kawasaki gpz900r

davidglanza

Bought this last weekend
Kawasaki gpz900r..

davidglanza

Esel

Nice!

Year / mileage / price?

davidglanza

Esel wrote: »

Nice!

Year / mileage / price?

it's a 92 bike.. 30k miles 2 owner bike..

Tigger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx51eegLTY8

Wonda-Boy

Was just about to post that was the bike in TOP GUN.....

davidglanza

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Was just about to post that was the bike in TOP GUN.....

Ya it is always wanted one since I saw the film..

arybvtcw0eolkf

Did I see that on DD during the week?.. she's mint man, best of luck with it.

Absolutely beautiful.

Wonda-Boy

davidglanza wrote: »

Ya it is always wanted one since I saw the film..

Ive always wanted Tom.....:o

davidglanza

Arielle Prehistoric Story wrote: »

Did I see that on DD during the week?.. she's mint man, best of luck with it.

Absolutely beautiful.

Ya it was on done deal went up and bought it last Saturday..

Tigger

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Was just about to post that was the bike in TOP GUN.....

davidglanza wrote: »

Ya it is always wanted one since I saw the film..

It's the first thing remember that changed me from wanting a Harley to wanting a sports bike
I'd have one in a second

Hotblack Desiato

Post-90 A7 model, like mine, so 17" front wheel, more modern brakes. And no anti-dive units, which could be troublesome.

Cracking bike. Unfortunately mine has been laid up for a few years and I don't know when I'm going to get around to restoring it.

Would you mind PMing me what you paid for it OP

Make sure you have a spare 18" rear tyre in your possession well before it's needed as they're hard to get. Most other things are common to a lot of Kawasakis so shouldn't be too hard to get. The mirrors are identical to first generation Hinckley Triumphs!

Esel

PM me the price too please, if you don't want to post it here. I'm interested, that's all.

davidglanza

How much does every one think its worth...

galwaytt

davidglanza wrote: »

How much does every one think its worth...

Probably doing Man Maths to see if it's cheaper to buy a good one or put money into restoring one....

BronsonTB

I use to have an '86 green one, always regretted selling.
That looks very clean....the UK club were excellent for getting most parts..

Just watch the tank for rotting & getting rusty over time. (Fuel tank can be hard to get second hand & not available new)

Well wear...

blade1

davidglanza wrote: »

How much does every one think its worth...

€2400ish
Would have been cheaper 8 years ago.

cantdecide

blade1 wrote: »

€2400ish

Gorgeous example. Low to mid twos was what I was thinking too.

blade1 wrote: »

Would have been cheaper 8 years ago.

True. I sold a tip top, specced-out 9yr old 'Busa back in 2011 for for €2,750...

blade1

cantdecide wrote: »

Gorgeous example. Low to mid twos was what I was thinking too.



True. I sold a tip top, specced-out 9yr old 'Busa back in 2011 for for €2,750...

Thing is if the op keeps it clean, whatever he paid for it, he won't lose any money on it down the line if selling it.

Hotblack Desiato

In 2004 I wrote an article for MAG Ireland's magazine about the 20th anniversary of the GPz.

I'd bought mine the previous year, and although the last paragraph might sound like I made it to the 20th anniversary Euro-Fest pish-up, I had to cry off due to a puncture and the unavailability anywhere in Europe of a replacement 18" rear tyre! I'll never get over that :mad:

Top Gun

Kawasaki enthusiasts celebrate 20 years of the revolutionary GPz900R


For riders like me, brought up on 1990's sportsbikes, it's hard to imagine a world without the modern machinery we take for granted - high-revving, water cooled, four valve per cylinder, aerodynamic, plastic-covered missiles with 150+mph and rock-solid reliability. But, of course, it wasn't always like this... cue wavy lines... (if you want to miss the history lesson, skip the next paragraph.)

When the Japanese manufacturers took on the best of the West in the sixties, they were up against machines with their roots in the 1930's or even earlier. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha introduced the biking world to true mass production, cutting edge technology, cut-throat competition and the relentless search for technical improvement. At the start of the 1970's, this culminated in two machines which shocked the world and became instant classics - the Honda CB750 and Kawasaki Z1 set the standard for the wave of four-cylinder bikes that followed. Unfortunately, though, the rest of that decade followed a pattern of evolution, rather than revolution. It got to the point where the term "universal Japanese motorcycle" or UJM was coined. UJM was a derogatory reference to the fact that it was actually not that easy to tell one manufacturer's naked, four-stroke, four-cylinder, air-cooled, disc-braked bike from another. Engine size - 550, 750, 900, 1000 (or 1100 for the big boys) seemed to be the only real choice. In search of the next big thing, some manufacturers went up the blind alley of turbos, but ultimately the expensive and temperamental beasts didn't catch on and turbo bikes faded into history. What next?

Then, in 1984, Kawasaki shattered the consensus of what a production bike could be, or should be, when they introduced the GPz900R - arguably the world's first truly "modern" bike. Sixteen valves for more power - check. Water cooled for more reliability at a higher state of tune - check. 115 horsepower, with the handling and brakes to cope - check. Aerodynamic fairing for higher top speed - check. Some of its competitors had some of these things, but none had them all. The Kawasaki did, and was the first production bike to exceed 150mph - even today that's pretty fast. But back in 1984, the biking public was stunned. Performance only seen on the racetrack had now arrived on the road, and in the local Kawasaki dealer.

Amazingly, although the 900R was the fastest, it wasn't the most powerful. It got better performance than the likes of Kawasaki's own GPz1100 Turbo through lighter weight and superior aerodynamics. Riders appreciated the fact that you didn't have to be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger just to hang on, but the slippery fairing also cut drag dramatically and pointed the way forward for all sportsbikes since.

If you wanted top performance, the 900R became the bike to have. When Tom Cruise's maverick fighter pilot swung his leg over a bike in Top Gun, it just had to be a 900R. The bike developed a cult following which, amazingly, persists to this day 20 years later. Even more amazingly, the bike, with only very minor changes, was still on sale in Europe in the late 90's and was produced for the Japanese market until 2000! Even for Kawasaki, whose bike models have a longer life than most, that is an incredibly long production run. It took the mighty ZZR1100 for Kwak to finally come up with a bike to beat the 900R - and the ZZR itself also enjoyed both a very long production run and a fanatical following. The "grandson" of the 900R is the current ZZR1200, and the family resemblances can still be seen to those in the know!

So why did it last so long? Inevitably, as technology advanced, other bikes became more powerful than the 900R, and lighter too. By today's standards, it's not very powerful for a 900, and on the heavy side, though far more comfortable than any 150mph bike has a right to be! But, when its role as cutting-edge sportsbike was inevitably eclipsed, it showed its other strengths as a very capable sports tourer, and with its development costs long since paid for, it could be priced much more cheaply than the likes of the VFR750 or Triumph Trophy. (Incidentally, when the first generation of modern Triumphs were launched in 1991, there was controversy over several design touches "borrowed" from the 900R, which, allegedly, Triumph had used as a benchmark.) There was something very special about the GPz, something much more than facts, figures or prices. Something which can't be defined - while some bikes are very good at some things, few bikes feel as though everything about them is just as it should be. The 900R has this feeling, and like other cult bikes, you really have to own one to understand!

Over the first weekend in August this year, hundreds of 900R heads got together from all over Europe to the little town of Celle, northern Germany, for a 20th anniversary special edition of their annual GPz Euro-Fest. A great time was had by all (along with the obligatory huge quantities of beer!) and, if anything, the cult of the GPz grows stronger by the year! Here's to the 30th anniversary in 2014...

Hotblack Desiato

Here's my 900R in 2004 at the parking area in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach, June 2004 - D-Day+60Years


Behind is a GPz1000RX - the next year's model - had a bit more power but arguably poorer handling... the 900R is a cult bike the 1000RX is largely forgotten.

blade1

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Here's my 900R in 2004 at the parking area in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach, June 2004 - D-Day+60Years


Behind is a GPz1000RX - the next year's model - had a bit more power but arguably poorer handling... the 900R is a cult bike the 1000RX is largely forgotten.

There's a GPZ1000RX for sale near me.

Max Headroom

Knew the guy who got the first one in Dublin, he worked for the Indo..i had the 750 version...been tempted to pick up another one but rose tinted glasses n all that...lovely bike mate..:)

davidglanza

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Here's my 900R in 2004 at the parking area in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach, June 2004 - D-Day+60Years


Behind is a GPz1000RX - the next year's model - had a bit more power but arguably poorer handling... the 900R is a cult bike the 1000RX is largely forgotten.

Savage bike dude looks same as mine..

davidglanza

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

In 2004 I wrote an article for MAG Ireland's magazine about the 20th anniversary of the GPz.

I'd bought mine the previous year, and although the last paragraph might sound like I made it to the 20th anniversary Euro-Fest pish-up, I had to cry off due to a puncture and the unavailability anywhere in Europe of a replacement 18" rear tyre! I'll never get over that :mad:

Great post dude thanks..

FirstinLastout

davidglanza wrote: »

Ya it is always wanted one since I saw the film..

Sorry to break it to ye but the Kawacker that Big Tom straddled 'tween his legs in Top Gun was actually the 750 version.

I was perving over this bike earlier on DD as well, best of luck with her she looks a beauty!

davidglanza

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Sorry to break it to ye but the Kawacker that Big Tom straddled 'tween his legs in Top Gun was actually the 750 version.

I was perving over this bike earlier on DD as well, best of luck with her she looks a beauty!

Ya i knew it was the 750 badged as a 900 but still looked savage...

I bought the bike off the fella on done deal nearly 2 weeks ago and for some reason he keeps bumping the advert up..

arybvtcw0eolkf

OP you know we're all secretly envious of you?.

davidglanza

Pugzilla

The tats on yer man on the right are seriously hardcore.

blade1

davidglanza wrote: »

Is that Youghal?

davidglanza

blade1 wrote: »

Is that Youghal?

Ya that was youghal last week.

Lorddrakul

Gorgeous bike, mate.

Went retro myself last year. After a hard winter's use, mine is not as shiny as yours any more...



Go, 80s!

galwaytt

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Gorgeous bike, mate.

Went retro myself last year. After a hard winter's use, mine is not as shiny as yours any more...



Go, 80s!

Another similar styled, but more conventionally engine Honda of that era is the CBX750F, a great bike.

blade1

galwaytt wrote: »

Another similar styled, but more conventionally engine Honda of that era is the CBX750F, a great bike.

Vf1000 f I think

davidglanza

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Gorgeous bike, mate.

Went retro myself last year. After a hard winter's use, mine is not as shiny as yours any more...



Go, 80s!

Bike looks savage..
What is it.??

CJhaughey

Looks like a VF1000F2 with a quarter fairing.
Was it a Bol D'or at some point with a full fairing?

blade1

CJhaughey wrote: »

Looks like a VF1000F2 with a quarter fairing.
Was it a Bol D'or at some point with a full fairing?

Different wheels I think and I was wondering why the back looked different but seems a tail tidy done to it.

CJhaughey

blade1 wrote: »

Different wheels I think and I was wondering why the back looked different but seems a tail tidy done to it.

Those aren't original wheels, they would have been Comstars originally but I guess the 16" front was replaced for a 17" and the back one was fitted same time.
They look like Honda wheels'Blade rear and VFR front?

blade1

CJhaughey wrote: »

Those aren't original wheels, they would have been Comstars originally but I guess the 16" front was replaced for a 17" and the back one was fitted same time.
They look like Honda wheels'Blade rear and VFR front?

That's what I thought about the wheels but then I thought rear wheel probably too narrow to be off a blade and too wide to be off an nsr125, so perhaps something in between.

Hotblack Desiato

Original 'Blade only had a 160 rear!

blade1

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Original 'Blade only had a 160 rear!

Yeah????
Several lads I know we're putting 180 on them Gen 1 one's back in the day.

I would say I am 100% sure of that but you saying 160 is making me doubt myself.:o

Lorddrakul

Aye, it is a 1985, though not registered till '87, VF1000 FF.

Forks are original but rebuilt with Wilbers internals and a Wilbers shock on the back.

Wheels are CBR600F2 to give a 120 front and a 160 rear to take modern rubber (Fnarr!)

The seat is a custom single seat unit the previous owner had made for it that Germania.

Hotblack Desiato

blade1 wrote: »

Yeah????
Several lads I know we're putting 180 on them Gen 1 one's back in the day.

I would say I am 100% sure of that but you saying 160 is making me doubt myself.:o

Definitely 160 on the early ones. One time there was one parked beside my CBR6 and I was surprised to see the same size rear on it as on mine.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2002/january/94-cbr900rr-r/

It still had the 16in front wheel and it was still a bit unstable, but the modifications that year, which included a revised gearbox and a 180/55 x 17 rear tyre in place of the preceding model's 160/60 rubber, calmed it down considerably.