Ken Deagle and his 1980 Kawasaki KZ1000 Turbo
Make: Kawasaki
Model: KZ1000 Turbo
Year: 1980
Country of Origin: Japan
Engine: 1075cc Inline Four
Transmission: 5 speed
Owner: Ken Deagle
City: Huntington Beach
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Congratulations to Ken Deagle of Huntington Beach for winning Bike of the Month with his 1980 Kawasaki KZ1000 Turbo.
Ken won a plaque provided by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys.
Ken has a great history, he was an AMA Dragbike Champion and worked for Russ Collins back in the 1980's when he raced a Turbo KZ1000 from 1985 - 1988. His fastest quarter
mile was 8.1 seconds at 168 MPH.
This bike is a culmination of a 20 year vision which started in 1998 to set out to build the perfect KZ.
He actually started collecting the parts in 2008 when he purchased the 1980 KZ1000 LTD donor bike.
The motor is out of a 1976 Kawasaki Z1 900, but it's bored to 1075cc. He collected parts, and two years
ago started putting the bike together.
Ken told me that his goal was to bring a winning bike to Vintage Bike OC. Today he met his goal.
The bike is packed with special bits. Starting with an American Turbo Pack (ATP) Turbo, a Mallory Sprint magnito,
Grimeca brakes, Sun Rims and 1973 paint scheme body work from Webike that looks better than factory.
Ken told me that the conversion to a magnito is because "turbos love magnitos".
Thank you Ken for bringing your Kawasaki out for all of us to see. See all the photos in our November Gallery.
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