Kawasaki Z650RS + Brian Slark Pt 2 ”The man who helped bring Norton to America” with Neale Bayly.

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—a weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling.

This week we go retro! We start off the first segment with Senior Editor Nic de Sena talking to us about the new Kawasaki Z650 RS. This retro-styled moto follows after the huge success of the Z900 RS, and it follows the same inspiration as its sibling. The KZ650 back I the seventies was a brilliant machine that combined relatively light weight and a motor that revved to the moon, so it quickly gained popularity and sold very very well. The new Z650 RS plays to the visual strengths of the original and certainly for me, the flawless emerald green, pinstriped paintwork, and the gold spoke-type wheels are very evocative of the original.

In the second segment, Neale Bayly continues his chat with Brian Slark—the man who helped bring Norton to the United States. Brian talks to Neale not just about his amazing career, but he also gives us some insight into the burgeoning motorcycle industry of the late sixties and early seventies in America. The rivalry between Triumph, Norton, and of course the other now extinct British brands such as BSA, AJS and Matchless was pretty fierce apparently, and Brian’s first hand witness account to the whole era is fascinating.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Check out our review and pictures of the Kawasaki Z650RS here