Post Sale Update: This GPz750 Turbo sold for $20,700 after 22 bids on eBay in Marlborough, Massachusetts..
Sold for two model years, the GPZ750 Turbo from Kawasaki is generally considered to be the best of the 80s Japanese turbo bikes that had a brief impact in the marketplace. 112 horsepower was good enough for a 10.7 second quarter mile – consider that a Kawasaki ZX-11 did the quarter in 10.26!
For more on the GPZ Turbo, check out this Retrospective from Sport Rider. Their summary on what it’s like to ride:
“All right, what’s Kawasaki’s Turbo like to ride? Exciting, that’s what. No, you won’t flick through the chicanes like your buddies on their CBR900RRs and VFR750s (or old Norton Commandos, either); canyon carving isn’t the Turbo’s metier. Instead, it makes deliberate progress, as befits machines with nearly 60-inch wheelbases. Sweepers and straights are a different story. In this environment the ZX750 will hold its own, thank you. It is, after all, making 73 foot-pounds of torque at 6500 rpm. These are serious numbers. Turbo-heads don’t give a lick that preboost performance (under 3500) is, well, civilized (Okay, a little doggy). Two blinks of an eye later and those two little wheels are doing their stuff. By four grand you’re hearing their high-pitched whine, like a demented dentist’s drill, only probably faster. By 5000, even guys with skidpads on their knees had better be paying attention.”
Hopefully the next owner will be able to experience that, as this example (VIN: JKAZXDE1XEB500216) may be destined for a life of display only due to the minimal odometer reading of 269 miles. The seller states that he “bought this bike directly from Kawasaki Motor Corp two years ago” back when they were mixing up the bikes in the museum in their Lake Forest, CA headquarters. “As far as I can tell, the bike looks 100% original and has matching VIN with Engine VIN…the bike has been on display since I purchased it and never put fuel in it.”
Find this GPz Turbo for sale in Marlborough, Massachusetts with bidding up to $12,100 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Robert B!