Pee Wee Gleason on the Legendary Kawasaki Z1-R Turbo (1978)

• Larry Lawrence
Apparently someone at Kawasaki felt the Z1 just didn’t have quite enough horsepower, so in ’78 the company launched the Kawasaki Z1-R TC, a turbo-charged version of the already powerful sportbike. When it came out speed lovers drooled. Here’s a photo of the famous Jay “Pee Wee” Gleason warming up the Z1 Turbo in preparation for a run down the dragstrip at Orange County International Raceway. If memory serves the Z1-R TC was the fastest motorcycle of its day that you could buy from a dealership. Leave to Kawasaki to come out with machines that radically reset the speed standard. (Charlie Morey photo)
#z1r #kawasakiz1r #z1rturbo #kawasaki #peeweegleason #orangecountyinternationalraceway #needforspeed

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