Kawasaki ZZR1100 advice

[EGGY]

Been offered an old (1990) ZZR 1100 no t/t had a quick spin round the block on it seems to run ok, been unused for a couple of years so a bit scruffy, any advice on this old monster ?

[sniper stu]

they are a great bike use the same sort of engine as the Gpz1100 they are bullet proof but i did blow one up years ago cos it ran a little low on oil!! Apart from that as long as its been looked after then it will be ok..nice quick bike if its cheap enough....

[shipwreck]

Get a mechanical minded mate to check it over or volunteer for paying to have it MOT'd. If it fails it will cost less than the repairs. If it passes keep the certificate if you buy the bike or not as it will put it's price up.

They are decent lumps and few people can really use all of it. The torque will make things wear more and due to the size of everything replacements can be expensive. It is a fanatstic bike to do some lazy cruising on and will roll on to well over 150 but scratching is hard work on tighter stuff.

If it's sound you shouldn't regret buying it but may never go back to middleweight bikes again. I stayed with big Kawasakis upto the ZZR 1400, just to damn powerful and so easy to commute at three figure speeds. I've gone naked now so if I can't hold on it must be time to slow down.

[EGGY]

apart from a cracked rear disc cant see much wrong with it, he is asking around £700

[shipwreck]

It's a hell of a lot of bike for that. If you are confident and not suspicious about anything give it a whirl. If it goes wrong you've only lost the money of a top quality tuned springer or a PCP. Just don't find there is something wrong when your seeing just how fast it will go. Why has it not got an MOT. Got to be worth it to the seller to get the extra price to run it in for one so I would think it must/could have failed on something expensive.

[Taz]

I have a zzr100d1 the purple ans orange one and its an animal, a very comfy cruise missile, keep the oil fresh and service the breaks etc and they are a cracking bike, check to see if it unresrticted (flat carb tops) for that extra umphh very comfy for 2 up riding, decent handling, mediocre brakes. remember these where the fastes productio road bike for about a decade and are still blisteringly fast. back tyres and chain and sprocket take some punishment and get some braided hoses for them brakes or better still a set or gixer 1000 92 6 pot callipers to improve the front brakes. bullit proff bikes but exhaust headers soon rot. still capable of about 180 mph and even the handling aint bad, I love mine, still looks nice even for it's age

[Paddy_SP]

For that price I'd be checking the engine and frame numbers carefully...

[Elaine]

Sounds cheap......Four years ago I paid £500 for this crash damaged beasty.

E.

[Suggs]

wouldnt be too suspect on price to be honest, ive just bought a bike and after spending a few weeks looking about at older ones i found some bargains out there.

i like the ZZR1100, a mate had one a few years back and i went on it a few times, great for long rides and plenty of power, not the best for sunday blast around the twistys but other than that a great all rounder.

that said go look on eblag, to give you an idea of whats out there.

i just picked up this 750, 11 months t&t and in superb condition for £900, and ive since seen 2 others go for similar money..

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4...0/IMG_2532.jpg

[baz]

I still have one, tons of power, addictive induction howl which is a licence loser

Early bikes had a problem with gearbox sprocket but they were recalled and it should have a sticker saying so

Thats a bargain price, I have never seen one that cheap, clean ones usually fetch around £2k which is still cheap considering theres not much that can keep with them on a straight road, not really built for the twisty stuff but not that bad, as a high speed ballistic missile they take some beating

I have had lots of other big bikes including a sorted Vmax but the ZZR will out grunt any of them, except ZL000 Eliminator but above about 70 the ZZR would leave it in the dust

Very strong motor which traces its history way back to the Z1 but really its closer cousin would be the original 900 Ninja, then RX etc

Bulletproof really as long as serviced, low prices are a reflection of insurance costs these bikes can give 150+ BHP without any problem, my own insurance is £54 fully comp, about the only good thing about getting old

[windowrest]

Sounds like a good starting point. Bear in mind if it needs tyres, chain and sprockets, brake pads and a service, that will seperate you from a fair wedge. And another rear tyre in a month or so.And another rear tyre in a month or so.And another rear tyre in a month or so.

[baz]

Thats true, I get about 600 miles per rear tyre, if lucky

I am after a harder less sticky version, I never ride if theres even a cloud in the sky (too old) and dont get my knee anywhere near the road so dont need super sticky, a tyre that would last a couple of thousand miles and still grip ok in the dry will do me

[Mod]

600 ferkin MILES!!!! Jeez, I never realised that a large bike would burn rubber at that rate.

Mind you, my experience is based on the massive torque of the Plastic Maggot! I fancy that gave a few thousand miles at least.

Rgds Mod

[Taz]

i Have been running metzlers on my last few bikes and because I ride well err a bit more sedatley (wife usually allways comes with me so i have a pillion speed limiter) but i can get about 2000 miles from a back and 3-4k from a front tyre. Don't get me wrong I can ride quickly (very quickly when i need to .) I have done my time on the track and I used to be very quick indeed, it's just that I don't feel the need anymore, that and the fact I have 3 kids now and usually a wife on the bike with me, we go at a nice steady pace the wife is quite happy to play with R1's etc when we encounter any on our travels it's allways funny to see their faces when they are climbing all over their pretend race bikes sparks flying from their knees etc and then this old fat bloke and his wife are keeping up with them on a big bloated sports tourer i have even had them comment on wether my bikes supercharged or has a turbo thing is I love my bike and I love riding it even though my health means it's getting harder, I just can't imagine not riding anymore