Kawasaki Z550

Owner - Steve Harrison
Bike - You Cantankerous Bastard
Details - 550cc 4cyl 4 stroke

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Late in '93 I realised I needed more power than the old Superdream was capable of. Still afflicted by chronic poverty I set my budget at £600 and started reading all the local adds. Eventually a likely suspect appeared, an early '80s Kwak Z550 so off I went to see it.
The engine sounded sweet and mechanically it all seemed to be there, money changed hands and I now had a proper bike. Closer examination revealed signs of a chequered history, GPZ550 frame, Z550 motor, never figured out which model the forks where off, suspicious looking frame number etc, but the logbook matched it all and was not registered as nicked.

It ran fine though and after the CB250 the brakes where brilliant, i.e. they slowed the bike down when asked.
At the time my mate Andy had a GPz750 and we had many a good thrash round the Dales and Lakes. Like all old Z's handling was not brilliant but good enough for me, top speed was about 95mph, possibly due to the gearing, but it got there quick enough.
In keeping with having a bike with "character" things occasionally fell off, the K&N filters (repeatedly), the right handle bar (interesting experience I assure you), the gear change linkage and the seat.

After about 6 months I was due to get made redundant. At last minute I got a reprieve and was kept no, so to celebrate I decided to take out a bank loan and get something a bit more modern - a Suzuki GSX750F.
The Kwak, or "You Cantankerous Bastard" as I affectionately called her, was sold to another pal of mine who needed some cheap wheels to get to work for £400.