Some bikes are generally reckoned to be reliable all rounders worth the appropriate amount of anyone’s pennies. In this vein the Kawasaki GT550 has had a consistently good press since its introduction in 1983. It was during the lengthy process of making an insurance claim that I looked in the direction of this machine. I did my research, reading the tests in my old bike mags and, of course, consulting the UMG.
I found a low mileage GT550 at the right price. I bought the bike from a dealer, Chris Sharpe of Oadby on the outskirts of Leicester. Normally, I steer clear of dealers as secondhand bikes in their showrooms are clapped out old dogs taken in part exchange for a lucrative finance deal. Sharpe's is a specialist used bike dealers and the showroom is full of Harris Magnums, Z750 turbos and the like. The GT550 wasn't clean enough for the showroom but was in very good nick for a four year old Japanese utility bike. It had only 6000 miles on the clock, the paint shone, all the electrics worked, it was connected to the ground by a reasonable looking pair of Road Runners and the standard exhaust system was still in place. Not exactly love at first sight but the GT550 seemed like an attractive proposition.
I took the bike for two test rides, the second with the girlfriend on board to gain approval for pillion accommodation - it’s rare for a dealer to let you test ride a bike once, let alone give you the chance to form a second opinion. The GT went well, didn’t wobble and promised to be fairly comfortable two up. I handed over a deposit and toddled off to see the bank manager, who must be a motorcycle enthusiast judging my his willingness to finance my two wheeled habit over the past decade. Chris Sharpe gave me the logbook so that I could check the mileage with the previous owner if so desired the bike looked genuine, a real Sunday afternoon special.
I paid £950 for the Kawasaki and felt confident that I would be able to recoup most of my money when l was ready to sell it - the Ford Escorts of the bike world hold their value well. The GT was snapped up for £850 six months, 4000 miles and one very dodgy set of exhaust pipes later.
Air cooled Kawasakis often sound like real nails at tickover, and this one tapped and whirred like a good ’un. The mechanic said that he had set the valves up at their widest tolerance, apparently conducive to good performance in Kawasakis with the smaller sized shims. The motor pulled well and rewed freely so this seemed quite plausible, and the engine didn't get any noisier in the next 4000 miles.
The drawbacks of buying a low mileage machine may not be immediately obvious but they do exist. The clutch and speedo cables both snapped within a 1000 miles, probably due to the bike being kept snug and warm during the winters (the cables thus nice and dry as well). I had to pay £18 for a new clutch cable - it’s one of those that automatically retracts the side stand and proves that being idiot proof is expensive. The cable was fiddly to fit with both clutch and sidestand cable tension to be adjusted. Another £17 spent at the local dealers got me a speedo cable, an air filter and a set of plugs - the plugs remained unused as I could not find a 12mm socket to fit them.
Tickover seemed a bit rough, so my brother kindly used his vacuum gauges, each carb was very sensitive to the adjustment of the others but they balanced nicely after 15 minutes work, From the bottom of the tank runs a rubber pipe, vacuum for the use of, I presume. I didn’t notice this and didn't refit it, the carbs flooded a couple of times over the next week until I noticed the pipe hanging down and refitted it... I'm glad I didn't strip the carbs down.
Once I'd got used to the bike the vibration at 4000 revs became annoying. At this engine speed the bike is doing 50mph in top, which I find to be the ideal compromise speed between drowsiness and the need to get to work on time. Experimentation with the rubber engine mounts produced some reduction in vibes. Roughness at this engine speed remained intrusive, largely because for the rest of the time there is virtually no vibration at all.
For a 550 aimed at the long distance rider the GT has a surprising lack of low down pull, although this could be subjective on my part. But rev it past 6000 revs and it takes off in normal Kawasaki mode. The engine is too close to the GPz sport bikes to be a relaxed tourer, 7000rpm in top to hold 80mph is a bit frenetic, although the motor is willing to spin like this all day. With its sensible MZ looks, the GT is a bit of a street sleeper and it has enough acceleration to humiliate Ford Cosworths from the lights, if you feel so inclined. I can see why the bike is popular with despatch riders - it can be ridden very quickly indeed around town and in the urban environment feels very controllable.
The various engine noises led me to change the oil every 1000 miles. I used Filtrate 10/40 at £5 a gallon from the local car accessory shop. This was the only regular engine maintenance the GT received. Perhaps I was being over cautious as the bike runs very cold and has an oil cooler, but all those revs and all that noise...
The GT is the first bike I've owned with an LCD checkout panel, the bar type fuel gauge told fibs to the extent of flashing empty at you with over 40 miles to go before reserve is needed. When the oil level warning LCD winked into life it refused to switch off when the oil was topped up. After a quick break for Zen reflection, it hit the oil level switch housing on the bottom of the sump with a poker and the problem solved itself. The mechanism had got gummed up. This method proved infinitely cheaper than referring to a Kawa dealer as the owner's handbook suggested.
To its credit, the GT has the most sensible original equipment suspension around. Fully rebuildable shocks should be standard on every bike now! With lots of air in the forks and shocks handling was excellent - especially when the white lining rear Avon was replaced with an H-rated Phantom. High speed fun was spoilt by the upright riding position which combined with the wide bars and lack of fairing produced neck and shoulder strain. l resorted to lying on the tank with my feet on the pillion pegs on long motorway journeys. An effective handlebar fairing would do a lot for rider comfort.
The GT550 proved reliable for commuting and coped well with longer, fully laden trips. To my ears the engine sounded horrible - stopping at traffic lights always induced mechanical paranoia as various rattles and tappings echoed off cars - but forward momentum always revealed nothing to be amiss. The gearbox was light for a shaftie, although fifth was sometimes a little reluctant to engage and a firm boot was required quite often.
My brother reckoned that the GT was one of Japan’s Friday afternoon bikes. It never felt quite right but l couldn't put my finger on what was wrong with it. Perhaps the problem lay in the bike having only covered 6000 miles in four years - Jap bikes are made to be ridden, and 1500 miles a year isn’t riding. All in all, six months riding, covering 4000 miles, cost me £50 in parts and oil, £60 for a new tyre and £70 in depreciation. £30 a month is not bad value compared to public transport.
Roy Terrill