It’s hard to find an FZR 1000 that isn’t as cool as a snow cone in a blizzard, but the ’89s and ’90s really speak to me. Maybe it’s the Bike of the Decade designation for the ’89s. Maybe it’s the Ow01-aping bug-eyed fairing. Maybe it’s the sub-three-second 0-60 and 170 mph top end. Probably it’s a little of each.
1990 Yamaha FZR1000 3GM
In any case, the drool comes on hard and strong when one of these comes up, and today’s 1990 Yamaha FZR1000 3GM is from a friend of the site whose rides are always a cut above the rest. It has one aftermarket fairing to replace a cracked original, but the bodywork is otherwise untouched. The cracked original piece is included, for those who have to have everything just as it was.
From the eBay listing:
Time to sell the big guns! Up for sale is a very nice 1990 Yamaha FZR1000 with only 14,640 kilometers (9,097 miles). This FZR is in excellent condition and looks beautiful. Upper fairing had a crack in it so I put on a new very high quality FRP upper fairing from Italy. (Original fairing included in sale if you’d like it). The rest of the fairings are 100% genuine OEM Yamaha factory. Bike has stock exhaust and OEM factory passenger seat cover for that solo look. Bike would be in perfect condition if not for the right side inner plastic panel. There is a very small piece that has broken off. You wouldn’t notice it if I didn’t tell you but it’s there. Original windscreen has a few scratches and blemishes but very clear. Regardless, this is a very nice bike. No dents in the tank, the muffler is perfect no scratches, the fairings are perfect no scratches and the bike runs like new. Just serviced with new Dunlop Sportmax tires, new battery and new engine fluids. Bike comes with Utah state title and is titled as a streetbike for road use. $200 deposit due immeadiatly after sales end thru PayPal. Balance due within 5 business days by check, bank wire or cash in person. Please text 801-358-6537 for more photos or questions.
It’s a great piece of early ’90s nostalgia, and remains a ridiculously fast motorcycle, even in the face of 30 years of development.
I wanted an early FZR recently and the 89 gen is great if you want better performance than the original 87/88, but I like the more “vintage” look of the first gen FZRs better. Its a slippery slope, debating which generation of these classic sportbikes to get: the first generation may be the one that you originally lusted after back in the day, but with each successive iteration the performance just got better and better (with a few debatable exceptions in the GSXR lineup). For me it goes like this: I REALLY like the looks of the 87/88 FZR 1000/750, and to this day they are still great bikes, but the 89 had a ton of improvements. Well then what about the later gens, like a post OW01 YZF750, which are again better? Well that’s getting fairly modern, so what about the first gen R1? Ohhhh wait, the 04-08 R1s look better and have fuel injection… Well then why not just get a new one at that point?
I couldn’t decide so I bought both an 87 750 and a 92 1000 (this was after owning an 07 R1 a while and deciding it was nothing I need – street or track it just makes you feel like you aren’t capable of getting anywhere near its limits). The 87 looks so much better in my opinion, but the motor on the 92 is so much stronger. Still, I’ll be selling one soon, and I’m selling the 92, its an easy decision now that I’ve spent time contemplating each in my barn. My bottom line with these “vintage” sportbikes – get the one(s) that pushes your buttons – they are all at least decent performers and performance really isn’t the point, or you’d just get a new bike instead. But if only I could bolt a Busa motor into my 87 GSXR1100 maybe I’d have the best of both worlds?
Sounds to me like a recipe for “resto-mod” right there… See. Buy the bike that you always wanted, and make into the bike it always should have been… You CAN have your cake and eat it too !
I’m with you Aaron – LOVE the ’89 – ’90 FZR600 (in black) and the big brother FZR1000. My first brand new bike was an FZR600 (in black) – fell in love with the look of it the moment I saw an ad for it, and plus the motorcycle mags loved the power they were seeing. Bike got stolen 7 days after I drove it home from the dealer. : (
So I picked up an ’89 FZR600 in black last year, and I have just finished putting it back to as new shape. Real treasure hunt for some of the plastic!
This FZR1000 looks like to be in great shape and all there, I’d be bidding but I am at the limit of bikes and old cars, per wifey.
By the way, and not to nit-pick – but the gold inserts on the rotors is incorrect, even if it does look better. Yamaha did show gold rotors in some of their pre-production photos, but I think the oem rotors were all silver. I toyed with going with gold on my 89 FZR600 project.
Yeah I kind of did a resto-mod on my 87 Gixxer 1100. Let’s just say I have over $5k in the motor just from the base gasket up! But 165 rear wheel hp and a big fat torque curve is sure nice! Still, a stock Busa will walk away from it, and isn’t nearly as problematic. I also did similar on my Guzzi Lemans – I lost track of the investment in motor/chassis but its a fun bike to ride and looks sweet, so it was worth it. I know some guys like their “collector” bikes 100% stock, but I never met a horsepower I didn’t like, and some trick parts are still trick even when they’re 30 years old so I can’t resist.
I said it before and I’ll say it again for any potential buyers. I’ve picked up 3 bikes from Gary so far, one of his OW01’s as well and all I can say is he’s a honest guy and when he says a bike is super clean or xint, it is! The OW looks like it’s fresh from the factory and the “rough” NC35 was MUCH better then I expected. If you’re a buyer, you won’t be disappointed with this FZR