1st Generation - 1983-1985
The first 250cc Ninja to appear was the GPZ-250 which was marketed only in Japan from 1983 through 1985. As you can see from the image below, it resembled many of the UJM (Universal Japanese Machine) motorcycles made by many Japanese companies in the 1960s and 1970s.
There was no body fairing and a fairly flat seat. One feature that did set it apart from most other bikes of the times was that it used a belt drive. I don't know why and the belt drive system didn't make it onto the 2nd generation bikes. Not much else made it to the 2nd generation either. The engine of the GPS250 was air cooled and used only two valves per cylinder. Peak HP was 17 at 8000rpm and it used 18" wheels. A lot changed in 1986 when the 2nd Generation bikes were introduced.
