Post Sale Update: The GPz1100 sold for $3,300 after 31 bids on eBay.
Post Listing Update: The GPz550 did not meet reserve despite 15 bids up to $2,525 on eBay.
In 1984, Kawasaki offered four displacement options of naturally aspirated motors in the GPz lineup in the United States: 550, 750, 900, and 1100. A seller in Gainesville, Georgia is currently letting go of the smallest and the largest – maybe you can snag both as a package deal?
The big boy is the GPz1100, and this is from the last year of production. Big revisions were made in 1983, including new bodywork, anti-dive forks, and the Uni-Trak rear suspension, so the ’84 model just got a modified exhaust system, some panels underneath the gauge cluster, and a new paint scheme called Galaxy Silver. The new GPz900 (of Top Gun fame) ended up being a much better seller and the 1100 was discontinued. This example (VIN: JKAZXBA18EB502895) has 5,500 miles though the seller says he cannot verify this number is accurate. It’s said to be entirely OEM except for the windshield. Recent new parts include the battery, tires, fork seals, chain, clutch cable, and brake lines. The seller claims everything works and that the only flaws are a “small bump” on the tank and a crack in the fairing. For more on the big GPz, check out this story on MCN.
Find this big GPz for sale with bidding up to $1,526 and the reserve not yet met
For more on the 550, check out this story on Motorcyclist where Mitch Boehm claims that it “changed the course of middleweight sportbikes in America”. At a time when mid-sized streetbikes were typically naked standards, the GPz shocked everyone with bright red paint, a cockpit fairing, rearsets, and a blacked out engine that was just as home on the track as it was on the street. In their February 1981 issue, Motorcyclist said this was “the kind of motorcycle we thought we’d never see again in America. We like it not only because it packs a genuine superbike wallop but because it brings the kind of functional sense of purpose sporting riders find so appealing—and so rare. The seasoned rider who looks to twisting roads and twitching tach needles is unlikely to find a better mount—of any size—than the GPz550.”
This example (VIN: JKAZXFA19EA008204) has 16,015 miles and it’s also said to be a nice survivor. The only non-OEM item is an additional fuel cut off. Find this little GPz for sale with bidding up to $820 and the reserve not yet met