avie (04/12/83)
Last week I became the proud owner of a 1982 Kawasaki GPz 1100. It is a new leftover. In one word, the bike is awesome. All you speed nuts probably already know about the GPz, the fastest and quickest bike on the road. The bike has incredible power, about 95 hp at 9000 rpm. Handling is beautiful, and the ride is great. I've only had the bike for a week now, but I've already had it up to an estimated 130 mph (the speedometer only goes up to 85). My fastest ride went something like this: I wait at an intersection for the traffic to pass, then as the last car goes by, I unleash the beast in 1st gear. The bike accelerates quickly to over 50 mph as I bring the tach all the way to 10,500 rpm (red line is 9 grand). I then shift into 2nd, and again bring the tach up to 10.5K. I'm now cruising well into the 70's. The shift into 3rd, followed by more acceleration easily buries the speedometer. I now bring the bike to red line in 3rd. With the speedometer now firmly pressing against the 85 mark, I shift into 4th. Now in excess of 100mph, I continue accelerating in 4th, once again all the way up to red line. Most likely at a speed of about 125mph, I now shift into 5th gear and go a little faster. At an estimated 130mph, I slow down and catch my breath. What a ride! The engine easily reaches red line in any gear, and it gets there quickly. Above 9000 rpm, the engine does not let up at all. I bring it over 10K without difficulty, it just keeps putting out more power. As I mentioned, my bike is an '82. You may ask, "What about the '83?" Well, my brother just bought an '83 GPz 1100 (we bought both at the same time to get a better deal). The '83 is rated at 105 hp at 9500 rpm. (10% more horsepower than the '82) However, the horsepower increase is mostly on the high end... in fact, the '82 has MORE low end power than the '83. Nevertheless, the '83 is the first such bike to break the 10 second quarter mile barrier... it's official time is 10.78 seconds at approx. 125 mph (I believe). NOT BAD! The '83 looks extremely racey. It has to be seen to be believed. It looks like it belongs strictly on the race track. At low speeds, it is somewhat more difficult to drive than the '82, the driver is forced to lean forward due to the positions of the grips. However, this really pays off at high speeds as cornering comes much more naturally. A big difference in the two bikes is the rear suspension. The '83 comes with Uni-Trak, the '82 does not. The Uni-Trak used is a redesigned version of the Uni-Trak used in Kawaski's dirt bikes. The Uni-Trak, along with a wider rear tire, gives the '83 more traction than the '82. Both bikes use Kawasaki's Digital Fuel Injection (DFI). The only difference is that the '83's DFI is self-monitoring. When a problem develops, it trys to keep the bike running by bypassing problemed areas. In the '82, the whole system just shuts down. Both bikes come complete with LCD display indicators and are beautiful to look at. However, I must warn you... do not test drive one unless you really want to buy one... you will fall in love with it and force yourself into buying it! Avadis Tevanian, Jr. seismo!rochester!avie PS: Anyone else have a GPz?