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I know your thinking that sounds like rubbish, i did at the time, but on opening my engine up i found that the chain had cut into my cylinder block too!!!
This problem seems to be inherent of Kawasaki's of this age (1982 on wards), as my dads mate who had a 550 version also complained of ... Read review
...same problem. On his new Kawasaki though, the problem seems to have been rectified.
On almost all of these Kawasaki's there is almost always some sort of transmission rattle, all the GPZ's i have seen have all had some rattle.
Summary
If your after a decent bike with decent fuel economy and speed you can't go wrong with a GPZ 305. Ive been so impressed with it that I'm going to get the 400. more
I was given this bike by a bloke who no longer wanted it. He gave me all the documents to the bike, keys and even the workshop manual, as well as the address where i needed to pick it up from. When i turned up at the bikes 'resting place' i was hoping for the guy to wheel it out into the garden, clean tidy and ready to go, this wasn't the case. He showed me around the back of his house and pointed to the back of his garden where i could just make out a front wheel covered in weeds, the rest of the bike was hidden in the conifer that had grown around it. Lifting a PVC window out the way i was able to drag the bike from its dumping ground. I wasn't holding out much hope of it running now or any time in the near future. Rolling it out into the street the bike seemed complete so i kept my fingers crossed. Pushing the starter button revealed a flat battery so the next option was to bump start it, not so easy with a seized front caliper and flat Tyree. With my dad sat on the bike and me and this bloke pushing we finally got the bike running, and for a neglected bike she sounded fine. For the next few months i did the bike up, repairing the swinging arm, which had seized solid and making general repairs. For an old bike new parts were very easy to get hold of, although a tad expensive.
Performance
For a 305 this little bikes quite quick and can easily keep up with motorway traffic comfortably. I've had 110mph out of mine and she was still pulling!!! Theres always enough power to get you out of trouble, should you need it.
Handling
The handling of this bike is perfect, you can throw it round corners with little worry, but i would recommend fitting decent tyres, preferably Bridgestone Battlax BT45's . Excellent tyre for any condition.
Economy
For running around town this bike is ideal. She'll do any were from 60-85 to the gallon, obviously depends on how careful you ride.
Insurance
Insurance on this bike is dirt cheap. I'm 19 and i got the insurance for this bike for little over £110 tpft from Direct Choice. Best and cheapest Insurance company around.
Reliability
Since having this bike it has never broke down on me. Thats not to say things haven't broke though. The wiring is rather dodgey and Ive had to rewire many sections that have rotted, thankfully its only been sections of lighting, so far.... The other thing that went on my bike was the drive belt. When i got it the teeth were cracking and i knew it wouldn't be long before it gave in. One day on a fast stretch of road 5 teeth let go, thankfully breaking off. A new belt for one of these machines is not cheap. A new one would set you back £200, luckily i got one of ebay, perfect condition, for £18, thank God for ebay. The last thing to go was the starter motor. One of the bushes burnt out, and having no kick start it left the bike immobile till i got the new bush, costing £12. New parts for this bike are serious wallet dentors, but you can get anything for them, brand new or second hand.
The last little problem i have with this bike is the constant rattle of the cam chain. I have replaced the chain, cam chain guide and tension blade to no avail. Some body told me that his chain rattled so much on the cylinder that it almost cut though the cylinder block. I know your thinking that sounds like rubbish, i did at the time, but on opening my engine up i found that the chain had cut into my cylinder block too!!! This problem seems to be inherent of Kawasaki's of this age (1982 on wards), as my dads mate who had a 550 version also complained of the same problem. On his new Kawasaki though, the problem seems to have been rectified.
On almost all of these Kawasaki's there is almost always some sort of transmission rattle, all the GPZ's i have seen have all had some rattle.
Summary
If your after a decent bike with decent fuel economy and speed you can't go wrong with a GPZ 305. Ive been so impressed with it that I'm going to get the 400. Another beautifully engineered bike by Kawasaki.
Look on ebay and I'm sure you'll find the GPZ your after.
I've owned 2 of these, the first one came off second best to a t-bone from a Nissan Micra (ooh! That hurt). It went into the great spares reserve.
Reliability is a given, performance,although quite impressive from 306 cc can only be described as adequate, and a bit lacking 2-up. Still fun though. Stopping is good, equipped with twin discs front and drum rear. Braided hoses help front.
A very comfortable machine, economy fantastic, returning around ... ...the belt drive, which is disliked by some. Clutch basket noise is almost compusory, as is flaking engine lacquer. Most bikes suffer from cam chain rattle. The camshaft runs directly in the head, so wear can be expensive.
Weather protection is almost non existent, it comes with a small "nose cone" fairing and windshield.
A nice lightweight which handles well and can be thrown about easily, whilst being fairly forgiving, can keep up with some bigger ...
Daytonastar 23.01.2008 (26.01.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Kawasaki GPZ305
Advantages: Good confidence builder Disadvantages: soon bored, problem clutch
or so I thought the first time I ever saw one. I was just learning to ride a motorbike, and was unsure what bike I would get once I passed my test and could afford something bigger than my Honda CG125. Then, one day I saw a black and orange gpz305 in the street and fell in love with it. A couple of years later, I finally got enought of a payrise to go out & get a bike, and went straight to the dealers to order a brand new gpz305.The black and orange ... ...a blue one.
It is a good first bike, if like me, you hadn't ridden for a while (the CG125 died shortly after I passed my test) and you needed to get your confidence up a bit. However, I soon got bored of the bike's limited capability, and never being able to keep up with the others when we went for rides out.
I also had problems with the clutch. The cable broke, when I hadn't had the bike very long, and I had to be relayed home by the AA. The dealers ...
q_su 19.04.2001 (10.04.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Kawasaki GPZ305
Comfort
Handling
Looks
Features
Fuel consumption
Quick review of Kawasaki GPZ305
Good little Kawasaki to start to ride on. Also ideal as a comuter. Can go on for very high mileages if the oil and filter are changed at 3000 mile intervals. They all seem to suffer from the Kawasaki cam chain rattle when cold - but nothing to worry about until about 50k miles when the cam chain will need replacing. Some early models had problems with the crankshaft bearings - you will hear them knocking ! If they are - walk away and find another bike. ...
z1100a2 22.06.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Kawasaki GPZ305
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Advantages: cheap to buy and run Disadvantages: taller and heavier than some similar bikes
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I find the bike fits me as if it were custom made, with the bars, footpegs and ground all within easy reach (I'm 5'8" tall) although my girlfriend (5'2") struggles to reach the floor and therefore has not yet ridden it. I am sure , however that this problem can be overcome as I've seen people of similar stature as her ride Bandits with ease.
One problem that has caught me out is the weight (208 kgs without fuel) as I have dropped it on one occasion moving it round the driveway, but I think that had more to do with my lack of experience than with the bike being particularly overweight, and compared to other similar machines it fares reasonably well in this respect.
According to the various passengers I've carried it seems that the seat is roomy and comfortable, with a two thousand mile round trip to Spain being ...
