Kawasaki

KAWASAKI

WHAT'S IN STORE FOR '84

Kawasaki's surprises: the return of the sporting (and then some) 900, and the birth of a wet, dual-purpose big thumper

For some time now, Kawasaki has stuck by the inline Four as the heart and soul of its large-displacement, high-performance sport bikes. No toying with exotic configurations; while competitors worked in recent years to develop V-Fours and other designs, the folks at Kawasaki remained faithful to their commitment, concentrating instead on re-thinking and refining what they already had. What already worked.

Not a bad approach, and proof that an old commitment can produce new surprises: the Z-l, the big KZs, the GPz 550, 750, and 1100, the 750 Turbo.

And now, the latest surprise: the GPz900, star of Kawasaki’s 1984 lineup.

Fast, racy, powerful, sporting . . . the usual adjectives don’t begin to do justice to the latest member of the GPz family. The GPz900 is a noholds-barred, no-quartergiven sport bike, heavy emphasis on the sport. Kawasaki hasn’t yet released full specifications, but the 900 is expected to produce a minimum of 110 bhp, and weigh between 500-520 lb. with a halftank of gas. That would give the GPz900 the power of an 1100 and the weight of a 750—a combination that should ensure a quarter-mile time in the 10-second bracket and a top speed of 140-plus, making it one of the fastest motorcycles around.

The secret of all this is the GPz900’s redesigned inline Four. It’s narrow and water-cooled, with dohc, four valves per cylinder, and flat-valve CV carbs. With a large 72.5 mm bore (shared with the GPz 1100 engine) and a short 55 mm stroke, it’s highly oversquare. The valves are set at a narrow 35° angle between intake and exhaust, giving the 908 cc engine a compact combustion chamber that should result in very quick burn times, resistance to detonation and minimum heat loss. Valves are actuated by forked rocker arms; screw adjusters at the ends of the forks should make valve adjustment on the 900 less of a time-consuming chore than it was on previous Kawasaki Fours. The newest GPz comes with a six-speed gearbox.

The layout of the cam drive represents something of a departure from the usual inlineFour design. The cams are driven off the left side of the crankshaft instead of the middle and the cam chain and adjusters are easily accessible. More than routine service doesn’t require the usual engine disassembly. The alternator is located on a jackshaft behind the cylinders and above the gearbox, and is driven by a silent chain from the right side of the crankshaft. A gear cut into a Number Three cylinder flywheel directly drives the hydraulically operated clutch. There are no accessory drive chains or gears adding width between the crankshaft throws, resulting in an inline Four that is only fractions of an inch wider than the Honda 750 Interceptor’s V-Four.

Another unique feature of the new engine is a geardriven counterbalancer. By design, inline Fours have perfect primary balance, but a secondary imbalance results in a high-rpm buzz. To combat that, Kawasaki has fitted a rotary counterbalancer under the crankshaft, driven off the primary drive gear at twice engine speed.

The counterbalancer was needed because the engine was designed as an integral part of the GPz900’s frame. The lightweight frame has no downtubes; instead, the rigidly mounted engine is used as a stressed member. The aluminum rear frame section is detachable. Like its predecessors, the GPz750 and 1100, the 900 comes with Uni-Trak rear suspension. The single rear shock has a rigid upper mount; a series of links connects the lower shock mount to the swing arm, providing progressive damping and ^spring rates. In front, the adjustable air forks are equipped with an adjustable anti-dive ^system. There’s a 16-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear wheel.

The GPz900 gets styling that suits its performance: a race-inspired full fairing, low clip-on bars, rear-set seating position, Formula 1-inspired 5.8-gal. gas tank, bright-red and flat-black paint. The engine and exhaust system get the ever-popular paint-itblack treatment.

A quick note. It’s a safe bet that we'll be seeing more of the new type of engine that powers the GPz900; the factory says it’s the first in a line of new-generation inline Fours that will be light enough, narrow enough and powerful enough to take on all other comers.

Another surprise for 1984 mentioned earlier because it’s already seen print and thus no longer qualifies as hot-off-the-presses news—is the 750 Turbo. The 738 cc dohc huffer has the performance that the turbo-tag has up to now only implied. Preproduction prototypes have run quarter-miles in the high10s, and posted top speeds in excess of 145 mph, according to Kawasaki; power is estimated at about 112 bhp. The turbo-bike is based on the successful GPz750, onto which is added a Hitachi turbocharger, additional full-fairing bodywork, electronic fuel injection and beefed-up suspension and brakes. Standard are: a five-speed gearbox; adjustable air front forks with equalizer and anti-dive; UniTrak rear suspension; oil cooler; three-spoke 18-inch cast wheels; and V-rated Michelin 48-series tires. Available only in three-tone red-gray-black.

Only one other Kawasaki is all new for 1984, the dual purpose KL600.

The KL600 is powered by a new 564 cc, water-cooled, four-stroke dohc single-cylinder engine, which has doublerotating counterbalancers to smooth out big-thumper vibration, and a five-speed gearbox. The silent cam chain has an automatic tensioner. Twin radiators are mounted just below and slightly in front of the gas tank, force-fed by a pair of huge air scoops.

The frame is open loop, with the stressed engine taking the place of downtubes. The extruded-aluminum rear frame section is detachable.

The Uni-Trak rear suspension has 8.7 inches of wheel travel. The bottom of the single rear shock connects to the welded aluminum swing arm through a series of links; at the top, it’s rigidly mounted to the frame. Up front, the air-assisted forks have 9.1 inches of travel. There’s an 8.7-inch single disc front brake. Tires are Dunlop K750 semi-knobbies: 3.00-21 in front, 5.10-17 in back. The headlight is a rectangular quartz halogen unit. The seat is motocross-styled.

Claimed dry weight of the KL600 is 287 lb., and Kawasaki says it has 11 inches of ground clearance. It’s available in, no, not green, but appliance white.

That’s it for the brand-new models. Now for the returning lineup . . .

Kawasaki’s behemoth Voyager touring bike, which got a late start in last year’s marketplace, is unchanged for 1984. The Big Green’s weapon against the Honda Aspencade and the Yamaha Venture, the Voyager comes with a water-cooled, dohc, 1286cc inline Six; six-speed gearbox; shaft drive; digital fuel injection with two mixture settings (one for power and one for economical cruising); full fairing; and detachable travel trunk and saddlebags. It also features a bunch of electronic gadgets: air suspension controls, trip computer, and compass, with optional sound systems and intercom. With a weight of 909 lb., the Voyager easily claims the title of the heaviest production bike ever built.

The GPz 1100 and 750 are both relatively unchanged. For 1984, they get new seating positions (lower and racier for the 1100; slightly higher bars for the 750), O-ring drive chains, and they finally come in a color other than police siren-inspiring “firecracker” red (silver is the new choice). The GPzl 100 is still fast, still a dohc 1089 inline Four and still fuel injected. The street version of the racebike that helped Wayne Rainey capture the 1983 Superbike Championship, the GPz750 is a dohc 738cc inline Four with 34mm Mikuni carbs. Both GPzs come with three-spoke 18inch cast wheels, aluminum swing arms, oil coolers and Uni-Trak rear suspension. The 1100 has air adjustable front forks with anti-dive; the 750 has air-assisted front forks with balancer tube and anti-dive. Both have fivespeed gearboxes.

Kawasaki joins the thumper fray with the liquid-cooled, dohc KL600. It uses a new-style Uni-Trak suspension and has an aluminum rear frame section.

Kawasaki now has three motorcycles that should be blessed with equivalent performance: The GPz900, the GPzllOO and the 750 Turbo.

The 550 is the mostchanged in the GPz family, and most notable among the changes is a healthy increase in power. Kawasaki coaxed the extra power out of the 553 cc dohc inline Four by adding new cams (with greater duration on both intake and exhaust strokes) and a new, transistor-controlled breakerless ignition with electronic advance. To go with the increased muscle, the GPz550 also gets an updated chassis; an aluminum swing arm with new, progressive Uni-Trak suspension linkage; air adjustable front forks with anti-dive; stronger front twin disc brakes; aluminum footpegs and brake pedal; new threespoke 18-inch cast wheels; and a smaller dia. front tire and wider rear tire. Finally, the GPz550’s styling is different, too. It’s been given the bigGPz treatment, with new bodywork, a new, framemounted half-fairing, and three-tone red-gray-black paint. The 550 comes with a six-speed gearbox.

Like the other motorcycle manufacturers, Kawasaki has pared its new bike offerings, hoping to sell the ’82s and ’83s still on showroom floors and in warehouses. Gone from the ’84 lineup are the three Spectres (1100, 750 and 550) and two of the LTD cruisers (440 and 250). Also missing this year is the GPz305, the yearold baby bear of the GPz family; it was a nifty bike, but just didn’t sell up to expectations. These bikes are gone, but not unavailable they can still be found at dealerships, usually at a nice discount.

The three remaining LTDs (1100, 700 and 550) have been back to the styling department, and enter the new year with a new cruiser look. All have new paint and graphics; three-tone engines (blacksilver-chrome); and lower, stepped seats. In addition, the big LTDs gained solid wheels, new compact instrumentation, smaller quartz-halogen headlights and forward mounted footpegs for a kneesin-the-breeze riding position. Mechanically, little has been done to the trio of dohc inline Fours. To avoid tariff charges assessed on imports of bikes displacing more than 699cc, last year’s 738-cc 750 has been debored to a 694-cc 700. Electronic timing advance has been added to all three models.

The last of the 1984 street lineup is the sole survivor of the highly popular KZ family. The KZ700 is Kawasaki’s general-purpose motorcycle, a middle-of-the-road kind of machine that fills the gap between all-out sportbike and boulevard cruiser. Actually, there was a time, not too long ago, where bikes like the KZ700 were the rule, not the exception. It’s simple, with now-classic lines and styling, a direct ancestor of last year’s KZ750 (like its mid-range LTD cousin, the KZ was debored to avoid the tariff). Electronic timing advance is new for ’84.

Kawasaki’s 1984 twostroke off-road collection is marked more by careful refinement than by major new designs (one universal change is new, flashier styling for both the motocross and enduro models). Most changed mechanically are the KX motocrossers, which benefit from major power boosts.

The open-class KX500 owes its new power to revised porting, a reshaped combustion chamber, a new high-output dual-plug ignition system, a redesigned expansion chamber, a new 38mm Mikuni flatslide carb and a larger reed valve with redesigned cage. Other new features include a stronger clutch housing, strengthened connecting rod bearings, reinforced kick start gear, straight-pull wheel spokes and reworked UniTrak rear suspension with increased travel. The seat has been extended and lowered. Like the ’83 model, it’s a fivespeed; brakes are a single front disc and rear drum.

Refinements to the KX250 add up to a broader power band and easier starting from revised porting, a redesigned exhaust chamber with double O-ring and a special 38mm Mikuni carb. The new carb uses a special contour on the bottom of the slide that provides better throttle response. The R-bottom slide carbs, as Kawasaki R&D describes them, are a Kawasaki exclusive this year. To conserve weight, the shift lever, kick start lever and silencer are made of aluminum; to drop the center of gravity, the radiator has been lowered. The 250 also comes with thicker, more durable clutch friction plates, straight-pull wheel spokes, and revised Uni-Trak rear suspension ratio for more travel. The seat is longer and lower. The 250 still comes with a five-speed gearbox, and single front disc and rear drum brakes.

The KX125 is lighter, with more power and improved cooling. A new, compact frame gets most of the credit for the weight reduction, and contributes to increased suspension travel. The power boost came from use of a new carbon fiber reed valve, 34mm Mikuni R-bottom slide carb and bigger air box and cleaner. There’s a double CDring expansion chamber for better durability. Cooling was improved with the fitting of larger water jackets forthecylinder and head. New wheels with straight-pull spokes, an aluminum kick start lever and an extended seat complete the changes. The 125 is a sixspeed, with single front disc and rear drum brakes.

There’ve been relatively few changes to Kawasaki’s two competitive enduro bikes, the KDX 250 and 200. The 200 comes with just three updates: a larger gas tank, straight-pull rear wheel spokes, and an improved piston design to help cure the seizing problems that plagued the 1983 model. It still comes with a six-speed gearbox and trip chronometer.

This year, the KDX250 has a wide-ratio six-speed gearbox. Also new are air adjustable leading-axle forks, offroad lighting, a trip chronometer and straight-pull rear wheel spokes.

Standard on both KDX models are drum brakes, aluminum single-link Uni-Trak, remote reservoir rear shock with four-way adjustable rebound damping, and aluminum box-section swing arm.

The mini-motocrossers, the KX80 and 60, have also been refined, and both models boast increased power. The KX80 gets revised porting, lower final gearing, a relocated coolant hose (for better protection), a front disc brake, straight-pull front wheel spokes, a water-and mud-resistant air box, and a 29mm Mikuni R-bottom slide carb. The KX60 gets a double Oring expansion chamber, twostage air filter, water-and mud-resistant air box, folding gear shift lever, and smoother finish on fork stanchion tubes to reduce stiction. Uni-Trak and a six-speed gearbox are standard.

Kawasaki’s mini-enduro bike, the KDX80, is lighter* and more powerful. It comes with a new, compact frame, revised ignition timing and advance curve, a larger air box, and extended seat.

The two-stroke playbikes (the KD80 and KE100), and the three wheelers (the twostroke KXT250 and the fourstroke KLTs 110, 200 and 250) are unchanged for 1984.

That's it for Kawasaki in the new year. Three new models: two sport bikes and an dual-purpose bike. Twelve carry-overs: three sport bikes, three cruisers, one generalpurpose bike, three motocrossers, two enduro bikes. Three minis: two motocrossers and an enduro bike. Four threewheelers.

There are new models to fill in gaps that Kawasaki saw either in the marketplace or in its own line. Returning models are refined and updated, made more powerful, more responsive, lighter. There’s been a thoughtful, businesslike slimming of production. All in all, it's a competitive lineup for 1984. Ka