50th Anniversary Model

[zed9]

Originally Posted by KAWKZ

Nostalgia gets expensive but I still like it.
Best Kawasaki dealer near me says they'll get only 1 of each 50th model. They're asking $2677 for freight and set up. Still checking with other dealers.
Funny, I remember when 70hp seemed like alot. 

$2677 for freight and set-up is a ripoff. Usually you negotiate those off the msrp which is $9,499 for the anniversary edition. That's a lot to bolt the handlebars to the triple.
But these aren't usual times. Car dealers are adding $10-$20 thousand dollars on $40 thousand dollar trucks.

[KAWKZ]

Yep, it's a ripoff.
I used the Kawasaki link to request quotes from other dealers, so far have received only one other email with "MSRP $9499" and a telephone #. Freight should be $430 + $200 surcharge. We'll see how it shakes out.

[zed9]

Originally Posted by KAWKZ

Yep, it's a ripoff.
I used the Kawasaki link to request quotes from other dealers, so far have received only one other email with "MSRP $9499" and a telephone #. Freight should be $430 + $200 surcharge. We'll see how it shakes out.

If I was in the market for a z900, I'd go for the anniversary model without hesitation.

[MaverickAus]

Originally Posted by zed9

If I was in the market for a z900, I'd go for the anniversary model without hesitation.

Me too

[Roy]

Me too 

[zed9]

What keeps my checkbook at bay is the fact that I also own a red 2004 ZRX1200. From a distance, with its retro striping, it looks like the GPz of old.
I used to own an '02 ZRX in the most beautiful green color. I loved that bike and rode it everywhere including cross country. I sold it in 2007 with 50,000 miles and bought a ZZR1200 figuring it was a better touring bike, which it was. But way faster, which turned out to be bad. It was a real troublemaker. Long story short.. I had to sell it.
I bought a lower powered green 650 Versys, which is a fine bike but I missed my beloved ZRX so much.

So in 2011 I figured that I would buy either an '82 GPz750 or an '84 GPz900 and restore it. But upon considering the cost of a nice one and the cost of a full restoration and what handling/heavy weight type of performance I'd get I started to rethink my options when I saw a red 2004 ZRX pop up in Craigslist less than an hour from me. It was my second choice in color. Outside of that it checked all the boxes. It was low miles, I would be the second owner and the owner was super meticulous and anal about everything. And it was box stock and unmolested. I don't think it ever saw rain.
At the time the most I should have paid for it was $3700- $4000 but he was asking $4500. I know he set the price high for haggle room and of course I always haggle, as one should. He was a real good guy. I paid him the $4500 gladly. What's $500 bucks on a bike you'll never sell plus he agreed to keep the bike registered and insured so that I could ride it home legally.

And get this, he had the factory manual PLUS he handed me the official Kawasaki rear stand that you see in the tool list in the manual! Yes, I'm probably the only person in the USA, if not the world, that has the factory rear stand. 😃

We parted friends, both happy. The red ZRX satisfied my cravings for an old GPz.

Where was I going with this story?... Haven't a clue. 

[akdraw]

My first street bike was a Black 1980 Kawasaki Z1R 1000, the new retro Z900RS looking similar to it. My new Z900 ABS I bought this past Friday is a little more advanced than my 1980 

[MaverickAus]

My first new bike was a 1982 GPz550

[zed9]

Originally Posted by MaverickAus

My first new bike was a 1982 GPz550

Still wish you had it?
Around that time, late seventies, my brother and I had Honda's. A cr125m and cr250m Elsinore dirt bike. Green/silver. We bought them used for practically nothing. Everybody in the area were lusting after the Suzuki RM's for some reason. Maybe because they were yellow. IDK. But the Elsinores were cheap to buy used. Not any more. The 125 was a blast, the 250 was a beast.

[MaverickAus]

Originally Posted by zed9

Still wish you had it?

God yes, I have been looking out for one but anything in Australia is crap, all the good ones are in the US or UK and prohibitively expensive to import.