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Kawasaki Z 550F

Make Model	Kawasaki Z 550F
Year	1981 - 82
Engine	Four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 2 valve per cylinder.
Capacity	553 cc / 33.7 cu-in
Bore x Stroke	58 x 52.4 mm
Cooling System	Air cooled
Compression Ratio	9.5:1
Induction	4x 22mm TK
Ignition	CDI
Starting	Electric
Max Power	58 hp / 43.2 kW @ 9000 rpm
Max Torque	35.5 ft-lb / 48.1 Nm @ 7000 rpm
Transmission	6 Speed
Final Drive	Chain
Front Suspension	36mm Telescopic forks
Front Wheel Travel	173 mm / 6.8 in
Rear Suspension	Dual shock, 5-way preload
Rear Wheel Travel	109 mm / 4.9 in
Front Brakes	2X 250mm disc
Rear Brakes	Single disc
Front Tyre	3.25-19
Rear Tyre	3.75-18
Dry Weight	192 kg / 423 lbs
Fuel Capacity	14 Litres / 3.6 US gal
Road Test	Cycle Magazine

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