Up To Speed
“It is a mistake to think that moving fast is the same as actually going somewhere.”
― Steve Goodier
Up To Speed Series #1 – Mar 2026 (Created and Processed by Conventional & AI Tools)- Up To Speed Series #2 – Mar 2026 (Created and Processed by Conventional & AI Tools)
- Up To Speed Series #3 – Mar 2026 (Created and Processed by Conventional & AI Tools)
While I was working at a Kawasaki motorcycle dealer in the early to mid-1970s, the Kawasaki Z1 900 was introduced to the U.S. market, a groundbreaking development at the time. The Z1 became an instant powerful and fast success, resulting in a long waiting list.
As part of my job, my coworker and I were responsible for setting up new bikes and tuning or repairing already sold ones. This meant taking the Z1 motorcycles out for a test ride to ensure they ran smoothly.
Our shop was about a mile down a mostly straight country road from the local Harley-Davidson dealer, and during our test rides, we often rode past it. When the Z1 was first released, the Harley crew would often roll out one of their bikes to challenge us to a friendly rolling-start drag race as we came back by. However, they fairly quickly ended this practice when it became evident that none of their bikes at that time could keep up with the speedy Z1s from Japan.
The influence of those experiences is probably seen in these images.
So, Test Pilot for the resume! :)
Those things that seem so foolish now seemed so unconcerning then. I always tried to keep it under escape velocity, and I decided to leave the illegal activities section off my resume?
Test pilot for sure!!! Another good series of images that do depict speed. I find #3 very interesting. It has that blown glass feel to it and I like their lean into the bike, almost becoming one. Again, you did well in choosing the colors!
Thanks, Monte. When we’re young, we seem indestructible.
The images have almost a mystical feel!
Thanks, Howard! I’ll happily take mystical. I wanted the images to speak to the emotion and feeling of the experience, not just the objects involved. But that’s a hard thing to capture.