When we covered this auction lot, the 1992 Kawasaki ZX-7R K2 was going for $40,100 USD, which was already a substantial sum. Once the auction period was over, however, the winning bid went up to a whopping $69,978 USD, nearly seventy grand for an untouched time machine of a homologation special.
Long-time Kawasaki fans will know that the value of this find is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Kawi ZX-7R is a rare bike used and exceptionally rarer in-crate, given how motorcyclists might be tempted to actually ride the darned thing and obviously assemble it and take it out of its crate. Units can go for thousands of dollars at auction as they stand, but the price of this unit dwarfs whatever used Kawasaki ZX-7Rs there are in the market, and in fact, nearly quadruples the asking price.
As an icon in the 90s, the Kawasaki ZX-7R K2 was built for racing and sold to the public for homologation purposes. The homologation was done in order to get Kawasaki’s race bike into the AMA Superbike competition during its period, and it’s an icon whether that front wheel is attached or not.
Iconic Motorbike Auctions actually put an extra fee on top of the winning bidder’s price tag, which brought the total from $65,400 to $69,978 USD. The new owner seems rather secretive, as he used the letter ‘D’ as his screen name for the bidding. The bidding closed on February 17, 2022, and the bike’s likely in the buyer’s possession or at least on the way now.
It’s unknown whether the new and proud owner of this crate-fresh ZX-7R will assemble it and ride it, but I hope and pray that the model will continue to live inside its box for collector’s purposes. Perhaps the safest bet to make it last is to drain all of its fluids and make sure to keep it as pristine as possible for a long time.
