The same year but an extra 10000 miles and lots of scratches on the half fairing. The owner looked like a speed maniac with a grudge but the engine sounded good and it went like a missile up the road. I complained that it’d obviously been crashed a few times and that it handled a bit weirdly (which it didn’t). I offered a thousand notes, we agreed on £1200, which was lucky as it was all I had on me. It seemed a better idea that signing up on the HP with the dealer. I suspect that the dealer would’ve bought a similar bike, touched up the paint, clocked it, and tried to off-load it at an extravagant price. I annoyed him no end by turning up at his showroom to buy a manual, dropping the line that it wasn't a bad buy for £750!
It could be argued that the GPz550 is the best air-cooled Kawasaki four. Its mixture of power (65hp), mass (400lbs), economy (55mpg) and general toughness hasn't really been matched by any other four before or since - Kawasaki must be mad to try to off-load crap like the Zephyr and GT on us - no thanks. Things like Z1s look very nice but don’t make it in the bends and ruin consumables. The GPz actually evolved over the years, one of the few motorcycles to improve with each model, Kawasaki refining its two valve per cylinder design despite increasingly restrictive noise and emission laws.
My bike had a Motad N-eta exhaust and a jet kit, which emphasized the engine's power, coming in hard at seven grand but leaving quite adequate torque between 2000 and 7000 revs. Ridden mildly but with adequate acceleration to see off most cages, turned in an astonishing 70mpg, showing how well Kawasaki had sorted out the cylinder head and the benefits of a decent exhaust system. I didn’t believe this figure at first but after checking the mileage and tank capacity, I had to accept it. Bikes that are owned privately can be modified in a way that would have most factories closed down by the ecological fascists.
In fact, if the GPz is ridden like that it makes for an extremely cheap commuter because nothing seems to wear fast - tyres, pads and chain all respond to a mild throttle hand with long life. When I say mild, I mean the equivalent performance to a 400 Superdream ridden flat out! I even liked the growl of the 4-1 at low revs, though at the redline the howl was nothing short of sensational. This economy mode’s a brilliant facet of the Kawasaki, one that’s rarely mentioned. It meant I could scoot back and forth to work each week on the kind of money I'd spend on a C90, then go wild on the weekend.
Wild on the weekend meant riding with a few mates, on a CBX550, GSX550 and GPX600, up and down the UK. A mad mix of motorway (120mph most of the time), fast A-roads and the odd blitz on country roads. There was no-one who was definitely faster than the others, although for most of the time I settled for second place. A fork brace and Hagon shock provided the bike with a handling edge. The GPz was the kind of machine that could be taken right to the brink without biting back. Even when I grazed the exhaust all that resulted was a slight shudder through the chassis as the Unitrak back end tried to sort itself out.
The GPX was ultimately the fastest of the bunch but its twitchy steering meant its pilot would never ride flat out, having experienced a speed wobble at 130mph in a perfectly straight line. Some cornering adventures ended up with the GPX twitching upright, trying for a self-destruct run. I always tried to ride well ahead of the poor old GPX.
Most of us backed off after 120mph, myself in deference to the engine longevity, which was only second to the GS series - I'd heard of GPzs that'd mashed their top end around 20000 miles, after a couple of years of continuous thrashing. I changed the oil/filter every 1000 miles as a prayer to the Great God Kawasaki. I once put 130mph on clock, the wind blast sending the half fairing’s screen almost horizontal. Only held it for briefest moments, a very fleeting claim to fame.
The transmission seems a bit naff, changes between fourth and sixth going into false neutrals, the drive chain sounded like it wanted to whip off the sprockets. The engine peaked at the wrong end of the red zone until I realised I was supposed to back off the throttle. The valves sounded as busy a hive of bees after grenade had been dropped into them. There appeared no permanent damage but I had to go easy on the hard charging when using the taller gears. I suspect that this was just a function of the gearbox, as the miles piled up it never became any worse, indicating that the selectors were basically sound but badly designed.
The low speed change was pretty horrific for a bike of such low miles, neutral impossible to find and lots missed gears if there wasn't a lot of acceleration. Chain adjustments were strangely infrequent, the O-ring chain staying like new for about 15000 miles. The only problem was that every time a chain wore out a set of sprockets was needed, probably a comment on the poor quality of modern cogs.
One weak spot on the GPz550 is the camchain, life varying anywhere between twenty and forty thousand miles. When they start to rattle it’s worth changing them straight away because if they go the valves and pistons may break up. Mine went at 26000 miles. I also replaced the tensioner just to be on the safe side. A mechanic did the job for £145 and gave me a three month guarantee. I could’ve done it myself but the 550 has a quite complex top end and the mechanic agreed to throw in a valve service for free.
The engine felt really silky after that, like it was brand spanking new, straight from the crate. When the camchain started to rattle the rear bulbs had blown in sympathy. The vibes may have also insinuated their way into the electronic ignition box, because 500 miles after the repair that went dead. It's a common Kawasaki malaise and I cursed myself for not fitting extra rubber. In fact, the old rubber had gone hard and brittle, letting the secondary vibes straight through. It took a while to track down a good used one, new bits being far too expensive, but I was happily back on the road.
I found the Kawasaki very stable. Even overloaded with luggage it still runs along like a train on rails. Even on bald tyres there weren't any serious weaves. Wet weather on bald tyres wasn’t such good fun, the bike swaying through corners like a tee-totaller after a bottle of Vodka. Bike cops can spot bald tyres from a hundred yards away, and once they start looking at bikes they're worse than MOT inspectors.
The GPz sailed through its MOT on a brand new set of Metz’s (about 8000 miles a set) and a little patching of the exhaust. Despite the few problems already mentioned I was deeply enamoured with the bike and gave it a respray as it crossed the 40000 mark. Kawasaki Racing Green. The engine finish and wheels were still good, the paint job making the bike look like it'd just come straight out of the showroom. I’ve been offered two grand a couple of times so it’s even been a good investment.
My friend’s GPX was written off in an accident when his 16 inch front wheel went away from him on a wet road. The CBX550 wholly predictably went through several camchains until one broke and ruined the whole engine. The GSX550 ran to 75000 miles when the electrics went molten and despite several expensive repairs never worked properly again. The GPz550 is still going strong.
There are still loads of them left on the road, a surprising number have done over 75000 miles. There's even a 100000 miler club but that’s something of a secret (I only know because a mate’s done 130000 miles). I'd recommend one to anyone who wants a fast bike that can be run on the cheap.
Ron Griffiths