Newb 82 KZ550 LTD

Greetings from the great white north!

​​​​​Just saying hi to get that post count up to prove I'm not a robot

I am the new owner of a pretty special KZ550. But only special for me, probably not you

I don't have a bike license, nor have I ever ridden one. But I've always wanted one. A couple years back I decided I'm going to get one, but had some driving habits I wanted to change first. I was hoping to get one this past summer but life happened, so I've been looking for this upcoming season. 

I was scrolling marketplace when I zoomed on past this 82 550. I smiled to myself as I fondly remembered my dad's Kawasaki; he got it as a barn find and spent a summer working on it. I remember going to school on the back of it, the sound and smell of it. A nice 20+ year memory. But I'm looking for a newer bike to not have to work on it...

I began to scroll past...but the bike location caught my eye. So I looked more closely. It....looked exactly like my dad's old bike. I messaged the guy, and then sent the info and pics to my dad. I was now 85% sure it was probably his.

So I drove a town or two over to go see it. As I walked with the seller from his home to his workshop, he told me he had a lot of interest but my insistence that it is likely my dad's bike caught his interest. "Bike was never registered in your town," he tells me. I tell him that we lived in Ottawa at the time, because that's what I tell people, since the town I actually grew up in is nearby but generally not known. "Nope, not from Ottawa either," he says, seemingly disappointed.

Opens the garage door...as soon as the light turns on I tell him that's 100% my dad's bike, even if I can't prove it. Seller tells me he has the original ownership, so I give him my dad's name and the home address. Sure enough....the bike is his. It's still even in his name! The bike looks exactly the same, I recognize the seat he reupholstered, the exhaust he replaced, the fuel tank he sanded and painted, the stupid handlebar grips that he loved.

I ask a lot of questions. My dad sold the bike to a fella who got it for his kid. His kid never rode it, so it sat stored for nearly 20 years, with only a ride or two on it. The guy I was buying it from bought it a year and a half ago to restore it, but never did. I told him I'd take it, because of course I would! $750 and he delivered it to my house an hour away.

My kids sat on it. I told them that makes 3 generations of our asses to sit on that seat. It needs all the things I was not previously interested in doing....but now I'm doing them. Engine turns and makes compression. Carbs have been stripped and cleaned (slides were seized). I fought to get the side cover off (seized to shifter shaft). It needs tires, chain (was seized), sprockets, brakes, some seals, some things rebuilt. I'm hoping to have it ready for spring, but I'm also taking my time with it.

My dad visited the other day, and was pretty excited to see it again. I showed him all of the paperwork I got with it; his ownership papers, bill of sale he wrote, the Haynes manual with his chicken scratches and all of the receipts for things he had to fix and replace. He bought the bike after it sat....and going through his receipts, it looks like I'm going to have to do a lot of the same things he had to do.

It was a pretty chance finding. I never expected to see the bike again, had never even considered looking for it. The seller was excited, I'm excited, my daughter is hankering for a ride on it.


Anyways, I'll go make some posts and replies so I can (hopefully) be a productive member. Thanks for having me.

Welcome Joe 
 One in a Million story
Dave

Welcome Joe, cool background story!
You'll find plenty of members here with lots of knowledge and experience to help you. 
Read Nessism's post "New owner things to know " for some great hints and advice.

Welcome Joe from a fellow Canadian.
I'm about 3 hours East of you on the shore of Lake Simcoe.

Yes, welcome and what a terrific story!  I'm about 3 hrs West of you....by air.  I live near Kamloops.  My wife had an '81 550.  I loved that bike but it was too small for my 6 ft 3 in frame and she wanted to sell.  It was in sad shape but we fixed it all up.  The only thing that gave me grief was the carbs.  I hate TK carbs!

Keep on posting with updates on your progress.

Welcome from the UK, great story and powerful motivator to get the job done rather than be another new owner with "good intentions"

Welcome from SWO quite a drive West of you closer to Sarnia.

What you describe in that story is a extremely rare occurrence in these times. I have been riding in Ontario for 43 years and heard a lot of sob stories about lost bikes that have never been found again. A lot of those bikes that don't have "papers" end up being parted out or sold as scrap. It is very common for owners to have never changed ownership to there name.

There is one member here that is up in your area (Kanata?) Steve Darlington. He is a Vintage road racer mostly KZ's in the VRRA, have dealt with him long distance for a lot of years. Just search "darlington" on here, not sure the last time he posted.

You can get a lot of support from your local CVMG section group, cvmg.ca/Ottawa

Good luck with your project.

Thanks everyone!

​​​​​​
I'll try to quickly reply to each...

Street fighter - it is a super cool story, even the seller was excited! 

sf4t7 - I've been a lurker for some time and that post was one of the first I read (and re-read). 

rstnick - I haven't been out that way but I've heard it's pretty super fishing. Just need that cold weather to stick around for ice up!

hardrockminer - the bike isn't terribly big, I feel like at 5 10 I'm the target height for it, I couldn't imagine trying to squeeze onto it at over 6 feet.
What about the TK's did you not like? I'm not really a carb guy.  I know of them. I noted that the 22s have issues with the choke flaps, but otherwise they seem super simple...but again, carbs aren't my thing.

Wookie58 - I was super happy to find out that the seller hadn't really touched the bike....I was nervous about having to repair someone else's repairs I've spent most of my time searching out parts and waiting for parts, but there is progress being made.

Injected - I always see stories of people looking for a car, truck, bike, musical instrument, etc that they have lost. Those stories rarely have endings...I've kept that in mind the entire time, to recognize that ya, this isn't common. Not only that, but to find it unmolested and garage kept.
Kanata isn't terribly far from here; I went to high school there, it's now technically part of Ottawa. I'll look him up!


Thanks again everyone!

The choke slides were the main issue.  I also disliked wrestling the carbs on and off the bike.  

Many years ago I lived in Marathon, north of Lake Superior.  I sold my Z1 there and moved on.  Flash forward 30 years and I took up bikes again back in 2014.  I advertised in the Marathon newspaper to see if I could find that bike, but had no luck.  I bought another one from a guy in Medicine Hat that I still own.

I remembered watching my dad battle the carbs to get them out, but lucky for me he replaced the rubbers between the carbs and airbox so it was slightly easier for me   I fix cars for a living so I'm pretty used to working in tight spaces. The bike has been a joy to work on when compared to sitting upside down in a seat with my head on the floor and my arms jammed under a dash, blindly working on things.

I mentioned that I remembered them being a bear, but he doesn't remember pulling them off. He's old, he's got the KRAFT disease

The choke flaps are still all in place, I haven't decided if I'm going to just block them off or replace with the nicer ones on eBay....would like to avoid a nasty suprise.

Too bad on the bike. I think recovering something once owned is rarely successful...at least you managed to find the same bike, even if it's not the same. 

30 years off sure sounds alot like family and life putting things on hold  

hardrockminer post=907443 userid=49877The choke slides were the main issue.  I also disliked wrestling the carbs on and off the bike.  

Many years ago I lived in Marathon, north of Lake Superior.  I sold my Z1 there and moved on.  Flash forward 30 years and I took up bikes again back in 2014.  I advertised in the Marathon newspaper to see if I could find that bike, but had no luck.  I bought another one from a guy in Medicine Hat that I still own.

I stopped street riding in 1990 when my Son was born, that did not last long as I turned my street bike into a drag bike 2 years later. Fast forward to 2014 and I was back on the road again with a clapped out 650 I bought for $200 and completely rebuilt (took me 2 years) been street riding/racing ever since. Have amassed a lot more $200 gems since then
Never fear a bike that comes in many bins!