Real-World Ride

CMM's very own Scott Redmond buys a Kawasaki ZZ-R600 for loose change and asks why more of us don't do things on a shoestring!

- Scott Redmond

One-by-one those motorcycles from our yesteryears get elevated to full blown classic status and every year sees a new class inducted to the school of lost classics. 

For years many of these machines littered the bargain basement end of the market, cheerful transport for those who needed a cheap fix of motorcycling. You could be mistaken for thinking that all 1980s and 1990s motorcycles are now appreciating at an alarming rate. 

Well, there are still certain models that can be found for £1000 or less. I had a budget of a grand to spend on a bike, not a project or something with potential but a machine that had an MoT and was ready to ride. After several weeks of searching I found the perfect answer to my question. 

The 1993 Kawasaki ZZ-R600E: it's one of those bikes that nobody ever wakes up thinking 'I need one of those in my life'. It's an overlooked bike and largely forgotten which makes it a brilliant bargain bike. The E model is the second incarnation of the ZZ-R600 bloodline. The earlier D model came and went fairly swiftly from the Kawasaki brochure (1990-1992). My one is a 1993 model, one of the earliest E models on a K plate.

Taking my life in my hands I bid for the ZZ-R on eBay. Other than a short description and a few thumbnail sized photos staring back at me on my iPhone, I didn't have much to go on. The bidding topped out at £701 and I was the winner, hooray! The seller and I exchanged messages and he offered to deliver the bike to me for £20 to cover his fuel.