What first got you into Kawasakis ???

Strika · Post by **Strika** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:19 pm

This is going to vary wildly I reckon!!!!

Can't wait to hear some stories!

I am having trouble trying to pinpoint my earliest interest in Kawasakis, however it may have been the original Z900 which sparked my desire to own a kwaka! It spurned an interest in the green racing bikes in GP and SBK's on the tellie. Then, after a long time without bikes, I decided to go and get my licence and do the whole thing properly. The bike of choice was a Kawasaki Z250B twin.

It was back in the days when I barely had the money to pay my rent, buy food, alcohol, marijuana, trips, coke and go out drinking every night,

let alone money to buy a bike with!! I ended up buying two bikes two make one. The first was my girlfriends brother who bought one, took to it with a hacksaw to make it look like a cafe racer and totally fucked it up. He lost interest halfway through and sold it to me. I think it cost me two slabs of beer and a tank of super for his Commodore!

It had a mint engine. I bought another one with a fecked engine but perfect bodywork, electrics, instruments and controls. I put the two together and made one. It cost me the princely sum of $150 which consisted of.... Two slabs of beer-$32, $18 Fuel, and $100 for the other wreck!!

)

This rebuild though got me the real Kawasaki bug from then. I guess when you have no money, and you haggle and trade and then put your time into it, while learning at the same time, it makes it something more than just a motorcycle. I'm starting to get attached to some of my bikes now, something I've never done before. I think from here on I'm doing a Gos, and Keeping every Kawasaki I own. Even when I buy a newie. It'll be the 6th dimension then Gos

I have sampled some other brands including some Italian brands as well as all the big four Jap manufacturers and prolly will again as I'm not totally blind. But I do lurve my kwakas!!!!

So how'd you get the bug?

Woody69 · Post by **Woody69** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:27 pm

I'd never had a street bike before, but knew if i was going to have one, i wanted one with a fairing, It also had to be a 250 for cheaper rego ! the first bike that i found for sale locally was a GPX 250, I bought it, I've had it just over a year now, wouldn't mind something bigger, but can't afford it, or the rego !

Woody

BladeBoy · Post by **BladeBoy** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:29 pm

I could not afford a Ducati so I bought a GPZ600 in 1980 something

hoffy · Post by **hoffy** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:34 pm

When I was riding only dirt bikes, I wanted to get a dual purpous so I could ride with me mates on weekends and ride to work during the week.
So in 2001 I purchased the king of dual purpose bikes, a 93 KLR650. They had a 23 litre fuel tank and had a reputation for being tough as nails.
I liked it so much I bought another new one early in 2003 and rode to Cape York and all over QLD on it.
It was a great bike and I have loved Kwackas ever since.

Plus alot of their bikes have a huge cult following, and are cool bikes like the ZRX, ZX7's & ZX12's which look the ducks

Gosling1 · Post by **Gosling1** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:42 pm

after 6 months on a CB125 during 1979, then 12 months on an RD350 during 1980, the opportunity arose to buy a *big* bike..........I got a payout from leaving a job, and promptly spent the money on a Kawasaki H2 750 triple, that came with a heap of parts.......and an *alleged* GP history (Singapore 1976...) and Bathurst (1977/78 Aussie TT). This was my first big Kawasaki, it scared me shitless in those early days even when it ran like a pig, I swapped it for an XT GT Falcon for 2 weeks, then got it back.........it sits patiently in the shed, I think I have the balls to ride it now !!

After that, I really got the itch for a big 4-stroke kwakka. The local Honda dealer up the road from where I worked had a young bloke working there, who happened to own this really nice Black Z1000, with gold and white pinstripes.......he wanted to sell, I fell in love with the paint scheme and the fact that it would do over 200kmh !! So it was purchased in early 1981, and I am still riding it today......

zzzak · Post by **zzzak** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:50 pm

I had a 71 Mach 3 and a 77 Z900 and remember both fondly.

bonester · Post by **bonester** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:53 pm

I had a mate with a piece of shit GPZ1000RX with a GPZ900 donk in it. He was the worst and most bodgy mechanic I have ever met. For example he made a sump gasket from a manilla folder. Of course it leaked oil all over the back tyre, but he rode it regularly from Toowoomba to Townsville and back. (1600km each way or so.) Despite the lack of care it always got him there. It was also the first bike I ever rode.

It had a ZX10 fairing grafted onto it which looked a lot better than the stocker. It impressed on me how tough these bikes are, so I bought a GPZ250R, wrote it off and later bought a GPZ900R myself. Great bike.

Old mate bought my GPZ250R after I pranged it, and fitted a GPX250 front end which has smaller diameter forks than the GPZ- he made up the difference in the triples by slipping shards of aluminium can between the forks and clamps. Bodgy as and scary to ride!

Been pretty hooked on Kwakas since. Had a bit of drama with my ZZR1200 but it was more problems with head arsehole in warranty department from Kawasaki than the main company. I've sworn never to buy another new Kwaka on principle, but the ZRX12 is looking better all the time.

My GT550 has been a fuggin brill bike and keeps on going and going. Has needed a camchain since day one, but have only done 30000km since buying it. In no hurry to fix it. Works really hard towing the trailer, and every other torture I put it through. Can't imagine a Suzuki doing the same.

WRT_GPX · Post by **WRT_GPX** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:14 pm

ive wanted a green ninja since i was 10 or so! and even though its red and white.. my 250 ninja made me realise... "i finally got a kwaka ninja... fuck me..."

Lone Wolf · Post by **Lone Wolf** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:17 pm

I'm a classic example of how good marketing works...as a kid I saw the name "Ninja" on the side of a Kwaka and thought the were the best because of that.
Years later, when I finally got around to buying a bike, naturally I swayed towards the Green bikes (despite my first being yellow, lol). I didn't know whether they were the best or not, but the best sports 250 I could find for sale at the time was a ZX2R, so I bought it.
When I was able to buy my first big bike, I went for the ZX7R simply because of the Gobert races at PI in 96. Simple for me really, doesn't have to be the best bike out there, just my favourite

Smitty · Post by **Smitty** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:19 pm

as a youngster I rode some 50cc Hoondas (circa '70 models)
around the paddocks near home (today after being a school
now a housing estate) then
one of my first GFs rode a Spewzooki TS185
and i bought it off her at age 15..or 16
and rode that around (mit no licence)
for about 2 years and when i got a licence
wanted something without knobbly tyres
saw a used MachIII (first model drum brakes etc etc)
at a local Honda dealer ..and bought it

have ridden lots since but since that MachIII
have basically been green

simple really...

cheers

mike-s · Post by **mike-s** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:34 pm

First exposure was a mate said his dad had a ninja, didnt know wtf it was. Fast forward eight or so years and i buy an old ratty cb250 and get it running (fixing the electricals took like a week of 4-5 hour nights fixing the fugger. Then i blew the motor :-\.

After i got a swet redundancy payout i bought an el250 (was an easy bike to ride and i didnt want to go down the boy racer path. Had it 8-9 months and then traded up/sideways to a LTD450, partly because i'd come to like the solid gearboxes of kawas, and partly cause it was a cheap and fair bike.

Around this point i joined ksrc, then bought my gpx750 and had it two and a bit years. Then i went zuki rf900 as i didnt find a kawa that suited my wants and my wallet.

ozx6r · Post by **ozx6r** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:42 pm

looks and cost as it was and still is my first bike

RedRoo · Post by **RedRoo** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:46 pm

Was into Pommie crap, Bullshitalongs (BSA) Trumphy's (read kelpies, cause they like riding home in utes) and the fabulous Notons (no thats not a spelling mistake) had access to road bikes well before legal age through older sisters bikie boyfriend who used to prefer getting pissed over actually riding , so i got to go a lot of places up front with a drunk on the back. Soon got my own a Daytona 500, Was aware of other bikes but was a bit hard core...lol.
One day at school about 73ish heard a bike through classroom window pull up at pedestrial crossing, sounded like no other and looked friggen awesome, Z1-900, later i was to discover taking out the rear baffles was responsable for that sound. 3 years later I managed to buy a brand new Z1-A that had been heavily deposited and never collected so was 3 years old but new. 36 miles and 30 hours old was stolen uninsured..started a life time passion.

Post by **icebreaker** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:58 pm

Got my license.. Obviously needed a 250.. Looked at a few CBAAHHHH's and everyone wanted way to much, and the ones that didn't were selling shit heaps...

Stumbled on the ZX2R and decided it was much more suited, being something different because everyone seemed to want a cbahhhh and after test riding 2, I fell in love with one and bought it...

6 months later thanks to Mario, a 600 was on the cards and 2 weeks later I took home the ZX6...

Rossi · Post by **Rossi** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:09 pm

Remember Mick Grant ?? Late 70's Superbike Racing (Bazza & Raineys time) Fell in love with the Kwaka green
Always have backed the underdog in racing

1st real road legal was a bike a friend of a friend needed someone to take over the finance on cause he lost his job........a dead sexy KH250 triple 2 stroker.......bloody thing put me in Hospital twice, recovered and used my compensation payout to dress it up in Black with Gold & blue pinstriping (similar to the Suzi GS750 of the same era)
God I miss that bike