- A little advice from a former owner
- A quick review of the GPZ900R
- An image is just an image.
- Let's buy the motorcycle of our dreams with "timing and momentum"!
- Just think of it as a naked.
- Pipe handlebar change to suit riding style and body type
- Custom is bottomless
- I'll get breakdowns and malfunctions, but I'll do whatever I can.
- It'll cost you some money, but it's totally worth buying now!
- GPZ900R General Comment
A little advice from a former owner
Hi, I'm Tono. I'm going to give a little advice about Kawasaki GPZ900R (Ninja) that I rode until 2018, for those who are wondering "I'm interested, but how is it really? I'm going to give a little advice from the perspective of a former owner for those of you who are wondering about buying one.
How does it feel to ride? Any breakdowns? I'll try to give you a rundown with all that and more! Please enjoy it as my personal opinion only.
A quick review of the GPZ900R
It may seem a bit late, but let's take a quick look at the GPZ900R. The GPZ900R is Kawasaki's liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, inline four-cylinder road sports motorcycle, launched in 1984 for the North American market. The GPZ900R was given the pet name "Ninja" and became popular among Japanese riders as "Ninja = GPZ900R". The newly designed liquid-cooled engine incorporated many new elements, both good and bad (laughs), but all in all, it was a great engine that was widely loved around the world.
With such a nice engine, the Ninja became even more well known as it appeared as the favorite motorcycle of Maverick (Tom Cruise) in the movie "TOP GUN". Because of its popularity, each manufacturer has a rich lineup of parts, and even now, nearly 20 years after the end of production, there is no shortage of parts for everything from maintaining its condition to customizing it.
GPZ900R Ninja（A1 1984)
An image is just an image.
The Ninja, one of Kawasaki's most popular liquid-cooled straight-four models(I'm going with the Ninja this time, not the GPZ900R)But the younger generation of today must be thinking, "So what's the deal with Ninjas after all? But the younger generation of today must be thinking, "So, what is a Ninja after all?
It's okay. That's how it should be.
If you've never ridden a Ninja, your image of a Ninja might be something like, "It's heavy, big, and quirky, and it looks hard to ride," or "It's got a bad body, and it's easy to break and hard to maintain," or "It looks slow," or "It looks like you have to wear silver jewelry and a denim vest and peek a wallet with a chain through your leather pants. It looks like I have to wear silver accessories and a denim vest with a chain wallet peeking out of my leather pants" (laughs). But it's still just an "image". 15 years ago, it was the same way.
Let's buy the motorcycle of our dreams with "timing and momentum"!
I've always loved Kawasaki motorcycles. I rode a borrowed Z400GP, a Zephyr, a ZZR1100, a ZRX400II that I bought new, and a ZX-9R, but I always thought I wanted a Ninja someday, and I remember it being on the list of candidates every time I bought a new one.
"It" came suddenly.
My favorite motorcycle shop asked me, "You wanted a Ninja, right? Mr. 00 traded in his Ninja for it, what do you think? I got a call. Mr. 00 is a customer who goes to the same motorcycle shop as me, and I knew that he maintains his motorcycle very well. In fact, I was longing for the black and silver color of the reimported motorcycle, but I thought I could manage the exterior and the output later, so I bought Mr. 00's domestic spec lime green (A12) on impulse. If you have the timing and momentum, you might be able to get your dream motorcycle.
The first thing I wanted was black and silver
Just think of it as a naked.
The Ninja I've been longing for has been delivered and I'm finally going to ride it. The Ninja I bought is all stock except for the radiator. As I mentioned above, I also had an image of the Ninja as being "heavy, big, quirky, and hard to ride. But after riding for a while, I was surprised! It was so easy to ride. What surprised me the most was that the steering angle was much larger than I expected.
Since it has a full cowl and separate handlebars, I thought it would have about the same cutting angle as the ZX-9R I owned. When I rode the Ninja for the first time and made a left turn at an intersection, I thought, "Oh my God! How far does it cut. It's perfect for U-turns and narrow alleys. Although the Ninja is positioned as a full-cowl "sports tourer," it is more like a big naked motorcycle in terms of how it feels to ride. Compared to current motorcycles with higher seat heights, the motorcycle feels like it turns with your butt. If you're used to riding current motorcycles, you may feel the front tire turn out slightly more than the line you're imagining.
The pylons are not in the picture, but they are spinning in the rain.
Pipe handlebar change to suit riding style and body type
One of the factors that make people think of the Ninja as "hard to ride" is the fact that it has a long tank, which means that the handlebars are far away. Although there are differences in sensation depending on the body type, I think many people feel that the handlebars are too far away and difficult to operate compared to current motorcycles.
The most common solution to this problem is to change to a pipe handlebar. The tank cannot be shortened, but by changing to pipe handlebars, the handlebars can be brought closer to the front. There are expensive kits that replace the entire top bridge, and there are also simple types that are very cost-effective. Most of them can be used with general 22.2φ handlebars, so you can adjust the angle and height to your liking using general-purpose handlebars. This will make the motorcycle look more naked. The throttle, brake, and clutch cables, and hoses need to be replaced with longer ones.
It's hard to see, but it's a modified pipe handlebar.
Custom is bottomless
The Ninja has a very large number of exclusive custom parts. The exterior and exhaust system are familiar custom parts for today's motorcycles, but there are also many parts such as the carburetor, engine, frame, swingarm, fork, suspension, wheels, etc. There are so many manufacturers and types to choose from for each part. In extreme cases, you can customize it to the point where the stock parts are gone (laughs). I wanted to keep the Ninja's stock look, so I only removed the cowl and replaced the screen on the exterior. I also did a custom exhaust system, carburetor, hi-cam, footpegs, big radiator (from when I bought it), pipe handlebar conversion, rear suspension, and brake area.
It was a Japanese spec carburetor (TMR), high camshaft (Yoshimura Stage 1), and exhaust system replacement. It was reborn. For example, if you change the exhaust system, it will interfere with the footpeg, so you have to change the footpeg at the same time. If you change one part of the footpeg, you have to change other parts at the same time. It costs a lot of money, but the payoff is worth it.
I'll get breakdowns and malfunctions, but I'll do whatever I can.
Even if you buy a vehicle of good quality, sooner or later there will be a breakdown or malfunction. Due to the left-justified side camshaft chain and the shape of the head, it is easy for water to accumulate on the first plug, and depending on how you warm up, it is easy to gall the camshaft. I chipped the gear claw on the water pump and as a result the coolant spewed out (lol).
Some parts are fragile due to pre-existing conditions that are unique to Ninjas, while others need to be taken care of like any other old motorcycle. However, there are countermeasures for all of them, and you can see a lot of information from people who had the same experience by searching the Internet. You'll get breakdowns and malfunctions, but you'll do whatever you can.
Maintenance is essential to keep the vehicle in good condition.
It'll cost you some money, but it's totally worth buying now!
I know I've written a bunch of stuff about it, but I'm totally buying Ninja now!
However, they do cost a bit more money to customize and keep in good condition than the latest current models. How much is some? As for "How much is some?", it depends on how much customization you want to do and what level of condition you want to maintain, so I can't write "How much is some".
If you can find a vehicle that is in good condition, you can save a lot of money on maintenance, so try to find a shop that has a lot of experience with Ninjas!
Thank you so much for 13 years.
GPZ900R General Comment
| Strengths/Satisfactory points | You won't have any trouble finding maintenance parts and custom parts. Also, I have to say, the Ninja looks awesome! |
|---|---|
| Weaknesses and complaints | The stock engine, especially the domestic version, is a mothballed and slow motorcycle for those who know the current motorcycles. But with a carburetor + high camshaft + exhaust system, it will be completely reborn. |
| Advice to prospective buyers. | If you ride it for the first time, you'll be surprised at how much steering angle there is, and it's much more straightforward and easy to ride than it looks. I have a pre-existing condition that makes it hard for oil to get to the heads and bites the cams. Therefore, it is not advisable to stop the motorcycle for a long time to warm up. Warm-up gradually while driving slowly. |
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