Competing firm Honda had already presented their CB750 at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1968. Honda’s new bike took everyone by surprise.

Kawasaki who were known for their 2-stroke motorcycles had already developed a powerful 750cc motorcycle during the same time as the Honda launch, but it stalled its roll-out as it wanted to offer something more, one that is more superior to Honda's performance. Its internal team assigned a new name to the project – New York Steak. The main task was to improve the displacement to 1000 cc that will take Kawasaki several notches up in terms of power.

The end-result was this 900 cc Kawasaki Z1 900, a 4-cylinder, air-cooled motorcycle with its own USP i.e. a double-overhead-camshaft system at a price that was half of what Italian made Agusta’s MV750 offered.

With a catchy advertising slogan that said "For the man for whom the best is just good enough!" this Kawasaki model brought not just name but respect among competition.