Description
Click here for an VINData Motorcycle History Report on this 1990 Kawasaki Zephyr 550. Additional photos are available here for your perusal.
Before Kawasaki emulated the Z1 with the new Z900RS, they had the “Zephyr”. It was a standard that vaguely pulled styling cues from the Z1, and it was offered in 550, 750, and 1,100cc options. A 400 was also built but that was solely for Japan.
Sold worldwide from 1990-98 it was a simple and reliable commuter, with a dash of retro styling. A steel tubular frame housed the 553cc inline 4 which could produce 50hp and reach 115mph. For more on the smallest Zephyr, check out this review from MCN.
This example is VIN: JKAZRFB17LA001788. The seller purchased the bike Spring 2023 and states, “I bought it off Craig’s List for only $100 as a project/parts bike, thinking I’d use it as spares for my other ZR550. But when I got it home I started cleaning it and seeing what was good and pretty quickly felt like I could get it up and running again.”
During his ownership the seller has covered approximately 776 miles. The odometer shows 18,708 miles.
Maintenance:
Per the seller, “At one point the part of me that likes shiny things took over and I painted it. It’s a proper epoxy sealer, primer, sealer, acrylic urethane basecoat, and urethane clear coat wet paint, all PPG Shop Line, wet sanded to 2000 grit, and polished by hand. Then I got the bike running and it was performing well, but had an oil leak at a base gasket. I just so happened to find a good deal on a Wiseco big bore kit with a cylinder jug from an ‘82 GPZ550 that had already been professionally bored out. So off came the top end, and in went the larger pistons. While in there every gasket was replaced with genuine Kawasaki OEM (except the Cometic top gasket that came with the kit), and every non-OEM bolt (there was a few for who knows what reason) was also replaced with genuine OEM. The output sprocket, some exhaust flanges, and a few other small bits were similarly treated. The front brake, front forks, and rear brake caliper are all rebuilt with new rubber. The jet needles need to be raised one notch on the circlips, which I plan to do soon. And the neutral light bulb on the dash is going out (bike clicks into neutral just fine, it’s only the light that sometimes doesn’t work). The cylinder #3 exhaust collar rattled loose and the nuts and flanges were lost. It’s tight on there now, but I’ll be ordering the missing nuts and replacing them soon. Other than that it goes, it stops, and it rides great.”
Modifications:
Per the seller, “The main bullet points are that the bike has a Wiseco 615cc big bore kit installed, custom paint, a Euro-spec cam cover (no emissions ports), HEL Performance stainless steel braided front brake lines, aftermarket turn signals, manual cam chain adjuster, and a Coerce Racing full carbon fiber fender delete kit.”
Inside of the tank:
It is riding on Avon RoadRider tires which have aged out.
The sale includes two keys.
Cosmetic Blemishes: please see the album up top for all known cosmetic blemishes. Here is a selection:
Currently located in Vancouver, Washington, this Kawasaki is offered on a clean Washington title. Have any Zephyr 550 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
