Another VIN Question - 1980 KZ1000

I have a parts bike I just tore down, its a 1980 KZ1000, VIN starts with KZT00D - what model do I have?

It doesn't have a motor or trans, but I have most of the other parts.

Also, the rear tire is very unusual, it has three valve stems.

Check www.zedder.com to verify the year of the VIN (either 1978 or 1980) but you have a D model, a Z1R.:)

Thanks.

Are these parts worth anything above a regular KZ? I have no title for the frame, but its complete.

Is there something special about the rear tire having three valve stems, or was this a PO botch job?

Two of your Valve stems are Rim Locks Not Valve Stems

arozanski wrote:

Thanks.

Are these parts worth anything above a regular KZ? I have no title for the frame, but its complete.

Possibly...depends if there is a Z1R geek out there...but it would be worth more w/title:)

Shoe48 wrote:

Two of your Valve stems are Rim Locks Not Valve Stems

Well, that would explain it. I never heard of them on a motorcycle, a Z1R thing?

Mcdroid wrote:

arozanski wrote:

Thanks.

Are these parts worth anything above a regular KZ? I have no title for the frame, but its complete.

Possibly...depends if there is a Z1R geek out there...but it would be worth more w/title:)

Yeah, that's not happening, I pulled it out of a garbage pile just before the truck showed up. Last registered in NJ around 1988, based on the plate that was left.

arozanski wrote:

Shoe48 wrote:

Two of your Valve stems are Rim Locks Not Valve Stems

Well, that would explain it. I never heard of them on a motorcycle, a Z1R thing?

FYI (plagiarized from the "net") ---

Rim Locks are rubber blocks that fit between the tire's beads and have a center stud that passes through the rim and is "locked" with a nut. When the nut is tightened, the rim lock presses the tire's beads apart and forces the beads tightly against the rim. They prevent the tire from rotating if it should go soft. If the tire did rotate it would rip the valve stem from the tube and cause an immediate flat.

They make the tire a royal PITA to change! The nut must be loosened, the rim lock pushed to the center of the tire and held there while you try to lever the tire off the rim. Getting it back on is even less fun! When tubeless tires came along, rimlocks sorta vanished and I don't think anyone misses them, but dirt bikes still have them.

[End of plagierized material]

If without rim locks, low pressure dirt bike tires tend to slip around the rim. Being spoke wheels with tubes, the tire slipping around the rim pulls the tube along with it. Because the tube valve stem is secured in its hole inside the rim, the valve stem stays in the rim hole and is ripped away from the tube.

Same thing can happen when a tube is used with a mag style (non-spoke) wheel.

Post edited by: Patton, at: 2007/08/14 12:27

I think all rear wheels on Kawasaki way back to the early 70s had these rim locks. I know H2 had them when it was released in 1972, all my motorcycles have them except those running tubeless wheels, and that is only the KZ1000E and the Honda Goldwing. A 1980 Z1R was pretty rare if the frame is really that, but not worth much without the rest of the motorcycle

RonKZ650 wrote:

I think all rear wheels on Kawasaki way back to the early 70s had these rim locks. I know H2 had them when it was released in 1972, all my motorcycles have them except those running tubeless wheels, and that is only the KZ1000E and the Honda Goldwing. A 1980 Z1R was pretty rare if the frame is really that, but not worth much without the rest of the motorcycle

The VIN tag is still there, I guess its legit. Almost everything was there except the engine, but its been sitting for a long time. I put an ad in the classified section, I'll see if that draws any interest.

I wonder how hard it would be to get a replacement title from NJ?