Kawasaki GPz550
Retro rocket
November/December 2005
By Ric Anderson
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Introduced in 1981, the GPz550 could outperform most 650s in its day. The bikini fairing offered little protection but added to the bike's European flavor.
Photo by Ric Anderson
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Years produced: 1981-85
Total production: N/A
Claimed power: 57bhp @ 9,500rpm
Top speed: 119mph
Engine type: Four-stroke, in-line four-cylinder, twin overhead cams
Weight (wet): 211kg (469lb)
Price then: $2,599
Price now: $800-$1,500
For Brian Goodwin, it was the motorcycle equivalent of the woman who left Roy Orbison growling and saying, “Mercy.’’
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Goodwin was 14 years old when he swung a leg over a Kawasaki GPz550 for the first time. Some bikes make your heart beat faster; this one was designed to be the motorcycling equivalent of the woman who left Roy Orbison growling and saying, “Mercy.’’ It was something new and exotic, a Firecracker Red sport bike in a sea of black and maroon factory custom cruisers. The magazines called it a wrist rocket or a pocket rocket; later, it would be recognized as the godfather of the crotch rocket.
“The first thing that caught my eye was the red color,’’ Goodwin says. “Then I sat on one and it fit me, so that really put the thought in my head that I wanted to have one someday. I just loved the look of it: It was so ahead of its time.’’
From its twin front disc brakes to the tips of its gloss-black mufflers, the GPz was designed to make testosterone flow and checkbooks fly open.
Introduced in 1981, it was an upgraded version of the KZ550 street bike, with a hot-rodded version of the old machine’s four-cylinder engine, an air-charged fork, adjustable shocks and a bikini fairing.
The new engine generated a claimed 57bhp at 9,500, 4bhp more than the KZ’s power plant, and propelled the 469lb machine to a quarter-mile time of 12.65 seconds — a class record — in a test by Cycle World.
“750s Beware! Here Comes the GPz550,’’ blared the cover of Motorcyclist in February 1981.
Similar praise flowed like Cutty Sark at a Shriner convention. Reviewers found that the bike worked well on twisty roads and on longer hauls, thanks to comfortable ergonomics and 51mph highway mileage, a 4.0gal tank and a reasonably wide and supportive seat.
The GPz was hailed as a bike that could be used as a commuter during the week and raced on weekends, an all-around thrill ride that would demolish other bikes in its class and even leave most 650s in its rear-view.
Scott Pratt, owner of a 1984 GPz550, says the bike remains potent. He’s clocked quarter-mile times as low as 12.80 seconds on a bike virtually all stock except for a K&N air filter and a Stage 1 carb kit.
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