(First posted July 7, 2013) After living in the city for a while (San Francisco in this case), often one starts to think that there must be better ways to get around than driving a car. And yes, obviously there are. Walking is good. Bicycling is better. Also, San Francisco has about half a dozen public transportation systems (that seem to be completely uncoordinated amongst each other, it must be said). But for a motorhead, none of these options will do. The only option to a car is a motorcycle. So I decided to get another one, the memories of crashing my old Suzuki having dimmed to an acceptable level…
After looking at various bikes (including everything from a Moto Guzzi V55 to a Yamaha FJ1000) I found a 1984 Kawasaki GPz550 for sale at an attractive price in the Outer Mission neighborhood. I test rode it around the block and bought it.
The printing company I worked at was only a few blocks from home, so really I could have walked without any problems (and these days I would). But I preferred to wake up, get ready, go outside, start the bike, put my helmet and jacket on, then push the bike off the centerstand and roll down the hill that is Pennsylvania Street toward 22nd. By the time I reached the corner, blipping the throttle in neutral and annoying the neighbors, it had sort of warmed up enough to go two blocks on 22nd, hang a left onto Minnesota for a few hundred yards, cut through the alley adjacent to 20th and pull in to the parking lot at work at the corner of 20th and Tennessee. Uh yeah, less than half a mile total. The bike was barely warmed up, mechanical sympathy was not something I had much of in my mid-20’s.
Then I’d go inside, hang up my jacket and helmet, smooth my hair, gather some coworkers and we’d walk halfway back to my house to the coffee shop on the corner for a cup of Java. Yes, it makes little sense but it was fun. Like I said, beats walking to work…
My GPz was one of the second generation models with a different frame design, body-mounted fairing, and different bodywork compared to the first ones. The ones most people initially picture in their mind are the early 80’s models with the toaster-shaped tank and (sometimes) a tiny front fairing, usually in bright red with black/silver stripes. There was also a 750cc derivative as well as a rare turbocharged 750cc model and even an 1100cc version.
The 550 though was lighter and had plenty of power, even for my 200 pounds. In the day, these were tested at doing the quarter mile in the 12’s and paved the way for Japan’s 600cc sportbikes, evolving into/being replaced by the Ninja 600 (which was called the GPz600R in other markets). It is no stretch at all to call the GPz550 the godfather of the crotchrocket. It was no slouch off the line…
Launched in 1981, the GPz550 featured an air-cooled inline four cylinder engine delivering 57hp at around 9000rpm with a six speed gearbox. Suspension changed to a monoshock rear for 1982 (UniTrak) and in 1984 the engine got a power bump to 65hp at 10500rpm. Weight was about 475 pounds, but handling was very agile and it was a comfortable bike, even for a passenger. We (my girlfriend and I) rode all over San Francisco on it and it was a great way to get through the normally clogged traffic. Parking was easy as well, just pull up onto a sidewalk and stop it right next to a building. A common complaint was the fairing mounted mirrors; unless you had the physique of Kate Moss you got a great view of your shoulders. Mine had been modified with bar-end mirrors which were perfect for actually seeing behind you and could double as an expensive “feeler” when weaving through stopped traffic.
I once took it north out of the city, over the Golden Gate Bridge and rode all the way to the top of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County; it was a great ride up and back down the mountain. I also took it down onto the Peninsula a few times and found it to be a good freeway cruiser, but primarily mine was a city bike for going to work during the day, restaurants and concerts at night and random outings on the weekend. Prior to my ownership it had been repainted the graphite gray seen in the top picture and was a veteran of many a year living outdoors on the city streets. It looks better in the picture than I recall it looking at any time I owned it.
The picture immediately above this of the gentleman at speed on the red 1983 model was just shot last week during my annual father-daughter road trip. You don’t often see GPz’s anymore and I was very surprised to see this one. It was moving at about 70mph southbound on the 101 just North of San Luis Obispo, CA. My daughter amazingly was able to capture it using my iPhone while I was completely geeking out at seeing it. The rider gave us a long look as we passed him, no doubt trying to figure out why we were taking pictures and staring at him or more likely concerned that we would accidentally run him off the road. Very strange (perfect) timing; along with the CC effect, there appears to be a COAL effect!
I believe I had it for only about a year, then sold it to another friend at work who used it for some time thereafter; we had moved out of the city and onto the peninsula, and commuting 25 miles to work on a motorcycle was not something I wanted to do enough to keep it. But it was good, efficient, and cheap transportation in a city that can be very difficult to get around and park in.
When I bought my 500 Interceptor, I seriously looked at the GPz550. The Kawasaki motor was much simpler as it was a 2 valve, air-cooled four, the seating position was better, the fairing offered more protection and the service costs far lower.
But being all of 21 years old at the time, I had to have the Honda as it was a lot faster and lighter, not to mention cooler looking!
Well sure, when you’re 21, logic should not get in the way of anything 🙂 You’re preaching to the choir in my case….
Your story reminds me of my own early career commute. After graduating from law school, I moved into an apartment that was a bit shy of two blocks from my office. Perfect, I thought – I can walk to work every day and save my car. However, there was often a need to get in my car during the day to do things young lawyers are often called to do, like serving subpoenas on witnesses and heading to the law school library for some heavy-duty legal research. Suddenly, the two block walk to the car seemed like such a massive PITA, considering that we had free on-site parking at the office. So, I did what any car-crazed 25 year old would do: I started driving the car to work every morning and driving it home every evening.
Yes, a two block commute twice a day. I wonder how surprised my local VW dealer was to have to cover a replacement exhaust system in my GTI within the two year warranty.
When I was in law school I did not own a car so there were many times I would be balancing a bankers box on my bicycle while careening through downtown. Good times*.
*actually pretty awful times
Wonderful, wonderful bikes. A re-enactment mate of mine had one for the four years he was a student at University in Bristol (England, not Tennessee). We rode together the winter of 94/95 while I was over there (I had a rented Hinckley Triumph Trident thus rekindling my love of the marque) and he lost it the following year . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . keeping up with a pair of Ducati 916’s on the Isle of Man during Mad Sunday. He was on their third lap of the course, sticking with them all the way, when the front end washed out. Unfortunately, the bike was stopped by a tree, and what should have been a reasonable amount of damage low side turned into a 70+ mph impact. For the bike.
I have been looking to replace my ’76 Honda CB200T and I have seen a handful of the earlier GPz’s with the squared-off tank for sale. Looks like a very nice bike that I didn’t know much about. Until now. Thanks!
Great bikes, note that the early style had 2 different rear suspensions, dual shocks for the first ones (picture 4), then in ’83 I believe went to the monoshock but still with a square-ish tank – Pics 6 and 7). Lots of changes like this throughout the run.
was this the type of bike the blonde cop used in the original Mad Max film?
Unlikely as Mad Max was released in 1979.
The bike the cop used in Mad Max was a Kawasaki Z1R
It’s not Goose’s bike
My first bike was an 83 KZ550 Spectre. That glorious 550 GPZ engine stuffed into a cruiser style frame with a stepped seat and curved bars. It was a wonderful first bike and was all kinds of fast, especially when you got it higher into the RPMs. It served me well for those critical first few years of riding.
It was the only Kawasaki I ever owned but if you ask me today what kind of bikes I like I always start out by saying I am a Kawasaki guy.
There was a whole slew of 550s sent to the US during that era because there was some protectionsit rules put in place that added a significant surcharge to the importation of bikes much larger than that. The Japanese companies sent a whole lot of these bikes during that era and many of them sat on sales floors as new old stock for many years after their original model year. It was possible to find bikes like this for many years later.
The bike in Mad Max, by the way , is a KZ1000 with an add-on faring. In fact, all the bikes in that film are big, late 70s KZ’s.
Had a sweet little black Kawa 440Ltd with chrome rack and lumbar support. Reliable engine, little or no maintenence, belt drive…nothing fancy, fast, or dangerous…just reliable with swept back handle bars. Perfect for inner city trips around Austin, TX, and no problems finding parking on Sixth Street.
I have always been a big Kawasaki fan- every bike I’ve owned has been a Kawa of some sort, the the last a KZ250. I also had a black 440LTD like Thomas Bean’s that I “restored” from the Chicago equivalent of a barn find (under a porch staircase.) the rear drum brake was literally rusted together- it took days with PB Blaster and a rubber mallet to get it apart. But at the time I was young and broke, which is to say I had way more time than money.
These days my wife has put an end to my motorcycling career, but in any case I’m happy with my commute which consists of either a 15 minute cab ride or a four-block walk and a 15 minute bus trip. Let someone else deal with crazy downtown traffic.
I had a used, 1st gen GPz 550 that I bought in 1990 while “commuting” back and forth to L.A. from Indiana. One of the best (FUN) bikes I’ve had, and given bang for the buck: about the best!! I put @ 7000 miles on the lil bike in 6 months back out in L.A. I liked it so much that I rented a small trailer and towed her back to Indiana!
They were very advanced for the time, and still are good bikes today!! DFO
Another first-gen GPZ owner here. Exactly as pictured above except for a Supertrapp exhaust. I bought it as a clean used bike, put tires on it and used it as my “alphabet road” bike in Wisc. until rising group ride speeds called for an upgrade. I never did anything but normal maintainance to that bike and still own it decades later – one of the best looking sport bikes ever.
Standard-issue despatch rider’s bike in London for many years, and those guys certainly knew what made a good bike. Nimble, reliable and easy to live with around town, but also capable of more than holding their own on the open road. Classic UJM.
The 550 is too small so i opted for my current bike 83 gpz 550 was my first 750 killer