1975 Kawasaki Rickman CR900 – $29,990
Kawasaki Rickman for sale
SELLER SAYS: Kawasaki/Rickman CR900 1974 Z1A donor bike, 4/75 Rickman frame. Australian compliance, ground-up bare-frame rebuild. Now on 404 club licence. Fresh, tight and quiet motor, Dyna ignition, CR carbs, Kerker 4-into-1 retains centre stand. Rides like it looks … very well for a 50 year old, too much to list here. All serious queries, I am happy to answer. Time to move it on to a good home as I can’t ride it anymore. Contact Karl on 0419 921 896 (Bakers Hill, WA).
EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: Anyone who was into big, fast road bikes in the early-to-mid 1970s would remember Rickman-framed big-bore Japanese-engined road bikes. The early open-class Jap bikes, especially the Z1 Kawasaki and CB750 Honda, set new standards for build quality and civility while being just as quick, or a fraction quicker, than anything else on the market. But when it came to going around corners and handling bumps in the tarmac, they were no match for the offerings from England and Europe. Watching on from the sidelines, were Derek and Don Rickman, a pair of English brothers who were already more than a little bit famous for making strong, light and beautifully built frames for dirt bikes. Their frame-making genius also turned twin-cylinder British road bikes into highly competent and desirable dirt bikes — at a price. When they turned their attention to the CB and Z1, the Rickmans went from being famous in England to famous in, well, everywhere. The Rickman frames were expensive, and that had a predictable side consequence – while writing a big cheque for the frame and bodywork, most folks also lashed out on upgrades to their engines and suspension components. The outcome, almost always, was a bike that outperformed pretty much anything else on the road. And so it was that Rickman-framed Z1s and 750 Hondas became, for a period of time, the most desirable motorbikes on the planet. This bike of Karl’s looks like a stunning example, offering a rare opportiunity to capture one of history’s most memorable sports bikes.
