OZZY
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posted February 02, 2003 05:51 AM
1984 ZX900A1 questions
I would like to find out if this bike would be worth getting and restoring?
What should I look for, what were its problem areas?
Are parts hard to come by?
I am going to go look at it today and see if it is as the buyer represented over the phone. He says it has all the plastic on it, none is broken but does have "some" scratches. Broken left front turn signal, and front brake hose leaks "down where it hooks to the forks".
Sounds to me like it was down on the left side, wondering how bad the exhaust is scratched,hmmm.
He states it runs and rides good, but how can you believe that when the front brakes are bogus,lol.
He wants to much for it, but knowing the area he lives, $$ talk. I think there will be plenty of room to wheel and deal.
If it is not trashed and I can get it cheap, it will make a fun restore project.
2 A1's setting together in the garage would be nice eye candy 
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"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses......HIT IT!"
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swft
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posted February 02, 2003 06:07 AM
Would be a fun project - if the basics are there, and the price is right, go for it!
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nedragr
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posted February 02, 2003 08:03 AM
If it's all there, alot of small things can still be found. Kawi sold a ton of those bikes, therefore dealers have alot of small stuff laying around gathering dust. My dealer up hear in N.Dakota is constantly moving parts on ebay for the older Kawasaki's.
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Real racebikes run premix!!
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Zhooligan
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posted February 02, 2003 11:43 AM
OZZY are you talking about a 1974 900? I don't recall an 84 900, but I don't claim to know every model of Kawasaki. I had a 74 900 and it was a fun motorcycle. If you are into the nostalga (sp?) the project should be fun. The original bike was pretty damn good for it's time but.... the brakes and handling were just above scarey in comparrison to modern day bikes. But they were still fun.
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ohitstodd
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posted February 02, 2003 12:26 PM
I don't remember what year it was..maybe '84(?) the 900 had a recall of sorts. The temperature gauge read high. Kawasaki's "fix" was to add a resistor in the circuit, if memory serves. This was an obvious non-fix as the bikes did tend to run hot.
I don't know for certain if this info. is correct. But to the best of my knowledge it is.
I never heard of anyone overheating their bike into "lump of aluminum" status, just something to be mindful of..maybe 
Todd
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worm~hole
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posted February 02, 2003 12:42 PM
...so...is it a 74' or an 84'?...good 4-into-4 stock pipes for the 74-75 Z-1s are pretty pricey ...I threw my new 75' pipes in the dumpster a couple of months fater I bought the new bike...DOH!...the new Z1000's pipes are a funky new look for an old theme, eh?
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zxlnt
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posted February 02, 2003 01:14 PM
Guys he is talking about the Original Grandfather of ALL the Ninja, the 1984 Gpz900R/900 Ninja. First watercooled inline 4cyclinder 16valve sportbike. Ozzy pm and I'll give ya my cellphone. I had an 85 like in the picture I can tell ya all you want to know about. I can't belive no one remembers this bike...
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ohitstodd
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posted February 02, 2003 01:16 PM
 Edited By: ohitstodd on 2 Feb 2003 13:17
Ahem. No one? :P See my post above. LOL
Todd
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Zhooligan
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posted February 02, 2003 01:17 PM
It's not nice to make fun of us old folks with oldtimers disease!
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future; -- Youth is forever.
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zxlnt
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posted February 02, 2003 01:18 PM
Well I am not reallllll young 38, got grey hair to prove it 
Ahem. No one? LOL Well almost no one Todd.
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nedragr
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posted February 02, 2003 01:25 PM
You can find pics of the 84 in the Kawasaki Museum link. Up until this year, the old man at the shop says that's the last time Kawi has turned out something new. He spit out a bunch of 1st's for the industry and Kawi but can't remember any specific ones. Kawasaki doesn't seem to be as aggresive in the industry as they once where. Lets say "Bob" is very happy with the new 6RR that they have brought to the table this year.
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ohitstodd
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posted February 02, 2003 01:37 PM
quote:
Well I am not reallllll young 38, got grey hair to prove it
And I, am a devastatingly young looking 40. LMFAO.
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OZZY
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posted February 02, 2003 02:39 PM
zxlnt, that is the one.
All these years later and those turn signal lens are still being used!
Haven't been able to get there today, hopefully tomorrow. Have relatives are coming over this afternoon, 
____________
"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses......HIT IT!"
Blues Bros.
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VincentHill
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posted February 02, 2003 04:20 PM
I still Have mine and my goal was to make my ZX11 feel like it and my Zx12R has the frame over the engine, tall and narrow and I loved it! The real cure for the overheating was to remove the shroud behind the fan to allow the air past. 30% antifreeze Distilled water nix and the real key was to mount a water temp senson in the oil Pan. This turned the fan on earlier and withthe shroud gone, air flowed through the radiator rather than be stagnet. I still have a few new parts for mine and One Day when things slow down, plan to restore my 1984 900 Ninja GPZ900R
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dougmeyer
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posted February 03, 2003 08:16 AM
Ozzy,
These are great bikes. I had two of them, one was the very first one around northern California in '84 and got a lot of attention. They handle very well, make excellent "sport tourers".
IMHO the 84's are the best looking. They were available in the US through the 87 model year, and all the parts are common except for the colors. Kawasaki sold them with updates in Japan and Europe well into the 90's and there was a 750 cc model in Japan. I am currently looking for one myself for the "collection". I have a perfect tank for an '84 in the box that I've been saving for just the right bike.
Doug
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OZZY
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posted February 03, 2003 04:53 PM
I went and checked it out this afternoon.
The plastic has all been repaired at one time or another with a crappy repaint.
Upper fairing is trash.
Major parts appear to be good. Didnt dial indicate the rims or rotors, but they dont show any apparent damage.
Odometer shows 28k miles.
Has Kerker or similiar exhaust on it, rusty as all get out.
Looks like a good starting point, needing the cosmetics and exhaust repaired or replace. A typical money hole, LOL.
Gonna let the guy set on it for a week, then call him up and offer him $200 for it.
____________
"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses......HIT IT!"
Blues Bros.
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swft
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posted February 03, 2003 06:07 PM
I had an '84 while I was in South Carolina. I was changing the oil every 1000 miles.
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DoubleAught
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posted February 03, 2003 06:25 PM
I had an 85, put 86k miles on it before I sold it to a guy in Tx. It was still running great, though the electrics were showing their age. He let it sink into his front yard over the next two years....I shoulda kept it! They did have that Anti-dive thing going on back then, and the actuator drew its pressure from the brake system, so it does make sense what he said about the leak. Good 150mph comfortable bike, but those 16" fronts may be getting hard to come by.
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zx12mark
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posted February 05, 2003 09:12 PM
starter clutches
i had one. when the starter clutch goes bad it means you have to split the crank case's. 1000.00 at dealer.if you run it real hard you will be adjusting the valves every 3000 miles. i got real good at it......later killer
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CharlieTuna
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posted February 06, 2003 01:49 PM
I still have a '85 and a '86 Gpz900 in the garage. One is the same paint scheme as the picture shown. The other is a red, white, and blue style.
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Turbobike
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posted February 06, 2003 07:50 PM
Doesn't remember Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'? That was the bike he was on when he racing alonside the jet.
From what I remember of the 900 Ninja was that it did run hot and required a better temp sensor and/or better fan blade.
Steve
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DaveInDaytona
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posted February 06, 2003 08:27 PM
A freind of mine just bought an '84 900 in good shape here in Daytona for $800. I went to look at it for him because he knew I had one that was close to it.
I have an '86 Ninja 1000R in my garage that's in pretty good shape, care to make an offer ?
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DaytonaSportbikes Forum
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zxlnt
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posted February 06, 2003 08:30 PM
quote:
Doesn't remember Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'? That was the bike he was on when he racing alonside the jet.
From what I remember of the 900 Ninja was that it did run hot and required a better temp sensor and/or better fan blade.
Steve
They did run kind of warm. I just hooked a manual fan switch on it and called it good. Never did boil over or anything. Alot of the "overheating" I think was a miscalibrated or generous temperature gauge..
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dougmeyer
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posted February 07, 2003 03:10 PM
These were the first of the high performance liquid cooled bikes. Guys tended to fixate on the temp gauge and in fact it would nudge the red in traffic. (See I told you this liquid cooling thing won't work on a motorcycle!) Some "experts" (like me?) put automotive temp gauges on only to learn that this was about 190-210 F. which happened to be right where it was supposd to be. In any case many people got freaked out by that needle near the red and Kawasaki was deluged with complaints and concerns. The popular fix was a toggle switch on the fan. Kawasaki did the smart thing and sent out a resistor that moved the needle down on the gauge. After that they used recailbrated gauges. The system remained unchanged. I was a dealer at the time, and dealt with these concerns until I wanted to scream.
Doug
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Zhooligan
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posted February 07, 2003 04:30 PM
I have heard that this is the last year for water cooled bikes. Next year they are going to air cooled to avoid over heating problems.
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