1975 British Piper Kawasaki Endurance Racer

In Japan, Race by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

There’s something really special about 1970’s Kawasaki race machines. They possessed a unique style and flare that gave their bikes a unmistakable look and identity. The folks at Kawa weren’t afraid of wrapping their bikes in some pretty funky and interesting bodywork that was unmistakably theirs.

This Kawasaki Endurance Racer is a prime example of this and on top of that, this is one of four bikes ever built. Not unlike what the guys over at Bimota were doing, (which was taking solid power plants from proven manufacturers and dropping them into better frames), Piper Cams was doing the same thing only in the U.K.

Piper Cams built four frames to house the GPz1100 engine of the early 1980’s. These four machines were then used for endurance racing. Don’t let the headlights fool you, this is a thoroughbred race motorcycle, it just happened to take part in endurance competition which meant sometimes racing into the dark or through the night depending on the event.

The engine of the GPz powering these bikes has been tuned to make 128hp. The bike has a close-ratio gearbox, Lockheed brakes with magnesium pistons and titanium bonds, magnesium wheels and an aluminum tank. This bike was used for endurance competition in the U.K.

Owning this bike means owning a unique piece of race history from what many consider to be the golden-era of two-wheeler racing. I personally love the tail section on this bike, they don’t get much funkier than that, the rest of the body work and 4-1 shorty exhaust is pretty awesome too. Currently this British Piper Kawa Endurance Racer can be found for sale in Holland for £9000 (GBP which translate to around $11,600 US) here on Race Bike Mart.