Kawasaki ZL900 Eliminator: 1985-1986.(RETROSPECTIVE)

Publication: Rider

Publication Date: 01-APR-05

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Ehlert Publishing Group

Do you think Harley's V-Rod has dragster styling? Of course. But back in 1985 this Kawasaki introduced the essence of style at the strip ... right down to that Eliminator name.

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The ZL900 took the whole quarter-mile scene and bolted it into one aesthetically pleasing machine. Sit on this, and traffic signals would turn into the Christmas-tree lights set up at every drag strip.

Red! Green! Drop that clutch at five grand, light up the rear tire briefly, and you'd be off ... hitting 120 mph in a mere 11 seconds. Probably with the local policeman in hot pursuit if you were unwise enough to do this on Main Street.

So here it was, the factory dragster. Not a real drag bike, as it had the power-consuming shaft drive and feet-forward pegs, but a faux dragster, designed to impress...

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