KAWASAKI GTR1000 (1986-1987) Specs, Performance & Photos

The Kawasaki GTR 1000 was a sport tourer motorcycle made by the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki that provided good weather protection with its full fairing, passenger comfort, brakes, and standard cases. The bike was first introduced in 1986 as the GTR 1000, while in the American market was introduced as the ZG-1000 Concours.

The GTR 1000 was a sporty machine that suited the needs of those riders who wanted to spend more time in the saddle and provided standard features such as a large windshield, a full fairing, hard lockable saddlebags, dual seats, passenger grab rails, a center stand, and lightweight cast aluminum wheels.

When the bike was ridden with the panniers on and no passenger, it started to oscillate at high speed due to the side saddlebags that were too loosely attached and the front suspension that was too soft. The bike featured a 28-liter fuel tank that provided almost 400 km (249 miles) of range.

In the performance department, the 1986 Kawasaki GTR 1000 took its thrust from a 997cc four-stroke four-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that delivered an output power of 110 hp with a peak at 9,500 rpm an 98 Nm (72 lb-ft) of torque available at 6,500 rpm, while the American ZG-1000 Concours version delivered 97 hp at 7,000 rpm.

Combining the power with a dry weight of 270 kg (595 lbs) and a six-speed manual transmission with a shaft drive resulted in a top speed of 216 kph (134 mph).