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The "Z1", introduced in 1972, astonished the motorcycling world with its engine performance, handling stability, and durability. At the time, its performance capabilities • Read about Dave and his trips
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were world -class, earning the Z1 and Kawasaki great respect. Since the later Z1R and Z1000J were developed along the same lines as the Z1, Kawasaki's air-cooled, 4- • Restoration Projects *NEW*
Use keywords to find the product cylinder, 2-valve engine technology evolved even further and proved extremely popular among motorcyclists. At the same time, however; competitors were rapidly • Site Map
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Advanced Search advancing their own technologies. Other manufacturers were undertaking new development efforts to build 4-valve single cylinder engines, V-shaped engines and rotary
and turbo technologies, and on and on. Although Kawasaki maintained absolute confidence in its air-cooled, 4-cylinder, 2-valve engines, they had to admit that the appeal Shopping Cart
Currencies of the Z1's technology was beginning to pale. A decision was made, therefore; to develop a brand-new, high-performance, next generation motorcycle by applying
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UK Pound everything Kawasaki engineers had learned through their Z1 experiences. This was in September, 1980.
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What's New? One year passed before a prototype was produced. Amazingly, the engineers had mounted a DOHC air-cooled, 6-cylinder, 2-valve engine to it! Development goals for the
new machine were high power output and low vibration and the 6-cylinder smoothly delivered more than 100PS with very little accompanying vibration. For a first-time
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prototype, its engine layout, impressively, was nearly perfect, but the Kawasaki Engineers were not satisfied. Why? Because the engine was too smooth and, they felt,
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somewhat tame, especially when their main objective was to develop a motorcycle that would shock the marketplace even than the "Z1" did. £58.00
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Parts categories So, they gave up the mild 6-cylinder and dared to build a DOHC, air-cooled, 4-cylinder, 4-valve engine. The decision to drop all of Kawasaki's previous 2-valve engine
technology and embark upon development of a completely new 4-valve design, a first for Kawasaki, was based on the need for better charging efficiencies. And with the
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completely new design, Kawasaki could set motorcycle engineering precedent by adopting a secondary balancer to its new engine to control vibration. For a low center of
gravity Kawasaki would, for the first time, adapt its diamond frame technology for a large-displacement, high performance motorcycle.

During the development of the GPZ900R, as with the developments of the MACH III and Z1, the engineers had to leap one technical hurdle after another. One challenge,
in particular, was how to effectively deal with the extreme temperatures generated by high-performance, air-cooled engines. The high temperatures produced 'heat
fatigue' that caused power output to decline and even warp the valve cover and other vital engine components. Kawasaki engineers quickly found that current air-cooled
engine technology would not allow for the development of a durable, high-performance, 120PS air-cooled engine. After all, ten years had already past since the Z1 and its
engine technology were introduced.

"A liquid-cooled engine is the answer!" This statement completely changed the development challenges that laid ahead. Research and development efforts were carried out with new resolve and the original
development goal of producing something better than the Z1 served to further to the engineers' fervour. Towards the end of 1982, exactly ten years after the introduction of the Z1, the first DOHC liquid-cooled,

4-cylinder, 4-valve prototype was produced. Wet liners were used for improved cylinder cooling efficiency, and the previous center cam-chain was moved to the left side
to make the engine more compact. Although the production engine had a single cam-chain driving two camshafts, the prototype was equipped with two cam-chains; one
from the left side of the crankshaft to the exhaust side and the other from the right-hand side of the exhaust to the intake camshaft, in an effort to make the cam
sprocket as small as possible. By adopting the side cam-chain system, together with the new generator located at the rear of the cylinder, the engineers were able to
realize a long-cherished dream of building small engines.

Next came the frame. It was Kawasaki's first attempt to apply diamond frame design technology to a large-displacement, high-performance machine. Because of the
diamond frame construction, the engine was considered a stressed member of the frame and had to be included in analysis of the frame's structural integrity. At the time,
Kawasaki did not possess the resources necessary for computer analysis so gruelling test-rides of hundreds of kilometers per day had to be carried out, again and again.
After various trials, it was decided that high tensile steel pipe would be used for the main frame and aluminium square pipe for the seat rail. An Automatic Variable
Damping System (AVDS) equipped 38mm front fork and a rear UNI-TRAK suspension system, together with the 16" front and 18"rear wheels, completed chassis

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development and provided the GPZ900R with light handling and excellent stability.

With the frame nearing perfection, it was time to delve into fairing design. At a time when 1,000cc motorcycles were the main market forces, Kawasaki was working to
topple them with a 900. So of course, the perfect design was required for the "next-generation, Supersports machine." Research was conducted from the dual aspects of
great design and aerodynamic efficiency. While maintaining 'good looks', every part had to be produced in a manner that enhanced top speed. Illustrations were based on
the slant-nosed appearance of a 'jumping dolphin'-like image. But in the end, the dolphin silhouette had to be toned-down due to market trends that were rejecting
anything extreme. Many proposals were made and finally the uniquely modem lines and angular appearance of the GPZ900R were finished. Numerous wind-tunnel tests
were made to improve aerodynamic characteristics as well as design quality. The resulting coefficient of drag was a surprisingly low 0.33.

Eleven years after the introduction of the Z1, Kawasaki's newest 900cc could again claim the title "World's Fastest." Its recorded top speed was over 240km/h and its 0-
400m acceleration time was 10.976 seconds. After tireless preparation, Kawasaki introduced the new GPZ900R to the public at the 1983 Paris Salon. Its outstanding
performance capabilities utterly impressed all who attended the GPZ900R world press introduction at Laguna Seca Raceway, USA in December of the same year. In
January 1984, sales of the GPZ900R began world-wide with the word "Ninja" added as a prefix to its name for the North American market. It didn't take long before the
GPZ900R became the best-selling bike in the world. It won the title "Bike of the Year" in many countries. Since being introduced 13 years ago, more than 70,000 units
have been shipped from Japan despite the GPZ900R having yielded its Kawasaki flagship position to the ZZ-R1100 in 1990. Today, in 1997, 25 years after the Z1 and 13
years after the first Ninja, Kawasaki will see a new entry to its high-performance 900cc legend...⦠THE GPZ900R.

THE RED REVOULOTION

April 14th 1984 saw the launch of a new standard of superbike. The GPZ900R from Kawasaki.
This was to be the first of its kind, a liquid cooled in line four with handling to match the normally expected Kawasaki performance. The first really new model since the launch of the Z1300 and the start of a new line in Kawasakiâ
™s model range, the NINJA.
It was launched in a blaze of glory at dealers all around the country at what was know as âœTHE RED REVOULOTIONâ?, an open night with an unveiling of the bike and competitions to win GPZ900R merchandise. It was a first
of its kind for Kawasaki who used the idea many more times latter to launch other models. The turnout at our dealers, Knott Mill Kawasaki was tremendous.
A video was played all night showing the development of the GPZ in Japan and then questions were asked afterwards. A very successful night indeed, but we could not sell anybody a GPZ on the night because such was the hype
for this new model that we had sold all our allocation months before the launch. We did however take orders for 12 more bikes and sold 3 of the KLR600 trail bikes that were being launched at the same time.
The following week deliveries were made to the lucky customers who had placed their orders months before including me. All was wellâ¦â¦â¦â¦..!!!!!.

ENGINE, GEARBOX AND CARBURETTOR:

I had a Z1300 at the time so I was used to water-cooling, indeed the Z13 had no problem at all in this department, as for fork seals! That was another story!.
Anyway, the GPZ was different. It obviously did not like being water-cooled, at any sort of temperature above freezing it would dump its load of coolant all over the floor. The temperature gauge would also read hot for most of the
time as well, even though you knew the motor could only just be getting warm. Something was defiantly not right.!!!!
Kawasaki frantically tried to sort out the problem before somebody tried to claim that the slippery coolant had caused a get off. Luckily none of our customers did.
Kawasaki decided that there was not a problem after all and it was in fact the gauge that was reading wrong. They instructed dealers to fit a resistor into the system, which recalibrated the gauge to read differently.
This resistor, part number 28018-1052 did the job all right but it did not stop the motor from overheating at slow speeds. I seriously think Kawasaki thought that if the gauge was reading low then the rider would not be bothered
about the pool under the bike!!!. This overheating carried on for many years to come. It was not unusual for owners to fit a switch so that they could turn on the electric fan manually.
When the motor was running it was a beauty, smooth and powerful with acceleration like nothing else that Kawasaki had produced before. Normally the engine ran very quietly with the minimum of valve and chain noise but it
was noticed that some motors would make an abnormal rattling sound from the area of the balancer mechanism. Most owners were previous Kawasaki owners and were wary of the familiar cam chain tensioner rattle that was
common on the GPz series so they were not that bothered. However the noise could come and go at certain revs and was at times very disconcerting. Kawasaki decided that they needed to carry out more enquiries and concluded
that the balance shaft needed to be firstly adjusted and then if this was not successful minor engine modification needed to be carried out to increase oil supply to the balance shaft. This involved removing the sump plate and
drilling out the oil feed hole to the balance shaft to 1.4mm thus increasing the flow of oil to the shaft. All sump plates fitted at the factory after frame number 009040 were changed to include this modification.
These repairs were done under warranty and we rarely told the customer that we had done it because we were a bit embarrassed that such a new model would need repairs so early on in its life.
It was normal practise to check the valve clearances at the first 500-mile service and this involved removing most of the upper bodywork and of course the cam cover. However it was not uncommon for the locating dowel pins on
the underside of the cover to fall out and into the motor with dire results. Kawasaki advised us to either stick the dowel pins in with silicon or leave them out altogether. They were only really used to locate the four small rubber
gaskets, which could also be held in place with silicon anyway. There were a few reports of seized motors when the dowels had stuck between the crank and the cases causing much expense and worry to mechanics who had not
noticed them falling out!.
The GPZ was fitted with a set of four Keihan CVK34mm carbs, which were normally excellent in operation, but it was noticed that sometimes there could be a slight hesitation at low engine speeds, a bit like the lag that we used to
get on the injection models. Kawasaki decided to modify the needle jet holder allowing more fuel to pass through it. The new part number for this holder was 13091-1347.
This went some way to eliminate the problem but some owners were still complaining of flat spots at around 3,000 rpm and erratic tick over. Inspection of the carb diaphragms verified that they could twist in the carb bodies so
Kawasaki modified them and fitted them under warranty to all affected bikes. All new bikes after frame number 015192 had these modified parts fitted at the factory. If you need to check to see if yours was done, there was a
blob of white paint on the left side of no.1 carburettor.
The next thing to go wrong was the gearbox. Customers had started to complain of strange noises from the gearbox area when in neutral, usually when the bike was idling on the side stand. It would seem that there was
excessive clearance between the selector forks and the sliding gears. Kawasaki modified the forks by increasing their width and hard chrome plating the ends of them. All new bikes from frame number 004545 were modified at
the factory leaving all earlier bikes to be sorted out under warranty. However even now there are still some bikes still on the original forks making strange grinding whirling noises. Not a great problem but annoying just the same.
Just when we thought we had the 900 motor sorted we started to get much more serious problems with the top end. Customers were ringing us up with dead bikes!. Kawasaki bikes did not die, they may have rested for a while
but this was dead, deceased, no more!.
It would seem that the valve spring retainers were starting to break causing at the best a loose valve and at worst a destroyed cylinder head and piston. Serious stuff indeed. The offending retainers were modified and fitted free
of charge under warranty. The new part number for this part was 12009-1054 and was fitted to all new bikes from frame number 030463 onwards. Some bikes had to have new heads as well as pistons and valves. My bike had so
far performed faultlessly but I was a little worried to say the least!.
Then it got worse, very worse!. There were reports of camshaft failure. Customers were complaining of excessive noise from the top end of the motor. When inspected it was found that the camshaft lobes were starting to pit and
score and so were the followers. Kawasaki put it down to insufficient oil supply to the cylinder head and modified the removable oil pipes by making them significantly larger in diameter. The new pipes were given the part number
32102-1423. All new bikes after the frame number 045399 were modified at the factory. Any bike out of warranty was also covered as a good will gesture by Kawasaki.
So there you were with your motor more or less replaced with new modified parts, surely nothing else could go wrong, could it?. Guess again!, this time it was the turn of the top right hand radiator hose which was found to be
able to rub against the bottom of the fuel tank and burst spraying hot coolant everywhere, nasty!!. Kawasaki produced a small piece of rubber trim to put onto the bottom of the tank and fitted them under warranty. Part number
for this trim was 53044-1171. This seemed to work.
Anyway, despite all these problems in the back of my mind, I went on a two weeks holiday to the south of France on the GPZ without a single hiccup apart from the usual dumping of coolant at every pay booth on the French
motorways and a numb bum!. I managed over 8000 miles without a single problem on my GPZ, I was one of the lucky few!.

ELECTRICAL:

The Japanese are renown for their superb electricals and the GPZ was excellent in this department except for a few niggling faults.
It was noticed that the two rear bolts holding the fuel tank on were to long and could chaff the main wiring loom causing shorts, this was easily sorted by the fitting of two 3mm shorter bolts, job sorted!
However it also came to light that the main loom could also short out just above the thermostat housing so Kawasaki produced a cable tie especially for the job that kept the loom out of harms way. Nothing serious of course but

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Kawasaki were always there to sort any problems, they were good at that.
The next electrical problem was a bit more serious, customers were complaining of serious misfires for no apparent reason. It turned out that the plug caps were popping off. This was due to a build up of combustion gasses
caused by leaking spark plugs. Kawasaki advised everyone of the correct torque setting for the plugs, 10.0 ft lbs, and advised to cut off the moulded in breather pipe that each plug cap had. Eventually they modified the plug caps
to a much better design.
Another source of misfires was the stupid side stand cut out switch, which could easily seize up with our inclement weather conditions. Replacement of the switch was the only remedy.
Another strange electrical fault was with the horns. When you set off on your day out riding they were fine but by midday they had give up the ghost!. It was found that some of the internal plastic horn parts were suffering heat
damage but were all right again once they cooled down. Kawasaki modified them with reinforced glass fibre parts and gave them a new part number of 27003-1234/1235.
FRAME, BRAKES AND SUSPENSION:

Customers had been complaining that the air filter box was getting really dirty from dirt and water from the rear wheel, so Kawasaki produced a swing arm mud flap, part number 35019-1124, that could be fitted to the top of the
swing arm to stop this from happening. All bike from frame number 007360 were fitted with this flap at the factory. Not a big problem really.
More seriously, it was possible that the rear shock absorber top-mounting bolt could fracture breaking off at either end. The rear shock had nowhere to go when this happened but it was all worrying stuff!.
Kawasaki modified the bolt and the nut and fitted them under warranty. The new parts numbers were: 92002-1465 for the bolt and 92015-1188 for the nut.
It was also reported that the front fender could crack at the mounting holes on some models. This was due it was said by contamination from brake fluid. Why brake fluid should suddenly start leaking is anybodies guess!.
On the subject of brakes it was not unusual for the pistons to seize up causing the once excellent brakes to start dragging and binding. Removal and clean up usually sorted this out.
The discs themselves were prone to cracking and warping even on low mileage models and were expensive to replace. These days pattern items can be bought for around £65.

EXHAUSTS:
The original system was prone to rusting and many were replaced under warranty, usually with some aftermarket system. The collars holding them on were also prone to loosening off causing excessive noise from the front of the
motor, very worrying indeed especially after the previous camshaft noises!!!.

So apart from these relative few engine problems the GPZ matured into a superb all round motorcycle, which is still a current model in some countries although much modified from that first âœRED REVOLOUTIONâ? model of
1984.

Year Model Code Frame Number Engine Number

1984 ZX900A1 ZX900A-000001 - 015000 ZX900AE000001 on
ZX900A-015004 - 015500 ZX900AE000001 on
1985 ZX900A2 ZX900A-015001 - 015003 ZX900AE019001 on
ZX900A-015501 on ZX900AE019001 on
1986 ZX900A3 ZX900A-031001 on ZX900AE040001 on
1987 ZX900A4 ZX900A-035101 on ZX900AE046001 on
1988 ZX900A5 ZX900A-038501 on ZX900AE048501 on
1988 ZX900A5 ZX900A-041025 - 041494 ZX900AE048501 on
1989 ZX900A6 ZX900A-042001 on ZX900AE048501 on
1990 ZX900A7 ZX900A-048001 on ZX900AE048501 on
1991-96 ZX900A8 ZX900A-056001 on ZX900AE048501 on

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