175mph Touring: 1992 Kawasaki ZZ-R1100 in AUS

Every time I see a big Kawasaki Zed up for sale I get a flashback to the scene in Spaceballs where they go to Ludicrous Speed.   Known as the ZX11 Ninja in the states but the ZZR1100 pretty much everywhere else, the big Zed was a “hyper-tourer”, a battle tank of a machine with a cruise missile engine.   When launched in 1990 the big ZZR was able to hit top speeds of over 170 mph while also being a capable high speed tourer.  Basically the ZZR was the first bike in the hyper-touring market segment, and ruled the segment for 6 years until replaced by the Honda Blackbird and then finally, the Suzuki Hayabusa.

A large reason for the Big ZZR’s phenomical speed was the due to the bikes Ram Air induction system.  Although ram air had already been widely used in automobiles, the ZZR was the first production motorcycle fitted with such a system.  Unlike other “fresh-air” systems of the time, the ZZR ram air system was sealed and produced a constant flow of cool air to the carbs.   A technical description of the function and result of the ram air function can be found here.

But the Big Kawasaki wasn’t just about top speed.  It was very civilized, with comfortable seating and convenience features such as luggage hooks, a full dash (including a clock!) and an outstanding fairing/wind protection. Think of it as an Aston Martin Vantage coup of the same period and you get the idea of what the ZZR was/is like.

The ZZR was also fortunate to avoid being splashed with the tacky 1990’s graphics schemes and was offered as a powerful bike with monochrome bodywork of candelberry wine red, black, purple and dark green.  Personally I think these big ZZR has aged particularly well.

1992 Kawasaki ZZ-R1100 for sale on ebay Australia

This particular ZZR is in the very desirable candleberry wine red and is located in warm and sunny Melbourne Australia.  Overall the bike looks to be pretty much stock except for some polished Staintune exhausts, mounts for hard luggage, and perhaps non-stock hand grips and a windscreen.   There does appear to be a bit of scraping on one set of mirrors but no other indication of the bike being down so this may just be to storage.

So whats this big red Zed worth?  Well it does have 55,000 kilometers which some may think is a bit high but does show that the bike was used for its intended purpose of touring at speed.  Also, these bikes don’t seem to pop up for sale that often and when they do, seem to changes hands pretty quickly.  The asking price is bang in the middle of average prices as listed on bikepoint.au so the seller seems to be realistic about what the bike is and what its worth.    Overall, the big ZZR is an excellent machines for taller/larger sportbike riders who also like to do a bit of touring, perhaps out of the hot cities in Australia during this time of year.

-Marty/Dallaslavowner