"New" 1986 Kawasaki ZL 600 Eliminator

burkbuilds · 07-11-2015, 03:15 PM

I sold my last bike 18+ months ago and used the money to help put a down payment on a

house. Today I picked up a really nice 28 year old bike with only 17,000 miles on it in real

nice condition. It was so nice to be back on two wheels riding around the North Georgia

countryside today. The bike was in a small dealer's showroom on consignment. The dealer

told me that he just rebuilt all four carbs and adjusted the valves and this thing runs like

new.

JWR · 07-11-2015, 03:21 PM

Wow, great looking bike BB.

I am still on my SV650, 42,000 miles and counting.

canvas by TrashCan129, on Flickr

Water Warrior 2 · 07-11-2015, 03:53 PM

Really nice looking bike. A quick search tells me it has a bunch of horsepower and shaft drive. Let the farkling begin.

burkbuilds · 07-11-2015, 09:26 PM

Yes, shaft drive, inline 4cyl engine, same as that years Ninja 600 but with smaller carbs for more torque out of the blocks but less top end speed. I've read that it edges the Ninja in 0-60 times and pretty much a dead heat on the 1/4 mile but after that the Ninja blows it away. I'm not really interested in going super fast anyway though. This particular bike has been well cared for. No dents, chrome is perfect, paint is bright and vibrant, all the gauges work well and I put about 80 miles on it today and it runs great, handles better than any of my previous bikes and is reasonably comfortable with the stock seat. From what I've read the gas mileage won't be great, upper 30's to low 40's but I'm not planning on putting 20K + miles a year on it like I did with some of my previous rides so that won't be a big deal. I am really excited to be riding again. My wife's thought, well, I think the first words out of her mouth when I told her I'd bought another bike were, "Oh, Hell NO!", lol.

blaine · 07-12-2015, 07:13 AM

Congrats......Glad to hear your back on two wheels......Look out e-Bay!!! Lol

5th_bike · 07-13-2015, 11:10 PM

It's a beauty! Yes me too, glad to see you back on two wheels.

07-11-2015, 03:21 PM	#2
JWR Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Louisville, TN Posts: 1,413	Wow, great looking bike BB. I am still on my SV650, 42,000 miles and counting. canvas by TrashCan129, on Flickr __________________ Jerry Truth is there are lots of great bikes available and not nearly as many good riders out there riding them... "A man's got to know his limitations..."
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07-11-2015, 03:53 PM	#3
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Really nice looking bike. A quick search tells me it has a bunch of horsepower and shaft drive. Let the farkling begin. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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07-12-2015, 07:13 AM	#5
blaine Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: P.E.I. Canada Posts: 3,784	Congrats......Glad to hear your back on two wheels......Look out e-Bay!!! Lol __________________ If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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07-13-2015, 11:10 PM	#6
5th_bike Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: HoCo, Maryland Posts: 1,349	It's a beauty! Yes me too, glad to see you back on two wheels. __________________ 2005 "Saturn Black", stock + tach
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07-11-2015, 09:26 PM	#4
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Yes, shaft drive, inline 4cyl engine, same as that years Ninja 600 but with smaller carbs for more torque out of the blocks but less top end speed. I've read that it edges the Ninja in 0-60 times and pretty much a dead heat on the 1/4 mile but after that the Ninja blows it away. I'm not really interested in going super fast anyway though. This particular bike has been well cared for. No dents, chrome is perfect, paint is bright and vibrant, all the gauges work well and I put about 80 miles on it today and it runs great, handles better than any of my previous bikes and is reasonably comfortable with the stock seat. From what I've read the gas mileage won't be great, upper 30's to low 40's but I'm not planning on putting 20K + miles a year on it like I did with some of my previous rides so that won't be a big deal. I am really excited to be riding again. My wife's thought, well, I think the first words out of her mouth when I told her I'd bought another bike were, "Oh, Hell NO!", lol.
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