The fact that Kawasaki upped the small bike ante in 2013 by bumping the 250 Ninja up to 300cc and thus creating a new category is some pretty old news; check out this wonderful GPz 305 back from 1983. During this time – and prior to the introduction of the 205R which did not come to the US until 1986, the 305 was Kawasaki’s entry level sport bike.
From the seller:
Here is a 1983 GPZ305 with 4400 original miles, this was a bike that was ahead of its time in 1983 with belt drive, cafe styling and mag wheels. I bought this 4 years ago from a lady who won it in a raffle brand new and it had only 863 miles on it then. I used it as a daily driver for a couple years and now bought a larger bike and dont use this one anymore even though I thought I would. the bike is not perfect but is an excellent survivor and gets compliments all the time. I just put a new battery in it tonight and it fired right up. needs nothing, gets 70+mpg and very nimble to drive. This bike was voted top street bike under 450cc by Cycle World magazine 11/83 issue.
This wonderful survivor is a somewhat rare bird. 305s don’t come up often, and when they do they are often trashed. With graphics similar to the bigger GPzs, belt drive (kevlar) for zero maintenance and a peppy, air cooled parallel twin, the GPz 305 would make a great entry level bike and a decent commuter. It would also round off the range of GPZs, in the event anyone is collecting the full lineup (don’t forget about the home market GPZ 250 and 400 while you are at it!). For more info, click the link and jump over to the auction. With mild interest and a current bid of only $1,025, this could be a fun bargain for somebody. Good luck!
MI
Wish it was closer!
I remember back in the day we sold a bucketload of these things. Fun little tykes and dead reliable. I wouldn’t mind one of these in my stable for giggles. The twin sounded surprisingly good with a 2-into-1 on it.
Just from the photos of the instrument panel, you can tell that thing has hardly seen any sunlight. Really looks super mint.