Kawasaki GPz550
(Page 3 of 3)
November/December 2005
By Ric Anderson
After being led away from motorcycling for several years by family and career responsibilities, Pratt was able to ease back into the sport three years ago.
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“I looked at some other bikes, but the GPz was ultimately what I wanted,’’ he says.
Changing times
Despite its appeal and mountain of good reviews, the GPz550’s reign ended abruptly when the middleweight wars went to a new level of performance in the mid-Eighties with such bikes as the Yamaha FJ600 and the 600 Ninja.
The bike was discontinued after 1985 but has refused to go away thanks to above-average reliability and ongoing appeal to riders in their 30s and 40s.
When Corey Clough acquired his ’85 GPz550, it had more than 30,000 miles on the odometer and had been stored for four years. With minimal maintenance — a carb kit and new tires, chain and sprocket — Clough had a rock-solid commuter bike.
“People don’t realize the potential of these bikes,’’ he says. “If they did, they’d sell for a lot more.’’
As it stands, the 550 is a bargain leader on the resale market. Presentable, low-mileage bikes can be had for less than $1,500, and higher-mileage units sell for less than $1,000.
“I knew a little about them when they came out, but then I got more interested with I started seeing them show up on a lot of best-value lists,’’ says Scott Hawkins, who bought an ’81 GPz550 in good condition for $700.
Goodwin attributes the 550’s low resale value to a stigma attached to half-liter bikes.
“People think that if it’s not a liter bike, it’s not a man’s bike. But I’m 6-foot-1 and pushing 300lb, and my bike has plenty of power.’’
Pratt says anyone who sniffs at the 550’s displacement is missing a bigger picture: a well-balanced combination of power, handling and reliability.
“The handling is a lot better than what most people who ride modern bikes are going to give it credit for. A lot of guys think you need fat tires, but this is not a high-powered, modern muscle bike, so it doesn’t really have a traction problem. It drops into a turn very rapidly and it has a ton of ground clearance. Plus, I’ve put about 10,000 miles on mine — including more than 150 quarter-mile runs — and it’s never let me down whatsoever.’’
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