Hello KZRider Forum! My first KZ, a 1981 KZ1100-B

Hello everybody! I just picked up my first KZ and have been obsessively researching them for the past several weeks. KZRider has been a particularly excellent source of information and inspiration, so I decided to join.

I've attached a few pictures for you can see why I'm so excited about this beast of a bike. It's a 1981 KZ1100-B, custom. Bored out to 1300cc, Keihin CR Special carbs, 4-1 pipes (don't know the manufacturer), and custom paint. And this is how I bought the bike! It had been sitting for about 3-4 years, so it has all the expected issues, dead battery, gunked up carbs, etc. Plus the front fork seals and brakes needed a rebuild. Other than that, the bike is in perfect condition. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting this beauty back on the streets. The guy I bought it from claims that it pulled 175HP on the dyno! We'll see...

Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there to see what other people think about it. I'd love to hear your thoughts/opinions/advice, good OR bad about the bike.

Cheers!

FYI, the photos I posted are from BEFORE it was garaged, about 4 years ago. I'll post updated photos once she's cleaned up a bit

i think it is a GPZ1100 or that is what the side covers used to say

i saw that bike on the L.a craigslist last year i think

nice bike and you will be flying on it, wow

nice score ..

welcome

we love pics and proper intro's so good on you

where are you at in general location...there are some folks near you i think

Craig
in monterey bay

i think the header is a supertrapp and the can was added /grafted...it has been coated too

here are some angles of 81 gpz1100 in the u.s that was it's name





and a euro one painted and hacked on some

Thanks Craig! I appreciate the keen observations.
Yeah, in searching the web, I was having a hard time finding a 1981 KZ1100 that looked like this, most noticeably the square headlight. I just yesterday started to suspect that is was actually a GPZ , as you say. A VIN lookup tells me it's a KZ1100-B, but I think you are correct. Perhaps "GPZ" was a bit like the "Ninja" moniker, kind of an unofficial model name?

By the way, I live in Silver Lake, if you're familiar with Los Angeles. I guess I should fill out my profile info!

You made a couple of very good decisions there.
1st the bike purchase, and 2nd joining KZR. This is the place for old Kaw riders. Thats one nice score there.

Nice Bike

Thanks Motorhead! I'm really looking forward getting back on two wheels again. It's great to have an excellent resource like KZRider, it seems to be one of the best forums I've found. Lots of great, knowledgable people

Thanks Peter, I had seen photos of your ELR before when I was searching for info about seat reupholstering. If I ever do a cosmetic overhaul on my KZ, I'll be seriously considering an attempt to clone the ELR. Such a legendary bike... Yours looks real clean.

the gpz is it's own legend too...with that much work into it you may find the red stock theme paint would light that sumabittch back to orig glory and really set those carbs and a decent header into the theme...the owner blinged it up...good for him...but the black on red gpz1100 was no joke

petes elr is bad to the bone...not cause it's green...but cause its a real elr...oh ...and its green.... imo


a real red giant gpz1100 is bad to the bone on it's own two feet


just thoughts

i love the 81 gpz1100 and the ELR too

but one is not the other and both are bad ass too