Kawasaki GPz's
My favorites of all the bikes I owned were the ZX framed (monoshock) Kawasaki GPz's - forerunner to the Ninja series. Actually, the Ninja name was only used here in the US - the same bikes in the
rest of the world were still called GPz's. I had an 83 and an 84 750, an 84 550 and an 83 1100.
The 750's were very comfortable, handled well and even got 55 mpg cruising at 70. The 550 was not as comfortable (although it would do a nice wheelie!), but with the Gemini pipe it sounded
AWESOME when revved "to 11". The 1100 was nice to ride, but heavy as expected - still, it was a FAR better bike than my FJ1100 was.
The one that I never did get was the 1985 750 turbo. Yep, they were production-line IHI turbocharged 750's with digital fuel injection - in 1984! Where my regular 750 made 86 horsepower, the turbo
made 117. I did get a chance to ride one once. Suffice it to say that I have never accelerated like that since! The turbos were capable of hitting 124 mph in the 1/4 mile - in the low 11 or high 10 second
range. When I ran my first 750 at Fremont drag strip, I ran a mid 12 at 108 mph, so obviously it's a huge difference to ride the turbo. The GPz 750 will always have a place in my heart for all the good
times I had with it - as they used to say "Kawasaki lets the good times roll".
The "one that got away" will always be the 87-88 Ninja 750. I loved the looks and the comfort, it was just never in the cards for me to own one.
rest of the world were still called GPz's. I had an 83 and an 84 750, an 84 550 and an 83 1100.
The 750's were very comfortable, handled well and even got 55 mpg cruising at 70. The 550 was not as comfortable (although it would do a nice wheelie!), but with the Gemini pipe it sounded
AWESOME when revved "to 11". The 1100 was nice to ride, but heavy as expected - still, it was a FAR better bike than my FJ1100 was.
The one that I never did get was the 1985 750 turbo. Yep, they were production-line IHI turbocharged 750's with digital fuel injection - in 1984! Where my regular 750 made 86 horsepower, the turbo
made 117. I did get a chance to ride one once. Suffice it to say that I have never accelerated like that since! The turbos were capable of hitting 124 mph in the 1/4 mile - in the low 11 or high 10 second
range. When I ran my first 750 at Fremont drag strip, I ran a mid 12 at 108 mph, so obviously it's a huge difference to ride the turbo. The GPz 750 will always have a place in my heart for all the good
times I had with it - as they used to say "Kawasaki lets the good times roll".
The "one that got away" will always be the 87-88 Ninja 750. I loved the looks and the comfort, it was just never in the cards for me to own one.
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The 550. The first 3 pics are of mine, the rest are from my photo collection.
The 750's
The amazing 750 turbo.........
The next-generation 87-88 750 with the new 11:1, 4-valve water cooled engine - and almost as much power as the 750 turbo produced.
The ground-breaking 900 Ninja - the first real superbike.
The top-heavy but powerful first-generation 600 ninja - the first production sport bike with 16" wheels at both ends.
The 400cc version of the 600 pictured above. Sadly, these never came to the US market.
The 305 and smaller versions. They never really caught on here but they were a big hit in other countries.