In the early 1990’s, Kawasaki had a nostalgic feeling for the 70’s, when the ground-pounding Z-1 ruled the tar pits. Standard bikes ( now called naked ) had a short-lived resurgence in the 550, 750 and 1100 cc models, with a 400 cc Japan-only variant. An editor at Sport Rider went through an orange/burgundy 1100 from stem to stern, blueprinting and releasing captive performance as he went. 20-plus years on and again available, this ZR-1100 is a super-quick trip back to the future.
1993 Kawasaki ZR-1100 for sale on eBay
Starting with the DOHC but 2-valve 1100, 1 mm was milled from the cylinder head, increasing the compression ratio to 10.5 to 1. This led to a flurry of hot-rodding with slightly larger carburettors, ported and polished valve head, re-ground cams, and Kerker exhaust. Unfortunately, they did not publish dyno results, but an epilogue to the build tells of the engine being bored and sleeved to 1197 cc and claimed 113 horses with a more restrictive Motad exhaust. Handling was also addressed with a comprehensive rebuilding of the forks and Works Performance shocks in back. As with any hot rod, a wider rear tire was desired, so the wheel was widened 1″ by a San Francisco specialist.
The proud owner has included the article from Sport Rider magazine, and says in the eBay auction:
This amazing bike has a cool history. At one time this was part of a private collection/bike museum in Nashville TN. As you will see in the photos this model was featured in Sport Rider magazine. Please refer to the articles for all the details. The last one that you see has all the info about the upgrades that were done to this bike.
Motorcycles are supposed to be fun and this one simply oozes with it! A joy to the eye and a thrill to ride. A labor of love, this bike represents countless hours expended by many skilled craftsmen. Over $10,000 were also spent on the enhancements alone to this rare and unique piece. A truly collectible bike, it is open for bids to the discriminating buyer. Don’t miss your chance to own this piece of history.
It has been well cared for and loved. The tires are newer as well as the battery. Everything works and it runs perfect. Video available for interested buyers.
Included extras: Custom Corbin Jump seat. Matching helmet.
Looking fabulous, this retro-rocket is ready for the boulevard. Heavy and challenging to aim, nice chrome though, including the full exhaust and very 1973 front fender. K&N filters are good for freeing up the intake and look cool. There appear be two Corbin seats, one with ZR embroidery and one with passenger backrest, a good thing with all that torque. An Arai helmet with coordinated adult graphics is part of the deal, too. For the price of a stock creampuff you could have a professionally customized bike. Known as the Zephyr in some markets until Ford’s copyright lawyers got wind of it, the ZR-1100 is a better name. Calling it the Zephyr would be just too retro…
-donn
Ten G’s for a ghetto rat? Holy crap, some people will throw cubic dollars at anything. Is it April 1st already?
But it has a bitchin little sissy bar!
Nine five is a bit high, nice(ish) original Z’s can be had at that level. Cool bike though. Awesome exhaust. Bullet proof engine. Glad they resisted the temptation of adding usd forks and gold shocks.