1988 KAWASAKI GPZ EX500 A2

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Any bikers here know anything good/bad about this bike?

Looking to possibly buy one this week for my first big bike, am currently riding a CBR 125R 2004.

Cheers.
 
I'm sure I have a review in an old motorbike magazine from when these were released. Main gripes were the uncomfortable saddle, lots of vibrations compared to a 4 cylinder bike, useless mirrors and poor stand.

I think that they liked it otherwise, I can't check as the mag is in a drawer at work.
 
They were nice bikes in their day, reasonably light and a very good step up in performance from a 125 without having ridiculous amounts of power and no nasty handling vices.

It's a pretty old bike now however, so you'd need to make sure it's been well looked after.
 
34k miles on an f plate, garaged with FSH and fairings re sprayed ninja green :)

Should be a bargin @ £750 with a bit of haggling to knock it down a bit.
 
Hi

Scanner is knackered so some digi shots will have to do I'm afraid.

Original publishing house and magazine are both no longer in business so I doubt this will upset anyone immensely with regards to copyright.

Article was published in 1988.

GPZ01.jpg


GPZ02.jpg


GPZ03.jpg


Hope that helps!
 
I enjoyed reading that :)

The bit at the end was funny though - 'it could, however, mean that this is a short lived model'. How wrong that turned out to be. They were still selling new ones of these until a couple of years ago.
 
how are you finding the cbr125?, Did you buy new, any problems at all with it? I have heard its tiny as a bike and slow as a snail....any truth? Looks like a good bikes to me!
 
On a bike of that age you need to check the following:

Head bearings
Swingarm bearings
Gearbox output shaft bearing
Wheel bearings

Unless it's had a strip and rebuild recently it's highly likely that all of those will be shot on a Kwakker of that age due to Kawasaki being very stingy with the old ht grease.
 
I sold my 2001 MY on an 02 plate with 7k miles for £1000, so I'd say £750 is very steep for a 1988 bike with 34k miles!
 
oh and i didnt get it in the end. Am definatly looking for a GPZ in and around bristol, if anybody knows a decent one id much appreciate it!
 
Just curious......why so set on a GPZ500?.

They are not bad bikes, by any manner of means, but you could do a lot better for the price IMHO.

The GPZ 500 engine is dismal, wheezy and boring to ride.

Not being offensive, but i can think of a load more bikes you could be looking at in a similar price range/engine cc bracket. :cool:
 
The GPZ engine is far from dismal or wheezy, there is a noticable kick in power at 7k RPM, it's quick enough to see off anything short of a supercar on the road at a traffic light GP. It's not the most fun bike in the world once you're used to it, but it was a million times better than my 125 and I loved it while I had it. The handling was very stable, but ultimately not quick enough for me which is why I ended up trading up. It was still a good bike though.

Go for the 1994 or later model which has a better rear brake and slightly updated styling though if you buy. Only thing I did was buy braided brake lines which helped the feel from the brakes. Go for the Bridgestone BT-45 tyres also.

For less than a grand the alternatives are far and few between unless you want something older and/or rusting. Especially if you don't want a naked bike.
 
Draeger said:
Just curious......why so set on a GPZ500?.

They are not bad bikes, by any manner of means, but you could do a lot better for the price IMHO.

The GPZ 500 engine is dismal, wheezy and boring to ride.

Not being offensive, but i can think of a load more bikes you could be looking at in a similar price range/engine cc bracket. :cool:
Click to expand...

could you elaborate on this please?
 
Rilot said:
On a bike of that age you need to check the following:

Head bearings
Swingarm bearings
Gearbox output shaft bearing
Wheel bearings

Unless it's had a strip and rebuild recently it's highly likely that all of those will be shot on a Kwakker of that age due to Kawasaki being very stingy with the old ht grease.
Click to expand...

Forks springs are very weak on these as well, they wore out in about 6k on most bikes, leaving you riding a 125mph pogo stick.

I personally wouldnt of touched one when they were new, as they were very shoddily built, i certainly wouldnt touch the one the op is talking about.
 
As I said, they are not "bad bikes" it depends on what you want to use it for. As a commuter bike it would be fine, but if you are looking at using it for run outs at weekends for instance, it would get boring ( personal opionion ).

However, coming from a 125, you may well find it's fine.

I have never riden a GPZ500, but I had a KLE500 for a while as a "hack" bike.

Same engine. I currently ride an Aprilia Mille RSV, and to me ( again, personal opinion ) twins are all about grunt down below and a twin such as the GPZ that has to have the nuts revved off it till things start happening at 7k revs kinda defeats the purpose.

But then again, I've been fed on a diet of large capacity superbikes for a long time now, so perhaps I'm being unfair in this situation, regarding the OP's experience and current ride. :cool:

If however, I was looking for a "step up" from a 125 to a first "big bike" I would look at some of the older generation 600 cc bikes.

They wont be particularly more expensive to run and insure and the novelty of your first "big bike" will hold interest for a lot longer than a Kwack 500 twin will.

A couple of examples from a quick search, and yeah, some of these are more than the price mentioned at £750, but set yourself a limit of £1000 and there's quite a few bargains to be had out there:-

Kwack ZZR600's :-

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...KI&model=ZZR&min_pr=&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...KI&model=ZZR&min_pr=&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=

Yamaha FZR600 :-

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...AMAHA&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=

Suzuki Bandit 600 :-

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...UZUKI&model=&min_pr=&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=



Honda CBR 600 :-

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...DA&model=CBR&min_pr=&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=

That's just with a quick search on Biketrader. Have a browse through the likes of eBay and some other places like your local papers and the Adtrader and there are loads out there to take your pick from.

I may as I have said, came across a bit "harsh" with my opinion on the GPZ500. If you find one that is mint, low miles and looks genuine, at the right price, it could be a great buy for the OP. ;)
 
For £1000 you can have your choice of the following, almost all of which are far better bikes than the GPZ500 (and thats going by biketrader ad prices!):

Honda CBR600
Suzuki Bandit 600
Yamaha XJ 600
Yamaha FZR600
Kawasaki ZZR600
Honda CBR400
Honda VFR400
Kawasaki ZXR400
Yamaha FZR400
Suzuki GSXF600
Kawasaki ER5
Suzuki GS500
Yamaha TDM850
Kawasaki GPZ900R
Triumph Trident 900
Suzuki RF 900
Yamaha FJ1100
 
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