Hi all, I am new to the forum and seeking advice for a friend of mine who owns this (see pics)
I have scoured the internet and these forums but cannot find any answers
This is a 1989-1990 "H" reg UK bike. 18,000 miles. Mint. It's badged a "Z750" but is virtually identical to a Zephyr 750. My friend thinks this is a Japanese import and he says the serial number pre-dates the "C1 version" (which started in 1991). He says it is very rare, and I certainly cannot find any reference to Early Zephyr 750s being badged a "Z750".
So... can anyone shed some light on this bike? Is it rare? How many were made? Is it an import? and what is the rough UK value? (I guess at about £3,000-£4,000?)
Hi firefox, its deffo a Zephyr and its in very good condition. As to the value of £3-£4k I don't really see that it would fetch a higher price than a UK C1 in the same condition unless it was the factory prototype, which I doubt. Anything is only worth what a potential buyer is prepared to pay and why would someone want to pay more because it has Z750 badges instead of Zephyr badges? How do you know that a previous owner didn't put those badges on the panels to make it look more retro, along with the Z750 style seat? Just my thoughts but that is how I see it.
Shedman wrote:How do you know that a previous owner didn't put those badges on the panels to make it look more retro, along with the Z750 style seat? Just my thoughts but that is how I see it.
Tend to agree. The crash bars and the the rear shocks having been changed are clear indicators of a history of some customization. The tank badge isn't a standard Zephyr "Kawasaki" which has upright letters. It's a retro Z900 laid back lettering.
Well spotted with the tank badges Freddy, I did notice the rear shocks but I figured they could have been changed for functional reasons like the seals had gone on the originals or something like that but with the other cosmetic changes it would make sense.
The log book V5C will tell you if the bike is an Import on the first page, it will say,
NO OF FORMER KEEPERS ?
1. WAS REGISTERED/USED OVERSEAS. DECLARED MANUFACTURED 19??
Your mate has got the log book?
The following is just something that I have come across and probably has nothing to do with your mates bike but this kind of stuff does happen.
Just recently a 1979 Honda CB650 was listed on ebay for spares or repair, only it was a DOHC CB650. The problem being that Honda didn't make a DOHC 650 until 1982, I did check out the MOT history on the Govt website with the registration number and the bike did have a recorded MOT history. The thing with Honda's is that they have a VIN plate on the headstock which is only riveted on, an unscrupulous person would have no problem swapping a VIN plate. There are two reasons that I could see that this was done, the first would be to make the bike at least 40 years old so that it would now be Tax and MOT exempt, the second reason would be that the bike was a "ringer", a stolen bike that had its ID changed. The frames on the SOHC and DOHC CB650 Honda's are completely different and this "1979" Honda had the 1982 engine, frame, wheels, tank, seat, side panels etc....plus the DOHC is a shaft drive and the SOHC was chain drive.
If your mates bike was not previously registered/used overseas and it is a UK model, the log book will state
1. DECLARED NEW AT FIRST REGISTRATION, if it is then your mates bike existed before it should have.
Tank badges are identical to badges of my 1991 Zephyr 750 which was made for internal Japanese market. I assume it might be indicator of "Japanese " Zephyrs. Another feature of these bikes is speedometer that marked only to 190km/h as "Japanese " Zephyrs have built-in speed limiter.
Engine bars are British made Renntec and shocks are definitely Hagon. Front footpegs are not original. Seat is ugly. In all other respects looks pretty original.
I am also not sure what type of mufflers installed on that Zephyr. They look rather like longer mufflers from D-model.
I dunno gazzz, I quite like the seat, I think the standard seats are ugly. The silencers/mufflers are the same length as on my C1. The side panel badges on the bike in your pic are the same that was on my C4 before I sold it, it looks like we can assume the Z750 badges on the OP's mates bike are a later addition then if yours is a Jap Import and your badges are correct. I guess we just need firefox to come back and confirm if the bike is an Import according to the log book.
Looks like I have an answer. However let it be a short story:-)
We here, in Ukraine, still have a lot of bikes that were imported from Japan and were intended for Japanese market. In 00s we had a law that forbade import of vehicles older then 9 years (as far as I remember). And for some reason it was easy to negotiate with Japanese sellers to get papers for 90s motorcycles with year 2000 indicated as first registration. So 90s motorcycles intended for internal Japanese market were fetched in Ukraine in plenty. I have seen even Harley Davidsons and 400ccm Ducaties imported from Japan.
I fall in love with 750 Zephyrs in 2007. Dunno how it happened, one spring day I just found myself wishing to buy Zephyr 750 for all means. As one may notice, in 2007 I could only import 1998-1999 Zephyr from Europe and that was next to impossible. So the trick with import from Japan turned out to be lucky for me. However the only Zephyr 750 that was for sell was in 500km from me, in Odessa. Odessa is one of biggest Uranian sea port so no wonder that a lot of bikes imported from Japan were fetched there. I asked one friend of mine who lived in Odessa to take a look on that bike. I didn't buy that Zephyr as it was in too poor condition: rusty, oxidized, scratched and its mileage was quite high. However turned out that I still have a couple of photos that my friend sent to me in 2007.
Here they are:
Later that year I bought my Zephyr 750: it arrived in another bunch of Japanese import motorcycles. It was 1991 C1 with 11000km on clocks, Ohlins shocks and I do believe it had original 1991 tires...
thanks all, here is an update from my friend who owns the bike
--
I've found out my bike was registered overseas, manufactured 1990
Imported, not registered until 20 March 1997
This bike came in standard with all badges untouched, the speedo was in kmh with a sticker on it in mph, I changed it to mph, I changed the seat as I am quite tall, also the shocks were leaking as the bike was in storage for so long. I have kept all the original parts..
So your mate knows more than we do Every day is a school day! I would still put the same value on it as a C1 in a similar condition......now if it had spoke wheels
Every day is a school day! 
I would still put the same value on it as a C1 in a similar condition......now if it had spoke wheels 