Why did you go for a project?

faffi wrote: Fascinating to look at all the details, thanks for sharing. That Honda ST is fully sick!

The owner is fully sick too!

My reason: My dad had the bike and moved on to a different bike. He said, since I didn't have a bike at the time, if I wanted to work on the KZ, it could be my project. I really wanted to ride with him again, so I took the challenge. It is more work, but WAY more fun than I thought it would be!

Interesting topic.

Mine just became a project; I don't think when I bought it I ever really intended to do a whole lot more than upkeep it well, and have it as an around town kind of bike, until I maybe got something bigger.

Now it is a frame on my basement floor, and a collection of parts, plus goodies coming in the mail and other bits being restored.

Tho it means I will miss some of the riding season, I figure it will be worth it in the end. :laugh:


Jon

My reasons for it are , i got it cheap and new bikes , these days are all small and skinny and expencive .. The old kz1000 still got some go in it for a old girl , and the air cooled engine sounds so nice , its also alot more diffrent to ride then a moden bike in a good way ... Plus it gives me somthing to fiddle with and top that off with cheap insurance .

kzz1king wrote: 1) I like to tinker/mod/cut/weld
2) I don't trust other peoples work that much
3) It is fun and rewarding
4) I like the planning/researching

Wayne

X2. Can't leave anything alone and have the skills. What DROVE me to this particular build is the company Sanctuary in Japan.... Go to www.ac-sanctuary.co.jp . Be prepared for bike porn!

Cory

Definitely agree on the bike porn comment

I have always been a KZ fan even when my uncle owned a Honda shop. I have had Honda's, Suzuki's, and even a Harley. I sold my Harley a year ago because I just wasn't satisfied. Then the KZ1000 showed up at my house. Frame with rear wheel on backwards and engine mounted. The rest was in boxes. I could not pass the opportunity to have a classic KZ again, one I could make a one of a kind. I sold my last KZ1000 to go to Bible College when I was 27. I am now 45 and feel like I am in my 20's again, but with more knowledge and better skills to finish a special bike.
Looking forward to the inline four sound and power. And really looking forward to being able to enjoy a good old burnout.

Wow- I have a long story on this one. I have owned my 75 Z1 900 B since 1982. I had never owned a bike of my own- street anyway, and had been "loaned" 3 H-Ds by my "uncle" who was seeing his cousin "lay low" in Alaska when I was 17 and freshly in the military. I moved his bikes from Key West to Anchorage, Alaska. I had been into all things mechanical most of my life, with a pretty extensive stint at drag racing by the time I was 17. I was home on an extended leave between Basic and AIT, and was doing some work for a family friend, a gas station, mechanic shop and machine shop I had worked at off and on since 14 years old.

I was personally riding a 77 H-D "cafe racer" with heavy mods, including N20 at the time. Two of my long time childhood friends came up on newly bought Z1s, and remember, both of these bikes were only 7 years old at the time. I had raced against and ridden a couple H2s and Z1s, and was impressed with thier power back then (remember, this is somewhat rural Alaska, on the "road belt"- not far from Sarah Palin's house LOL)

I told both these guys "be careful fellas, don't try hot rodding them so soon after buying them, don't go drag racing around the neighborhood, these things can kill ya"- well, they did just that. 30 minutes later, one of my friends was dead. He lost control around a, well, what should have been a very easy sweeper, and went off the road, hit a tree and broke his neck. Well liked and loved kid. Dead at 16. Two weeks later, his friend that had the other bike said "Don, buy this damn thing off me, I can't stand to look at it, give me 300 so I can buy a ticket to Seattle for the summer"- so I did.

I have that bike to this day. I drove the dog snot out of that bike from 1982-1989, putting thousands of miles on it. I loaned it to a roomate to get to work- and he lunched 2nd gear somehow. I took the motor out (1989 at the time, remember) and took it to a local bike mechanic and he fixed the tranz and my room mate manned up and paid for it. I said, heck, mite as well repaint it (it didn't have original paint when I bought it) and it was the 80s, the momochromatic look was in, and I painted everything Viper red. Then I came upon a 1985 V65 Sabre. I was already a fan of the Magna's at the time, and didn't even know about Sabres. But I liked it and bought it- and put 200k miles on it!

Well, the Z1 languished in storage, stored well, but stored. got two parts bikes given to me over the years. Well, I joined this site some years ago now, want to say around 2004. Didn't know squat about bike building except for work I had done on friends bikes, mostly custom work, through the years. No mechanic work to speak of outside maintainence throughout the years. Mostly stuck to cages, and just rode the living crap out of my bikes.

So, got a wild hair and decided to put the Z1 together, and used this site to do so. It was done sometime in 2005, and I rode it hard until summer of 2008, and then I lunched the motor, eating the outside passenger side piston, and still making it home! I think this site has pics of most of this, and the old archived site will have all the pics and questions as well.

Flash forward a couple years, and I get so into bikes I open a bike shop, a lot of crazy things happen, and now I am living in Hawaii, saving money to move my bike shop here.

I have performed a bunch of mods already on the Z1, did the Yosh frame strengthening mods, got a set of Police triple tree to allow me to run a 120 front tire, police forks, and pretty much have accumulated a few other parts.

As soon as I get this bike to Hawaii, it is back on. I am going to take it out to 1100ccs or so, and mod the crap out of the motor. I have already built a stock looking but braced chrome moly swing arm that will allow me to run a 180mm tire. I have deleted the fender. It will be built to handle and have lots of power and do it reliably. I have the GPZ throttle bodies and plan to EFI it.

It has been in my possesion for over 30 years now, so I don't doubt it will get some TLC within the next 2 years!

How is the motorcycle market in Hawaii, good enough that you can live off fixing bikes?

I think so- different market, surely, with no real "riding season" other than the rainy "winter" months can slow down riding for some. However, you can ride a few miles and be out of the rain here as well.

[/quote]I would go f**cking crazy without a project to keep me busy in the winter!![/quote]
This and because my wife knows it.That and there's nothing better than making a silk purse out of a given up on old bike.

For me ive always liked the older kawasaki's and the one I have particularly has a story that I know about so once the owner gave me a price I bought it right on the spot. Cant wait to start tearing into mine!