I had a GPZ900 for four years and absolutely loved it. Did everything- touring, sports riding etc etc.
First two models- A1 and A2 were prone to carby diaphram problems, as well as faulty head bearings. 1988/89 models were detuned- 104Hp instead of 114Hp- smaller 32mm carbs were fitted rather than 34mm- I suspect that was to make the 900 feel slower if you rode it side by side with the then- new ZX-10.
Don't waste your time with an GPZ1000 RX- as mentioned they were a pig. (and the first bike I ever rode!)
The 1000 engine will bolt straight in- an extra 20Hp or so is handy but they commonly blow their bottom ends.
1990 model GPZ900s and newer had ZXR brakes and 17 inch front wheels instead of the 16 inchers of the earlier bikes, as well as longer, better looking mirrors- many people fitted the later mirrors to the earlier bikes so they could see behind themselves....
Avoid a bike with a 4-into-1 Megacycle system- this is what I had- great big noisy system- but the minuses sucked- much lower ground clearance- the bottom of the headers hit speedbumps and were always getting damaged- always cracking out the welder to fix them.....centrestand wasn't possible coz they went thru that area- and you had to remove the pipe to do an oil change- not hard but a pain all the same. It also melted some of the lower fairing.
Look for a bike with original plastic bodywork- fibreglass copies crack and look like shit quickly- and don't fit properly.
Also bear in mind that the design is old- you want to buy as good a one as you can to minimise the work you have to do- things like brakediscs ae expensive to fix.
The ZZR600 reminds me a lot of the 900 to ride, with more modern brakes and suspension it goes around corners better than the 900, but hasn't got anywhere near the low down grunt of the 900.
Some early bikes had headgasket problems, and nearly all models ran hot in traffic- a manual switch to the fan is cheap insurance- just put it across the fan sensor on the bike.
A ZX-10 might be a better bike for not much more money, but the 900 certainly is a special model....just ask Tom Cruise!