Mike did a solid review of a 1983 Kawasaki GPZ550 back in 2017 on RSBFS. He states, “Back in the early 1980s the middle weight class was considered capped below 600cc, and manufacturers were scrambling to produce something better than the competition. While Honda looked to technology for a solution (liquid cooled, 500cc V-4 interceptor,…
With apologies to RSBFS readers nearing, at, or possibly over the ripe age of this pristine GPz550 (did I cover everyone?), 40 years old in the sport bike business might as well be 80. And yet in the early 1980s (that’s right – depending on your musical preference it was the same era Ozzy bit…
Rare (adjective) 1. (of an event, situation, or condition) not occurring very often. 2. (of a thing) not found in large numbers and consequently of interest or value. 3. unusually good or remarkable. Before the flaming starts, I thought I’d hit up the olde Oxford Dictionary and set the ground rules for discussion. Nobody in…
A blast from the past, the GPz was perhaps the ultimate expression of sport bike back when Olivia Newton‑John was getting physical, Rocky had the eye of the tiger, and Tommy Tutone was trying to remember Jenny’s number. This was an era before liquid cooling, before fuel injection, and long before computers had anything to…
The early 1980s were a bad time for speed. With a very few exceptions, cars had spent the previous decade becoming wheezy, lumbering and compromised. Motorcycles were yet to fully cross the Rubicon from being either quirky runabouts or the steeds of tattooed heathens to the mounts of true enthusiasts. And then in 1981, Kawasaki…
One of the most iconic sporting motorcycles ever made – and by most standards one of the most archaic – is the Kawasaki GPz lineup. Built during a time of massive experimentation, the pedestrian GPz was more akin to an appliance than a bike that would be fondly remembered by future generations. There is nothing…
One of the final Tamburini designs before he departed for Cagiva, the 2nd Kawasaki-powered Bimota delivers the company paradigm of chassis design and lighter weight using state-of-the-art powerplants. Perhaps named for the laser the chassis fabricator wished he had when assembling the 44 frame members, which cradle the 543cc air-cooled Kawasaki inline four. Because the…
For Sale: 1982 Bimota Laser TT KB2 There are those that claim the NR750 oval piston Honda is the holy grail of collectable sportbikes. Still others point to Ducati superbikes (D16RR and 750SS, new and old), rare gray-market import bikes (insert two stroke of dreams here) or one-off manufacturers who have since come and gone…