1989 Kawasaki
ZXR750
Good for: Hard-as-nails racing image, meaty
looks, savage performance
Bad for: Comfy riding over distance, supple
suspension.
While Honda's RC30 gave more affluent riders
of the late 80's a flavour of what a race bike
felt like on the road (yet at real race bike
prices), the Kawasaki ZXR750 H1 gave those on
a more modest budget the same thing.
Based on the factory ZXR07 endurance racing
prototypes ,the ZXR had an updated version of
the GPX705's liquid-cooled four, in an alloy
beam frame with up-to-date chassis parts.
The ZXR was a committed machine with a stretched-out
racer-esque riding position, a peaky and typically
Kawasaki harsh motor, and the infamous hard
rear shock. The toothpaste green, white and
blue or the more refined black, grey and red
paintschemes set the racer looks off a treat
too.
If you're in the market for a classic 750cc
race replica but don't fancy stumping up the
sky-high prices most RC30 s are fetching these
days, then the gorgeous Kawasaki ZXR750H2 may
be just the bike for you.
Launched in 1989, the ZXR was a true race-rep,
with an aluminium beam frame, 36mm semi flat-side
carbs and styling that still turns heads on
years later.
The ZXR's engine was based around Kawasaki's
GPX750 but with redesigned valve gear, a lighter
crank and different pistons, which helped the
inline four rev to over 12,000rpm and develop
around 90bhp at the back wheel. Outright power
was down against the ZXR's competition but it
produced more midrange and torque than the GSX-R
and VFR.
- Price new - £5299
- Power - 100bhp
- Weight - 205kg
- Engine - Liquid-cooled 748cc 16v inline
four
- Power - 102 bhp
- Top Speed - 155mph
- Insurance - 14 (of 17)
Like Yamaha, Kawasaki was slow off the 1988
WSB starting blocks. At the time its only competitive
street-based bike eligible for WSB was the steel-framed
GPX750. Even so, French racer Adrien Morillas
managed to fashion a win on the GPX at the Hungaroring.
Behind the scenes, and as early as 1987, Kawasaki
had already slotted a tuned-to-the-nuts GPX
engine into a dual-beam alloy frame. This bike
was the ZXR-7 and showed great promise when
it took third place at Suzuka 8-Hour.
The road version of the ZXR-7 eventually showed
up in late 1988 as the ZXR750H1, complete with
aluminium frame, race replica bodywork and,
of course, the fantastic Green Meanie paint
scheme. But while Kawasaki dealers worldwide
reaped the rewards of such a fantastic looking
bike in sales and profits in 1992, the race
ZXRs of Kawasaki France proved to be heavy and
slow compared with the competition at the opening
round of the 1989 WSB season.
ZXR success was limited on short tracks, with
the most memorable being Aussie Rob Phillis
showing his future WSB potential when he won
the 1989 Australian 1000cc title on a ZXR. It
was on the World Endurance stage where the ZXR
and ZXR-7RR derivative proved its worth. Kawasaki
won the championship four years in a row Carl
Fogarty writing another race title on his CV
when he helped clinch the 1992 championship.
In the UK, family favourite John Reynolds won
the British 750cc Supercup, scoring several
fastest laps en route to the title.
In 1991, Kawasaki finally entered the homologation
club with the ZXR750R K1, based on the road-going
ZXR750J. Its specification, while impressive
for a ZXR, was too little, too late considering
Honda and Yamaha has similar spec machinery
two years previous. But as a road bike it was
affordable and desirable despite a dry weight
of 190kg. The next version, in 1993, the ZXR750R
M1, had an adjustable swingarm pivot point and
ram-air induction.
Kawasaki's efforts were finally rewarded when
Scott Russell achieved success at Daytona and
won the now prestigious WSN championship in
1993.
Carl Fogarty said: It was a full-blown F1 thing
and has to be the fastest bike I've ever ridden
in my life. It was a big bike, but it was a
missile. When I sat on it I disappeared. I had
a real job hanging off the side of it because
I wasn't big like my team-mate Terry Rymer.
The chassis worked well and I had no problem
with it apart from it was a bit of a lump to
throw around. On the straight at the Bol d'Or,
I just sat back and laughed because I was passing
everyone.
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