I always fancied a Kawasaki Zephyr when they first came out in the early 1990s, which in turn began when I first saw a Z1, but couldn't afford either of them at the time when the bug had bitten…
Strangely, it was the 550 I thought was the best looking due to its close-pitch cylinder finning as opposed to the 750; the1100 had not been released at that point, so that was my only choice. Fast forward to 2013 and I saw by chance – an 1100 Zephyr for sale on eBay, which piqued my interest again. Also by now I was able to afford one.
So I started looking for an1100, which was now my preferred model.
Yes, it was a case of ‘ biggest is best’, and on balance it’s the better-looking model. Despite scouring every motorcycle media known to man I couldn’t find anything good enough – and not many were out there.
By the end of 2013 I got fed up with the search and forgot all about it, but come 2015 I came across the Japanese 'Sanctuary' website and that did it... Wow! Those bikes look awesome and I knew I had to build a bike along those lines. So the search began again in earnest, until I found a bike very poorly advertised on Gumtree. It just said 'Kawasaki Zephyr 1100' and a land-line number.
As bad as the advert was, this turned up a gem. It was a 1997 registered B1 with wire-spoked wheels, the vendor had owned it from new and it'd only done a genuine 5500 miles! What's more, the price was favourable, too!
The race was on to get the bike – but I had no van, no one to help and no trailer. I sorted a trailer locally, only to find it was overpriced and a deathtrap, as he’d built it himself! I’m stuck, so I pay the dosh and fix it up as best I can ready for the journey to Essex the next day.
Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
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Denne historien er fra November 2020-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Honda VFR750R - RC30
If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…
Mountain tension!
Award-winning motorcycle engineer!
Fazer set to STUN!
What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?
Splitting links
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.
STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!
It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.
Metal magic!
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .