Post-Sale Update: After 36 bids on eBay, this Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900 sold for $3,013.
Yamaha defined a new class of bike in the mid 80s with their instant classic V-Max, but their Japanese competition was immediately on the ball. Honda released the Magna, while Team Green released the Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900 – all these bikes together created the ‘Power Cruiser/Muscle Bike’ class that still attracts riders today.
It might not look like it, but this bike was designed to be king of the stoplight to stoplight drag race. With the water-cooled motor from a 900cc Ninja with different cams, shaft drive, and low gearing, the Eliminator was every bit the drag bike that it looked like. The sales brochure at the time claimed this was the fastest production bike in 1985 with a 0-60 time of about 3 seconds, and a quarter mile time of about 11. You’ll surprise many people with your acceleration on a nearly 30 year old bike. Built only for two years, the A1 (1985) Eliminator was an evolution of the GPZ900R, and was designed to look like the Z1 drag bikes that Kawi was winning many races with.
This specific Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900 (VIN: jkazl2a14fb503572) has just 15,700 miles and is completely stock. Most of the survivors have been modded at the expense of day to day reliability, but this example has managed to stay quite original. It has a recent service including rebuilt carbs, and the bike is ready to go.
Find this Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900 for sale in Barberton, Ohio with bidding up to $785
