PRESENTING: MY RESTORED & SPIFFED KZ650 B1

Purchased the bike in February 2009. It was an Ebay find that was a survivor stored for years in a sand blast shop. The original owner had died and only logged 1745 miles on it. An interim owner bought it in the estate sale. He planned to chop and lower the bike. Thank goodness his priorities changed and I was able to get the bike away from him. He had managed to bondo over the fuel tank name badge areas and repaint it and the side covers a darker green. Fortunately he did not get much further

Here is a link to my original intro post here showing the bike as I had acquired it. >>> www.kzrider.com/forum/10-new-members/267245-hello-kz-riders

I am proud to announce and show how the KZ turned out after finding an original in the box Emerald Isle Green fuel tank. I also found a local paint shop that specializes in motorcycles. I was able to match the side covers and tail to the fuel tank. Got some decals through Z1 Enterprises. After some more spiffing, voila! A fair representation of an original low mileage stock KZ650 B1.

On October 13th, I entered the KZ in a Chicago area Motorcycle Show. I won the Import Class! Hope you all enjoy the pics half as much as I did restoring and now riding this sweet machine. It really is a blast to ride!

A bike to be proud of, congratulations on the Resto

BEAUTIFUL!!!! You really did a great job on that bike; it is stunning! Ed

Wow!
An awesome job and a beautiful bike. Looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

Gorgeous, as already said you should be very proud - and congrats on the trophy, well deserved.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I really enjoy riding the bike as much or more than looking at it.

BTW, before the side cover and tail section repaint/striping in August, I rode this bike from Omaha to Jackson Hole, WY and back. Some of you may recall from the KZ Rider Flag Relay threads. I swear the bike ran stronger each consecutive day on the trip.

The KZ has been returned to mostly original condition. The only mods of any consequence are to the chassis; Race Tech for springs and Works Performance Steel Tracker shocks. If anyone has the same year KZ and are interested in these shocks(they can be chromed), the swing arm is a different length than later years. I was the first to have shocks made confirming dimensions. Let Works know you want the same shock as their customer, Forrest White. PM me if any are looking to improve the handling of your KZ. I believe it is the single best upgrade/mod one can perform on these vintage bikes.

Thanks again to all the advice & positive feedback during the last 4 1/2 years!

Beautiful bike, you did a great job. It's like a brand new but better than a late model bike. Every time I ride mine or even crank it, it puts a smile on my face.

Very nice! What tires are those?

Awesome job. The bike looks fantastic. Congrats on the trophy... well deserved.

Absolute show stopper! Congratulations!

very nice

80B4 wrote: Very nice! What tires are those?

The tires are made by Continental. They are called "Conti Go!" They are actual standard size and fit the stock rims: Front 3.25" X 19", Rear 4.0"X 18". They can be used with tube or tubeless if your rims permit. I run tubes since the rims are original with the notorious rim locks. They provide a modern tire profile, tread pattern in a single compound. They are not the longest mileage tires but give great traction dry or wet. I know from hitting a severe thunderstorm on my return leg of the KZ Flag Relay from Jackson Hole around the Casper, WY that I never lost contact with the road surface in spite of very heavy rain. The front tire is the original Conti Go! i put on in 2009. The rear is the second, I replaced slightly premature this summer due to The Relay Ride. The front still has a ton of tread and is not exhibiting cupping issues like I have gotten on my more modern bikes. This bike does not push the front into corners like modern bikes. I believe the Front/Rear weight bias of this KZ puts more weight on the rear. This in turn results in less front tire wear and more on the rear. Before upgrading suspension, the front would get "floaty" above 90 mph. The rear used to wag and wiggle in fast sweepers before replacing the shocks. Call me crazy but I prefer modern suspension and tire upgrades even if leaving the rest of a vintage bike alone.

Again, Thanks everyone for your compliments and kind words. I was fortunate to find a low mileage survivor. At the time of acquisition I considered two options:
1) Do high performance mods such as Piping and Pods/Jetting along with suspension updgrades, not returning it to stock trim.
or
2) Return to original condition. Many of you here responded on my original thread the day after purchasing that I should keep it original. I listened and thank you all for that advice too!