It was a logical progression from the 1000RX, coming out two years later in 1988. It shows the curves that would be refined further in its own successor, 1990’s ZZ-R1100.
All three bikes were billed as the fastest production bikes of their time and have a certain kudos, if not ‘classic’ status.
It’s strange then that while later bikes like the FireBlade are already assured of being future classics the ZX-10 is not. But that’s not the case according to Glyn Fisher, who is restoring this one.
He says: “This bike has just 4600 miles on the clock and is a 1988 machine. I bought it from motorcycle journalist Ian Kerr and he’d put just 1000 miles on the thing. For me, that is what makes it worth restoring as it had been sitting for some time. I think bikes like this will start to mature in a few years.”
Glyn is no stranger to restoration – or Kawasakis. He’s been a serial restorer for the last 40 years and, as a former senior manager at Kawasaki Motors UK, has unsurprisingly restored a number of machines from the Big K, including Z1s, H1s, H2s and even machines like the KLR250.
He’s now set up his own business – GJF Services – specialising in alloy restoration, bead blasting, specialist welding and polishing. He adds: “I’ve got some fairing work and repairs still to do and CMM’s own Steve Cooper is sorting out the rusty tank inner before that gets resprayed, so we’ve still got some jobs to do but I really think bikes like this from the late 1980s will soon appreciate in value as they still offer good value and performance.”
? More from: www.gjfservices.co.uk
