Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/842139
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE J im Knipp and his Kawasaki KZ650 road racer were legendary in the Midwestern club racing scene in the early 1980s. Indianapolis-based Knipp and his GP-looking KZ won dozens of WERA races and eventually the WERA C Superbike National Championship in 1981. Knipp was a rider on the rise and was looking to move up to the AMA Super- bike ranks, so the Kawasaki was sold to make way for a Honda Superbike and eventually Knipp lost track of the machine. Many years went by and the bike would have likely ended up in a scrap heap somewhere in Wis- consin, if not for road racer Gordon Lunde. Lunde was picking up a bike at a buddy's garage, when out of the corner of his eye something caught his attention. It was a banged up old racing machine with a red frame. Being a longtime road racer, Lunde was curious and stepped over piles of old parts to get a closer look. He couldn't believe what he saw. Sitting there, presumably where old bikes go to die, was Knipp's old racing KZ650. Lunde knew of the racing heritage of the bike since he'd raced against Knipp and saw the bike win numerous races and actually bought the bike and raced himself for a time before selling it. Turns out Knipp's Kawasaki had gone through several hands be- fore ending up in the dark corner of a garage. Lunde was probably one of the few people in the coun- try who knew the significance of the bike. His plan was to eventu- ally get around to restoring it. Meanwhile Knipp went on to race AMA Superbike on a Honda and AMA Formula One with a Yamaha TZ500 before retiring from pro racing. Years later he and friend Brian Gaines were restoring a 1973 Kawasaki Z1 that was Gaines' first race bike. They often talked about how cool it would be to find Knipp's old Kawasaki and restore it. Gaines wanted to make it happen but had no idea where the bike was or even if it still survived. Gaines started putting out feelers to old WERA racers to see if anyone knew what became of the championship-winning KZ. Fortunately, Gaines made a connection and was put in touch with Lunde. Lunde, hearing that the bike would be heading back to Knipp, the rider who made the bike famous, decided to sell the bike to Gaines. KZ650 RISES AGAIN! P140 Jim Knipp's championship- winning Kawasaki KZ650 as it was raced in the early 1980s and Knipp with the bike last weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.