ZX10 or GPz1000RX - What 80's four cylinder to get

[RhynoCZ]

Hi, has anyone here ever had one of these, and what is the difference? I'd like to try one of these and right now I've got a chance to get a '88 ZX10 for 830GBP in quite good condition. Would you recommend me ZX10 or rather GPz1000RX or completely different bike, thanks.

I've got other bikes on my ''to buy list'', but right now not many of those are available and the season is about to start
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[jjdugen]

Big, heavy, iffy handling. Kawasaki got it right with the ZZR1100, probably as good as any Blackbird, the earlier efforts are 'flawed'.
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[Scutter]

I had the RX and would agree with the above - in that the handling was a bit iffy... It was very heavy and I used to get wild tank-slappers off it, if I was pushing it on all but the best roads.

I never got to try a ZX10 at the time, but it was said to be a remarkedly better performer than the RX. If I was in the market for that type of bike now however, I would most definitely go for a ZZR rather than either of them.
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Current bike: FJR1300
Previous: SS50, GS50, TS50, GP125, NS125, GSX250, GPZ305, GPz550 81 twin shock, GPZ550 UniTrack, GSX550es, 2x GPZ600r, GPZ1000rx, v Strom 650 GT

[RhynoCZ]

I've had 88' GPz550, so you say it's worse than that?

I was thinking of ZZR, but it's quite a straight runner, isn't it?
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[moppy]

[Scutter]

'Worse' is a subjective term really... I really liked mine as it was my first really big bike - it felt like a rocket ship after the GPZ600r.

BUT - I quickly found the RX to be heavy and a bit of a handful, but that was compared to the 600. I commuted on it for a while too, as I had done on the 600 - and thats where the differences stood out most.

On a run out, it was good - but again I found it heavy in the twisties so difficult to correct part way through turns - but thats probably just me.

As I say, I don't know what the ZX10's were like as I never got to ride one.
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Current bike: FJR1300
Previous: SS50, GS50, TS50, GP125, NS125, GSX250, GPZ305, GPz550 81 twin shock, GPZ550 UniTrack, GSX550es, 2x GPZ600r, GPZ1000rx, v Strom 650 GT

[RhynoCZ]

Moppy: Yes, I meant ZZR1100 and it looks quite too long to be easy to ride on a twisty road.

Scutter: Well, my GPz550 was wobbly, unstable and people who had a ride on it said, it was the worst thing they've ever been on. I'm gonna have to think about it a bit.

What are other options for a rider who's stuck in the '80's and has approx 1200GBP for a bike? I'm definitely getting another four cylinder
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Scutter]

Maybe there was something wrong with your 550? I loved my 81 twin shock - but that was way back when
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Current bike: FJR1300
Previous: SS50, GS50, TS50, GP125, NS125, GSX250, GPZ305, GPz550 81 twin shock, GPZ550 UniTrack, GSX550es, 2x GPZ600r, GPZ1000rx, v Strom 650 GT

[radicalrabit]

all 80'sbikes are going to seem positively neanderthal compared with anything modern.....

One of mine (same as, not specifically the bike)won the 85 TT with Jeff Johnson aboard and he got the thing flying off the ground And that was in standard out of the box set up with nothing done to it apart from the mirrors taken off I think . It was the standard F2F Bol D'or touring bike not the faster VF1000 R
.
https://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz67/radicalrabit/JEOFFjOGNSONONJISbOLdOR_zpsef346499.jpg

Given a run out you will hit 150 mph but you need arms like a gorilla to turn the bastard thing ....but then brakes of the day consisted of smaller discs, fewer pots per caliper and mostly Ferodo Competition material made in Cardif.

for £1200 you could buy now a great looking bike but will never get startling performance out of it. If you want handling you have to look at newer technology.

If I was going for another 80's era bike it would be a Honda VFR 750 END OF. Not the fastest bike but a bloody good v4 that will run for years.. Mine has done 30k IN ITS 26 YEAR LIFE Hardly run in really.

No if you want a bike that handles well, it has to be newer by about 12 years In my opinion.
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VF1000 F2F, BLACKBIRD with carbs, 2nd VF1000F2F just need somewhere to go now..

[RhynoCZ]

When I pushed the GPz to its ''limit'' it was quite ehm, let's say entertaining. I had 110/90 on both wheels and it was great fun. I just got through my photobucket and all those memories got back like it was yesterday

To get money I've got to sell my NC27, people are calling/e-mailing all week, I posted it for 1kGBP, I've got a dilemma, like the last year when I sold the GPz, to a police officer by the way, he said he was a police officer after I told him, the bike can do easilly 185km/h and where I got it to run that fast
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Tarmacsurfer]

I run an early ZZR1100C, not precisely standard any more but even when it was I had no particular trouble hustling it through twisties, then again I'm 6'5 and built like a brick shit house so the weight advantage probably helps. Much stiffer frame than the 1000RX and the geometry is a bit more well set up than the ZX10 despite the bikes looking very similar.

The main thing to remember is that they're all heavy bikes, you can't throw them around in the same way as you can a more modern machine and the flexi-frame in the 1000RX will be a hell of a white knuckle ride, particularly if it's not been rebuilt since new

All solid machines, all very different machines. I'd honestly recommend a test ride if you can get one, the ZX10 is a definite improvement on the RX but the ZZR (even the C, the D is different again but I personally prefer the C engine) is better again by a fair margin. In standard trim you can quicken it up a little by dropping the forks in the yokes by around 5mm and running the eccentric adjusters with the axle to the bottom, small changes but noticeable.
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I'm immortal. Well, so far.

[RhynoCZ]

[radicalrabit]

if you can get VF1000 F OR R WITH AN m.o.t. ON IT Thats used go for it.
Look on the VF1000.COM forum.... These bikes are bloody great ! ..

Mine is out all year in all weathers the tyres are limited but the vf1000 had a smaller front than the vf1000f2f so handles better.

There are plenty of spares available through the forum and an anual get together shortly .

Oh and they will handle fine on a track day so I am told everyones bike seems quicker than mine .. mind you just discovered one diaphragm is shot so that will be why .

There are very very very few of these bikes left on the road just 27 like mine......27 !!!!!! I get my parts from Germany ...
Go and see the Vf if its close to you listen to it running, the collector boxes are the weak point many of them have Neta Cans fitted and sound bloody marvelous.

Let me know how you get on ...
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VF1000 F2F, BLACKBIRD with carbs, 2nd VF1000F2F just need somewhere to go now..

[Casper]

[RhynoCZ]

radicalrabit: I'm gonna contact the seller and ask him about its papers.

1888: Ever since I got the GPz I became a Kawasaki fan, and only a coincidence got me to the NC27. I've always said since I sold the GPz, that my next bike would be a Kawasaki or something interesting for reasonable money. And that was the NC27, actually a coincidence.

Tarmacsurfer: I like the ''first'' version of the ZZR1100, the one that has been used to break the 300km/h record back in the '90.
Link for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7bWuUfch3U and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSG-Ry5byDk and this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR_Ywe-OFcE
But, they are quite rare and people ask quite a lot for one that's actually rideable.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[The Shaggy D.A.]

I had a GPZ750R with a 1000RX engine, so essentially a bored out GPZ900R. Loved it.

https://p1.bikepics.com/2004%5C10%5C13%5Cbikepics-227420-full.jpg
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Shaft]

What about a straight GPz900, at least there's a semblance of handling and they go quite well.
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Things get better with age; I'm close to being magnificent........
20 RE Interceptor, 83 Z1100A3, 83 GS650 Katana
WooHoo, I'm a Man Point Millionaire! https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=234035

[Tarmacsurfer]

[RhynoCZ]

Great looking rocket, pity I live far far away, in the land of beer
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Teflon-Mike]

VF1000F - Big is Beautiful

Brilliant bike; every owner I know has loved it. Only people who have knocked them have tended to have never had them, or not had one long. If you like 80's muscle, its just prime (cut-price) beef. But they are feffoff complex, and NOT an undaunting prospect for a DIY mechanic!

Big Kwaks. Two choices. The original GPz900R - The 'Top-Gun' bike. OR you go ZZR11. End of.

The GPz1000, GPx1000 & the ZX10, were unloved even in the day; They got it SO right with the GPz900R muggering about with it, they could only make it worse....

By Early 80's standards, the GPz900R was a handler. Going back from the behemoth 1100's they had been making, the 900 capacity offered 750 like handling with litre bike muscle, and it worked. But, it was an era of fast paced evolution, and 750's were punting ever more power and closing the gap; the litre bikes getting ever better handling, and the FZR1000 Genesis set a new standard for find handling litre bikes..... GPz9 could just about hack it with one, but it lacked power.

1000's tried to get back the power, and I think the ZX10 got an ali frame to try and get the handling back.... but their development team were muddling in the middle not sure where to go....

ZZR1100 came along, and re-wrote the rule book. Made no pretence at being a race-replica and went full on for the title of worlds fastest production bike.... and its still in the company of only a hand full of bikes with that title, what twenty odd years later. Its one FAST motorcycle. Handling for the day was critasised... but few quite 'got' what the Zed was supposed to be about, and cutting it in the twisties was not high on it's agenda. It was built to be stable, rather than nimble, but have enough handling it wasn't a pure straight-liner. 'Comfortable & Competant' was a summary of it that was pretty apt.

Anyway... you are looking at 20+ year old machines... if you want class leading handling you are looking in the wrong place.

Early ZX6R's can be picked up for under a grand these days; they pump genuine 100bhp, which ent far off these old litre bikes; VF and GPz9 were both 115bhp ISTR, FZR, & ZZR 125 as UK stock; 140 if you pulled the restricters. ZX6R will run to 150, and swing it in the sweepers, like none of the litre bikes in Q will..

Question really is about livability.... and on that score, if you want every-day all round competance, convenience and just hassle free riding..... go buy a VFR750......

VF1000? Charecter bike. Forgotten splendor and great value. Wonderful bike, but a royal pain in the arse if you need bits for them. They didn't make too many, and they are too old for much to still be in the catalogues for them. Wasn't much in their day TBH.

ZZR1100? It is what it is. The bike that set the standard for the Busa or Bird. And a great bargain and younger by probably a decade still pretty easy to live with.

GPz900R was a modern classic almost twenty years ago. They had thier own club, and were sought out over later offerings. Very well supported and an 'icon'. But expensive, especially to get a good one. Most reckon they are worth it, though!

1000's.... really have nothing over any of the alternatives. And I wouldn't touch one. I really wouldn't. There's far better bets.
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Enduro Numpty]

Out of your 2 bikes mentioned the ZX10 is the better of the 2. I had one when 1st launched and in it's day it was as good as anything around. ZX10 wasn't a bad bike but the ZZR1100 was definitely better.

Had a GPZ900R before ZX10 and have to say it's the bike that's left the biggest impression on me. A quantum leap in 1984, not sure it would be considered as such these days.

[StevRS]

My ZZR11 lapped Cadwell faster than the two CBR600RRs in my group last year (granted I'd have probably beaten the ZZR on one of the CBRs, but it makes a compelling point).

Raise the rear, sort the suspension and they will handle reasonably well - you do have to work hard to get the best from it as a rider though.

Boxes, pillions - no difference. They're still a fantastic way to cross a continent.
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MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR, Unfinished 1978 XS250

[Polarbear]

I had a ZZR1100C bought for £900. Lovely bike and it was because of that bike I bought a busa. Fancied something a bit quicker

The only problem I had with the ZZR was the fuel pump relay. It failed so I fitted another and that failed, so I just jumped out the relay It was fine after that.

Brakes were pretty poor for a 170 MPH bike but EBC sintered pads, new fluid and dog leg levers improved that no end.

As I said, I really liked mine and wouldn't mind a mint late one tucked in the back of my garage.

Oh yes, they had a few startling colour schemes as well. The purple and orange version still makes me shudder. Mine was a boring blue and black but Kawasaki had to just drop in a little tease, the 1100 logo was in PINK
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