUMBING PLETHORA OF BLACK, GUMBYFUCK CURRENT SERIES HARLEYS BEING RIDDEN BY BEARDO, 'SAMCRO', SCHLEPSTER FRAUDS BURNING MY EYES AT EVERY TURN . . . . THANK THE GODS OF HONESTY THESE OLDER BLOKES TURNED UP ON THEIR ZEDS TO BRING A SMIDGE OF TWO WHEELED SUNSHINE TO THE SCENE . . . . THE STOCK TANK MODEL WAS QUITE SPECIAL

Back in the seventies and eighties the Castrol Six Hour was one of the 'great' motorcycle races, not just because it was an endurance event over six hours but it attracted the best riders from around the globe to one of the most testing circuits outside of Europe, Amaroo Park. Many of the legend superbikes of the day were first put through their paces at this demanding track, often times resulting in spectacular and embarrassing failure . . . . suffice to say that when Kwakasaki released their second series uber-bike in early 1973 it was immediately slotted into that year's six hour, only problem being was that, not unlike the infamous H1 and H2 triples, the old Z1B was blessed with the rear frame handling characteristics of a rubber pretzel which was not ideal when paired with the most powerful mass production motor of the day.

Given their propensity for rather churlish road manners, the big wigs at Kwaka central decided to try and cure the beast of its handling inadequacies before the actual event, with that in mind there was a series of gussets, triangulations and other strengthening doodads quickly welded into place prior to them and their big balled jockeys hitting the tarmac . . . . they musta done an alright job of sorting out the behemoth 900 because the super skilled Ken Blake took the honours that year followed by all the podium places in 1974. No wonder we loved em so much out here, the epic flick 'Stone' was produced in the same year insuring their cult status in the land of Oz in perpetuity.

To cut to the chase, the bike in the top two pics was one of those modified and actually raced at Amaroo in that year, still complete with the original frame strengthening features and original motor, albeit with the addition of the equally legendary 1175 barrel kit, he'd also added upgraded drilled front rotors and a pretty damned neat 4 into 2 system . . . . although, I kinda have my doubts about the motor, I'm pretty certain the Z1B came equipped with an all alloy finish on the donk, but that's by the bye, I could be wrong . . . . on a day when too many fucking dull as piss factory Hogglies sporting dumbarsed SOA style mods were barely enough, the two 900's were a breath of fresh air.