New '82 KZ1000 owner checking in

Howyadoin,

I'm the proud new owner of a 1982 KZ1000 "Plus"...

The bike previously belonged to my sister-in-law's husband, who is both a fantastic mechanic and a total speed freak. He bought the bike used in rough shape, and proceeded to do a complete overhaul. As part of the process, he sent the engine out to be bored out to 1100cc (that's where the "Plus" comes from), balanced and blueprinted. It's got a Vance & Hines 4-into-1 exhaust.

He rode the bike for a few years, then parked it. He's more of a car/truck guy... The engine has somewhere around 300 miles on it post-rebuild. The brake lines, battery, tires, chain and sprockets have all been recently replaced, the tank has been creemed, everything I would have thought of to do to an old bike has been done, except a carb sync, which we'll do this weekend along with replacing the brake fluid.

I can't believe the condition this thing is in, it's just amazing. My previous bikes were a '94 Honda Magna and a '85 Gold Wing, and this is in way better shape then either of those. I'm so stoked. I had to sell both my bikes when I lost my job, but now that I'm working again I'm ready to ride!

So anything I need to watch out for, besides the cops?

-Rav

no just the cop's . actually try not idling to long with it because of heat build up don't get stuck in 3 hour traffic jam like i did once in sturgis and keep an eye on your oil especally with a fairly fresh motor change it quite regular and you should be fine also use as good of gas as you can not anything with to much alcohol in it . by the way welcome.

Welcome Pictures please.

Sounds like you have a winner Welcome and BTW we need pics.

That sounds very nice! I can't wait to see it!

Where are you from?

Welcome to this KZ madness

harm wrote:

That sounds very nice! I can't wait to see it!

Where are you from?

Welcome to this KZ madness

Thanks all for the welcome... I'm from Beverly, MA. I've been riding since '05, when I bought my Magna. That was a great bike, and it killed me to sell it over the winter, but I think I've got an awesome bike now.

Having dual front discs and a rear single disc is a great improvement over the Magna's single front disc/rear drum setup, although I prefer the liquid cooling of the Magna.

I'm really looking forward to putting the KZ on the road, I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

-Rav

You're not gonna believe this...

When we last left off, I was waiting for my B-I-L to swap the brake fluid and sync the carbs. He did both, and later reported that the bike "was running the balls". Emphasis on "was". All this was done while I was off working on my wife's truck, so I wasn't around for the show.

After getting everything running, he decided to take the bike up and down his street. No helmet, no gear, no registration, no insurance, no functioning brain cells, you get the idea. So he gets down to the end of his street, gets going and whacks the throttle open. Remember all the things I told you he replaced? Note that "throttle cable" wasn't on the list..:ohmy:

The throttle sticks open, he tries to hit the kill switch and grabs a handful of front brake in the process. He goes over the handlebars, slides across the street and ends up on a neighbor's lawn. Through an act of intervention from the special god that looks after drunks and dingbats, he didn't hit his head or break any bones. Just a nasty case of road rash and a few chunks of flesh gone. Oh, and he got written up by the cops when the neighbor called for an ambulance. :blink:

The bike, you ask? I haven't seen it since before the accident. I figured it was totaled, until I found out yesterday that he's ordered the parts to rebuild it. An engine side cover, headlight, speedo, rotor, turn signals, god knows what else... Two grand worth of parts, that are getting figured into what I'm paying for the bike. If it were any other bike, I'd walk away, but if it's back together good as new, it's worth the $2500 I'd be paying, plus I'll have a mechanic that knows the bike inside and out, no small advantage when most shops won't look at an '82 unless it's a Harley. So maybe I'll have it soon, who knows?

Umm,, I'm speechless...:blink:

it still sounds like a good deal for 2500 with all the goodies that are in it and for what's going on it and the good thing is you aren't the one with roadrash

IT'S ALIIIIVE!!!

After a long and painful process trying to find the right alternator rotor, I finally found it on eBay and got it over to my BIL. After waiting a week for the rain to stop, he got it on. He then tried to get the engine fired up, but had no success. While fiddling with the carbs, he found that the throttle linkage had gotten hung up on a screw somehow; I haven't seen the bike this weekend, so I don't know the details. Apparently that was the cause of the initial malfunction that got us in this mess. After that was addressed, the bike started and idled beautifully. I've got the new throttle cable (it was cracked anyway, so best to replace it) and turn signal coming, all I need now is the headlight bucket and left bracket, and the speedometer housing, and we're done.

Finally the end is in sight...

Remember, the first day you get it, take it to the street, whack the throttle and wind it out...no...wait...that has already been done...:blink: Hope you enjoy your new bike!

Glad to hear you're sticking with it!

Oh, and we still need some pictures