A sad Kz750 h2

My brother bought this bike a maybe a month ago. It was in pretty good condition. He has only been riding for maybe two months. Today we were riding to the gym, fire miles from his house. He lost control of it and well destroyed the front end. He had some pretty bad road rash a few places, but thankfully nothing major. We apparently are having a string of bad luck or something, as I went down on some gravel on my 750 less than two weeks ago.

Now, I get the fun task of putting this turd back together! The goal is to get it looking better than it was before the wreck.

From what I can tell it needs.

Everything front end wise
Gas tank
Rear lights
Timing cover

He must have flipped it pretty good. Check the frame. might not worth fixing.
Steve

I'm glad he wasn't seriously injured!

IMHO It pays to learn to ride on a smaller displacement bike. Bad stuff can happen very fast even on a 350cc machine, but on a 750cc machine don't even think about blinking. I understand that accidents can (and will) happen to anyone, but statistically the rider suffers the greatest risk of injury in the first 2 years of motorcycle riding, so owning a fast bike during that time frame can lead to big trouble.

I am not one in favor of government controls on stuff because they usually get it wrong plus it takes away our freedoms. I do think the Japanese motorcycle licensing practice (as I understand it) is interesting. One starts with a license to operate a small displacement machine then after some time frame the person can move up to a medium displacement machine, and then after additional time/experience he can be licensed to operate a large displacement machine. This may be preferable to our licensing here (at least in MD) where one can take the driver's test on a 100cc machine, get a license, and run out and buy a 2015 Kawasaki H2 that has 200 hp even though he can barely handle a 10 hp machine. Again though, I don't like the government fiddling in our affairs, so working one's way up through faster bikes should be considered on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately, in the US many (if not most) guys would somehow feel less masculine if they were seen riding a small displacement machine for a year or two. Ed

Eastwood said it best. "A man must know his limitations". Show me an inflated ego and I'll show you a small man.
Steve

I agree with you guys for the most part, but I believe a lot of it depends on the riders personality, or ego like Steve said.

When I started riding, I learned on my now ex girlfriends cm400, then took a week long 30hr riding class, and lived and breathed instructional videos on YouTube, about riding and proper bike maintenance. My first bike was an 82 Kz750ld, it took me about 3 to 4 years before I went down due to gravel. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a 50cc or 1000cc. I was only going between 25 and 35mph.

I am a pretty reserved rider and never have had, "the need for speed". I ride strictly for me, I love the feeling of being in the wind, and getting to know the ends and outs of my bikes. I've never tried to use my bikes as tools to pick up chicks, or over compensate for something.

Now, my brother on the other hand is the opposite side of the coin. He claims he took a safety class (I have my doubts), he has done a lot of practice on my 440s, but his accident was due to his stupidity and lack of experience 100%. I was next to him when it happened.

I am only putting serious effort into getting this bike back up and running because in two years the "dick extension" effect will wear off and he will either lose interest in it or buy an 883 to sit in his garage...regardless, this 750 will eventually become mine for crazy cheap...lol I just have to make sure he doesn't kill himself or crash it again it before that happens.

Luckily, he has a cb650 we have been building. That will help speed up this process.

Don't get me wrong, I am really glad he is okay, but I'm also glad the accident happened and I was there to see it. He is the type of person who has to touch the hot stove before they learn to be careful around it.

I know the type.
Steve

I got the call this morning. He is sick of having the bike in his garage and wants it gone. I loaned him some money awhile back and he told me I could have the bike if we just call it even...looks like I just got my 4th bike...

Everything on the bike is good except the tank, front end, and timing covet. Should be fun, or it will make a nice parts bike for Kali.

Any have one of these or know where I can find one!?

I think I may have an extra cover for you. I can look tonight and let you know.

Thanks, but I managed to find one on ebay for $21. I should have it next week.

I took the front end apart today. Discovered that the damage wasn't as bad as I thought.

Made some progress the last few days. I started stripping things down and cleaning it up a bit.

The new cover showed up and cleaned up nice.

Just working through getting it cleaned up right now while I try to figure out what to do with it.

Anyone have any tips on how to make working on this engine a bit easier? Engine stand or jacks or something?