Long time lurker, soon to be owner

So, I've lurked on these forums for quite some time wishing for the day when I can own a Kz. I'm glad to say, that time has come! (hopefully)

Me and the seller have agreed on the price, and he says he will hold it for me. Until our meet time on Saturday. It is a 1982/1983 kz550 that doesn't run, and apparently has no keys, although it does have a title. The purchase price will be $350 (down from $550) the owner says it has 107k miles though, which I find incredibly hard to believe... I suspect he's misreading the odometer, but I'll find out when I look at it. It's also been sitting for at least five years.

When I finally have it in my hands I'll be looking it over thoroughly and posting a ton of pictures for you guys! I suspect it's going to be a pain to get it running, the first thing to do is of course to get a key for it. I'm hoping that I can have the dealership make a set of keys off the vin, unless there's another way to get keys for it?

I'll have to most likely install a in line fuel filter for it as well, just to catch any gunk from the tank. I expect to also replace the fuel lines. The seat will need to be recovered, but that's low on the list of things to do. The chrome appears to be in good shape, with no visible rust from the pictures. Of course new battery, oil change, and I'll have to mess with the timing I'm sure.

Aside from that I'm not sure what else it will need, although I'm sure there are other things that will need to be done.

So, what are opinions? Am I over paying for it? I really really want this bike and I'm hoping to get it, just because I've wanted one for so long. I'm trying to avoid tunnel vision though, I dont want to overlook major issues in my excitement for it. I've already got a quote for insurance, and it'll cost me $300 for a full year so that isn't bad at all. Compared to what my insurance for a car would be... $200 a month.

Congrats on the purchase. The 550s are great bikes.
107K is hard to believe but I did run across a guy a few years ago with more than that on a KZ550 so it's possible.
For the keys you can get the code off of the ignition and just order a key. I think I got my last one on ebay for a few bucks.
After you get it running do the safety stuff: brakes, tires, bearings, lights...
Hard to tell without pics but a KZ for a few hundred dollars is probabaly a decent deal.
Looking forward to the pics...

Welcome to KZR
Our membership is a fantastic resource and can help you enjoy your 550
Dave

ThatGPzGuy wrote: Congrats on the purchase. The 550s are great bikes.
107K is hard to believe but I did run across a guy a few years ago with more than that on a KZ550 so it's possible.
For the keys you can get the code off of the ignition and just order a key. I think I got my last one on ebay for a few bucks.
After you get it running do the safety stuff: brakes, tires, bearings, lights...
Hard to tell without pics but a KZ for a few hundred dollars is probabaly a decent deal.
Looking forward to the pics...

Sorry that I'm unable to list pics right now. Only ones I have are from the ad, and my phone refuses to download them. I'll be sure to take a ton of pictures and share them with you guys though! I may end up starting a project thread as this bike will likely be a constant rolling project. I'm excited to have something to tinker on!

Thanks for the warm welcome you guys!

Congrats on your find! As far as costs are concerned, I would guess it will take at least $500 just to get it road worthy. You will likely need new tires, and a battery and will need to rebuild the braking system.. Brakes and tires are the most important. safety items. Don't cut corners on these items. Don't start the bike with a tank that has debris in it. That will cause you more repairs and heartache if you do. Use an auxiliary tank (you can make one out of a plastic bottle) to assure you are getting clean fuel when working on the bike. This is until the original tank has been thoroughly cleaned of any debris. A small auxiliary tank makes certain repairs easier anyhow. Good luck with the project. You will find plenty of people to help you on this site.

KZJOE900 wrote: Congrats on your find! As far as costs are concerned, I would guess it will take at least $500 just to get it road worthy. You will likely need new tires, and a battery and will need to rebuild the braking system.. Brakes and tires are the most important. safety items. Don't cut corners on these items. Don't start the bike with a tank that has debris in it. That will cause you more repairs and heartache if you do. Use an auxiliary tank (you can make one out of a plastic bottle) to assure you are getting clean fuel when working on the bike. This is until the original tank has been thoroughly cleaned of any debris. A small auxiliary tank makes certain repairs easier anyhow. Good luck with the project. You will find plenty of people to help you on this site.

Thanks! The estimate seems to be pretty accurate I think, I was looking at tires and it appears to be at least $100 for tires alone. I'm not sure what will be required to do the brakes, but I don't plan to go cheap on those. I was thinking of buying a cheap jerry can to use as a temporary gas tank for trouble shooting purposes. The gas tank isn't gong to be used until I find a way to clean it out. The biggest issue I think will be disposing of the old gas.

Found a way to save the pictures from the seller! This is the bike as advertised. I should be picking it up tomorrow.

WOW, that bike is pretty rough. It's going to be a ton of work, so it's good that you are rescuing it from the scrap heap. A freaking TITLE? That's rare, it's got to be a joke, or somebody filled it out, then never registered it. At least it's not as rough as this one.

This is a pic I took while doing a Job in St. Louis a few years ago. It had sat so long the wheels were almost up to the axles into the ground. I actually tried to buy this bike, planning on bringing it back to life.

The bike is certainly neglected. My short term goal is to get it running well enough to make the mile drive to work and back three days a week, and to of course take my motorcycle skills test.

I'm located in Las Vegas and I notice vehicles tend to not rust out here, so my hope is that the engine isn't seized from rust. Maybe my eyes are bad, but in the pictures I see very little if any rust. I was planning to pick it up today but seems ill have to wait until tomorrow.

Long term I want to restore the bike to a nice condition. I doubt I'll turn it into a show room condition bike, but it'll be nice to have it look pretty good.

The first thing I would do is hit (every) nut and bolt with some penetrating oil, including the spark plugs.
Before attempting to crank the engine the plugs should come out and I would squirt a bunch down each cylinder hole too.
Let the oil soak in a day before trying to turn anything, a second coat won't hurt either,
it also helps to give the bolts a few taps to help break the rust loose after spraying.

I would say to let the penetrant work for several days since it has been sitting outside. Reapply penetrant to each fastener once or twice a day. Tapping and heat will help stubborn ones. Some will need persuading with an impact driver.
Be mindful that all those cross head screws are NOT Phillps heads, they are JIS. A Phillips screwdriver comes to a much sharper point than a JIS, and can wreck the slots in a stubborn screw. Buy the proper tools, or modify Phillips drivers to fit snugly and you will have better results.

The most effective penetrants are -- a 1:1 mixture of acetone and ATF, Kano Kroil, and PB Blaster, in that order. Don't be afraid to use more than you think necessary of both penetrant and patience. Impatience often creates bigger problems.

TexasKZ wrote: I would say to let the penetrant work for several days since it has been sitting outside. Reapply penetrant to each fastener once or twice a day. Tapping and heat will help stubborn ones. Some will need persuading with an impact driver.
Be mindful that all those cross head screws are NOT Phillps heads, they are JIS. A Phillips screwdriver comes to a much sharper point than a JIS, and can wreck the slots in a stubborn screw. Buy the proper tools, or modify Phillips drivers to fit snugly and you will have better results.

The most effective penetrants are -- a 1:1 mixture of acetone and ATF, Kano Kroil, and PB Blaster, in that order. Don't be afraid to use more than you think necessary of both penetrant and patience. Impatience often creates bigger problems.

This is a Las Vegas bike. I bought a car that sat in a yard for many years near Las Vegas. No rust, no problems starting up. He probably WILL NOT need all that penetrant stuff. Im sure he will be fine.

I definitely feel he should make sure the engine turns freely and add oil, etc, but all the "penetrant" overkill is a bit over the top.