1980 Kawasaki KZ440-B. My first bike!

Hi everyone, my name is Spencer and I have been riding scooters for the past 2 1/2 years, I started out with a 2012 Honda Ruckus and then I bought a 1987 Honda Elite 80 and then moved up to a 150cc GY6 Chinese scooter. I am 17 and my dad is the one who struck my interest in riding and the Kawasaki KZ motorcycles. When I was younger he had a 1979 KZ650 -B3 and I used to ride on the back all the time to school and tons of other places, he still has the bike to this day and it still runs with 48,000 miles on it. Just recently I found a 1980 KZ440-B with only 17,500 miles on it and it was in immaculate shape besides the fact that the lady I bought it from let it sit for almost a year. So I paid the $600 for the bike and got the title, then I went over to her house with some spark plugs, oil, seafoam, a can of ethanol free gas, and a new battery and I got it to fire right up after I drained the carbs and tank of the old gas and replaced the fouled spark plugs, after that I rode it home and cleaned up the carbs and checked the valve clearance, adjusted and lubed the chain, aired up the tires, and let the battery charge up. Since then it has been running like a dream for the past few weeks. The bike is an absolute blast. Here are some pictures of the bike. I just recently installed some clubman bars and an end bar mirror. Enjoy!

The bike after I just got her home and she is dripping wet

A picture of the bike after I installed the clubman bars,

Congratulations. Looks like you got great deal on a good looking ride.

Welcome...and nice motorcycle!

Ya hit the bike lottery. Check the condition and date codes on the tires. How long has it been sitting overall. Tires get hard and cracked. Can ruin your day. Good luck with that pretty thing.

Welcome Spencer! Again nice bike. Definitely check those tires, would hate to see a tire go and hurt you and/or the bike.

Nice find... keep the shiny side up and enjoy!

BTW I started a '79 KZ650B3 project a few months ago and have it almost ready for the road.

Nice bike, congrats and second on the new tires. New bars look aggressive too.

Thanks guys! And yeah the tires were from september of 2013, they are shinko 712 tires. They are like brand new.

It has been sitting for about 8-9 months. I just had the bike dropped off at an excellent vintage motorcycle mechanic that owns several KZ's and he is cleaning the carbs with an ultrasonic cleaner and rebuilding them for me, I have just put Amsoil 10w40 Motorcycle Oil in the bike, with a K&N oil filter, new fram air filter, ngk spark plugs, and a new agm battery. It runs like a champ besides the fact that the carbs just started leaking yesterday. Anyway I got it dropped off at the shop and they will sync up the carbs after cleaning and rebuilding them, so it should run like a dream when I get it back.

Spencer440 wrote: ..., they are shinko 712 tires. They are like brand new.

Just received my new set of Shinko 712's yesterday, what are your thoughts on the tires?

Since you say the carbs just started leaking make sure you don't have any nasty stuff in the tank like flaking rust. Would be a shame to put your newly cleaned carbs back in only to discover flakes messing up the works and use an inline filter if possible. Your clubmans make my back hurt. Then again 3 pins and a bunch of screws makes my back hurt too. Good luck!

LineArtist wrote:

Spencer440 wrote: ..., they are shinko 712 tires. They are like brand new.

Just received my new set of Shinko 712's yesterday, what are your thoughts on the tires?

They are great all weather tires and do very well on the street. Great tires for all around commuting and riding and I can definitely get my lean on if I want to.