Lately I’ve been fixating on 550cc displacement bikes. Among them, I’ve been diving deeper into the GPZ 550, which has caught my attention for a while now.
It has an engine similar to my Zephyr 550 that I own. The price is also very reasonable, which suits my taste. I got the manual in PDF and when I read it, I discovered it has 65 horsepower. I’d like to ride one if I get the chance.
Why don’t you get fooled into buying one too?
Choose a model with high parts compatibility
The GPZ550 apparently existed from 1984 to 1988 in versions A1 through A5. Since I haven’t received the service manual yet, the details are unclear, but if you’re buying one, a later model year would be better.
Somehow, the fact that it was made until 1988 gives older guys a lot of peace of mind, right?
Since the engine is basically similar to the Zephyr, you can feel somewhat reassured, right? There was also a GPZ 400 that existed in domestic and export versions, so there are slight differences, but the peace of mind factor is pretty high. Compared to the Zephyr 400/550, there might be fewer parts available, admittedly.
At 10,500 RPM it produces 65 PS. You gotta rev it…
Anyway! This orange gradient is the deciding factor
This paint job is extremely simple and is basically accomplished with decals. *Just black with decals applied, that’s the design of it. Basically, the paint cost can be kept super reasonable.
Since reproduction decals also exist, you can easily recreate it even if you repaint later, so you can buy any color.
Up to A3, I’ve never seen the “TK carb?” which is the predecessor to CVK
At first glance, it looks similar to CVK—the “TK carb?” is apparently equipped on models up to A3. Old vacuum carbs are a bit scary when considering compatibility, so it’s better to go with a later model if possible.
Alternatively, it might be interesting to use the stock carb from a Zephyr 550 or similar.
I found a service manual floating around, so feel free to reference it
This covers up to A2, but the data is extremely helpful as a reference. I got one covering up to A5 on eBay, so I’m looking forward to it (*´ω｀*)
Front fork is 35mm! Anti-dive equipped
The GPZ-specific left-right connected pipes are equipped without exception. Honestly, this feature isn’t necessary and I’d like a simpler setup.
However, with the front fork being 35mm, the options are somewhat limited. I could replace the entire front end, but it seems more fun to do subtle tuning while keeping the budget down.
With this, you can brake with confidence. But to develop a brake kit for such a niche vehicle—that’s Itoh for you. That’s some serious passion.
In the end, is just lusting after it without buying the best deal?
If I buy it, fix it, and sell it, that’s fine, so there’s no problem with purchasing. But I also have my own bikes that need fixing, so I’m questioning whether adding another one here is the right move.
Somehow, on Yahoo Auctions they’re trading for around 400,000-600,000 yen, which is a very affordable price range. If you want an air-cooled 4-cylinder that’s a bit different from what others have, it might actually be a good recommendation?
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