Buyers guide for GPZ 900R

[glazuna]

Hello everyone!
I'm a long time fan of the great big GPZ.
For the past few years I've been riding my smaller 500S and it seems to me it's time to upgrade.

I have an A1 1984 900R close by with supposedly 100.000km on the clock. Now I don't know if this is too much already and haven't really seen the bike in person yet, just on photos on which it looks nice. But the question is; what do i need to look on when i get to see the bike? What are the key spots to make the decision wether to walk away or take the deal?
I'd think that listening to how the engine runs and how it rides is the key here but what about the delicate anti-dive systems and problematic starter clutches and such? How do you diagnose possible incomming catasrophe?

Thank you for you help.

[c-de-ville]

Hello and welcome,

the 100.000 km are not the problem, if the former driver was just a little bit careful to the bike. What is the price for the bike? If it is cheap, you can buy and try it, most spare parts are cheap and easy to get. But problems with the engine, par example the starter clutch include a restoration of the engine will cost about 1.000.- €, that is a fact you have to remember.

Greeting from Hanover

c-de-ville

[glazuna]

He wants around 1400€ for the bike. But it seems to be original with fire cracker red and grey stone paint,original exhausts and all.

I have to point out that i am not a skilled mechanic. I do most of tegular service work myself. That includes replacing filters,liquids, brakes, spark plugs, maybe valve clearances but thats it.

I will definitely give that 900R a look, but it would help to know what i need to look for. For example nasty cam chain knocking a sign of bad maintenance? Valve tappets...

Even if i look on youtube, some 900Rs purr nicely without any other sound. Some have a weird whiiirlll sound like the cam chain would have slack..

How would i check if the compression is alright? I am not going to take the tank off and connect with gauges but isn't there a trick with revving it up and watching how fast the RPMs drop. If they get down quickly,its fine,if not then this might indicate low compression?


Thank you,
Glazuna

[Django]

Make a test ride and check how good is. Speed it up good with no sounds ? How looks the fairing ? Any damage to fairing ? If you pull the trottle up to 5-6000 RPM and release it it must go done fast to normal rpm. If not the carbs need work. Check bearings of tripple of forks and also swingarm. The rest will be normal to look for. Hope my english was good to understand ....

[Kosak]

I don`t know how the market is in your country but 1.400€ for a 900R from 1984 with already 100.000km sounds to me not "must buy" offer. For this price it shall be in very good condition and should not except any compromises.
As described already by Django, you should ride the motorbike and check how it performs. Does the engine starts well? How does the engine react on the throttle?
You may check the inner side of fuel tank for rust. Rust inside the fuel tank may cause problems with the carburator. Furthermore, you may check the number on the engine. If it is still the original engine the number should be lower than ZX900AE019001. A differnt number is no problem, but you should just know it. Kawasaki made some modification over the first years. If I am right the last modifications have been made in 1986.

However, the 900R is a very mature and reliable motorbike as long as maintenance is properly performed.

[glazuna]

Yeah my country has very few 900Rs. 1 or 2 may pop up on the sites in a whole year, or there may be none for 2 years straight...
It is a rare bike, most common was in Germany where it was widely sold (hence the little german flag on side panels)

Here it was never sold, only imported. So the alternative would be importing it either from Italy (where they mostly sell restored ones for around 2500-4000€)

Or import from Germany... To me 1400€ actually sounds extremely cheap. Even German sites like ebay kleinanzeigen, mobile.de, autoscout.de do not offer GPZ 900Rs that are in nice condition cosmetically original (I am specifically looking for A1 Red&grey OR red&black OR red&black&white, those are all 80s sytle paint schemes up to 86' i believe...

So the ones i like (80s models) usually go for around 2000€ even in Germany as i was monitoring the market for over 3 years now.

Rarely there is a cheap one that also looks good and is all original and one of 3 paint schemes that i've mentioned.


Some sellers say that their bikes have only done 30.000kms which i hardly believe. This means that in 30 years the bike has only done 1000km per year? Impossible
Even if we say that it stood in someones garage for 10 years straight that's still just 1500kms per year. (only for one longer trip with your friends a year)
That's why i believe most of 900Rs now have around 100.000kms or at least over 50k with very few exceptions.


This one that i'm curently looking at suits all my tastes, it's just the mileage that worries me. I'd have to ask the owner (it seems he's an older man) who has had this bike for a long time so he might have invested a lot of money and took care (just speculating), that would make it worth buying.

[kawamannsane]

Buy this one!

http://www.900r.de/gpz-forum/showthr...514#post363514

[glazuna]

Thanks for the replies everybody! I've noted everything down and will probably have more questions comming up once I meet the guy.

The last link with GPZ for sale isn't really what I'm looking for. Would prefer it being more original and stock looking, with one of those paint schemes:

[glazuna]

Hello guys, It's me again. I hooked up a date with the guy who is selling the 100.000km GPZ 900R.
But it came to my attention that the bike stood for nearly 5 years. That could be a problem right?
I guess i might be able to sort the carbs but rusted gas tank, and all the possible rubber parts that might have perished and dried out...


Should I even try to start it? I would think that it isn't a good idea, he mentioned that we could jump start it but I'd say it takes a little bit more preparations, at least cleaning the fuel lines,carbs and lubing the top of the piston rings right?