Kawasaki GTR1000 ????

Ok so what are your thoughts Guys n Gals on the GTR1000 , anything bad about them ???? we are talking 1986 model
Thanks all

Bad, well it's > 20 years old, never heard a bad word about them myself and know of 3 people that have owned one.

a 20yo bike that they kept making and making ....and selling until just a few years ago
basically nothing is wrong with them..they are a tourer and a good one!



with an 86 model, do the usual checks as per the KSRC 2ndhand bike checklist... http://www.ksrc-au.com/index.php?itemid=16

Last edited by Smitty on Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Wow Smitty never knew that was there so 2400 bucks may be well spent ..... the bike has no Reg but will have a slip with it.

All I've ever heard from owners is stories of many klms of reliable riding, with great luggage carrying and pillion accomodation. They go ....OK, they stop....OK (The later models had better brakes, the first model had a horrible little single piston caliper, with the later one-88' onwards from memory-having four piston....or it might be single opposed and twin opposed...it's too long ago)

Just look for the usual signs of wear...as listed in the KSRC used bike buying guide.....paying attention to appropriate wear according to age. Make sure you check free play in the final drive and swingarm. Pulling the arse end of those apart is time eating!

Only problems I ever had riding my mate's one was ground clearance in corners and the weird buffeting on the back of your helmet caused by the tall screen. Aside from that they are a great tourer.

Keep an ear out for any strange noises from the lower r/h end of of the crank......balance shaft down there is chain-driven....they can get loose and a bit noisy.

$2600 ?? that will be the cheapest big tourer you are ever likely to find

Ok so what are your thoughts Guys n Gals on the GTR1000 , anything bad about them ???? we are talking 1986 model
Thanks all

I owned a 1998 model and found it to be a bit heavy but not unmanageable, it was the nicest tourer I ever owned. I have thought of getting another one but I would modify it a bit. I would remove the Cylinder Head, carbies and discard them, I would find a head with cams etc and carbies from a GPz1100 (Last model). They should fit no problem, the increase in HP would be awsome. I had a GPz1100 as well and it went like the powers of P#$$ it was marginally slower than a ZZR1100 (Same Donk, different head)

On the bad side the Steering can get the death wobbles if you let go of the bars, I think the problem is the rear end needs to be high for passengers or it will scrape through corners, this causes the Steering head angle to change. Oh another thing is they go through front tyres because of counter steering through corners, the front is a bit heavy needs a little wrestling sometimes. If you feel an engine buzz around 3500 to 4000 RPM, it is normal so don't worry about it.

Apart from that the bike is an excellent all day touring machine, 28 litres of fuel gives plenty of range. I spoke to a Ulyssian who had 380,000Km's on his and still running strong so longevity is definitely there.

One thing to watch is cam pitting. Lots of them do it. Not the only Kwaka to do it either.

Hey Devo,

They are good "touring" bikes but weigh in about 260Kg dry, then you start adding rider, pillion and luggage.......then you get to 425kg. I had one years ago and sold it for GPZ 1100. The ZRX's do a good job touring and are more fun, as you well know.

workmate had one, had the dreaded cam pitting problem. was fixed, came back within a few thou km's so was tradeed in on something else before it became too costly to repair.

That aside, fantastic bike, he had done well over 180kkm on it with only that one problem.

Suggested mod, remove the peashooter out of the mufflers, i believe this consisted of drilling rivets out, taking the shooter out, then re-rivetting it back up. no more than an afternoons worth of dicking around. Bit of a umph gain with only a "nice" increase in noise.

Try asking here at GTR-AUS

http://gtr1000.yuku.com/

I bought a GTR1000 last month for my brother, from the famous captian Peter Jansen ( bathurst racing champion)
Its got 10 months rego, never been dropped, only got 31,000 genuine Kms on the clock, and is perfect RWC...

guess how much I paid......
















$1000 ride away, no more to pay.

what an absolute bargain. Took it out today, rides fine, doesnt stop all that well compared to my FZ, but I spose it is old technology.

All I need is another pannier, the right one is missing.

$1000 ?? you lucky prick. What a bargain price for a great tourer.....

at first i thought this was a needless threaddig, but holy crap that is a freaking bargain, you did well.