Kawasaki ZL600-A1 reviews

I bought a 1996 Eliminator for my first time on the road. Excellent starter bike. I travel about 50 miles everyday for work on the interstate. This bike loves the interstate. 80-90 mph is smooth as glass; although I do not recommend that speed for everybody. I am getting a larger bike this year for cruising because I'm older and wiser now. If you ever get a chance, buy this bike. It'll fool everybody! Show less

The Kawasaki ZL1000 was produced for only one year, 1987. There seems to be no definitive information from Kawasaki as to the total number produced, however, it appears as though they produced approximately 2,500 world wide. This makes the ZL1000 a fairly rare piece of machinery. This bike has aggressive cruiser styling with an in line four ninja motor. It was designed to be fast...very fast. Its 0 to 60 mph time is 2.88 seconds...stock and it handles nicely in the 90+ mph range. If you like to push your pony's, this may be a great bike for you if you can find one. Overall, the styling of the bike is excellent in the curb appeal department with the exception of the saddle, which will be greatly benefited by a professional reshaping and recovering. My seat was reworked and it was a major improvement in appearance and rider comfort. The seat was scooped for rider and passenger and the result was a drastic improvement in the secure butt position factor. I have completely reworked and upgraded mine and I love this bike. It definitely attracts the right kind of attention. Show less

This bike is a real sleeper. The engine performance is unreal. The bike is totally restored with everything that can ware new. Totally disassembled and painted with red and silver House of Kolor flake with eight coats of PPG 220 speed clear. Due to the increased displacement of 1410cc, the fuel injection has been reprogrammed, larger adjustable pressure regulator and larger injectors. 11.5:1 compression with Weisco pistons. Web cams, lightened crank, close ratio gears, the works. Over 200HP. A real Busa tormentor. Show less

The 85 ZL900 is the original eliminator. The ZL900 looks more like a chopper, and is quicker in stoplight to stopight burst. Tbe ZL1000 is quicker over longer distances, and in roll on power at freeway speeds. The two bikes are real close in 1/4 mile times. In short, the zl900 is a city environment, stop light to stop light, first rate naked bouliviard hooligan. Show less

I recently picked up an 86 ZL600-A1 Eliminator with 23K...it is my first bike but I've ridden a sportster 883 prior for a while. I'm 5'11, 190 lbs and the bike fits like a glove. I've researched many bikes but found this one to be an excellent compromise between a Sport bike like an Ninja 600R and a cruiser like a Vulcan 750. I couldn't decide which bike style to start on as I love both styles, so this is just perfect. It is a very RARE bike and I've received many looks on it. I find this bike to have excellent power, it's a blast to rip through the gears, and it handles well. The sound from the two bazooka sized exhausts is sweet at 5000+ RPM. The look is all power cruiser, sort of like a mini V-MAX. Show less

...after all these years. I've had my '87 for about 2 years, and I still get chills when I launch the bike. It's hard to believe that it's 16 years old. Like the other reviews here say, this bike begs to be ridden hard. Hope to keep it for the next 16 years of its life... Show less

Bought a 1997 Eliminator (named Kelli) last year as my first bike. Hence, I don't have a point of reference but it can be safely said that it is a good machine. It's a cruiser that is powered by the Ninja 600 cc engine (inline 4 cylinder), so she'll move quickly when prodded (has a shaft drive, thus it's not as quick as many crotch rockets, but great for a middleweight cruiser). Granted, it's not made for long-distance touring (if you try that, by all means replace the stock seat--gets pretty uncomfortable at 75-100 miles). However, the rest of this bike is something I would highly recommend to anyone. Even at 225 pounds (in full riding gear), she pulls me along just fine. haven't tried racing against bigger machines yet; I know she could blow away the Mean Streak (same horsepower but 200 lbs heavier) and most Harleys (V-Rod an obvious exception). Kelli's been good to me, although I think one more season and I'll be ready to move up to a bigger bike. Show less

Picked her up a couple of years ago rotting in a yard. She's now completely redone back to stock except for the paint scheme. Out of all the bikes I've rebuilt, this remains my favorite. Incredibly powerful motor for the time and even still by today's standards. Not great handling or power at low throttle but roll it on and look out, she keeps coming, willing to play at any level you want to go to. Give her another five years and she'll match the 73 Z1 in value as well. Far and away one of the best street bikes Kaw ever made. Show less

I recently sold my low mileage '87 Elminator due to my self preservation instincts. There's just something about the ZL1000 experience. When you nail it, it doesn't immediately accelerate hard, but rather seems to gather itself up and THEN launch into warp drive (you know, when objects on the side of the road and everything else but the road in front of you turns into a blur). I found a road test from '87 where Motorcyclist turned 2.88 seconds for the 0-60mph time. They're so easy to launch off the line that Dale Walker's drag racing school used these bikes exclusively for some time. My problem is this: the bike begs to be driven hard. When you go slow, it feels like you've got 10 pit bulls that are just waiting for the opportunity to pounce. Well mannered, but just itching to go faster. And I can't seem to say "no". By the way, I give it a 4 because of the buzziness of the engine at highway speed. That ninja mill feels like a vibrating barcalounger at 65mph. Show less

I gave a brief review of the ZL 1000 back in August '00. Since then I have ridden an additional 15k miles. The bike is outstanding. It goes faster than anything I've ever ridden and gets plenty of stares. It seems that those who really know bikes are attracted to it and ask a lot of questions. I have had no unusual problems, other than overheating occasionally. I think I found the cause, the connector for the oil temp sensor was disconnected. After riding the bike now for about 18 months, I would give it a ten star rating if possible. Show less