The Kawasaki Eliminator Turns 25

Class-busting power. Tractor-like torque. In-your-face attitude. We're talking about the V-Max, right? We could be, but in this case our adjectives are reserved for another revered rocket from yesteryear, the Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900. Now also celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the Eliminator personified power cruising before the term was even invented, when it hit the streets in 1985. It was motivated by the same liquid-cooled, 16-valve, inline-4 engine found in 1984's speedy ZX900 Ninja (albeit slightly modified). Only produced for 2 years, the ZL900 sported a bobbed rear fender, fat rear tire (at the time, the widest of any production motorcycle) tiny fuel tank and low bars, and lightning acceleration, which positioned it far ahead of heavyweight competitors like the Suzuki Madura and Yamaha V-Max. Alas, unlike the Max, they don't make the Eliminator anymore-the last year of production for the 908cc ZL was 1986. But you can still share the stories and view awesome tricked out models that over 1100 members of the Kawasaki ZL Owners Association are proud to share on www.zl-oa.com. Or you can reminisce over these photos culled from a racy ad campaign that ran back in the day. Check out that babe in the Porsche... -AC