5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Top Gun Motorcycle - Kawasaki GPZ900R 

Mines still in the garage, almost 40 years old and can still hit 150 a truly epic bike.

I brought my GPZ900R to Kawasaki once and met an employee that was around when those came out. Part of the promo was "if you can't reach 150mph, you get your money back!"

I remember when Honda came out with the Hurricane that was an interesting bike too. Back in those days I had a couple old 550GPz bikes, 600 Ninja, 900 Ninja, and finally a 1000 Ninja. But I always missed my old 78 KZ1000 with 4 into 1 Kerker with the baffle removed. What an awesome sound. I've had many bikes over the years and recently picked up an 01 Triumph Speed Triple 955i. My first 3 cylinder bike. I'm 58 years old and still ride.

I had a college roommate that bought the 1985 900 Ninja. I had bought the 1985 Honda VF700F Interceptor as my first bike ever. The banks, at the time, weren't willing to work with me, towards anything more expensive, since I was just establishing my creditworthiness. And even my dad had to co-sign for the loan. Yes, in case anyone was wondering, I took the state road test on that brand new Honda and passed it on the first go of it! Anyways, I remember when my roommate and I used to do "fire drills" at traffic lights where we would switch riding bikes. The thing that I remember the most about the experience was how much annoying the vibrations were felt through the footpegs on the Honda. Something that could take its toll after a considerable amount of ride time. The Ninja never had such an impacting issue. I also can recall the handling of the Ninja. Nimble and far better overall characteristics than the Honda. It seems to always come down to getting what you've paid for at the end of the day! Always wanted a Ninja but took on other responsibilities and never seem to get around to it. If I could do it all over again, I'd find a way to scrap more coin together for a larger down-payment and go for the Kawi.

I was 20 years old when I got my hands on a 1988 A5, at that time for me it was the best. Hit 150 going to work one morning and nobody believed me. They were great days.

Fun fact, Kawasaki Gpz500 was elected at least 2 times as the "best beginner motorcycle" when either moving up from 125cc or just starting, here in Finland back in 90´s.. And yep, it was a really good motorcycle. Was my first "big boy" bike^^

..the most beautiful bike ever to come from the ninja series !!😍😍, adore that 80s styling, the machine was the most high tech of her time !!!.

Nicely put together! I still enjoy riding my '86 Ninja ZX600R. Found it locally back in early '91, when no one cared about them anymore. People still enjoy seeing it.

When Topgun 2 trailer came out I was silently happy that they H2 was the bike of choice. It was so fitting after the GPZ900R.

I'm a busa boy now ,I had the gpz750 turbo in the early 90s, and I loved it. What a machine for its day😄

Sixty two year old man. First mtorcycle I was eleven years old. I always dreamed of one, since 1984. I found mine back in october 2003. Still my motorcycle, today... Before her, H1 500 and H2 750. I had all the other Japanese brands but, nothing compares to KAWASAKI. Nice tribute to a wonderful machine! Let the good times roll forever! Greetings from Brazil.

I have my GPZ from 1985 and it is still the best ride!!

Thank you for a masterful love letter to this iconic machine.

I bought my new Ninja 900 in late summer of 1984. I was 19. It replaced my first street bike, a 1970 Kawasaki H1 500. I loved that 900, and finally sold it in 1989 to get a new ZX-7, which I raced through the first half of the 90's. I am a Kawasaki fan, and still think they've made the best motors in motorcycling. Nice piece.

I owned a 1984 air-cooled GPz750. I always lusted over the Ninja 900. Why, all these years later, I never acquired one, I'll never know.

I had two of them from new back in the eighties. An A2 then an A3. The GPz900r was a fast but sure footed quality bike, that was a pleasure to ride and more than enough for everyday riding. It never failed to please.

I was a 2nd year Apprentice in the 80's and i was working on a Saturday, i was offered a ride to work from a soon to be tradesman on a GPZ900R. He picked me up and i told him straight up take it easy please, he said no problem and off we went. He just went through the gears normal as anything, then we got to a straight stretch of road about 5 k's from work and he dropped 2 gears and absolutely caned it. Never been so scared so alive and so enthralled in my entire life. Thought to myself, that is a fair bit quicker than my KZ80 F1 lol

I remember well the first time I saw a GPZ900R or as we called it a "Ninja900" on the showroom floor. This bike looked fast even sitting still. The first year the Ninja was in production, the competition sold bikes based on name recognition rather than being performance equals. Soon enough the rest of the Japanese motorcycle companies released their own bikes in which compete with the Ninja 900 and in so far as top speeds and 1/4 mile performance the Kawasaki was dethroned. However, in regards to being a sporty bike which was a thrill to ride there probably was not better choice than the Kawasaki. In time the big bore bike wars calmed a bit and the hot 750's took the spotlight. Kawasaki released an excellent offering, but it never gained the fond affection of the original Ninja 900. To this day, if you lived through the late 80's, a Ninja 900 will bring back fond memories regardless if you were a fan of Kawasaki or the other three Japanese manufacturers.

I owned the very first 900 Nina in 1984, and if they made a new one in 2022 with a similar design I would buy it again. it didn't have extreme racing ergonomics like todays sport bikes that are track oriented and brake your back and your ass after a half hour on the street. and the passenger seat wasn't a mile high and a half inch thick. the bike had a low seat hight and felt stable and planted at any speed. and I could ride it for a few hours at a time. when I first bought it. everywhere I went people couldn't take there eyes off of it. I would come out of a 7/11 and there would be five people standing next to it just drooling over it. Please Kawasaki make a new version of the original bike. that has similar but more modern looks, with the same ergonomics and seat hight. but with a modern engine and tec and cut a 100 pounds off the weight.

Bought mine with cash, in 84, off the dealers floor in South Florida. Drove it to Cincinnati, then to Denver (in January) Slept on a park bench with my arm through the fork tubes in St Louis. Rode from Denver to Sacramento. No issues. It ate chains and back tires but that was to be expected. Finally snapped a rod just below the small end at 90 mph on a first date. The 3/4's of the rod still attached to the crank was God's own weed eater string, and carved up the cases Enter the junkyard motor and a ton of goodies. Took three quarter mile passes, with a best of 10.03. It was a high 9 second bike and I will miss it forever. Lost it in a storage unit. Sad story. I'm looking for another one. I love this bike. Oh, got my motorcycle license on a '70 H1 with Denco Killers and a Barnett clutch. Kawi's rule!

I loved absolutely every minute of this video, I would actually buy it or at least give a donation. I own five bikes, the mighty 07 Hayabusa, 2014 Honda Valkyrie, Moto Guzzi MGX-21, 2022 Triumph Speed Twin... blah blah ANYWAY! Great video love the history, and the Dark Vaderish voice LOL! fam (family). You gotta another subscriber.

I owned one and out of the many (39) I have owned this one does stand out not only as a sport bike but good enough to have been dubbed today a sport touring bike . Others that come to mind are the Yamaha FJ1100 and the Suzuki 1200 S .

Always loved the thought of owning a GPZ900R. Then in the early 90's I rode a friends and I was quite underwhelmed by it. I still love the look of them though and they were the dogs bollox in their day.

This was a really amazing piece you put out. Seriously this was awesome. You've got a new subscriber and I'm really interested to see where you go. Great stuff!

Bought my 1st one in 1984. Great bike. Fast as hell. My favorite is the Ducati 916. Sexy bike Good times!

Loved mine. took it from Melbourne to Adelaide, doing over a ton old (160 kph) a lot of the way. Faster you went, the more solid it got. It was like riding a wing on its side, hehe.

Still a great bike.. I have 2 Kawasaki's in my garage.. a 1990 ZXR750 H2 & the 9Rs grandkid, a ZX12R. Legendary bike

Here in NZ and Australia, production racing was real big in the 70s and 80s, especially long distance endurance production racing, I remember seeing GPz900R's out pace Honda VF1000s with ease, they had at least 10-15 Kph on them down the back straights, they had a problem with overheating in the long races i remember that.

Had a few bikes as a kid but the favorites were 78 ZIR and 81 GPZ1100, both way faster than I had business going.

GPZ900R...... I Have had 4 of them..... Very cool, and I have had a lot of bikes, but these were great. Super smooth engine, power was very linear.. = good down low, in the mid, and a good top end hit. I think i hit around 150 MPH right in there. Oddly enough my bike with the most miles 69K was the best runner, and it sounded like it could blow up any second and had been thrown in a ditch at least twice... Once right before I bought it.... I pulled clumps of grass and dirt out rom under the carbs and in the rims... Yeah.. these were bad ass bikes.

,rode it,tracked it,modded it,20 bikes ago and still stands out fondly in memory,20 bikes later.

I just saw THE bike Tom Cruise used on the Stuttgart Museum in Germany. Very cool

I lived in San Diego in 1986 and this bike showed up on CycleTrader after the movie was done filming. I knew I should’ve bought it.

I was lucky I owned both a GPZ 900 and a GPZ 750 turbo

I owned an A1 version. Great bike, but it did have some issues. It would get hot tooling around town on a warmish day, and the 16" front wheel was a bit finicky as to what rubber you put on it. The anti dive was a bit mehhh also. I think the A7 and A8 versions were better with their bigger front wheel. Nice power and sound. My ZRX1200S engine can trace its roots back to the GPZ900R.

Amazingly awesome!

You're simply amazing. This was unforgettable!

What a cool video. Great production, fun and informative. How do you only have 400 subs? You got one more.

iam sitting on my dear z800, while listen to berlins take my breath away...sooo topgun,..make my eyes glittering and give an eye sight of my z800,..."man your ancestor is the gp Z900 , iam proud of youu Z800 baby"😘

The new retro styled 2020 900RS did very well and is still doing extremely well, contra too your comment in your video.

i had the smaller Gpz 600R , the best handling bike i ever owned

This is a documentary that TV channels would be jealous of....

Wow the energy and tone for this whole vid was fucking perfect. How are you only on 45 (now 46) subs?

Dude! Great video! Subbed on the strength of this video

Had an A1 & an A2 and in production for 12 years. Before my GPZs had a Suzi 400 and went to a Yamaha XJ900. It was a boring lump. Wobbles from 125kph-130kph. Remember thinking quite a few times jeez a 900 isn't really a step up. Then got my first GPZ. Had cleaned my seat and when I took off (without dumping the clutch) my fingernails were just sitting in the grip ribs. WTF. It was heaven from then on. The XJ if I recall correctly was also in production for 12 years. But yeah, shims.

I had a 1986 zx1000R and it had a really cool system that would used brake fluid pressure to pre load the front forks to keep the front from diving under heavy sudden braking and it worked really well

Great video, thank you !

I "graduated" from a 1975 S-2 to a used 1974 Z-1B to a 1985 GPZ-900R Ninja. I wish I still had all three bikes. The Ninja was incredible, made a great sport-tour bike and a fantastic track bike. For gut-busting sound, though, I'd give the medal to the Z-1, it sounded like an Indy car when you slapped a 4-into-1 header on it. And the "little" 400 triple S2 could hold its own with literbikes to about 85 mph, at least in a straight line. Not too great in the curves, though.

That was a badass video!

I know I had one before they did. :) I started a roadracing career on mine in 1984.

SWEET RIDE!

I had the A2 in the mid 80s, for a couple of years. Very comfortable capable bike, great for mile munching, two up or touring, yet capable if you wanted to do a bit of scratching, which is surprising considering its weight. Very stable in corners and bumps, due to the long wheelbase, which made it really difficult to wheelie off the clutch, it would rather spin the rear tyre. The anti dive forks were soooooo thin and light for such a heavy bike. I ended up burying mine into the front of a Toyota Corolla, when a pensioner pulled out in front of me, I repaired it again though and moved it on for a GSXR750L..the first with the upside down forks. Still miss the GPZ though.

Love my red Big Zed. A fully restored 1984 A1 GPz900R, with an uprated monoshock, new improved radiator, and more. Riding it, it doesn't feel like a 38 year old bike - real testimony to the rightness of the bike from Day 1. These are amazing bikes.

I had the Tomcat, what a great all around bike that was...I didn't know they continued the 900 series after '87.

Had one in 89. Fuggin mind blowing.

My m8 had gpz900r , I rode I'd a few times, I was surprised how nice and easy it was to ride and how quickly it hit 130mph without even trying.

It's pretty funny that the H2R is called "track only." the only track series it would qualify for is some drag racing classes.

when i was a teenager everyone had rd 350s then dreamed of one of these...(they were still pretty cheap second hand till recently)

Loved this bike..always thought the way the fairing protrudes around the bottom of the headlight was how darth vaders mask was shaped.

Hi..... 1984 Honda Here..... Reminding everyone that the VF1000 was first to 150MPH sooooo stawwwppp it

1985 zl900 Eliminator , i'm in love with it, like the first day!!

..... as soggy as a Whole Foods hot bar" It's all relative then. Show me the way to the next hot soggy bar, oh, don't ask why. haha 2:26 blueprint looks like a '74 Norton 850 frame. Which was about 60 some HP and good lowend torque, at 420 lbs. wet. May be it was just the right size for me, just big enough to kick it over, and sometimes over and over, but that was the most fun bike I ever road. Maybe I was a fool then, and I'm still a fool, and maybe I'd get into even more trouble if I had 100 plus HP. Do like the Suzuki SV electric start.

Goosebumps :D Nice job! :)

I rode it when it first came out- a n awesome bike. FYI, in the sequel movie they start with the GPz900 then quietly change to the H2.

Customer of mine a Kawasaki dealer, asked Kawasaki to build the A8 version. I think he said 200 where made. But he couldn't shift them. People had moved on to faster bikes.

Had one should never of sold it one of the most amazing bikes ever

“Fresh GUM on your converse” I didn’t hear gum the first time around

Rode one on the Isle of man. The eliminator was cool too same engine.

This is a really nice video!

I had one until a couple years ago....good bike

Proper thing they were. I bought a new one in 1991.

The Best of the Best !!!!!

proud kawasaki owner here z900

Riding a bike so fast only with RayBan glasses and not feeling uncomfortable… 😹😹😹

subbed !

Nice.

I own the first one 1984, Red, White, and Blue. What a Beast.

Great humour!

We are out of Europe, Miles, gallons pints, you can stick your litres, km, grams righ we're the sun don't shine. Good bike though.

Their was a Kawasaki recall of the A1’s to have their crankshaft replaced. On a side note a guy we used2 ride with said he rebuilt his 900 using ZX-10 crankshaft & assembly. My personal experience, in 1985 checked on buying a new 900, financing with full coverage insurance annual rate was &3600 a year quote. I was 17

My mate did a 107+mph lap of the Isle of Man in the Manx on his ride to work GPZ 900 back in early ‘80s breaking the lap record at the time.

A black one was my dream bike in the eighties :)

Iconic Gepa,maybe only Busa can stand in same category as Gepa.

I had this bike, before the movie came out. I was able to sell it for nearly twice what I paid for it because of the Top Gun movie I went to a Yami Vmax after that .... that sumna biatch was not an opt out .

This came out in '84...bought a zx1100gpz at the time of 900Ninjas...grief everyone bought one at the time...they went like hell, all my mates bought one!Even the Suzuki okes changed brands and left their Katanas...only question now is where are the Ninjas now?The old z1300s are still around but no 900Rs to be seen nowadays...now the H2 monster is the bike...

They capped the speed war to 200 mph , then began the war of who can get to 200 mph the quickest.

I owned one for about 4 years.

super

Kawasaki forever. ❤❤

Goose was a Lieutenant (JG), pay grade O-2. He was "junior grade"! Mav was the Lieutenant. Just keepin' it finely machined!

I never rode the Ninja, but in its 600cc form I did have an afternoon with the GPz550; it was incredible. More impressive than the Hurricane or Seca750 of which I tried both.

Ya know I have my 650 vulcan and it’s a show stopper. It isn’t tremendously fast but every where I go, heads turn and people talk. Even dudes on their speed machines and souped up Harley’s like my green queen. Great ride. I sit and ride for hours at a time without having to get off because of a sore ass and it can handle the twistiest better than ANY other cruiser.

I just acquired an 84 Ninja for 500$ .Im not sure if it ever been cleaned, the grime around the front sprocket was like pavement. Got it to run, it had been sitting for years

That bike had the cam chain on the side . Easy to fix most bikes have it in the middle of hard to fix . They were great bikes .

Had an '84 Red/Grey one and sold her in 1995. Regret it to this day.

It was the 1100 that held the speed record for 6 years.

do a video on the orignal yamaha Vmax 1200

The 80’s had some great bikes, V65 Magna, Ninja 1000R, GSX-R, Interceptor, Hurricane

900R and the H2 feature in Maverick !

Brother had 900 i had 600 know both very well, both best in class in that era.