1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100, $2500

Burien, WA

“This is a one owner garaged kept super clean machine. Two brothers pipe, good tires. Stock and unmolested.
No, not a squid boy crotch rocket. But a super street bike, with massive roll-on power. 20k +miles.
No trades, serious only will call before 10pm please. Gladly send larger pictures.Will not send bla bla bla over email. If it posted it is available.”

We love Zee Rexes. Why? Plenty of power, very comfortable, great retro throwback styling, very easy to live with motorcycle, and it’s very customizable. For being a one owner bike, it’s at a good offering price. I just don’t understand the owner’s refusal to send bla bla bla over email… what exactly is bla bla bla and why would he prefer to use a telephone to exchange said bla bla bla?

Anyway, if the link to this craigslist ad brings up nothing, then the bike obviously isn’t for sale any longer. 1) our economy still sucks and 2) it’s late October, there’s not as much motorcycle wheeling and dealing going on as, say, May.

If you’re pining for a newer year ZRX, more are probably available here:

Kawasaki Zephyr Review

The Kawasaki Zephyr is not just a bike. It’s an icon, a trend setter and it’s naked! That’s right. This is the bike that started off the 1990s trend of naked bikes in Europe after the 1980s were dominated by superbikes draped in high-tech plastics and fibreglass. (Nb. Naked Bikes are when much of the chassis and engine are exposed giving it a meaner, street fighter look).

Kawasaki Zephyr

My one of these is a 550cc model. You can get them as far up as 1100cc but the poky four-cylinder engine gives me all the thrills I want at 400cc at half the price for gas.

The Zephyr looks ugly, but it’s supposed to. This bike isn’t for driving around hoping to turn a girls head. It is for twisting the throttle, zooming through a puddle and getting muddy water all over her. It has none of the Italian passion or the American culture gone into its design. They have simply got a body, plopped in a great engine and stuck on a headlamp. And the world loves it.

It’s comfortable too. The seat is big and spacious which is what you want when driving in the ‘sit up and beg’ position. The handle bars are fine for turning and driving at speed is easy enough for an experienced rider. There is little or no weaving when on the motorway and it can keep up with the best of them at the traffic light drag race.

There is some bad stuff about it too. This thing pretty much took Europe by storm with everyone who likes motorcycles flying up and down the French coast. For that reason, finding a used one without a torn seat, scratched engine (everyone will have a spill or two) or worn paintwork will be difficult. Never fear though. Because so many of these influential bikes were sold there are plenty of spare parts and repair kits available. You can even get the exact paint formula used at the manufacturers.

In the states, they were popular. There are quite a few available (not a widespread as in Europe) but you can still find them. For Zephyr in good condition you can expect to pay upwards of $5,000 for one. If you want one cheaper a good option can be to simply import one from Asia or Europe. Countries such as Germany literally has thousands of these things lying around in garages when people left college and became bankers.

Overall this is a good bike that will serve you well. Well worth it if you want a great bike that will be worth a lot of money some day due to it historical impact on the motorcycle world.

A used 10-speed bike, some green paint, and extra cardboard boxes is a heck of a lot less than $5,000.

It’s a circa-1990 Kawasaki ZX-7…if not in horsepower, then in spirit:

from FailBlog.org

“Hello you are looking at a Zee/Zed Rex in pristine condition. It’s a low mileage, 11K, garage queen, nine and a half out of ten. Awesome muscle bike with power, handling and braking ability. Retro styling inspired by the AMA superbike championship winning Eddie Lawson bike of the early eighties. The bike is stock apart from an aftermarket Scorpion exhaust and a taller screen. Passion red. Never been thrashed or dumped. Mature rider owned. PRICE REDUCED $5150.”

While this particular ZeeRex is no longer available for sale, If you like Kawasaki’s ZRX 1100/1200 as much as I do, there may be more ZRX’s available for sale nationwide: