Z50AKO slant guard find! they are still out there!
- Thread starter camerod
- Start date
Mark Mitchell
Member
105306 was the last slant..you did very well the bike looks extremely intact and unmolested
Congrats,persistence pays off!
Congrats,persistence pays off!
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Backinthedays
Member
I personally think you should be arrested for theft 
OakBehringer
Member
What is a slantgaurd frame?
Backinthedays
Member
Look at the photo, you will notice the muffler gaurd is slanted down. I am assuming it was a tooling problem and they later fixed it.
Mr.Horsepower
Member
A slant guard frame means the exhaust gaurd on the right side is on a slant, the tabs that are welded onto the frame arnt even straight accross
OakBehringer
Member
Neat!
Razzo
Member
I know people are always coming up with figures on Z's. Where or how did you determine that was the last slant guard. You hear the numbers vary so much. So many stories. I have never seen any documentation on these. Just wondering. Is there?
Mark Mitchell
Member
See if you can get a hold of a Honda PDF KO/K1 parts file- it unlocks the mystery for some of the production timeline changeovers. It has the range of VIN sequences for parts- and when you see a different part # for certain things you know when the change occured. Slant guard would not fit on a straight frame,hence different part#.
Same went for tall steering tube,around 1100 made before change to standard height. They made quite a few changes due to parts failure, but not noted in the file like the early seat and fender upgrades because the mounting points were the same. There are some cool tidbits in there like camshaft design changes during KO production and other stuff that was upgraded like rubber grommets and shank bolts for the rear fender that replaced the early one's that didn't. It does not answer all the questions, but it is definitive and helps establish some chronology.
Mark Mitchell
Member
Lot's of urban legend on these for sure, very little info unfortunately. My fave myth was that Sachiro Honda himself burned his calf riding a slant hence straight guard. One unsiputable fact were the tall bars- last one was 101125. If you look in the parts cat, 101126 has a different pt #, so when the mechanic at the dealer referenced the frame # to replace a bent one he didn't have one side that was 3" shorter than the other The general consensus is the first batch of these were as follows:
All were scarlet red
All had the thin diameter top tube with the saddle plate
thinner step bar
early flat seat
spot welded fenders
knurled axles
Over the years i have seen probably 30-40 of these very early bikes,some just frames, never seen one with VIN higher than 101-125. My personal belief and that of about half a dozen rabid collectors are they made the first production run of these 1125, gave them out to buff mags and dealers, used them for r&d and made improvements based on feedback. Thicker top tube for budding Evel Knevels, shorter bars that didn't tweak as easily,more padding at rear of seat so you didn't slide off during wheelies, riveted fenders,etc..
One question I always wondered was when did the mexican yellow enter production? Another one of many questions that will never be answered. I think if they knew how wildly popular these would become they would have kept better documents.. but what do you want for a 250.00 bike.lol
The general consensus is the first batch of these were as follows:All were scarlet red
All had the thin diameter top tube with the saddle plate
thinner step bar
early flat seat
spot welded fenders
knurled axles
Over the years i have seen probably 30-40 of these very early bikes,some just frames, never seen one with VIN higher than 101-125. My personal belief and that of about half a dozen rabid collectors are they made the first production run of these 1125, gave them out to buff mags and dealers, used them for r&d and made improvements based on feedback. Thicker top tube for budding Evel Knevels, shorter bars that didn't tweak as easily,more padding at rear of seat so you didn't slide off during wheelies, riveted fenders,etc..
One question I always wondered was when did the mexican yellow enter production? Another one of many questions that will never be answered. I think if they knew how wildly popular these would become they would have kept better documents.. but what do you want for a 250.00 bike.lol
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hondaZ50Ct70
Member
Is it known when they stopped using the split bracket mufflers or when they went away from the bolt direct rear fenders? Just Curious
Mark Mitchell
Member
The splits were another toughy on the timeline, most think they went away with the tall bars. Like the early seat, the parts book doesn't allude to a change out as the mounting bolts were the same. On the rear fender, the last "high kick" was VIN# 103192,thereafter they came with K1 style with bottom shank bolts with rubber grommet.