New to the forum with question.

Hello all from the Heartland!

I am an avid motorcyclist and have been riding since I was able to kick start my Honda Elsinore MR 50. I have an opportunity to trade a 2000 Suzuki GSX600F Katana for a 1979 KZ650 and was hoping to get some advice as I have never owned a Kawasaki before. I am currently riding my Katana and have a 1982 Suzuki GS850L bagger partially disassembled in the shop for a valve adjustment and new clutches.

The Katana is in excellent condition mechanically and good cosmetically. It gets well ridden but taken care of just as well. The KZ looks(phone pics) to be in excellent cosmetic condition and the owner assures me that it has recently been "reconditioned". His words, "The guy I bought it from spent two years rebuilding it and really didn't want to sell it."

Are there any model specific issues that I should look for? Indications of endemic problems?

I wanted to sell the Katana to fund a Bobber project and this KZ looks like a perfect candidate for chopping. Is there any reason not to use this bike for such a project> Is it more desirable in it's stock configuration than when customized?

The few KZ650s that I have seen on ebay or craigslist are in in pretty ratty condition so I have no real idea of the bikes value as it sits. I figure the Katana is a $2000.00+/- bike and had decide to accept the first offer of $1800.00 or better.

Thanks in advance!

I guess I should have spent a little more time looking over the pics he sent me. This is far from stock, isn't it?

I'll have to determine if the carbs have been jetted for the pods and 4/1 header. Are these guys as fussy about the pods as the Yamaha XJ engines are? How big a job is it to go back to the stock air box?

I'm going to do a little digging around the forum, but I would still appreciate any advice from some of you with experience on these bikes.

The 650 looks like a real nice bike. If I owned it I would keep it near stock. Lots of ratty bike are available to chop. But I don't own it.

The bike looks close to stock. I think I have read on this site that the 550's are a bit trickery to jet than the other KZ's. Loudhvx is a good member to inquire about this. As far as what holds more value, in most circumstances, a closer to stock vintage bike is going to have a higher value than something that has been chopped. Unless, the bobber conversion looks really, really tasteful, sound and professional looking. As if it was done by a company with the expertise to the conversion. Myself, I would trust a professional shop as opposed to someone doing it in their backyard with limited skills and equipment. Please know that I'm not saying that is you. I'm only saying what a prospective buyer's perception who doesn't know you or your qualifications might think. But if you are doing this for yourself and not selling. Then resale value should not even be a factor. I'm with StreetFighter, a ratty one may be a better candidate. You my buy this one, ride it, and just decide it is too cool just the way it is. This bike will not be as fast or handle as well as your Katana. But you may find that has other traits that make it a pleasure to ride.

luvmy40 wrote: I guess I should have spent a little more time looking over the pics he sent me. This is far from stock, isn't it?

I'll have to determine if the carbs have been jetted for the pods and 4/1 header. Are these guys as fussy about the pods as the Yamaha XJ engines are? How big a job is it to go back to the stock air box?

I'm going to do a little digging around the forum, but I would still appreciate any advice from some of you with experience on these bikes.

From what I can see, the following changes were made from stock (I’m sure there are more):

Painted the engine; put allen bolts in engine (who knows what he did inside the engine); removed kickstarter; removed the frame grips; removed the front fender stay; removed the front turn signals; replaced or painted the chrome gauge buckets with black; chrome plated some engine stuff; put on pods (and yes, KZ’s are VERY touchy about jetting for pods, but an airbox can be put back without too much pain); relocated the petcock to the wrong side of the fuel tank; different exhaust; different paint; different handlebars; different front brake master cylinder; different spark plug wires which indicates different coils (wires on original coils are molded into them and not replaceable); different rear turn signals; replaced the points cover with one from a later model.

I would try to find out specifically what was done to the engine, especially if he has receipts. Ed

Well, I went and took a look and test ride on the KZ650 pictured above. I'd say it is in very good condition and is quite nice visually.

It's not my cuppa'tea. I did not expect it to handle like my Katana, but I did expect it to handle a bit like the GS850. It felt more like a dirt bike. It would probably not take much to get used to it but I just couldn't love it right away. After an hour on the Katana the KZ felt like it was going flip out from under me with every turn.

The top end was bit more talkative than I expected, and it may be no louder than is normal for these bikes but it made me nervous. The owner had no idea if the carbs had been jetted for the pods but he did mention that you have to keep your legs in just the right position at highway speeds or it bogs. I'd assume that this caused by air turbulence throwing the carbs out of balance? I didn't take it out on the freeway but I did get it up to 55 and definitely felt some ebb and flow in the power.

Anyway, I had to beg off on this one but owner is still looking to sell or trade up to a sport bike so he may come here . I mentioned the forum and suggested he paid a visit.

Thanks for your input and advice.

ETA: The owner said the the owner prior to him put 1976 Mikuni carbs on it to get away from the vacuum petcock, though I'm not sure why he felt he needed to change the carbs just to use a manual petcock, or why he moved the petcock to the other side.

If it handled weird passing on it was probably a very good decision. If you ever get to ride a KZ650 that has decent suspension (definitely NOT one with 30+ year old stock shocks which were the weakest point on the bike even when new) and sticky tires you will be very pleasantly surprised and might be tempted to buy it. It sounds like the previous owner didn't know squat about bikes if he changed carbs simply to accommodate a different petcock. :blink: Who knows what else he may have done to it? Ed