My 1984 Kawasaki GPz1100

 I have been slowly assembling a collection of pics of bikes that I have owned over the years.

Semi-random aside #1: I assume most people who have a passion for some type of ... thing, be it art or cars or motorcycles or airplanes or whatever -- are like me, in that I wish I had been wealthy and had a large heated building of some type where I could have kept and retired every, single, motorized two-wheeler I have ever owned.

Semi-random aside #2: Here's a link to one more pic I can find of this bike, which I digitized and posted here many years ago. I think it would have been taken in 1986 or 1987. It also discusses my transition from cruiser to sport bike thinking. 

Added bonus: there is also a pic of the 1985 GPz900 shown in the entry following this one. 

I recently rediscovered a few pics of my GPz1100 in an old photo album (For younger readers, these were collected, pre-digital, paper photographs created from a roll of processed film), and damn, I forgot how good looking that bike was. It's been so long since I've seen it, I'm now remembering how much I loved it. Except for the pressurized gas tank, which if I didn't pop the cap to release the pressure when I put it away in the garage, it would ooze a tiny bit out at the base near the hinge, which eventually stained the tank. I replaced both the fuel cap and then later the entire tank. Never resolved... 

Since the pic on my Flickr site, the one above and below were taken at my parents house in 1984 shortly after I purchased this bike, best case scenario is they were taken with my Dad's Minolta SRT101, which I had some time with in the late '70's.

I had read a lot about this bike in Motorcyclist and Cycle World magazines when the 1983 update was released by Kawasaki. I decided to buy the 1984 model over the FJ1100 and brand new release of the Ninja 900.

This bike was physically huge, and had tremendous power for the time. It was the first motorcycle I achieved an indicated 160mph on the speedometer. After I made that run, the bike was not performing well. This was a fuel injected rather than carburated engine, which was not common at that time and had a computer behind the seat in the tail section. I told my mechanic what I had done and he told me that there were 2 burned out sensors for that engine computer he had to replace.

At the time I got this bike, I was living in a complex in a duplex ranch. For the couple years after I bought it I used to ride it up onto and store it on my end of the covered front porch with a bike cover over it. My neighbors never complained, to me, and I was always amazed that the landlord never told me I had to take it down from there. 

One weekend, under cover of darkness, I brought it inside for a couple days, just 'cause.

Is that shag carpet, bay-bee...

With Autumn closing in...

 

Hey Look! Here's a pic of my Z900 NOT parked next to a lake

After a stretch of particularly cold weather, we finally got a few days of unusually warm temps, and today was forecast to be the final one for the season. So while planning for the ride, the question came down to would it be H-D or Kawasaki 900s ? My Road King has heated grips and wind protection, so yeah, another day for that bike...

We met at a gas station about 10 miles from my house and I led out about 25 miles to a stop along a lake we were both very familiar with. After a half hour or so, Scott led us out towards his house and after a while I peeled off for home. A nice way to spend an afternoon.

We had been street riding together about 4 years when he got this bike. I remember the first ride we took, my GPz1100 and this new GPz900. I remember a great many rides together before, after that, and up through this one 39 years later. So very many memories I have throughout my life revolve around these shared rides we have had on numerous different motorcycles. Thank you.

I can't help but wonder though... which of these Z900s would be quicker ? ...  

It's good to have summers off

 I think that all can agree that summer is a great time to get out for a ride. For me, a partly sunny, 72 degree day is just perfect. I mostly ride alone as being semi-retired affords me time that others still burdened with a rigid work schedule do not have. I prefer to ride with 1 or 2 others when possible, with schedules and a block of free time allowing, but mostly I'll go out for a 1 to 2 hour spin by myself.

I have enjoyed having the new Kawi as a riding option this past year as it provides it's own experience. If I spend some time on the Road King, this bike literally feels half the size. It is so much quicker to flick around. It is not as sporting as many of the bikes I have had, but that is not a bad thing, once I get adjusted to which bike I am riding. I do sometimes get caught up in the speed and cornering this bike offers, but I quickly find its edges and have to dial it back before I get into trouble. 

Don't misunderstand, it's a great bike, but it's not a Ninja or GSXR, and you have to respect that. I have made a few minor cosmetic changes, but also plan to replace the stock tires as they certainly flex at high lean angles, and add braided steel brake lines, then reevaluate from there. 

NY state offers what can seem like endless miles of mountain roads and there are many lakes of all sizes. This is why so many of the pics I take are at rest stops near water, particularly since so many are within a 40 mile radius of where I live. I'm going to have to make a concerted effort to capture some other types of images, just to mix it up.

I've got a few scheduling issues I already know of for 2025 but I am also already looking forward to getting back in the saddle for another season.

Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe Part 2 : Best Laid Plans...

 As I said in the last entry, I purchased this bike in mid-March even though I could not go get it for another 3 weeks. I was worried that the longer I waited to buy it, the less likely it would be there, so I made the move. Turned out that was a very good call as when I arrived on 3-April to pick up the bike, my Ace Sales Guy Brandon told me that the following weekend after I locked in, people came in 2 different times looking for that bike. But, it had a deposit on it now, so Ah Hah Hah Hah Ha!

I had lined up a U-Haul trailer that I would pick up on 4-2-24 and a hotel room to spend that night. As the day approached, in typical fashion known to all motorcyclists, it became apparent that the weather would NOT be cooperating. 

From NOAA : “A spring storm brought rain, heavy snow, damaging winds and thunderstorms across much of the Great Lakes on April 2, knocking out power to over 100,000 people across the region during the height of the storm.”

With all paperwork ducks in a row, I headed off on a 370 mile trek, mostly in pouring rain. The next morning I checked out, collected the U-Haul trailer and was waiting at the door of Roundhouse Powersports when they opened. I know people hate starting their day that way, but hey, I've got a 45 minute break forecast in the rain and I'm on a schedule.

Got the paperwork done and while I was looking at my watch and waiting for everything to be ready for me to take the bike, I wandered over to the Roundhouse Harley Davidson side of this huge dealership and bought a tee shirt, 'cause that's what we do.

By 11:20 I was loaded and ready to hit the road, just as it started to sprinkle...

I then drove home 7 hours in the rain. At one point in the Poconos it was raining sideways and everyone was crawling along at 35mph with flashers on. Road spray from passing trucks was blinding and you had to slow to let them make space.

As I got within 30 miles of home I started to see trucks out salting the NYS Thruway, which I avoided like the plague, and were also ominous as to the expectations with the temps dropping. I got home in a well-timed break in the rain and got the bike into the garage.

Within a few hours the rain had turned and had the storm been like this the entire drive home I am not sure if I'd have pressed on or parked for the night, but I'd have been angry to move my new bike in snow and road salt. And so it goes.

A couple days later the snow was gone and it was time to get the bike washed and wait for warmer days.

Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe Part 1 : Discovery

Looking at the Z900RS, it immediately dragged me back to my late teenage years riding Kawasaki dirt bikes, and hanging around the local Kawasaki shop. I had posters on my bedroom wall of the KZ650 floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee; the 2-cylinder KZ750; and of course the KZ1000. A friend of mine's cousin owned a H2 Mach IV 750 triple that he streeted during the week and threw wheelie bars on and ran at the nearby drag strip on Sundays...

Of the 16 bikes I have had over the years, 9 of them have been Kawasaki. I had a couple truly great GSX-Rs but I love Kawasaki motorcycles. Read my Americade posts. I was the only kid I knew who could identify them coming down the street in the early ’70’s by sound. I learned to shift on a KE100, got my license on a KZ400 and took the plunge into sportbikes in 1984 when I bought a GPz1100.

Once I found the Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe, and spent a couple weeks researching the bike, it became my choice for next garage addition. It was brought out in the U.S. in 2018 but was not on my radar until recently. It shares all the "retro, classic" looks of the Z900RS but the cafe-type styling appeals to me more after decades of sport bikes. Its looks are the antithesis of say, the Ninja 1000sx. 

Let's see, what else does this bike have going for it that appeals to me :

- It does NOT have a multi-point IMU

- It does NOT have a self-adjusting sky-hook suspension

- It does NOT have adaptive cruise control

- It does NOT have an up / down quick shifter

- It does NOT have 200+ HP

- It is a street bike, NOT a track bike on the street

I've seen many videos and forum posts saying you NEED an ECU flash to remove the jerky throttle response. While now riding my bike, I have searched for and experienced what I assume is being referred to, but don't even give it a thought. Ain't no big deal if you've been riding a few years.

While shopping, I was really liking the 2018/19 Kawi green colors, though I'd peel the mustache. I also like the black ones later on. I figured if I could find something with less than 5000 miles on it and less than $10K I would get that and keep the Road King. I really like my Road King after spending a couple years getting it setup for me; I love the fit and finish of the bike and it is well suited for cruising / touring and NOT more aggressive cornering.

In early March I found a left-over 2023 at Powerhouse Kawasaki in Altoona, PA. It was waaaaaay cheaper than other dealers had the same bike listed. It was cheaper than any other Cafe I could find with less than 10K miles on it....

Hmm... I thought about it for a couple weeks and noticed that the 2024 Z900RS Cafe has not been changed at all, other than the Great New Price increase. I thought about it one more day and figured someone else would surely notice this as well, so I called and bought it over the phone. Said I'd be down in 3 weeks to complete the sale and pick it up.

Altoona, PA -- here I come !

2023 -- A Reevaluation Year

 Events of 2023 limited my riding time, therefore not a lot to post here. It started off with the usual enthusiasm to get back out on the road. I was hoping to expand my riding circle in the H-D world and see a bit more of New England on the bike. Didn't happen.

I think I took maybe 6 rides all season. A few were with my long, long-time ridding buddy of 40+ years, but they were local runs after meeting at his house; perhaps an hour in length from there. If I'm getting picky, I rode my bike about 20 miles each way to and from my dealership to have a set of Pirelli Night Dragons installed.

Right as the summer was becoming official, things turned. I did not ride the rest of 2023. By late summer I wasn't even waxing weekly anymore. By the end of summer, moving into Autumn, every time I looked at the Road King sitting in my garage, I started to think there's a pile of money sitting there I could be doing something else with...

As I shuffled my garage for Winter, I was pretty sure I would sell the Harley in Spring '24. But, I still wasn't ready to hang up my helmets. I was just deciding that maybe it was time to move in another direction. Maybe, another new bike.

I spent the entire winter researching various motorcycles, listed below in order of discovery:

The leading number is the number of times that I’ve reviewed it, sometimes for weeks, then looked at another bike, gone back to it and then moved on, again…

01   Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S

01   H-D Pan American 

05   Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro

01   BMW GS 1250

08   Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx

05   Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT

02   Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT

05   Honda CB1000R Black Edition

        01   Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe

At this point I prioritize the more upright, relaxed rider's triangle. My back and shoulders are all done with the clipon, rearset, race crouch. But I want some amount of ground clearance for cornering. I spent a lot of time trying to talk myself into various ADV bikes but just wasn't feeling it. I really wanted to want the GSX-S1000 GT but all the road tests I watched said it was a bit more aggressive riding posture than would be good for me, and I've already lived years with the 1000sx which gets better sport touring reviews.

I am not a huge fan of the current styling trend in both cars (especially E-cars) and bikes moving everything towards something George Jetson (look it up youngsters) would admire. Ultra tech and angles and beaks, Oh My. 

I was liking the CB1000R Black a lot. Sorta retro vibe, but angrier. Then I saw one in a showroom and it did not have the fit and finish I wanted at all. An old pic of a Z1000 popped up on my wallpaper rotation, so I was looking at a review of the Kawasaki Z900 one day and they mentioned the Z900RS, which I was not familiar with, so I looked at it. That review led me to the Z900RS Cafe ....

As the riding season winds down...

 I lost a few months -- the entire summer to be exact -- from my riding season this year due to work commitments. Most often, I only rode to work; and it wasn't even a nice commute. Pathetic. I began to make up for misplaced time with a 4-day trip to Barre, VT at the end of August. That was a great get-away and the western side of Vermont is always a scenic ride.

The upside of working this summer was to get some fun-money for upgrades to my aging riding gear and new pieces/parts for the bike. The list for 2022 includes:

Chrome Front Axle Nut Covers

Mustang Standard Touring Solo Seat with Driver Backrest for Harley-Davidson Electra Glide & Road King Police 1983-'21, Textured, Black

'09-'22 Harley Touring Vivid Black Mid-Frame Air Deflectors from Hogworkz

Harley-Davidson® 16 Inch Detachables™ Wind Splitter Vented Windshield Dark Smoke

Extended shift lever from Softbrake

H-D Chrome Flush-Mount Fuel Cap and Gauge Kit

Dakota Digital 4.5 in. Chrome MLX-2011 Series Speedometer

CVO Road King Windsplitter replacement windshield from Freedom Shields

10" H-D Fused Lo Chrome WITH heated Kahuna handgrips. Super nice upgrade!

YHMTIVTU Motorcycle Saddlebag Liners Organizers

H-D Profile Custom Mirrors Satin Black, since my riding position was perfectly altered after addition of the Fused Lo bars, but I only see my elbows in the stock mirrors...

H-D Tank Knee Pads as my more forward seating position is allowing me to grip the tank more with my knees

Answering my own question from last year, I am committed to the Mustang solo saddle over the H-D seat. The Harley seat is more comfortable for ME in the short-term with it being wider and better padded. What it lacks entirely is any type of lumbar support, which is critical for ME. It may be a better seat for YOU; to each their own. I also find it much easier to ride at speed and corner with the Mustang. And, during a couple hundred mile ride, I also learned that I hate the backrest, as due to my lower back issues it simply aggravates them. No plans at this time to ever use it again.

Every mod in place now is working perfectly for me and I'm really enjoying this bike. While I appreciate the classic nature of the Road King, I've kept to mods that I feel accentuate that while also improving functionality. I hated the stock speedo cluster. 4.5 inches of wasted space for information. It's bad enough to have to drop your eyes away from the road to look down at the tank in the first place and I considered relocating with new gauges on the bar, where nature intended them.

I decided to go with the H-D flush-mount fuel gauge and gas cap. And the largest upgrade was moving to the Dakota Digital instrument cluster. Now I can see much more information and see it quickly without trying to look a the dumb little couple inch square LCD panel in the stock speedo. Dragged this bike right into the 21st century but kept the stock lines.

Next year? New grippier tires and maybe front and rear suspension replacement. I have to constantly slow down in corners to keep from scraping the floorboards. Usually the edge of my riding boots scrape pavement as the first lean angle warning indicator. We'll see...

Another riding year has completed. I always feel like I never get to ride as much as I intended to at the end of the prior year, but I always enjoy every ride I get to take.