Kawasaki ZXR750... ish

Building a race bike can be a costly experience: even doing it with used parts can quickly clean you out. Some race bikes take so long to build that by the time they are nearing completion the world will have moved on and the rules for the class or series will have changed so much that your machine is uncompetitive. I recently sold some carbs to a bloke who’d spent thousands of pounds building a race ready GSX-R750 Slabside for the Manx, except when he went racing the rules had allowed newer 750s and larger capacity bikes to compete, so he’d built a bike that was already out of date; weird considering many of those who go classic racing actually want to avoid the hassle or racing newer bikes for that exact reason. That’s what happened with this ZXR750 racer. By the time it was finished the class was swamped by ZX-7RS. The guy I bought this from in 2012 was off to build his own ZX-7R racer. I paid £800 for it and set about breaking it for bits. The Ohlins shock was in the post in no time! Parts on race bikes are often less than pristine, not ideal when you try selling them on. The engine stayed in the frame and was sold to a couple of blokes who wanted to build a race bike… The moral of this MOBR is maybe not to be too hasty to strip a bike down. Sure, a profit was achieved but that tatty race fibreglass lived behind the shed for months before I threw it away. Prices for parts haven’t really moved. An engine is still only worth two to three hundred quid. Prices for decent bodywork is one area that’s seen price rises, tanks that still wear original paint and are clean inside fetch strong money – expect to budget around £200 if you need one. Exhaust headers are fairly pricey too. Although the H1 and H2 are pretty similar the H2 uses a larger curved radiator and also had different parts in the engine. Always do your homework!

“Maybe one day people will be restoring a ZZ-R1100 back to its former glory for display. As for the ZXR, well, maybe I was too hasty to break the thing, but prices of parts hasn’t really moved since then. I’d still love to have a VFR now. It’s one of my favourite bikes. Even if fitting/removing an exhaust is a chore!”