TOPIC:

I just joined the forum and am a new rider....or you might say I was a rider as a teenager (long time ago) but it has been about 24 years and did not have much experince with bikes.
Today I brought home a 1980 KZ 440A, with 17,000 miles on it. It is in perfect mechanical shape, looks a little dirty and rough, but nothing elbow grease won't fix. Needs a seat - any suggestions? I paid $400 for it from a trusted friend who is a top mechanic and a long time rider.
I am rather short at 5'8" and thought this would be a good bike to get back into riding.
We don't get a lot of good bike weather in Ohio, and I bought it mainly to ride to work and back on the good days.
You guys can probably tell me if I made a good choice in the bike and the deal I got. I'll post pictures after I get it off the trailer.

Welcome to KZr macktrapper.

If it's in perfect mechanical shape as you said, then I think you got a decent deal.
It's kind of a common belief here that on a complete and running older KZ or similar bike, $1 per CC of engine size is about the going rate.

And I think that a 440 is the perfect size bike for someone just getting back into biking after such a long period of time.

I'd suggest adding your location and bike info into your profile when you get a chance.
This way you won't have to state what year and model bike you have each time you need a question answered. And with your location listed, it lets other KZr members know where you are should you need any help in working on your bike, and also to get together with for rides.

Welcome Macktrapper.
Looking forward to pics.
I had a '74 KZ400 back in '84 (course I don't know the differences between it and your 440)and drove the living Crap out of it, freeway/country roads/city and it got me everywhere I wanted to go w/minimal issues.

Welcome macktrapper! Plenty of help here on this forum...as for your seat, since you are getting into older Z's, you might as well jump in with both feet and do the eBay thing too (if you haven't already). Most of us help support our Z addiction by buying parts from eBay (= the best source of used, quality parts for your bike). It takes saavy and a bit of patience to use eBay, but it is usually worth the wait. For normal maintenance parts, there are several quality outlets, and one of the better ones is Jeff at www.Z1Enterprises.com (no connection to me).

When you say "seat", do you mean the whole thing or just a cover?
Travellcade makes seat covers that can be found in just about any catalog. They are fairly easy to wrestle on.
Welcome!

I guess I do mean just the cover. I have checked out what you suggested and will probably get the foam also. Thanks for the response.
I'm not going to be very good with terminology for a long time - need a shop manual from ebay.

Thanks for the welcome - I've already been on ebay looking around even before I brought the bike home and the next thing I'll do is check the website you posted. I got a little concerned about availibility af parts but bought the bike anyway becuse it di look pretty good for it's age. I did discover a crack on the headlight bucket today - another thing on the shopping list.