Everyone loves a big Zed 1000. It's a legendary bike, perhaps the pinnacle of the Zed series in terms of manliness. Tougher looking than a pretty z900 - more macho that the cute little z650, and with a full litre of displacement and bhp figures that can be tuned to top the ton, it's a bike to get the thumbs-up of respect from everyone, from tasseled chopper riders to rec-rep jockeys in head-to-toe Dainese. In fact, when I had a black one in the early 90s I was even allowed to park it outside the HQ of the London Hells Angels, despite the Hogs Only sign. Serious stuff then. This is the big Zed we've all been waiting for. Tim & Kev from Spirit of the Seventies have been toiling over this bike for a while, and in many ways it epitomises what Spirit of the Seventies is all about: 70's liberation and style, with a bike you can up-spec to give performance and handling that won't necessarily put you to shame next to a briskly-ridden Honda Hornet. Apart form the gorgeous paint - designed by Spirit and executed with depth and smoothness by Graham at Revolution, - the engine has been rebuit, with Wiseco pistons taking her out to 1105cc. Lengthened Triumph 955 Daytona forks provide stability and firm contact to the tarmac up front, with Triumph brakes, yoke and clip-ons to chuck her about with. A Zephyr 1200 swing arm holds up the rear through progressive rear shocks, with new wheels sporting Avon 3D Ultras, and a Spirit one-off seat unit in ally is perched atop of all that. The seat upholstery is by our favourite vinyl wrangler, Glenn Moger. At the front end the bike has the usual quality gear - LSL headlamp brackets, rewired Motogadget clock, RCD rearsets, a ceramic coated Spirit exhaust, Oberon indicators, K&N's etc... The Zed has had a ton of engineering work performed on it from the front end through to the swing arm. The frame has been braced, the sidestand altered, rose joints made for the shocks etc. Tim from Spirit tells me "It rides beautifully, composed and assured." ...Even if it didn't I'd still want it. If you lust after a bike that captures the Spirit of the Seventies, without providing a ride as scary as living through the seventies all over again, get in touch with Tim & Kev at www.spiritoftheseventies.com