Kawasaki GPz 550

At the start of the 1980s, Kawasaki turned the middleweight sportsbike market on its head with the GPz550. It was fast for the day—doing the quarter mile in less than 13 seconds—and had immensely chuckable handling. It paved the way for Honda’s all-conquering 600 bikes, fading in the mid 80s due to high price and the other Japanese manufacturers rapidly catching up. Today, the GPz is an excellent proposition secondhand, and lends itself well to customization. This ’83 GPz is a terrific example; it’s owned by Jeff Pochodowicz of Seattle, who invested “two years and thousands of hours of thought”...