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Kawasaki Z 550LTD
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Make Model |
Kawasaki Z 550LTD |
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Year |
1980 |
|
Engine |
Air cooled, four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC,
2 valves per cylinder. |
|
Capacity |
553 |
|
Bore x Stroke |
58 х 52.4 mm |
|
Compression Ratio |
9.5:1 |
|
Induction |
4x 22mm TK |
|
Ignition /
Starting |
- / electric |
|
Max Power |
50.hp 36.5KW @ 8500 rpm |
|
Max Torque |
CDI / electric |
|
Transmission /
Drive |
6 Speed / chain |
|
Front Suspension |
36mm Air adjustable forks |
|
Rear Suspension |
Dual shocks adjustable spring preload and
rebound damping |
|
Front Brakes |
2X 228mm discs |
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Rear Brakes |
Single disc |
|
Front Tyre |
3.25-19 |
|
Rear Tyre |
130/90-16 |
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Wet-Weight |
207 kg |
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Fuel Capacity |
12.5 Litres |
Updated 1980 version of the earlier, unsung 500-4, the
Z550 was to suffer, in its turn, from the attention given a few months later
to a more developed model, the GP550. But in the period before that
startling newcomer arrived, the 550 was able to establish something of a
reputation for itself as a crisp-handling middleweight giving away very
little in speed to the old-established 650 from the same factory. It marked
also the beginning of a new styling phase at Kawasaki in which
colour-matching (generally in rather understated shades) and an angular
line, replacing the adipose curves of the 1970s' models, were to be carried
through the range.
Thus the 550 was finished in one colour — usually
silver-blue — on tank, side-covers, seat support and tail, and front
mudguard, with the cast-aluminium wheels in matt-black picked out with
polished metal. There was little chromium plating other than on the exhaust
system, which was arranged as two-into-one, for each side, with
megaphone-shape silencers taken up at an appreciable angle towards the
rear-wheel spindle. The slightly inclined engine was black finished, the
edges of the fins being polished. The front fork was of leading-axle type in
the style favoured by Kawasaki for some others — but, inexplicably, not all
— among their sporting bikes.
Braking was by new, lightweight twin
discs at the front anda7indiameterdrumintherearwheel. Minor 'convenience'
features abounded on the 550, including combined ignition and steering-lock
control, view windows for checking fluid levels in front-brake hydraulics
and crankcase, stoplight-failure light and an interlock system
requiring the clutch lever to be pulled in before the engine would fire.
With a six-speed gearbox (with patent neutral-finding device) and a wide spre** of power from 3,000 rpm to near the redline limit of 9,500, the Z550
was a M» faster, in all circumstances, than the 50U. Small wonder that the
canny men a US styling for Kawasaki's 750-4: the Z750 LTD has a
high-rise handlebar and stepped dualseat, and became increasingly popular in
the UK during the early 1980s
It's like buying the engine, and getting the bike for free.
□ Heart and soul of any motorcycle is the engine. It must do something to a
motorcycle enthusiast, or maybe for him. Every time he hits the starter button
or hears the engine kick into life, he should feel a current of excitement, a
ripple of satisfaction, a sense of pleasure. If not, he should trade bikes.
We're not talking about anything as heavy as a religious experience, you
understand; excitement will do quite nicely. Engines as flat and dead as three
strips of substitute bacon leave motorcycling about as quickly as they arrive.
Engines that broadcast excitement in their sound and feel arrive and stay,
sometimes becoming classics even though the production lines are still moving.
Engine performance is the easiest thing for a motorcycle enthusiast to enjoy.
What does it take? The ability to twist the throttle, use the clutch and row the
gearbox through its ratios. In straight-line shots, the twin-cam, eight-valve,
four-cylinder 550 proved a willing partner to an adventurous owner. The KZ could
run off low-13/high-12-sec-ond quarter-miles with nary a shrug. What an
endearing engine, and no one could miss it.
Handling and braking performance, as well as long-distance capabilities, are
more difficult things for most motorcyclists to measure. Probing the outer
limits, leaned over 45 degrees or chirping the front tire, convinces many
motorcyclists their bodies might wind up looking like alabaster condominiums.
Long hauls? Maybe next summer. These last matters of measurement explain why
many motorcyclists can't tell much functional difference between the standard
KZ550, the GPz550, and the KZ550 LTD. To them, the LTD's high bars, stepped
seat, in-town ergo-
nomics, and less sophisticated pension and frame seem more differences in
style than in fundi That key element by which most entl siasts measure a
motorcycle—the gine—is the same throughout series. The exhilaration factor—Gl
KZ-standard or LTD—comes out evi One thing doesn't come out exai even: the
price. Kawasaki officii have arranged for the retail price of 1982 KZ550C3 LTD
to take a hike ii oblivion, and the classic KZ550 engij is on sale for $1999.
That's astoundii considering you get a motorcycle to around the engine.
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