TOPIC:

I've been lurking the forums for a little while and love the look of the kz especially the Kz550a models. I happened to come across one on Craigslist, it looked ok in the pictures.

Seller wrote how it was more of a project bike even though it ran. She was asking 1700 (way over what I think it's worth). Checked it out it started up Alright, no weird knocking or any noises from the engine. 9500 miles on the odometer.

But I can tell it would need new fork seals,tires and the carb tuned..

How much would you offer, or would you just pass it up.

Hope it's ok to link it newyork.craigslist.org/brk/mcy/5646603410.html

Just my opinion but I would think $1,200 or less would be a fair price. It has low mileage but the pods detract from the value.
Almost any bike you get is going to need tires and a carb tune and probably a fork seal or two.
That being said, the KZ550 is a fantastic bike.

No speedo. $900 maybe.
Steve

I forgot about the spedo, yeah I might have lowballed her earlier and said 750.
Besides that brakes lines would definitely need a overhaul as well. I'll tell 1150 and her what she says. unfortunate this Kz did not show up in the later part of the riding season here in Ny.

I assumed that was an aftermarket gauge in place of the old speedo. The ad says 9,500 miles so she must have the old speedo?
I still think $1,200 would be a fair price for all involved. Obviously better for you at $900.
Good luck, it has potential...

May want to peek under the fork gaters to see what condition the hard chrome is. I've heard the forks can rust really badly being covered all the time. Rusting/pitting causes fork seals to die quick and can't be fixed except by rechrome or replace.
I'd also ask if it has any of the original parts like the speedo, air box etc.
They are great bikes though. I love my '82 550a. Pretty easy to work on and so far (got it in Feb) haven't had difficulties finding parts for it.

Thanks for the tips, I'll be stopping later on to do one final look over before taking it home. I had stopped by last week and attempted to get a test ride. Unfortunately bike wouldn't start and she ended up killing the battery from cranking it so much.

Took it for ride earlier around the block a few times and what a blast... Stalled out a couple times but definitely kept a smile on my face. Hit the buy button...

The tires really need to be replaced, the forks gaters were zipped tied so I could not get to peek under there. But hopefully with a bit of sweat and spit it will shine.

I couldn't get them to go lower than 1180.. No one speedo or airbox so I'm outta luck there.

You did fine. You are going to love it. Start looking on eBay for the air box.


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Congrats Mcren. Sounds like a good deal to me.
It's hard to put a price or value on things that can make you grin ear to ear.
Now we just need more pictures here since the CL link is gone.

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