I got it ridiculously cheap. It needed just new tires and a couple of fairing bolts. The guy who owned it was 6' 4" inches tall, and he got this bike as his first machine. That was a big mistake. The bike scared him so much, he drove it and parked it after putting only 4395 miles on it. He said the bike terrified him.
He had his best friend sell it for him, this guy had a stable of motorcycles, 12 in all I think, all collectible. I drove from New Fairfield to New London Ct., almost a 2 hr. ride, to buy a Suzuki GS1000G shaft drive bike he had. I wanted to make a trike out of it. I even called the guy halfway there, but when I arrived, he said he had just sold it to a guy 1/2 hour earlier. I was furious. I told him either way, he was going to have to compensate me. He drags out this bike, and says "How about this Kawasaki ZZR1200 for $2200 dollars), when I saw the mileage, I had to contain my smile. He just got it back from the local dealership and they rebuilt the carbs. I put it on my trailer and drove out of there. The bike was probably worth around $4500 bucks.
I have since put on a pair of Pirelli Diablo II tires, rated for the top end of the bike, which is 180 mph. It puts out 1445 h.p. at the rear tire. I've lowered the rear suspension by installing a new linkage system, by 1" inch. I'm in the process of doing the same for the front end. I have to machine a set of handlebar risers and install earlier years handlebars, as these are ridiculously too low and uncomfortable. I've upgraded the disc brake calipers. Nice thing about this bike is that I know all the recommended upgrades as it has been along for a long time. On the "ZZRBIKES" forum I belong too, there are guys who have 150K miles on the same bikes. This will be the last bike I will ever need to buy. I have received some offers on this bike that tell me I really lucked out.
This year I plan to put as many miles as I can as I can se the sand running out, and know that some day I'll have to stop riding.
In first gear, the bike can go to 80, just riding it normally you hit 55 mph, and you still have 5 more gears to shift to (it's a 6 speed). Luckily the bike does not have to be revved up to go, but you can't ride around in first all day. I anticipate getting tickets on this bike, but I will take the back roads to first, slow me down, and secondly, avoid the cops. That light rust on the calipers came off on the first ride. I will probably be getting some thicker aftermarket ones though, depends. Actually, I may wear some "depends" on my first long ride.
