Introduced in 1985 and only produced for 2 years, the ZL900 Eliminator used the 908 cc inline-four cylinder engine from the Kawasaki GPZ900R in a cruiser frame.

This gave the engine a different personality, trading high-end power for low- and mid-range performance that was more suitable for a cruiser.

The ZL900 (known as the ZL900 A1 for 1985 and the ZL900 A2 for 1986) was designed to evoke images of the wildly successful Z1 drag bikes, with a bobbed rear fender, short travel fork, large rear tire, fat chromed mufflers, small fuel tank, and low straight handlebars.

The styling of the ZL1000 was much more conservative than that of the 900, with a longer rear fender and a much larger fuel tank, the 2,500 models of this motorcycle were only available for, 1987 and 1988, but only sold in UK, Australia and the US in 1987.

The ZL600 produced from 1986 to 1997 had the same type of transplant as its bigger siblings: a slightly modified engine from the Kawasaki Ninja 600.

The motorcycle initially shown was powered by a 398 cc parallel-twin derived from the Ninja 400/Z400.