new guy from south carolina

i am looking at buying a 1982 kawasaki KZ750-H3 Ltd. the guy said it ran fine 2 months ago but he thinks the carbs are fouled. i have an understanding of motors and some motorcycle mechanical experience, just not with these bikes. he wants $500 for the bike. the gas tank is crushed from a drop on the trailer and i will be replacing that. my question is am i going to need to open the motor and do a rebuild since the bike is over 30 years old? the current owner has never done it and does not know if it has ever been done. any advice on what i need to look at? thanks for the help!

Welcome!
Well, it's good that you have mechanical understanding and experience because you'll save yourself lots of money!

It would be good to have a little more info on the bike, like; how many miles on it? How long has it sat unused?
Carb cleaning is almost a given; if only for your own peace of mind to know they're clean but also to find out if they've been messed with previously or possibly setup incorrectly.
Another thing you'll probably want to do is check the valve adjustments as this is a pretty routine thing to do and it will be dependent upon how many miles are on it. Valve adjustments require removing the valve cover but not really opening up the engine in a drastic way.

Otherwise, there's no real reason to "open the motor" unless you believe or experience some problems. There are guys on this forum with bikes that have well over 50,000 miles and not had the engines opened up yet beyond routine maintenance.

How's compression? One guy here mentioned something about putting the bike in 2nd gear? and trying to push it to see if the engine's compression could stop the bike from rolling, as he went to look at a possible purchase. Seemed like a good idea to me. I didn't think to try it when I got my CSR.

I paid about the same for an '82 CSR 1000 recently, so price wise it would seem about right assuming it's in relatively good shape. I know from others here, that the LTD does have some uniquely difficult body panels to replace if any are missing - a side cover but I forget if it's right or left or maybe both are more rare these days?

Good luck with the hunt for your first Kawasaki. Quite a few members here have that model you are considering so you'll be in good company here

Welcome. I'd get it running first. Likely there will be oil leaks. If so I'd replace the old, hard valve guide seals while replacing the head gasket. Good time to inspect the bores and valves. You may be able to ride it for a while and gather the parts for when the time comes.
Steve

What compression you have will determine if you need to tear into the engine. You could take a decent portable jumper with you and see if it bumps over. If you have some starting fluid handy, you may even be able to bring it to life for a few seconds. Just open the throttle wide open and spray 3 or 4 shots in each carb. Then hold it half way open and try starting it.

Note: The bike won't go into second standing still. Rear wheel has to be turning at a certain speed in order for it to allow it to go into second. This is by design by Kawasaki in order to facilitate finding neutral.