This entry has been published on October 13, 2013 and links to eBay may have been updated to point to similar bikes of interest.
Deal of the year? It just might be for the Kawasaki boys. The BIN of $3,250 is quite pocket pleasing for a double R ZX. It obviously isn’t in original condition but it doesn’t look abused either.
The info:
THE REAL DEAL * Yes it is the R Model * * 39mm Flat slides * Aluminum tank * Fully adjustable suspension * Close ratio gear box * Slipper clutch * Race body work *
Winter restore project or ride the hell out of it as it is?
Click, click, click if you want it.
Ian
Except a good paint job–including the wheels, frame, and swingarm, is going to be eye wateringly expensive.
It is nice ! It needs some TLC but these Kawas were hot then , and still look sexy today , even compared to modern day Sportbikes . LIKE !!!
why so cheap? anything particularly wrong with this bike? I know it’s a finicky street ride, but RC30Freak is right – this thing is sex on wheels!!! I like it a lot – and that seems to be a steal on price. so why hasn’t it sold yet?
Problem is your pretty much F*^ked if your looking to put it back to Original (where it will have value). Parts like the black number plate sticker on the tail are unobtainium (this being probably the most significant visual difference from the standard ZX-7).
It would cost far less to purchase one which is stock than to restore this one.
That being said, it would be a nice beater around town.
cheers
hwod851 is right. If you want to have original R single seat version of ZXR, you have to buy very nice original example, or you have to have many money and luck to buy original parts. 90% Parts of ZXR-R are not longer available. Many people are thinking they would buy ZXR even in bad condition and they will put it in original condition. But they are wrong. It is almost impossible. Just today people realize this is true, and that´s why prices of original ZXR-R are going quickly up. Just do a simple test. Try to find original RC30, and you will find 50% original of RC that are for sale. Try it with ZXR-R and, if you will have a luck, you will find 10% original bikes.
I didn´t also mentioned, that frame is sprayed by special silver metallic, that is also impossible to do again today as original was.
The frame/swingarm isn’t impossible, but like I said, you’re looking at over $3k to repaint everything and that’s if you completely strip the bike down yourself and hand over the parts. If you’ve got to pay someone to remove everything from the frame and rebuilt the bike after? …good luck.
Btw, the last clean, OEM solo tail on eBay went for almost $1,000.
Or….you could go the other way with this and use it as a very cool track bike. It already has a glass Air Tech fairing and seat. With the flat slides they aren’t the most friendly street bikes and like to run on the North side of 6,000 RPM. Pretty cool race track platform for around $3,000.00 I’d say. Just Tell em Chandler and Russell sent ya.
Has anyone noticed the “exhaust hanger” on the r.h.s? Looks suspiciously like a stock pillion bracket with fold-up peg removed,having the luxury of having one of these very machines sitting in my house,I would be seeking a vin no and clarification from Kawasaki before handing any cash over.
Just an observation.
Yep, it has a passenger subframe and peg mounts. So that’s even more rare stuff you have to track down. I didn’t see information in the listing specifically indicating these are Airtech fairings, but if so, that ends any possibility of this bike being anything close to a bargain. However, if the VIN is accurate, this did start as a legit K1 (R).
Unless you’re in some vintage racing class that allows these, there’s no reason to use it as a trackbike either–it has 26,000 miles on it and a lot of parts are obsolete. Plus, go to the track some time and see what you can pick up for $3k…a whole lot of lighter, more modern technology.
I’m not knocking these bikes, far from it–I own a K1 myself, but they are not truly modern performers have their limitations.
The following isn’t mine, but it’s a FAR better example and It should be available for between $6k and $7k.
http://www.zxforums.com/forums/zx-7r-forum/100442-fs-feeler-tread-excellent-condition-1992-zx7r.html
(Adam) I spoke to the owner who told me the fairing and seat are Air Tech. He said the paint was done to replicate the Eurorean endurance effort with Rob Phillis and the like. “Looks good from 10 feet away” with no clear coat. He bought the bike from (someone to turn it ($) after cleaning the carbs and getting it running. What has really been done to this? When? and by who? Hopefully, it would be fine after a complete tear down, inspection and reassembly when you get it home. A vintage class might be a good idea actually. Of course you can buy more modern track bikes, they are a dime a dozen. That’s the point. Also, parts can be had for these, you just have to know where to find them and I’d be happy to help if you need something for yours. Personally, I’d love to show up at Fontana, Willow, Laguna, Etc…have some fun with the boys on the new stuff.
If you see polished or resprayed frame on ZX7, you will never redo original finish structure. It is also mentioned in Adam´s link. In last years we had seen clean original ZX7R sold for $9-10k. This year on Ebay I had only seen ZXR750R M model in UK sold for $12k. By the way, did you see that 1991 ZX7R ex Scott Russel AMA bike for $30k ?
916–Did not see the Russell bike. Polishing will alter the look of the welds and castings, but a repainted frame should be able to be restored, and paint CAN be matched. My own K1’s frame has unfortunately been polished. Still, it’s in far better condition than this bike. The only thing missing from mine is the aluminum tank. Granted, that’s a biggie.
Slangbuster–Aside from actually having the aluminum tank, this example is pretty much a worst case scenario. Restoring isn’t cost feasible at the moment, although values on these are climbing and it wouldn’t surprise me if they leap towards RC30/OW01 territory in the next few years–their performance and race pedigrees are legit, and production numbers were just as scarce. Kawasaki was just a couple years late to the homologation party.
I’m all for showing up to the track on vintage stuff. I used my 996R at Road America this summer and have an NSR250 MC18 that I would like to use at a smaller course sometime. Even my regular track bike is a 13 year old 996 with a log of goodies, but parts for it are still widely available.
I’m pretty good on parts for the K1, but if you find the afore mentioned aluminum tank, I’m all ears. I do have a line on a twin-filler endurance tank, which may have to do.
Adam: yes, paint is posiible to match, but the frame at swingarm pivot had special structure, that was not flat. This is main problem to reproduce. Good luck with finding aluminium tank. By the way, when you bought the bike it had not original K right lower fairing. Your bike had fairing from J model.