Might be joining the club Saturday with this...

The clutch on these is pretty stout. Usually, problems are caused by incorrect, or total lack of, clutch cable adjustment, or incorrect engine oil.
There is a particular procedure to follow when adjusting the clutch cable. If not followed exactly, a slipping clutch can result.
The use of modern automotive engine oil can also cause clutch slippage. The proper oil will have JASO-MA certification on the bottle.
Also, the clutch springs may have gotten weak over the years, and may need replacing.

It is not impossible for the clutch to need replacing, but these other causes are far more common.

Starting to sound like the bike may have sat for a longer period of time at some point.
Speedo cable not being lubricated lead to rusty condition and possibly borked it.
Ditto for the clutch as I have learned here on the forum. If the bike sat for a long time unused, the clutch plates/friction discs can lock together. Mine had, nearly 70% of them were stuck to one and other. Still these are simple things to fix and even if you had to actually buy a new clutch pack, the overall costs involved (gasket, discs, sealer, #3 philips bit) are not terrible - under $100 probably, online).
Even if the speedo cable was broken long ago and let's say the bike had twice the mileage on it, you're under 20k miles which is IMHO still low mileage for that bike but it does make you want to address those things TexasKZ spoke of earlier - the common service needs of oil, valve adjustments etc.

It is unlikely the clutch PLATES are worn out. Cables can break if not oiled. Driving that far puts you at a disadvantage. You might come home with nothing and be out the gas money too. The guy might not know what he is talking about and is parroting what he was told. It might be a matter of doing the usual maintenance and having a gem. It's your call.
Steve

The next text I got said that it is been in his step dad's garage the last 10years and he only used it about 7 times last season so am I looking at a money pit or am I looking at if everything is cool just catching up on all the maintenance and having a good bike?

Ask him very plainly... "Does it start easily and run" "Can it be driven"

As noted earlier, the common spendy stuff, tires, chain and sprocket, are already there. Clutches in these bikes are very tough, I would guess its a bad adjustment, or even bad springs. If it was toast and needed new friction plates and springs that's about $100 give or take, then it needs a speedo cable, say around $30. Also consider the age of the battery, tats can be $80 to $100 for a good one...

If you decide to make the drive try and negotiate for those things, maybe offer $600 or even less if you find anything else.

How many used bikes are there in your area? Some places don't have the market that other's do, around my area for example there really isn't much out there other than metric cruisers and Harleys. So any complete bike is worth a look, but if you have lots of options then maybe you can wait for one closer to you?

There ain't Kawa- squatski near me, mostly junk or really expensive newer bikes I have no budget for. I will still go for this one and if it's a crap heap in person with more flaws he did not disclose I will pass. I will be doing an extra shift this weekend so I may up my budget and try for a couple good cruisers around the 1200 to 1500 range and they are mostly down the same area as this Kawi so my drive won't be a fail. I will have oprions

I'm going to start a new thread. If it is runnable you will have something others won't. The bike looks great. Expect to clean the carbs and other things. That's a given. Once it is on the road you'll be glad you didn't buy something everyone else has. :woohoo:
Just got home from the store. Lots of bikes out but Bossie got all the looks.
Steve

The_Proletariat wrote:

Tyler wrote: You can get the stems to mount the turn signals from head light bucket too.

Do you have a link to this? Thank you.

Yup Z1-E has some parts...

www.z1enterprises.com/search?q=turn+signal+stem

American Classix has some stems too. The "Grounding collar" is the part you need to adapt head light mounts fro turn signals, just like the factory would do.

americanclassix.com/kawaElectrical.html

An Z1 parts has this stuff as well

z1parts.net/search.php?search_query=kawa...+turn+signal&Search=

Well guys, it was worth a shot it just doesn't look like something I want to spend the money on. It was not as good in person and it really sat for a looooong time. Too much time. For what I would spend to get it going and properly checked and repaired, there are bikes ready to ride and inspected. I found a 2 owner ( father and then son) 85 Honda Shadow 1100 with 15k miles in mint showroom condition for 1500 so I am happy. Thanks for the great support. I just wish it was a Kawi so I could stay on here !

You can still be a member. Who knows, you might trade for a Kaw. :whistle:
Steve

If it doesn't run, it's a $200 bike MAX for me, very few exceptions to that one (low mile, single owner H2/Z1, big kz etc) I usually try to be around $150 though.

All this talk about "how much it would cost to get going" from people is always laughable to me. Seems like most folks want to throw money at any problem they end up having. Carbs need cleaned? Get a bunch of carb kits. Paint needs buffed? Re-spray it. Seat looks tattered? Cafe it. Not saying that is the case here, but there are tons if SAFE low buck fixes for many, many problems out there