As slab and Slingshot Gixxers from the mid to late ’80s get more and more expensive and desirable, now is an increasingly good time to look to their competition to snag an equally capable but much cheaper mount. Early Kawasaki ZX-7s are a great alternative, with more forward-looking styling and a reputation as the baddest race replicas George Bush-era money could buy.
1989 Kawasaki ZX-7 for sale on eBay
This 1989 Kawasaki ZX-7 hits all the boy-racer high points, with a garish tri-color livery that extends across the seat from the fairing, monochrome Japanese character decals and the infamous Ninja badge. If it were mine, I’d ditch the green tinted screen and have the wheels powder coated in their stock single hue. Otherwise, its pretty much as it should be, down to the period Vance and Hines can.
From the eBay listing:
SECOND OWNER 1989 KAWASAKI ZX7 WITH 23000 ORIGINAL MILES. GOT A BUY IT NOW PRICE OF $6500 OR WILL CONSIDER THE NEAREST BEST OFFER. GOT A CLEAN AND CLEAR TITLE IN HAND.
PLEASE ASK ALL QUESTIONS AND CLEAR ALL DOUBTS BEFORE BIDDING. IT IS THE BUYER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO INSPECT THE BIKE PRIOR TO BIDDING. CALL 718 966 0606 TO COME INSPECT THE BIKE. THE BIKE IS BEING SOLD ‘AS IS’ WITH NO WARRANTIES. NO RETURNS.
PAYMENT: $200 NON- REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED VIA PAYPAL WITHIN 24 HOURS OF END OF AUCTION AND THE BALANCE PAYMENT SHOULD BE MADE BY CASH IN PERSON, CERTIFIED BANK CHECK OR BANK TRANSFER WITHIN 7 DAYS OF END OF LISTING. IF IT IS A BANK CHECK, THE BIKE WILL BE HELD UNTIL THE CHECK CLEARS. I WILL NOT ACCEPT BALANCE PAYMENT VIA PAYPAL UNLESS BUYER MAKES PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS.
SHIPPING IS BUYER’S RESPONSIBILITY. BIKE NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP WITHIN 2 WEEKS OF END OF AUCTION. IF BUYER IS UNABLE TO PICK UP THE BIKE WITHIN 2 WEEKS THERE WILL BE A STORAGE FEE, IN THE EVENT I AM NOT INFORMED OF THE SITUATION.
The pictures don’t give a huge amount of detail, but the bike looks mostly squared away but not perfect. With a little elbow grease it could be a decent collector piece, but it’s a very nice rider as-is.
I don’t recommend powdercoat on aluminum wheels. Unless you know what alloy they are made from there are risks. Aluminum is often heat treated for strength (depending on the alloy) and it is at much lower temps than steel. In short, the powdercoating process is done at temps that get close to AL heat treating temps. You run the risk over overly heat treating. If it is a precipitation hardening allow you can end up over aged. And that is a recipe for brittle wheels.
Unless you know what wheels u r dealing with, stick with paint on a potential RSBFS. At least if you might plan to ride it over some bad pavement.
Or at the very least, find a coating that uses the lowest temps available..
Those wheels. What on earth?
Common myth. Please stop spreading misinformation Mike. 20 mins in an oven is not going to hurt your wheels.
Sure is green! (and I am a consistent Kawi driver, although I have always shied away from the Team Green color scheme for my purchases). The windscreen and wheels are certainly addressable, however.
So hard to find these 89/90 zx7”s in decent shape. Nice examples are rare for sure, I expect them to go up in value along with the other superbikes of that era. Thus bike, add a zero gravity windscreen and set of blue chicane wheels, and it would be awesome
I love these first gen ZX-7’s. I’d bet that you could pressure wash that crap paint off of those wheels, it looks like it’s peeling off on it’s own in places.
The seat has to go in addition to the windscreen.
Sold for the buy it now of $6500. I would say that is strong $$ for that many miles.
I purchased this bike; I made an offer and it was accepted. I will change the screen and wheels back to stock. I’ve looked for a decent example for a few years and I’ve walked away from a couple that were not as presented. I hope this one is as good as it appears to be. The seller seems to be on the up & up.
The bike had 21,097 when it was titled in PA in 1997 (I have a pic of the title). It’s literally done 2,000 in 20yrs.
Congratulations on the purchase! Keep us posted!
dc