Videos
A selection of informative or mechanically useful online videos.
Note that any racing videos are listed along with race results here.
Kawasaki Promo 14:30
The official Kawasaki promotional video. Nice overview of the bikes development including great footage of a cut-away engine.
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1983 Press Launch 2:02
Another promo clip showing the old girl can do a decent burnout! I think it was even Jay Gleason on-board the 1/4 mile. Although GoPro footage is ho-hum these days my guess it was a bit harder to do around Laguna Seca in 1983, so nice work Kawasaki. Gotta love the Datsun signage at the track as well!
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Fork Seal Replacement 19:38
Comprehensive demonstration showing it’s definitely do-able at home. However after watching I decided it was easier to just pay AU$330 to have a Kawasaki service centre do it, I simply didn’t have the spare work-bench space and I just didn’t want to be messing around with the fork if the internal threads decided to be recalcitrant. Note: double-check if the service includes the fork dust seals, some kits do and some don’t. On the A8 you can use dust seals off modern bikes.
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ZL900 Starter Chain Issues 0:52
The GPz900r has a similar spring-loaded tensioner (I think many Kawasaki’s use the same design) that bangs & crashes as it gets old and the spring doesn’t have enough force to hold the tensioner firmly in place when the chain is rotating, might also be magnified by chain stretch. BTW sounds shocking. There are many different fixes – most limit the movement of the tensioner once it is installed rather than just relying on the spring. I was lucky enough to get a new tensioner from Australian stock, so fortunately I can wait until this one gets worn before I have to apply a fix.
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Rob Phillis tells it as it is [0:08]
A great Kawasaki GPz900r racer with a very dry wit! Legend.
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Porting a GPz head [18:14]
Having some knowledge of the casting process you wouldn’t expect the airflow to be perfect internally – there would have to have been some compromises made with the plugs. For flat-out racing where every HP counts this level of work makes sense, but it’s hard to weight up the cost vs benefit for us mere road mortals.
I’ve also added a link to www.motorcycleproject.com where the mystique and benefits of this is critiqued.
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Carb removal and pilot jet cleaning 11:04
Watch the time-lapse from 3:15 to 4:15 to familiarise yourself with just how tricky it is to remove the carbs. I absolutely love the commentary when he finally gets them out:
“Wow, what a job” followed by the ironic chuckle “Pretty clean though, probably didn’t need doing at all…..”
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Rebuilding Carbies 15:04
Comprehensive vide showing you how to rebuild you GPz900r carburettors.
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Plastic Welding 9:02
OK – a bit of Aussie contributor bias here! There are plenty of variations available online, and this technique works an absolute treat for repairing bike panels, especially the broken side panel lugs. I had one of these ‘broken-lug’ panels fall off (and destroy itself) when the mounting bolt worked itself loose, so repairing the lug is a very sensible fix.
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Fiat 500 with GPz900r engine 2:58
Many country folks have made home made go-karts with lawn-mower engines – this just takes that to another level. Hilarious!
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Serial number - 000001! 2:22
A quick peek at the first Ninja hiding away in the Kawasaki Museum in California! 10km on the clock and never started apparently!
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GPz900r (ZX900) Database
A1 to A4
A5 to A8
A9 to A12
A13 to A16
About the Site
My family loves older vehicles, the newest one we own is 2003! But I am acutely aware of the ownership complexities especially:
- they often need more 'hands-on' mechanical work &;
- there often isn't any local expertise from the service centres;
- there is often no new parts available from the manufacturer;
- parts often have to be sourced 2nd-hand or from overseas.
So we often end up doing a lot of the research & work ourselves and this information gets stored either locally with the bike or online forums - although finding the useful parts in these forums isn't always simple.
The original goal of the site was simply somewhere for me to record service work & contacts on my GPz900r so that my kids (the one that likes bikes anyway!) could easily access it - it doesn't concern me if it was publicly available.
I then realised that with this online structure in place I could also offer it to other owners, and the site could potentially expand to record other owners experiences and expertise , meaning we can learn from others but also pass on this knowledge to subsequent owners of these wonderful motorcycles.
At least Covid-19 has given me plenty of spare time to pursue my passion for the motorcycle!
Location
Adelaide
South Australia
gpz900r@motoshoot.com.au
Timeline
1983 - Honda XR200
1984 - wanted a GPz
1985-2013 - cars+family
2014 - finally got one!
Disclaimer
The information provided on this site (or links) is personal experiences from non-professional home-mechanics, so neither it's accuracy nor it's validity can be confirmed. If you need professional advise please visit your local Kawasaki dealership or a qualified industry professional.
Like riding any motorcycle, at the end of the day the only opinion that really counts is your own!