Z1OwnersClub GB

My first post on here apart from the intro section. I had a search but can't see anything about this so thought that I'd ask. I've not really ridden my Z900 for quite a few years, the last time being to Germany & back a few years ago when I used unleaded, before then it was mostly run on 4*. I had read some time ago that the Z900 engines are fine with unleaded but thought I'd ask in here to get any views on the subject.
Thanks

Yes...they were designed with steel valve seats to run on unleaded from the start...so go ahead...you'll be fine.

Just to back up Garyd's post, many years ago I contacted Kawasaki technical help to ask the very same question when 4-star was getting harder & harder to find. The man at Kawasaki confirmed these engines were designed to run on unleaded fuel from the very start so there was nothing to worry about.

Many thanks to you both for confirmation. Looks like I'll have some travelling in Feb / Mar to meet up with a friend in HK so it'll probably be April before I get going with the Z900 but really good to know I don't have to worry about the valve seats.

use only the high octane premium fuel, as these have little to none ethanol added. ethanol in fuel causes phase separation over time when the bike is not used regularly. with the water element of the alcohol separating from the petrol. thus creating merry hell in the tank and carbs.

swampy wrote:use only the high octane premium fuel, as these have little to none ethanol added. ethanol in fuel causes phase separation over time when the bike is not used regularly. with the water element of the alcohol separating from the petrol. thus creating merry hell in the tank and carbs.

Thanks for the tip. I checked the tank a few weeks ago as I was worried about water from the fuel. All looked ok, just some very light surface rust above the fuel level below the filler hole. I've sprayed some oil into the tank to add a bit of film over the exposed steel. The tank needs to be flushed in any case before I start the engine so I'll do that with with 'normal' then fill up with 'super'. Depending on what it looks like when dry, I'll probably put some sealer in too.

CAT3 wrote:Just to back up Garyd's post, many years ago I contacted Kawasaki technical help to ask the very same question when 4-star was getting harder & harder to find. The man at Kawasaki confirmed these engines were designed to run on unleaded fuel from the very start so there was nothing to worry about.

What a brilliant piece of forward thinking engineering - if only by chance.
I always try to use Shell V Power Nitro+ in my bike.