i owned one for a few years in the 80's. probably the sweetest bikes i've ever ridden. seat was great and a cross between sports and tourer so fun but comfortable for 100s of Ks. coz of DFI it was a slow pig until the boost came on but boost gauge let you know so no nasty surprises. effortlessly get up over 200kph but thirsty at speed so needs fuel every 45m - 1hr. you could go further but why risk running out of fuel and blowing the turbo which had no electric oil pump. one of the bad things was idling it down. another was the need to replace chains/sprockets/tyres regularly... but for an old air cooled rehashed motor made of parts, the turbo rush was really something to feel. kinda wish they had continued turbo bike production across many models.
My 84 was the best bike I ever rode and owned. Ported jet's it would run 165 and would do it all day long. I'd love to have another as it was trustworthy at any speed. Best memories ever.
I know I had the 900r amazing how much has changed…i had a work friend get his 600 in 85-86 he spent a small fortune to have it custom painted in green ...really cool to see them occasionally in restored condition today
That was the one I owned too, bought new, summer of 88, leftover from 86, (because everybody wanted the 1000) for $4400, $400 LESS than a new one in 84! I cut a deer in half when it was 8 days old, with 800 miles on the odometer!! Fixed it with the insurance money, and kept on riding!
Had a nearly new Kawa turbo 750 in '84, no bike Kawasaki for 27 years, March 19 got a 05 Bandit GSF 650 inj., Wow 58, 59 times more biking joy than the turbo. Alas now a HOPEFULLY only semi retired Crazy Mad Banditateer FEKKIN Banditless Banditaholic, ruined for any other bike, and I ain't even lying. yours truly Scott Loch. Na Professor Bandit B.T.E. Torque Enjoyment only, nothing technical. Turbo ? Whenever I Engaged it, it always tried to throw me off the back ?, Hang in, for your life Bandit was Incredible Hot biking wise Remember every Ride ? remember every Twist of the throttle ?, Response was quicker than an Arcade game. Blessed 20, 21 months of Biking JOY. And I'm not even lying.
I swear to God I need to get one Gpz900r in my life, I will come back when my dream is complete. I should be getting my motorcycle license next year, the rest is money saving now.
Only problem I had with my Ninja was boiling the engine in hot weather in grid locked traffic in London. The head had to be skimmed to the max putting the compression up to about 12:1. God, that bike was fast!
That was quite a bike my God for 1984 !!!! There's a whole lotta bikes and cars that 750 would tear'um new one today in 2022 !!!!....especially with modern rubber !!!
Two up on a gpz 750turbo and doing 100mph on the M4, a 2gear drop with a ford xr3 flashing lights and toting his horn, I think we got to over 150mph in a blink of an eye. Yet another amazing bike from Kawasaki , my all time favourites H1F and the zxr400.
After Honda's Interceptors raised the sportbike bar, the other Japanese manufacturers went back to the drawing board. The efforts resulted in legendary machines: FJ1200, GSX1100, and GPZ900R.
Great Kawasaki promo. I’m sure I saw it with subtitles in Japanese a few ago perhaps? Or Dutch? Whatever, great film and great bike. They’re still making ‘em just like this pretty well thirty eight years on. No massive strides since the 9R. F.I.? My 1000H had it in ‘80. 17”? Upside downies? Just decoration and detail. The 9R was a red revolution. 😎
They enjoyed a couple of years on top until Suzuki brought the GSX-R to the states in 1886 and that was the end of that. I bought the 86 GSX-R 1100 new at 18yrs old. Blew away every bike on the road.
A buddy of mine bought that same bike brand new, while I still had my 86 Ninja, and I rode it once. In 1st gear, at 3000 rpm (which you may recall is where the tach actually started), I grabbed a handful of throttle, and it leaped up into a wheelie so fast I had to instantly let go of the throttle!! And yes, in the sportbike shootout of 6 bikes in 85 or 86, it was crowned king by Motorcyclist magazine, but the 900 ninja still held its own at #2, because of its handling! Suzuki GSXR1100 & either the GS-1150 ES, or maybe the Kawasaki GPZ1100, the 900 and 1000 Ninjas, the FJ1200, and the 1000 Interceptor I believe were the 6 bikes compared. And if the road had some curves, I could beat my buddy. I cornered that Ninja so hard I dragged the pegs & pipes!! It felt like it was on freaking RAILS!! Literally.
Enjoyed watching this a lot! Thanks for posting it. I own an '86 Ninja ZX600R in red, white, and blue, that I purchased in '90. Still love it. No one cared about them then, but now I get complements on it where ever I ride.
My Kawasaki GPz900R (1985-Ninja-blue-grey) with a short open Yoshimura pipe is until now..still the best sounding motorcycle i've ever heard in my life...and I had many motorcycles..a few Suzuki GSX1100R's ,Suzuki GSX1000R K8 and the Suzuki B-King with open Bodis exhaust..
Had a 550 LTD 81 then 82 1000 LTD. Now have a 86 ELIMINATOR 900 and 2 1987 ZL1000 Eliminators. One is mint and only has 4900 miles on it. Kawasaki let’s the good times rollllllllll!
