3. My Choice

My Choice - The Kawasaki GPz900R.

There are several reasons for me choosing the Kawasaki GPz900R
as my project bike.

I have been road riding since 1980, and trail bikes and minibikes
back into the 1970's.
I have seen some great changes in motorbike tech over the years.
Not just power, but handling, brakes, fuel injection, wheels & tyres, etc.
Everyone has their own idea on what a motorbike should look like.
Some people just love cruising, some love fanging around,
some love racing, some just love machines.

But we all love a ride.
- the freedom.
- the fresh air. (mostly)
- the sound.
- and the simplicity.

Me, I love to ride, but I also like the time in the garage, just tinkering.
Pulling things apart and putting them back together.
I do this with cars and motorbikes, pushbikes and scooters.
So, for me, I also want to be able to enjoy my hobby.

That's where the GPz900R comes into the picture.
It is a bike with simple technology, but nevertheless it has some
quality about its design and its components.
Although I like some older bikes, like Vincents, Triumphs,
Motor Guzzi and of course Ducati's, and I really like the TC88 Harley
engine (maybe see myself with a Deuce Softail one day), what I wanted
was a bike that still had most of the advancements of a modern bike,
like good brakes and wide tyres and a bit of grunt when required,
but I needed something with older technology like carbs,
and screw tappets, and gravity fed fuel tanks, etc.
Something I can do most the work on in my own garage.
I have always loved Jap 4's.
The sound, with the right exhaust.
And smooth power, and plenty of it.
And reliability for day to day use.

I have owned,
a     Kawasaki ZX10, and KLR250,
and Suzuki     DR250, and GT380,
and Yamaha   XV1000 (TR1),
and Honda      XL500.

And for a time ridden a,
Motor Guzzi LeMans 5 1000, Honda Bol'Dor CB900R,
Ducati SD 900 Darmah, BMW K1000RS 1985.

I rode my fathers Suzuki's.
I learned to work the clutch, and good balance, on his A100.
I rode round and round the backyard until it was 2-stroke blue.
And down to the local bush reserve dirt trails for quiet rides.
Then I got my licence on his Suzuki GT185, which I then
had to learn traffic survival.
The GT185 was a really great little 2-stroke.

And as a teenager I used to ride my friends Suzuki RM80,
and Yamaha YZ80G, and a Suzuki A80.
The trail bikes were used to play 'tag' on, so some good handling
techniques were learned here.

And of course as a kid, I rode mini-bikes.
These had auto-clutch setups.
Some were even zip-start engines.

Well the choice was finally made.
I would search out a Kawasaki GPz900R.
It ticked all the boxes for what I wanted.

So, I found myself a Kawasaki GPz900R A7 1990, in September 2010.
A bike 20 years old, with just under 100,000km on the clock.
In complete condition, but a bit rough.
It had been neglected.
Even though garaged, it had dry joints and some coroded wiring.
It has a 'creamed' tank.
Crappy seat.
Slightly bent right handlebar.
It had been used on track days.
It had been dropped.
And had been repainted, and had the fairing rebuilt in places.
BUT, It was straight. It was complete.
I knew what I was getting.
And I knew I could fix, repair, and restore it.
It was the 1990 model so it had a 17" front end, 41mm forks, and
twin-piston Tokico caliper 300mm brakes.
And non-return CAM tensioners.
From what I could tell, someone in its past had actually looked after it.
It had a nice 4-2-1 aluminium Magnum genuine GPz900R spec exhaust.
It had new Metalgear brake rotors and new pads.

It did need some TLC.
And now, it was mine.