VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P111
new GPz900R there was no real
doubt about the bike's intended
role. Kawasaki described the
fully faired 900 as "... having
the performance of an 1100
and the agility of a 750."
• Two days of racing around
Laguna Seca were enough
to convince journalists from
around the world that Kawasaki
has created one of the fast
-
est street-legal motorcycles
that ever turned a wheel. That
wasn't much of a surprise,
considering Kawasaki's perfor-
mance reputation.
• Had this been any other
Japanese manufacturer, the
GPz900R might have been
powered by a V-4 motor and
housed in a square-section tube
frame. It might also have been
controlled by a computerized
brain and monitored by digital
instruments. It isn't. Instead, it's
powered by a motor with a time-
honored inline-four configuration
and doesn't have anything much
more exotic than a new design
of Keihin carburetor. Don't let
this apparent simplicity fool you,
though. What the GPz900R lacks
in hi-tech hardware it more than
makes up for in down-to-earth
performance. Everything about
the all-new liquid-cooled inline
four seems to have been crafted
for speed. From its 16-inch front
wheel to its concentric rear-axle
adjusters, the latest GPz is a
downsized rocket waiting to be
launched.
• When you ignite this red and
gray beauty, a familiar inline-four-
cylinder motor roars into life.
But that is where any similarities
between this and any previous
Kawasaki motor end.
• Around Laguna Seca's
sweeping high-speed turns, the
900 would, just as the excited en
-
gineers had predicted, easily stay
with and sometimes outhaul
both the 1100 and Turbo. And
unlike both its peakier stable-
mates, the new 900R could be
pushed harder on the exit of
turns without fear of a sudden
rush of power breaking the
rear wheel loose. And in the
less-predictable world of can
-
yon racing, that should prove
to be a real advantage.
• The entire [chassis] does
not appear to offer much
rigidity, but one fast lap of La
-
guna Seca proved that Kawa-
saki has produced a chassis
that others will probably be
judged by. The GPz900R can
be best described as having
the taut feel of a road racer,
an attribute rarely present in
road-going motorcycles. As a
result, the new Kawasaki can be
pushed hard over bumps and
ripples without a weave or wob
-
ble. The same could not be said
for the GPz1100 and 750 Turbo
under the same conditions.
• Just sitting on the bike and
compressing the suspension
gives no indication of how well
the system works.
• At speed, the riding position
felt very good, but many Ameri
-
cans will probably want less of
a European crouch while they
cruise the superslab. But what-
ever the 900R lacks in a ride-to-
work riding position, it more than
makes up for in what Americans
love best: Horsepower. It's a red
rocket in true Kawasaki tradition.
That said, Mr. Dewhurst appar
-
ently enjoyed the Ninja GPz900R
as much as I did.
CN
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with and sometimes outhaul
turns without fear of a sudden
yon racing, that should prove
to be a real advantage.
that others will probably be
judged by. The GPz900R can
Two days of racing
around Laguna Seca
were enough to
convince journalists
from around the
world that Kawasaki
has created one of the
fastest street-legal
motorcycles that ever
turned a wheel.
Pee Wee Gleason was pictured
doing his thing on the Ninja in the
CN issue that had our first ride
review of the Ninja 900.
