My PB speed as a pillion was set on one of these back in the day. I had recently lost my license on my RZ250 (on my birthday...) Sitting there fat dumb and happy at 180kmh, the rider wound it up, catching me out and I started leaning towards the rear of the machine. When he ducked behind the fairing at 220kmh, I copped the wind blast full in the chest and layed riiiiight back, basically hanging off the rear of the bike. When we slowed down again for the next turn I got back in the slipstream and asked how fast he was going. "only 250" he said... My first NDE.
The highest speed wheelie I ever did was on my A4 same as one at 4:10. It was around 115mph, i had my mate who weighed around 15 stone on the pillion. It was on the brow of an over pass, the front wheel lifted and stayed around a foot of the ground for a good 150metres. When we got off the bike my mate complimented me on an impressive wheelie. What he didn't know was it wasn't planned, I nearly soiled myself and it was because of his extra weight that the front wheel came up. That was the only bike i cried about having to move on. However.... I know where it is and who has it. It is now in the south of France being turned into a classic endurance racer
As a young motorcycle mechanic I was in love with the V Max but it was way out of my price range but managed to get my hands on a well used 85 ZL900 Eliminator with wore out intake valves and a bad second gear. The Eliminator motor was based off the ZX9 with one mm shorter cams and a shaft drive that was also used on the Concourse. It was a fun bike for a young man and the shaft drive was great for doing burnouts not so great for traction but I didn't care about traction. If you owned the Ninja or Concourse the cam chain being on the left side of the motor was never thought of but when it was washed or rained on the it turned the ZL valve covers and spark plugs and wires into a swimming pool.
The V-Max was just an overweight Honda V4 wannabe. I own an '82 VF750S and I've ridden a couple V-Max, post 2000 when they had more power and better handling and that's where I am coming from. By far the worst Yammie I've ridden and that includes cruisers. It doesn't even sound good and that's tough to accomplish with a V4. I thought the 2005 YZF R1 was about the best bike they ever made. I wouldn't go racing on one but for the real world, that's the superbike to have. I even liked it better than the Ducati 999R and that bike costs twice as much.
I have a 1985 version . Bought from original owner , got it in 1985 and crashed it after a few months , put it in his garage in 1986 and there is sat never to be ridden again unyil i bought it from him in 2019 . He had started trying to restore it the only damage from his wreck was the right side and belly fairings were cracked. He put brand new NOS brake masre cylinders , Brake hoses and tires on it then lost interest . I have it ready for paint and decals just needed a carb rebuild , bigger jets and she runs like new . less than 10000 kms on it lol
I have a '82 VF750 I bought from a friend a couple years ago for $100. That bike is a decade and a half ahead of its time. The GPZ900 is a neat bike and a classic but it still says something when a standard that is 5 years older can hand a GPZ900 its ass. And with 150cc less displacement.
The mid-fairing's OEM color is red. Did the movie production company paint that section black, or was there a model year that produced the OEM mid-fairing in black?
Had one of these in 85. It got stolen in no time at all. The original Ninja has a cameo appearance in the new Top Gun film too. I suppose if we Brits are to be consistent, the Rock band should be pronounced Zed Zed Top.
Certainly the Gee Pee ZED 900R was a great bike , that had a LONG production run with only One significant change , 17 inch front wheel on FINAL model . However.......If the Movie had been made One Year Later " Pete Mitchell " would have been riding a GSX-R750 . A new CLASS of bike entirely .
I liked the Katana better. Kawis are all motor and nothing else. I prefer something that can take the corners as fast as the straightaways. For that matter, my VF750S will hand this bike its ass and it is a standard. A couple of years ago, I passed a Z1000 at triple digit speeds going up a mountain road on a Dyna. Stock displacement but they choked those Twin Cams down so much all you have to do is let 'em breathe and you're making 120 ft-lb of torque. Throw in some suspension mods and they handle better than any sportbike from the '80s.
THIS BIKE WAS SLOW I BOUGHT BRAND NEW OFF SHOW ROOM FLOOR 1984 GPZ 750 TUBO AND THE 750 JUST SMOKE IT SAME STORY WITH THE YAMAHA V4 JUST SMOKED IT THE 750 TURBO SHOULD OF BEEN IN THE MOVIE TOP GUN....
