1976 Kz 900 A4

Very nice score! The bar code indicates they are relatively new. The 8F indicates the year (8, likely 1998 but possibly 2008) and month (June). Do they have a stamp on them?

Pretty much bought them just off the pictures. They are in Pennsylvania about 6 hours east of me... not completely mine yet. I gave them a 1/2 down deposit and driving out to get them in the next week or so... I’ll finish the purchase after I get my hands on them.

HRM... not sure on the manufacturer date, but they are NOS later build. They have the welded then silver painted connections between the head tube and the rear muffler.

I wasn’t planning to buy really but they were listed as one price and as having two set. Out of couriosity I asked if the price was for both set. They replied no it’s for one set and sent me a picture. I replied, do you have 8 pipes total. They said no just the four in the picture. I told them that it was one set. 2 right and 2 left for one bike.... I also thanked them for their time. About 15 minutes later they replied and dropped the price almost in have. It was their offer as I never discussed cost. I had to jump on it at that point.

krazee1 wrote: Damn! those never were cheap. I'm not sure when they changed from the yellow tags on service parts, but I think it's probably been ten years ago by now. The number under the muffler assy script 000473-39-45 means suggested retail is $473.45 with a 39% mark up! I wonder how many $ worth I threw away that got scratched during assembly? Never quite got the hang out of polishing scratches out of chrome.(got pretty good at polishing aluminum though)

Mike

Mike, your stories are great. But at the same time make me wanna cry.

Around about 1977 my original pipes on my Z1B rusted out on the bottom, so I checked out the price of a new set. At that time they were around $1,000 CAD, and a Kerker was $450. I went with the Kerker.

I remember a 1976 model I worked on for a buddy. The bike was low mileage, 2 years old and appeared to be very well maintained. I was shocked to see the bottoms of the pipes pretty well gone! I think that was probably a deciding factor in the KZ1000 going to a 4 into 2 system, cause they sure didn't sound or look as cool.

Mike

hardrockminer wrote: Around about 1977 my original pipes on my Z1B rusted out on the bottom, so I checked out the price of a new set. At that time they were around $1,000 CAD, and a Kerker was $450. I went with the Kerker.

We used to cut them off just past the bolt bracket! Just to make louder. Because we could not afford the 4 into 1's.
Plus I scrapped 2 complete (4 pipe) sets from my Mom's house a few yrs. after I got married. When I had to empty the garage when I bought my 1st house in 1984. We all did this in my hood'

z1kzonly wrote:

hardrockminer wrote: Around about 1977 my original pipes on my Z1B rusted out on the bottom, so I checked out the price of a new set. At that time they were around $1,000 CAD, and a Kerker was $450. I went with the Kerker.

We used to cut them off just past the bolt bracket! Just to make louder. Because we could not afford the 4 into 1's.
Plus I scrapped 2 complete (4 pipe) sets from my Mom's house a few yrs. after I got married. When I had to empty the garage when I bought my 1st house in 1984. We all did this in my hood'

Seems to be more common than I thought. I moved out of state after I got married and had a crap load of new and used car and bike parts in my folks garage. The folks called me and said they had sold their house and were moving into a smaller place and they needed the garage cleaned out asap. I just couldn't get up there for several weeks and I capitulated and said just call a junk yard and they will come get the stuff. Besides the old motorcycle stuff I had I also had a complete power train from a 1969 Ram Air IV GTO, engine, trans and rear axle. I had a RA IV at the time and I bought the power train from another RA IV that was totaled in a crash. The guy that crashed his GTO was a friend of mine and had no insurance on his Goat so I bought the entire power train for a song. That was back in about 1973 or '74. The stuff sat in my parents garage for 5 years or so and my Dad was getting PO'd that it was plugging up his garage. When they finally decided to sell their place I had no where to put the stuff, including all my other "good" stuff so off it went to the salvage yard. I also had several complete '66 Pontiac Tri-Power setups (the good ones) and two Muncie 4-speeds that also went to the bone yard with everything else. You have to remember at that time none of this stuff was worth a lick. No one wanted old used muscle car or motorcycle stuff and worst of all was I wasn't living close-by.

Years later I was looking at a Hemmings magazine and saw what people were getting for these parts and I almost started crying. If only I would have had the foresight to think about a storage garage rental, but even that would have been difficult to afford for us and storage facilities were far and few. I did manage to save an OEM RA IV factory camshaft that's still in the cardboard tube. It's in my basement on a shelf and every now and then I look at it and get all misty eyed. Too soon too old and too late too smart.....
Rick H.

Around about 1978 I replaced my tank, side covers and tail piece with ones from a '74 that had been painted black. (I liked the '74 badges much more than the '75 ones.) My originals sat in my dad's tool shed for about 10 years before he asked if I wanted them. I told him they were worthless and could be thrown out. That doesn't rank up there with my worst decision though...in 1967 McDonalds opened their first restaurant in my home town. Being used to drive in service at the local A&W I told my buddies that McDonalds wouldn't survive because they didn't deliver to your car. Hmmmm!

Rick H. wrote:

z1kzonly wrote:

hardrockminer wrote: Around about 1977 my original pipes on my Z1B rusted out on the bottom, so I checked out the price of a new set. At that time they were around $1,000 CAD, and a Kerker was $450. I went with the Kerker.

We used to cut them off just past the bolt bracket! Just to make louder. Because we could not afford the 4 into 1's.
Plus I scrapped 2 complete (4 pipe) sets from my Mom's house a few yrs. after I got married. When I had to empty the garage when I bought my 1st house in 1984. We all did this in my hood'

Seems to be more common than I thought. I moved out of state after I got married and had a crap load of new and used car and bike parts in my folks garage. The folks called me and said they had sold their house and were moving into a smaller place and they needed the garage cleaned out asap. I just couldn't get up there for several weeks and I capitulated and said just call a junk yard and they will come get the stuff. Besides the old motorcycle stuff I had I also had a complete power train from a 1969 Ram Air IV GTO, engine, trans and rear axle. I had a RA IV at the time and I bought the power train from another RA IV that was totaled in a crash. The guy that crashed his GTO was a friend of mine and had no insurance on his Goat so I bought the entire power train for a song. That was back in about 1973 or '74. The stuff sat in my parents garage for 5 years or so and my Dad was getting PO'd that it was plugging up his garage. When they finally decided to sell their place I had no where to put the stuff, including all my other "good" stuff so off it went to the salvage yard. I also had several complete '66 Pontiac Tri-Power setups (the good ones) and two Muncie 4-speeds that also went to the bone yard with everything else. You have to remember at that time none of this stuff was worth a lick. No one wanted old used muscle car or motorcycle stuff and worst of all was I wasn't living close-by.

Years later I was looking at a Hemmings magazine and saw what people were getting for these parts and I almost started crying. If only I would have had the foresight to think about a storage garage rental, but even that would have been difficult to afford for us and storage facilities were far and few. I did manage to save an OEM RA IV factory camshaft that's still in the cardboard tube. It's in my basement on a shelf and every now and then I look at it and get all misty eyed. Too soon too old and too late too smart.....
Rick H.

Now THAT is a story that will make you cry! BIG$$$$$$$$

Mike

Wow. If this doesn’t motive me then I need to turn in my Kz card....

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: