1984 Kawasaki Ninja A1 GPz900R walkaround and startup 

These GPz get more beautiful the older they get.

I am an owner of the original 1984 Ninja. I was happy to see this bike in its "glory". Finances, kids, and life have it in the garage "apart". I remember when.....thanks for the memories!

MAN!! THIS NINJA WAS MADE OF HIGH QUALITY COMPONENTS!!...JUST LOOK AT THE WHEELS, EXHAUST MUFFLER, ALLUMINIUM SUBFRAME....SOME SERIOUS QUALITY MACHINE AS EXPECTED FROM JAPAN!!😍😍😍👍👍👍👍

my dad had one of these bikes when I was about 8 (I'm 34 now) I'll never forget the first time he took me out on it. my favourite bike ever.

You have a beautiful example of the classic GPZ900. Thanks for sharing. After rebuilding and riding a 1985 A2, I really do appreciate this bike for what it is. Plenty of power and handling and can cruise all day long. No problems, but I have taken steps to replace and upgrade components due to its age. Smart for any bike of this vintage. It is a modern classic that will still turn heads wherever it goes. It makes more horsepower than any of my cars!

That's a nice bike, in pretty good condition👌🏽. You sir, are lucky🍀to have her as your own. I remember when this bike, and the GPZ 750 Turbo were brand new. I was riding with two guys in Los Angeles bitd, who had a very friendly rivalry going on. It was fun just watching them constantly trying to "out run" the other one. They both were SO competitive. In the end, it was Tony with the 900, that was victorious over Tony with the Turbo 750. He kept doing the upgrades needed to "get by" the Turbo 750. I will never forget those guys. I was jockin' a "tired" '79 Z1-R, at the time. But she was still a fun bike, that turned heads b/c it was a gorgeous custom Candy Apple Red🍎. -🥰

Takes me back to the old days. This ninja and the zx-10 I got after it were the two best bikes I ever owned and will stay in my memory forever. I think it was this bike which convinced my now ex wife to start dating me back then. Notice it still runs as hot as ever , could only use synthetic oil as regular stuff would burn too fast and start turning black after a 1000 miles. Kawasaki dealer "fixed" it , stuck in a resistor on the line to the temp gauge to bring it back to "normal" . Still ran hot as hell, the temp never changed , but at least the gauge went back to the "right" spot. Had that thing overheat on me a few times and shoot coolant everywhere. Threw in a switch to control the radiator fan so I could turn it on as needed . Hope you enjoy it, gave me some of the best memories ever.

Had one 20 years ago. Totalled it. I still hope kawasaki will remake it into a modern version like they did with the z 900 .

Thanks man grate vid, i had one of these in 85 or 86 i got the bike secondhand, it was the fastest bike in it's day , i rode it for 2 - 3 years, watching the vid was like looking at a bike ide never seen until i started to remember the bike from all those years ago

Had one just like it,with a smoke tinted windshield. They were getting into the 10's at the drags. Did a 11.18 with mine. Had it up to 155mph once. Sweet bike,thanks for the walk back in time.Beautiful restoration.

I had an A2 model back in 1986 and bought it straight after seeing Top Gun. I actually did a bit of racing back in the day and I can tell you that the Ninja was super fast.. in fact I'm pretty sure that it was the worlds fastest production bike for a few years. The only things that let this bike down were the weight and the 16" front wheel.

I had the same exact bike w/ yosh pipe in the early 90's. Mine had an ignition advance and dynojet kit too. I think it was the hardest pulling bike I've ever had, and ive had a ZX10 and 11. Everytime I'd get on it power shifting it would bring a big smile to my face

had 1 of these when i was 17 long time ago good memories these things were top of the line back then my mates had the 1100 katanas and gs 1000 ect i had the flash 1 lol all awesome bikes hardly see them arond today

My favourite bike ever

What a beautiful machine and superb job, congrats!

The most beautiful I have ever seen! Lucky guy!

awesome,this was my first sport bike same color,brings back good memories,i remember getting lots of looksfrom people because this was when full fairings started coming out on sport bikes.enjoy he ride

Beautiful bike, always wanted one back in the eighties, never managed it. Paint and finish on yours looks superb.

Thanks' for the ride down memory lane, beautiful example, nearly bought 750 turbo back in the good old days. Took a different route, bought me z1000 st, emerald green. Had me a Harris expansion on it chromed carbretors, Loved it""" Married my first mrs', sold the bike to get down payment for house, divorced 9 years later-------------------------- should have kept bike"" Uk.

This is too cool, man. Love it.

Nice bike! and nice sound!!!! me, ride 1988`s GPz900R-A5 type.japan.

Really enjoyed this video. Came here because this model was on the cover of the latest Cycle World magazine commemorating 30 years of Ninjas. Awesome bike you have. If it were mine, I'd never sell it! I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

That's simply unbelievable condition for the age of the machine, my bike's 7 years old and every bolt head and nook is brown with dirt or rust...jealous.

The Top Gun model was launched in 85' in the red n black scheme - colour code... But that bike in the video is an absolute gem... Collectors! 👍💪😎

Classic. Timeless design.

Beautiful !!! I actually just acquired s/n 000002. S/N 000001 sitting in Kawasaki California museum. I am also restoring, and plan to replace the heavy OEM exhaust with aftermarket. Probably with a Nojima system via We-bike in Japan. I raced one of these in 84-85 and absolutely loved it !!

Nice work! Great bike! :-)

That is a really nice bike .....

Great looking bike.

Will be nice to see if the new Z 900s morph into a 'modern' take on the original design - an all time classic! Surely The Big K won't miss out on a huge marketing opportunity!

I had one, exactly the same as this one!

NICE BIKE!

Great bike!

Very nice, had the same bike very fast

Amazing

Compared to a newer bike the Ninja is a slug. Its got great top end speed and in its day was a beast that couldnt be touched but todays alloy frames and hi tech motors make the newer bikes way faster off the line. Thats not to say the 84 Ninjas aren't scary fast, they are,but todays bikes are just insane.You should go through any Ninja you intend on buying and make sure that it hasn't been abused. They tend to overheat sometimes and the valves can be ticky.

Top gun!!!

one of my deam bikes. Riding a ninja 500 right now :) haha I have the same tires on my bike

Got a real soft spot for these.... Had an 85, and a 92 and although the 92 had updated brakes and different wheel size etc...the old 85 was a nicer bike to ride for me....

Very nice bike. I have a 1985 Ninja A2. I really want to restore the bike but I have no clue where to start. I ride it to work daily. I bought it off of craigslist for 1000.00. Had to replace the charging system, water pump, sprockets and chain. I also put a manual for the cooling fan.

I actually bought the Yoshimura pipes from this very bike for my '84 900 Ninja off of eBay back in 2015. So, this bike obviously didn't last long after the video was made. Too bad, it looked great!

Back when they had the fuel gauge :). Nice nice bike!

I actually bought the Yoshimura pipes and exhaust shown on this bike on eBay back in late 2014, or early 2015. The silencer needed repacking badly, which I did, so the pipes sound a bit more throaty now. I hope the bike is still running and looking as good as it does in this video! Why the owner parted with these great pipes is a mystery to me since having vintage old school Yoshimura pipes on perhaps the most collectable of all Japanese sport bikes of the 80s is an absolute gold strike of coolness! I'll have video of my 84 900 (firecracker red)-- which is pretty close to the condition of the bike shown in this video, up in a few weeks when the weather gets better. I just had the engine rebuilt and the brakes upgraded with new pads and steel brake lines and the bike is just running like a champ!

Lovely bike, would prefer the original dual exhausts though.

I have a Kawasaki ZX9R B4, same sound!

I still have mine.

i just got on of these for free and wanted to knw what if any were some major problems for this bike im planning on restoring it its kinda reminds me of my first bike the fzr 600 89

Looks great ! Sounds great too. Are those the original handlebar grips or replacements ? How did you blacken the plastics around the clocks? They look like new.

I want to own one just because of top gun

got this bike in the crew 2 ::

Nice bike. Nothing like owning a classic from an era gone by. Get the stock exhaust and you'll increase the value for resale.

Very nice! My first big bike was an A1 same paint as this. Mine had 'gutted' original exhaust, mainly cause innards rusted out. Removed rest and left them on. Lifted needles a notch and all was good. Sounded great as motor got onto cam ( about 6 k ). Early ones hat a penchant to overheat. Make sure you keep rad. clean and glycol at 1/3rd. and a new rad. cap. Is yours the restricted version. Mine was rated at 84.5 kw ( Aussie ) but i believe some US ones were 78 kw. Still ride Kawa ZRX1200S.

Reminds me of Top Gun with Maverick riding this around. I would love to have this bike myself. Great job man!

how did you fit 180's in the rear ?? and what is the size in front ?? because i know its not 180 in front like in your description , you probably did a typo mistake !?

Looks nice, but would look so much better with the rear fender on it. For me, it just makes the back end look more balanced. I'm thinking very seriously about getting the 750 version of this, which I know isn't as powerful as the 900, but it's more about looks, and sound for me. I don't need the extra speed anymore, I've already had a 900r 25 years ago....

Splendor may be inspired from this bike.. Headlight, tail lights, dash board looks similar

how many miles on yours? i just picked one up to restore. has been sitting since 2009 and it sits with 58,000 miles.

I'm afraid that the tire sizes are incorrect in the video description. 120/80-16 Front and 130/80-18 for the Rear. or 120/70-16 and 150/70-18 but definitely not 180! Especially for the front! :-)

I have just bought two GPZ900Rs in need of restoration, an A1 and an A4. Your one is amazing. I just hope mine look as good as yours. Are the engines bullet proof?

@tmristen unfortunately not , it had the Yosh on it when I got it but I did most of the cosmetic and repaint work

is the exhaust aftermarket or original?

Nice bike you still have it?

You might have stole my bike. I have one just like that. Just so you know. I put the last tank decals from Japan on my bike. There aren't anymore original tank decals in that color. My bike was in a serio area s wreck and I put it back together.

Nice 9ER . But that's scary seeing your petcock on prime . If your bowls overflow you run the risk of fueling you crank up with gas . I would leave it in the ON position until you start light her up and then prime it for 20 seconds . Beautiful bike tho

Cool bike, but man those things sound ruff compared to newer bikes.

do you have color code from red and and grey for your GPZ 900R ? thanks, WOW absoltely amazing your bike

i really envy you that bike :) Please tell me how expensive is to maintain this thing. I heard that there's lots of parts availible for cheap money... How much did you spent on restoring this baby?

nice 忍者

My buddy and I bought one of these from Anaheim Kawasaki in April of 84...our serial numbers were I believe in the 30s IIRC. Gave mine to Bassani to do a custom exhaust and my buddy had them give him the slip on prototypes. The slip ons performed better. Mine always had problems with the fuel system though as there was never a fuel filter in place and the frigging Nebraska factory spray painted overflow into the tank. I had tons of sparkling red paint chips always clogging the float bowls. Mine also had the front struts bottom all the way to the bottom too. My buddy's never had an issue. It always concerned me one day when deep in the frame below the seat I found masking tape with the words "do not ship" written on it. Put over 40K miles on it when family life dictated I sell it for a new garage door! I always wondered what became of it after i parted ways and would love to in hindsight have kept it all these years. Pete

I have two a Red one and a Black one 😊

Just got one of these bike in pretty rough shape. Can't seem to get the seat off, looked all over the internet and can't seem to find how to get it off. If anyone is familiar with the bike and can help I would appreciate it.

How is that a 16 valve? Is it 4 cylinders?

Shame you put a 4 into one on a bike that looks otherwise standard and immaculate. I have the 1985 A2 that is still going strong with just 48000 miles on it.

i saw an offer on craigslist for this same type of bike for $700. the owner put it away in storage 8 years ago and recently took it out for sale. says it ran fine before, but now it doesnt. do you think its worth fixing up? if so how much would you estimate the cost would be?

I'm in the market for one. Let me know if you ever want to sell! I'm looking at one tomorrow actually. Would you be willing to share your research regarding parts? Thanks!

You did good man. Shame about the exhaust which in my opinion has just undone all of your hard work. Get an exhaust man. She sounds a bit rattly too. It might just be the audio....but I think she's rattling a bit

Beautiful... starter reminds me of CHIPS LMAO

I made the decals and striping myself. message me if you want details

better than showroom condition... so your telling me its in better condition now then when kawasaki built it... ok...

Kawasaki Eliminator...900. That's all.

Why Kawasaki no longer make bikes like this anymore? The latest Ninja looked really tamed and ugly compared to this monster.

Slug my ass. My 84 Ninja red/gray goes thru the lights at around 10.11 with my fat ass on it. My little brother can get almost mid 9's. (yes I am jealous he's much better and lighter than I lol) Anyway I own several older and new bikes. My 78 Z1R is a slug off the line because its stock. But I own a ZX14 that I have for sale for $9,000. My old Gpz 900 Ninja stays right with it until after 160mph lol.

GAYLORD ! BURNOUT !