Kawasaki Zephyr 550

The 550 Zephyr by kawasaky is a perfect Moto for a café racer ! Fiability perfect, look retro perferct and not expensive !

After much searching I bought a ZR550 for my daily commute, and it is a gem. I really like the retro look that this bike has, and although it's no road burner, it does exactly what I expected. The seat is low and comfortable, everything works well enough and at town speeds, I have no complaints. actually had to ride it for three hours to get it home when I bought it, and compared to my other bikes (a Suzuki SV650S and a Honda CBR1000), it was a true "feather-bed" experience.

As long as this bike is purchased with the understanding that it is very much old school in character, and will behave as such, then it makes a great all rounder. There's no point in trying to chase full-on sportsbikes, and although there are many places who will sell you parts and accessories to personalise or hot-up your ZR, it will never be a potential track tool.

The best way to approach a ZR550 is to relax and enjoy the ride. It has it's downsides but it gets many more admiring comments than either of my other bikes.

I paid £800 for my 1991 550 zephyr with 21000ml onthe clock, i came with a new ninja green paint job, new custom seat (very comfortable) belly pan, brand new tyres and a META M357T-V2 alarm, but ripped that out when it went faulty and immobilsed the whole bike.

i have since had fitted a rentec grab rail/rack, a green MTC exhaust, (sounds awsome)

My views are that the zr 550 is a great bike with enough power when you need it, if you wish to streetfight it, then you have a great base to start from, engine runs sweet, handles well, but going round roundabouts the back wheel has a tendancy to flick a little, i have been told to cure this is to fit a low profile tyre to the rear.

Kawasaki Zephyr 550 is light and nippy reminds me very much of xj55o yam i had for years.like the styling

the bike was bought accidently as i went to fix it for sum1 and ended up buying it after test riding it.

i found it very revvy but really easy to ride

needs new petrol tank cant find 1 any where. usual 80s rust tank and quick oxi alli

The exhaust system on the 550 is sooooooo good looking. I have been biking for over 20 years and had many bikes of all sizes and speeds. I have had my lovely Zephyr now for 7 years and i have to keep sneaking into the garage just to admire it. It is a beasty looking bike and proper old school with a modern touch and drives like a dream. Its low maintenance too. I will never sell it and it will probably be buried with me if they can find a hole big enough!

I just bought the Kawasaki Zephyr and just restored it. I really love it. Its great on gas and rides great. Of course I'd like a little more power but for the money and the fact that in 7 years it will be vintage. That is worth the time and effort.

This is a first class old school bike and really gets the looks from other riders. Use a good oil or maybe Slick50 to keep the motor runing sweet.

A very good allround bike and a very good looker. Good bike for traffic busting, sunday rideouts and touring.

Good engine if maintained properly.

I bought a 1998 Zephyr 550 for my wife's 40th, sorry 39 and a bit, as a surprise.

4 days later she told me, "It was really an ER-5 I would have liked!".

As luck would have it, I found an ER-5 and bought that thinking I would resell the Zephyr 550....I'm glad I didn't.

It's a cracking bike!

Retro looks, great shape, and it draws as many looks from other bikers as the big "poser" bikes!

Parts and spares are easy to get hold off at a reasonable price if you look through the internet.

All in all a great buy, must admit, it's the first time I have been glad she never liked her present.

I bought a 1991 Kawasaki Zephyr 550 and it runs as smooth as the day it rolled off the line its a good bike not that many in Ireland bandit country here nice to have something different.

Overall I am happy with my Zephyr - all round comfortable bike to drive.