Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo

The Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo was a sportbike manufactured from late 1983 to 1985, with two model years - the 1984 E1 and the 1985 E2. Differences were minor, a twin "push/pull" throttle cable for the E2 and different brake caliper stickers. The bike was manufactured in Japan, with parts also shipped to the US and assembled in Kawasaki's Nebraska plant for the US/Canada market to bypass the import tax levied on bikes over 700cc at the time by the US government, a protectionist move designed to save Harley-Davidson who had financial problems at the time.

Although carrying GPz badges on the engine covers, it was only referred to by Kawasaki as the "750 Turbo" - the GPz tag wasn't mentioned. It is also referred to as the ZX750E.^[1] Development started in January 1981 as a turbocharged 650, then as a 750 from November 1981. When finally released, the stock bike made a claimed 112 hp (84 kW), had sports bike handling (for the day) and looked good – especially next to the other factory turbo bikes which were already on the market such as the Suzuki XN85, Honda CX500 and CX650 turbos, and the Yamaha Seca Turbo. Performance was on a par with the GPz1100, at around 11.2 seconds at 125 mph (201 km/h) for the quarter mile and 148 mph (238 km/h) flat out. One magazine even branded it the fastest bike they had ever tested, and Kawasaki ran some ads claiming it to be "The Fastest Production Motorcycle in the World". Jay "PeeWee" Gleason also recorded a 10.71 second quarter mile for Kawasaki to show that the turbo had genuine performance and was ahead of the other factory turbos. It is widely considered to be the "best" factory turbo produced by the Japanese manufacturers.

The Kawasaki turbo was not simply the addition of fuel injection and a turbocharger to a standard GPz750 motorcycle engine. Almost every component was changed or strengthened for this bike and few major parts are interchangeable. The GPz Turbo used a Hitachi HT-10B turbocharger, positioned close to the headers, and digital fuel injection.

See also

• Turbochargers in motorcycles

References