1982 Kawasaki GPz550 Sells for $12k!

bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-kawasaki-gpz-550-2/

Nice 550, but Wow! on the selling price.

Indeed. Seems quite crazy. Someone must have wanted it bad. That shop that sold/brokered it is renown for spit polish and spin. That's not even the original exhaust, etc.

I am rich

[img][url=https://servimg.com/view/16771488/2297][img]https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/16/77/14/88/img_1279.jpg[/img][/url][/img] 

 

Eye popping price but that is a pretty bike. I loved my '83. 

The one in the photo is an '83. I have another one from '82, but it's in pieces; the restoration isn't progressing quickly.

I have 4 GPz550s. BOYS LUNCH IS ON CHOPPER. HA!

I have been blown away at how much people pay for these vintage bikes these days. In the early 1970's I purchased a blue 1972 Kawasaki 750 two-stroke triple. After years of riding and a ton of fun, in 1979 I made the biggest mistake of my motorcycle life by selling my beloved two-stroke for $650.00 dollars. I'd love to buy another 1972 Kaw 750 triple, but nowadays they cost an arm and a leg.

The original manufacturer's suggested retail price for one of my current bikes, (a 2010 Kawasaki Ninja ZX14) was approximately $12,399 when it was brand new in 2010. These days, bikes similar than mine are sold between $4,950 and $6,999, depending on condition and mileage.

I paid €500 (US$590) for this little GPZ, properly restored by its previous owner. A few minor flaws were quickly fixed. In France, 900Z1s and 750H2s sell for between €15,000 and €20,000. Many 3-cylinder bikes, mainly H2s, were imported from the USA; perhaps yours is here now. The craze exploded at the turn of the millennium following a comic strip that recounted the adventures of four friends in the 1970s called "Joe Bar Team" (a "Jobart" is a crazy guy in France). Each rode an iconic machine from that era: a Honda 750Four, a 750H2b, a Norton 750 Commando, and a Ducati 750SS.

 

 

Kofla wrote:

I have been blown away at how much people pay for these vintage bikes these days. In the early 1970's I purchased a blue 1972 Kawasaki 750 two-stroke triple. After years of riding and a ton of fun, in 1979 I made the biggest mistake of my motorcycle life by selling my beloved two-stroke for $650.00 dollars. I'd love to buy another 1972 Kaw 750 triple, but nowadays they cost an arm and a leg.

The original manufacturer's suggested retail price for one of my current bikes, (a 2010 Kawasaki Ninja ZX14) was approximately $12,399 when it was brand new in 2010. These days, bikes similar than mine are sold between $4,950 and $6,999, depending on condition and mileage.

I think this is a cycle that continues to repeat itself where guys reach a point in their life when the financial pressures ease a little and they lust after the target of their obsessions when they were younger but didn't have the budget to scratch that itch, which pushes prices up. The classic vehicle market has also been effected by global financial circumstance, investors with spare cash get lousy returns on many financial products so have started pushing their money into classic vehicles (this unfortunately often pushes these vehicles out of the reach of "true enthusiast") as a means to grow their wealth.
The car world is exactly the same, early 70's air cooled Porsches could be had in the 80's for $10k or less now nice ones will fetch almost as much as a brand new 911. In the early 80's I had a 68 Camaro RS which I sold for $2400, I would imagine even in the US it would fetch x10 that amount now !!

Bloobaba wrote:

The one in the photo is an '83. I have another one from '82, but it's in pieces; the restoration isn't progressing quickly.

How do you tell '82 from '83? I thought it was the stripe. Mine had the stripe with the black on top. 
 

The '82 models have a short rear fender. The '83 models have a long one. The steering lock is on the frame on the '82. Apart from that, having both models, I don't really see any other differences between the H1 and H2. However, my '82 550 was an incomplete wreck.