TOPIC:

I’ve been looking for a Zephyr 550 for a while.  It is one of those bikes that I swore I’d get some day, when they were new.  Now I have the time and a little bit of coin but haven’t had much luck in finding one. Who knew all the fun bikes would disappear some day. . I’d be interested in just about any complete bike.  Close to the West coast would be nice.  Feel free to reach out if you have one or even have an idea of where one might be. 
Thanks Aaron. 

They’re great bikes, highly underrated in my opinion. Good luck in your search. 

I had a Zepher 550, honesty one of the most fun bikes I've ever had. If you can't get the 550 I heard the 750 is a better bike. Worst part is that I don't have photos of my 550 which is amazing because I covered 45,000km before I sold it.

......funny, when the Zephyrs came out as retro's in the early 90's, in the midst of liquid cooled, 16-valves 'super bikes', most testers pronounced them 'boring' and low performance.     

I do own a 750 and it is family.

..The Zephyrs did not sell well in Norh America, and the 550/750 were quietly retired after a couple of years, thus they are very difficult to find.     in reality, the GPZ 550 before it was more 'high performance' as a factory hot-rod, and bikes like Yamaha Radian 600 (a bored- out 550) would outperform it.   Thus I would consider those as alternative if the Zeph 550 could not be found.

Yeah.  I totally agree.  I had a chance to ride one in ‘92 and was not particularly turned on by it.  I ended up buying an FZR600 back then.  Something about the styling has always stuck with me though.  I haven’t had a bike in over 15 years.  The current stuff, while mechanically amazing, just doesn’t make me want to sit in the garage and look at it. The little 550 would just be a fun weekender for rips up to Newcombs and an occasional rip out to the beach.  I’ve always like the small bore stuff and could really enjoy a first gen GPZ550 (the later ones just aren’t my thing).  I’ve got the bug again though, if one of these don’t pop up, I’ll end up on a green ZRX.  

Retro bikes were not popular in the 90's not many were sold in usa.
Watch ebay if you really want one, they show up occasionally.

 

Last winter I bought a zr7S for a winter project. I always liked them with their ancient 750 air cooled engine but when they were in the showrooms I opted for the bike I really wanted... a 2002 green zrx1200. NO regrets there. I still own one.
As for the zr7 or the faired 7S, they are from the Zephyr lineage and are more available. And are comfortable reliable bikes. 65rwhp, it's fun once you build RPM and I was surprised that it held 90mph indicated without issue. I'm glad I bought it and spent this summer on it while my other bikes got little use.

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… I’ll end up on a green ZRX.  

Have you seen the ZRX400? It was a Japanese market only bike that came out after the Zephyr series. It looks halfway between a Zephyr 550 and a ZRX1200. And 65hp in a 4-cylinder 400cc bike. God I’d love to be able to get one of those here in the US. 

The list of small/mid-size bikes that I’d love to be able get is incredibly long. The other guys get all of the good stuff. That little 400 is right at the top.  Something about a twin shock, duck tail seat cowl, mini fairing….all in green. I just a sucker for all of them. 

You could style a 1993 Gt550 into an ELR clone easy enough, like this guy did. 

@kzstreetfighter71 that’s just cruel.  Now you’re just toying with us that didn’t get the fun bikes.  I DO kind of like that little GT though.  

Oh man sorry iv just took wee look and that it wasnt sold in the states...bummer. there were the courier special over here, not very fast but bullet proof as a granite block, the Gt550 and the honda 650bros. I had one for about 2 years and traded it for a Gpz550 and then a Gpz500s.