‘What I’d buy right now with’ £5500
1990-92 Kawasaki KR-1S
After taking to twowheels on an Italjet 50 at the age of three, Chris Walker has always been surrounded by bikes. A lifelong motocross fan, the former BSB championship runner-up, 250 and 500GP rider, WSB race winner and sidecar racer now runs his own Kawasaki and Indian dealership in Grantham. So, armed with a budget of £5500, what would he buy? “I’d be very tempted by a few, but I’d probably go down the modern classic route as that might even earn me a few quid,” says Chris. “The ZX-7R is tremendous value and I love the ZRX1100 or ZRX1200, especially the R ‘Eddie Rep,’ so either would be well worth buying. But what I would probably end up with is a nice KR-1S. “When I was 21 I owned a KR-1S, which I seized while racing someone on the Nottingham ring road and I’m long overdue doing that again! I was so caught up in the moment that when the fuel started to run out, instead of switching to reserve I just kept it wide open and that resulted in it nipping up – and me losing the race. Although to be fair, that bike spent half its life in bits as I wasn’t very sympathetic. “The KR-1S is a beautiful bike and I like its exclusivity as it was only around for a few years, whereas the likes of the Suzuki RGV or Aprilia RS were on the market for far longer.
“The zap of the power band felt like you were on the Millennium Falcon going into hyperdrive, which is a sensation you can’t replicate on a modern four-stroke. I know a KR-1S won’t be as fast as I remember; things change as you grow up but the memories they evoke are what matters. But I don’t want my actual KR-1S back – that’s the last thing I want, even now we don’t advertise bikes as ‘owned by Chris Walker’ - it’s not a good selling point!”
CHRIS WALKER
Every week we give a different rider a wodge of fictional cash and ask them to ‘buy’ the bike that sets their soul on fire. This is Stalker’s pick...