whats up from san francisco!

hey, prospective kz rider here, gonna go look at a 1980 kz1000ltd in the next couple days and i was wondering what i should look for? thanks in advance for the warm welcome!

Welcome...

Without knowing more about the bike (good shape, been garaged for the last 25 years, or a total POS etc..) just a few things to look for.... The others will chime in on things I forgot to mention.

Initial inspection look for oil leaks on cylinder (base and top)and exhaust ports from the head to exhaust header. Look for oil build up or leaks for that matter around engine cases.

Look for rust on frame and all metal parts (especially considering wet and damp bay area fog), exhaust rusted...
Open the gas tank, clean or look rusted.

Electrical wiring, rusted, broken, shreaded, cracking etc...

Rust on rims, chain, handlebars etc....

Check that all electrical functions are operational.

Test ride, does it have good acceleration and braking. Does the bike run straight, meaning if you were on a flat surface does it stay in a straight line id hands where removed off bars or does it feel like it's pulling one side or the other.

Idle test, sound smooth or does it sound like it's missing... Hold hand at exhaust, blowing oil...

Is it blowing smoke when started, during idle and when running. If possible, pop the spark plugs out, rich, lean or good coloration.

All the above can be repaired but jew them down on the price...

If I forgot something, others will chime in.

BTW, Raised in Santa Cruz County (South of Frisco).

OMR

dang omr pretty much covered it.if you can get some pics and postem up we can nitpick the heck out of it:laugh: .
welcome.

ya that covers most of it,i love getting these old kaws that have been sitting in someones garage for years,and getting them running again.they dont deserve to just sit there and rot:angry: .just make sure you are ready to spend some money if it dont run.they are fun to work on but if you cant do it yourself ,it can get a little pricy to have someone elese do the work.good luck and get us some pictures we want to see your great find.

thanks omr, i ended up buying it, runs fine, needs two new plugs. it drove fine on the test ride but the next day (today) it wont out of neutral into 2nd gear! so now i have to see whats up with that, pictures coming as soon as i find my camera cable.

brattesani wrote:

... wont out of neutral into 2nd gear!...

Just guessing that maybe - - -

Bike isn't supposed to shift from neutral into 2nd gear unless it's rolling forward. It's part of the positive neutral finder design.

Hope that's all it amounts to.

Good Luck!

thanks patton! i posted it in the tech section as well after i realized this wasnt the best section to post a problem in, but thanks for the quick response.