Hi and Hello from MA - New KZ650 Owner

Howdy All -

Thanks for having me! Just inherited a 1983 KZ650, and immediately came to the forums to get plugged into the community. It's my 3rd bike (had a Vulcan 500 and a FZ6 before this), but unlike those bikes, this one is higher mileage, has been sitting for a while, and is a bit of a project bike! I'll post in the project bike thread as well, but just wanted to introduce myself in the meantime.

If anyone has any specific thoughts on this model/year of bike, let me know what I'm in for! Thanks!

Best,
Denis

Welcome aboard! What is the "higher mileage"? Ed

Howdy. Is the motorcycle a CSR? Since it's high mileage, you'll probably want to do a valve clearance check. Doing the check is fairly straight forward. changing shims if necessary is a bit more work but doable.


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So a bit of an odd thing here - the title says 30K, but I just looked at the odometer, and it's about 24K.

Maybe the owner improperly recorded the info? Or perhaps there was a new engine after some time?

I'm assuming I'll actually have to do a bit more in addition.

Looks like the tires have dry rot, and the break fluid leaked out, and a bunch of other little things. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

Not sure on the "CSR" - any way to check specifically?

DougTrenches wrote: So a bit of an odd thing here - the title says 30K, but I just looked at the odometer, and it's about 24K.

Maybe the owner improperly recorded the info? Or perhaps there was a new engine after some time?

Trust me, 30k miles is not high mileage at all on a KZ650. Mine has more than 62,000 miles without ever having any engine work done other than normal maintenance (points, plugs, and oil changes), and it still runs great . As far as I'm concerned it still is young. RonKZ650 put about 150,000 miles on one of his KZ650 bikes. At that point it still ran fine but was starting to get a bit tired.

For the various KZ650 years and models see models.kz650.info/index.htm

Ed

Greetings from Arizona! The CSR was the "Cruiser" model with 16" rear wheel. Your bike looks ripe for any or no mods you might or might not want to do. The engine has the hy-vo camchain. It's stronger than the old chain they used before. 650.info has all you want to know about the KZ650. Not to say we dont here. Enjoy you new project. We're here if you have questions.

Not sure on the "CSR" - any way to check specifically

In the USA, it should be a 650-CSR & from the pics it appears to be so. Your side cover emblems were deleted.
The mileage difference could be from changing out the speedometer.


Manual. You should get either the 81-82 or 81-83 KZ650 Kawasaki service manual.
The 81-83 version is the earlier manual plus 1 supplement page for the 83 models. The 83 wiring diagram is the same as the 82.
I have a nos 81-83 manual, but it's of lower quality than the earlier versions >> the pages aren't glossy & will probably get real grungy.

Here's the supplement page I scanned >> use it in conjunction with the 81-82 KZ650 manual which is easier to find on EB & often times cheap.

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So is the "CSR" bit just distinguishing it in saying that it's more of a classic cruiser style than most UJMs?

The side covers and the tank were swapped it looks like - there are two tigers and a very boobie woman decal on the tank now...there's a good chance I'll be swapping the the side covers and tank to something else, haha.

And do you mean just buying an 81-83 manual somewhere online? Or would someone here have a PDF of it?

Greetings from Arizona received!

The mods thing is the big question. I recently has an unexpected and big leg surgery, and then inherited the bike. The surgery, and surrounding circumstance, sorta rocked my world, so I'm been drumming up this idea while I get back on my feet - "Rebuild for Rehab (or Recovery)", where I plunge myself into getting this somewhat defunct motorcycle back into top shape and road ready, while also getting better myself.

But I'm not sure if I want to put it back together stock, or try some sort of artistic endeavor with it (or at least some slight mods...I don't love the miniape handlebars on it). Any thoughts either way?

And you're saying the CSR has the hy-vo camchain. one of the distinguishing feature of the CSR model?

What's 650.info? Sorry, I'm a curious person, especially when surrounded by folks smarter than me :laugh:

Woah - that's great to know. Any advice on what I should do to it first, to get it running then? The key's actually lost too, and the ignition looks a bit chewed up...I might just replace that first, along with the tank (which I can't technically get into with the key).

Also, the link you copied seems super useful, but a lot of the pages give me a 404 error code. Is that just happening to me, or do you see it too?

DougTrenches wrote: ................................................

What's 650.info? Sorry, I'm a curious person, especially when surrounded by folks smarter than me :laugh:

I gave a link to it earlier in this thread. Just click on it. Ed