Young KZ rider (New I have pics!)

Hi, ive posted a few times here around the site and i thought that it would be a good time to introduce myself. My name is Devlin and when i was about 5 i remember riding on my dad's kz1000 that he was turning 9.90's with that he later traded for a boat :S , but from then on i fell in love with these old kaw's and when i had a chance to buy one for 300 bucks i jumped.It is a 1977 kz650, super red or w/e that color is called but faded. It sat and was sporadically started when i bought it.
I bought it in June of 07' when i was 18. It ran, but barely and wasnt in too bad of shape. I was told it had a 720 kit, but the gentleman i purchased it from was a very heavy alcoholic. Fourtunatly he had never dropped it but he had "home wired" all of the bike (im sure most of you know how that goes with these old bikes) I have since installed dual front disk, new points (soon electronic ignition), a newer seat,and fixed all of his wiring. When i purchased the bike in june the Odomoter read 26,xxx it now reads 30,090, so basically i love this bike and pretty much live on it. I recently for more or less curiosity pulled the top end apart on it, and sure enough he wasnt lying, i found a 720 kit, domed forged pistons and Andrews #20 (.350 lift) cams, with a ported head. I was elated, i then rehoned and put it back together and i got my compression back and stopped all of the oil leaks. Of course i am young and i run the living hell out of it, but i also love to just ride. It has no baffling (sp?) and a freshly bald rear tire (i have no idea why? :whistle:) (on order as I type for obvious safety reasons)..but that is my story and the tale of my love. I will post up pictures when i get home to take some. I am mechanically inclined and am also in the process of building a big block malibu, but have never even touched a bike till this one and it has been a fun learn as i go experience. Thanks alot, and ill be around.[/img]

Post edited by: kzdev1360, at: 2007/11/16 12:31

kzdev1360 wrote:

Hi, ive posted a few times here around the site and i thought that it would be a good time to introduce myself. My name is Devlin and when i was about 5 i remember riding on my dad's kz1000 that he was turning 9.90's with that he later traded for a boat :S , but from then on i fell in love with these old kaw's and when i had a chance to buy one for 300 bucks i jumped.It is a 1977 kz650, super red or w/e that color is called but faded. It sat and was sporadically started when i bought it.
I bought it in June of 07' when i was 18. It ran, but barely and wasnt in too bad of shape. I was told it had a 720 kit, but the gentleman i purchased it from was a very heavy alcoholic. Fourtunatly he had never dropped it but he had "home wired" all of the bike (im sure most of you know how that goes with these old bikes) I have since installed dual front disk, new points (soon electronic ignition), a newer seat,and fixed all of his wiring. When i purchased the bike in june the Odomoter read 26,xxx it now reads 30,090, so basically i love this bike and pretty much live on it. I recently for more or less curiosity pulled the top end apart on it, and sure enough he wasnt lying, i found a 720 kit, domed forged pistons and Andrews #20 (.350 lift) cams, with a ported head. I was elated, i then rehoned and put it back together and i got my compression back and stopped all of the oil leaks. Of course i am young and i run the living hell out of it, but i also love to just ride. It has no baffling (sp?) and a freshly bald rear tire (i have no idea why? :whistle:) (on order as I type for obvious safety reasons)..but that is my story and the tale of my love. I will post up pictures when i get home to take some. I am mechanically inclined and am also in the process of building a big block malibu, but have never even touched a bike till this one and it has been a fun learn as i go experience. Thanks alot, and ill be around.

Post edited by: kzdev1360, at: 2007/11/12 11:26<br><br>Post edited by: kzdev1360, at: 2007/11/12 11:27

Welcome aboard, Devlin! Enjoyed the post and looking forward to having you around.

Welcome Devlin...we'd all love to see pictures of your love affair...

Welcome to the site. Great story and great bike... and its red!

Get us a few photos when you get a chance. Don't forget to include your year, model and location in your signature.

Remember, these are your "good old days" so make them count and survive to tell the tale. Best of success.

bill_wilcox100 wrote:

...Remember, these are your "good old days" so make them count and survive to tell the tale. Best of success.

Amen!

lol oh yea, i love to have fun, but i know the limits of me and my machine, and never leave without a helmet

My 77 650 was a nice faded candy super red when I bought mine when I was 18 too.....of course that was the summer of...ummmm....88.
Welcome to the site.

mariozappa wrote:

My 77 650 was a nice faded candy super red when I bought mine when I was 18 too.....of course that was the summer of...ummmm....88.
Welcome to the site.

aah- another young buck like me! "We are sexy, we are great, we're the class of '88"--- does that fire any dusty neurons?

[img size=150] [img size=448]http://kzrider.com/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/compressed_pic.jpg[/img]

I got my 650 at about my 20th birthday. I've ridden the hell out of that bike. It's nice to see more young guys into the older bikes. It shows that young people can still have class. Any kid can go buy a new rice rocket, but not anyone can get and maintain and love an old toy like ours. Welcome in!

does that fire any dusty neurons?

:S :pinch: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, it does!

I was 18 when I got my first KZ too, well 17 yrs 10 months. July 24 1978. Still remember that date and still love that old KZ650.