TOPIC:

So it begins....

Hey everybody, I'm the proud (and nervous, I ain't gunna lie) of a 1982 KZ1100. Bought it for $1,000, and it was the first bike in two months of searching for a bike $1,000 or less that was in working order. Wasn't exactly thrilled it was an 1100, I was looking for something a bit smaller to start out on like a 250 to 500. But it was an awesome deal I just couldn't pass up, the bike was in fair shape and I'll post some pictures soon on my profile. Lots of scratches and a couple minor dents on the tank, but runs quite well with no rust that I have yet to find (I just brought it home 3 days ago).

I got rider classes in August, and I've been backing it up and feeling the clutch out on my 40 foot stretch of driveway. Practicing starting up, putting feet on the pegs, and coming to a stop, as there's not much else you can do in 40 feet. My plan is to just practice enough to not make a complete fool of myself when class starts up. When I'm not practicing I'm cleaning the bike up, it has some very light oil leaking from the head gasket, not something I'm particularly worried about but something to keep an eye on if a gasket needs replacing.

So onto a bit about myself. I'm 31m, in southern Wisconsin. I do work as a quality technician, and I'm single, no kids. Oh and TennesseeZ referred me here from another forum, thanks TennesseeZ!!

0 to 1100 is quite a jump. It's better to start on a smaller bike but it can be done. Ride like you're invisible. Don't trust anyone on the road. Practice tight turns smaller and smaller without putting your feet down. Breaking with both breaks. On soft stuff rear first. On the HWY front then the rear. Get all these things down pat and you should do well in class.
Good luck.
Steve

swest wrote: 0 to 1100 is quite a jump. It's better to start on a smaller bike but it can be done. Ride like you're invisible. Don't trust anyone on the road. Practice tight turns smaller and smaller without putting your feet down. Breaking with both breaks. On soft stuff rear first. On the HWY front then the rear. Get all these things down pat and you should do well in class.
Good luck.
Steve

I appreciate the reply. Yeah the best thing I've heard about dealing with everybody else on the road is expect every driver on the road to hate you, and every once and a while a driver will put their turn signal on, check their mirror, and then calmly and deliberately try to murder you. It'd be funny if it wasn't so true right?

That's a good tip with the smaller and smaller turns thing, I watched a class that was going on where I signed up to get a better understanding on exactly what to expect, as well as a few YouTube videos of what's involved in the classes. Not looking forward to doing the figure 8 thing, I keep hearing it's tough, I should probably try to practice that at some point.

Anyways, here's my bike. Of course if you've seen one fairly stock KZ1100 you've pretty much seen them all. Not sure yet what my plans are for it. Might try to restore it, might torch the paint off and take a chainsaw to the sheet metal and turn it into an abomination on 2 wheels. It's a flip of the coin.

Nice bike. That bike is pretty much mint, would be a shame to cut it up.

You can learn to ride that thing, its big and heavy but its not a sport bike. Long wheel base and rake in forks make it a stable bike. Bikes like that 1100 have a taller seat height, and that can be difficult for new riders. The real issue is that that machine can go fast, and do it in a hurry. Keep the speed under control and you'll be fine.

Make sure your tires and brakes solid. A flat tire is a scary event for even the most experienced rider...

Doesnt look like too much to restore, maybe some touch up. But I agree that bike looks like it came out of a brochure, just enjoy and ride, too many bikes out there that are modded into something else to take a good example and turn it into something else

Howdy, I a m in W. WI. If ya have clean title and with a personal inspection I might be willing to trade my 650 straight up. R

I don't have a title for it, yet, the owner couldn't find it, or the spare key. I was lucky enough to meet the past two owners and hear about the initial owner. I'm hoping the guy can find that stuff in the next few weeks.

I gotta say rrsmsw9999 I'm curious. Let's see what happens in the coming weeks about a title.

Whenever I mod something on a vehicle, I make it a point that it could be undone without a trace as much as possible. So that means keeping the stock parts in storage, and either purchasing a part I'm going to mod or making the part myself. I hate it when TV shows on modding just hack and slash at stock components, making those components more rare as the years go by, makes me cringe.

This is what I did to my 2013 Dodge Dart, all modifications completely reversable except for the red painted calipers.

I wanted to go more extreme, but body panels for a car this new are expensive, even from a junkyard. I was going for a Mad Max theme for the movie opening, and this was the best I could do for about $300. I really REALLY wanted to take it further, and be able to drill holes in the body panels and weld things on, but it would've ruined my daily driver. I think I'd be able to fulfull this requirement much easier on an older motorcycle, as parts are smaller and generally cheaper. But that'll be for the next sequel and until then I gotta learn how to ride first, that's the priority right now.

Whatever you might want do, also keep in mind I am fairly close and moderately knowledgeable on KZs. I'd be happy to lend any help, intellectual or moral as the case need be with some KZs

Welcome Smokey, what city are you in ??
Pete

pete greek1 wrote: Welcome Smokey, what city are you in ??
Pete

Janesville, you?

I'm in Beach Park ILL. ..a mile from Lake Michigan, & about 3 miles from the Wis. border