Pulling The Plug - Need to Sell ASAP

Hello everyone,

New poster here and I need as much advice as I can get from the amazing people of this forum. The discussions on this forum have helped me get the bike that I have to the point that it is now, but there is still a long way to go for my KZ750. I will try to format this post to include all of the information that I can provide about the history of the bike until the present day, but with the important technical data separated in a way that will allow you to graze over the unimportant story behind this bike.

The bike: 1984 KZ750
- Inline (parallel) 4
- chain driven

History:
The previous owner had informed me that this bike was found in a barn after sitting for 10+ years and restored/converted into a cafe/brat inspired bike. The restoration included:

- Pod filters
- 4 into 1 header and exhaust
- New tires
- Slotted discs (dual front)
- New performance brake pads with 95% life left
- 1 up seat (which i find highly impractical)
- New chain and sprockets

Also:
- Matte black rattle can paint job. Seemingly no prep has caused flaking and rust to bubble under the paint, and the original decals are still on the tank but painted over leaving them raised and not visually pleasing. Also featuring a package of bullet hole stickers as a tasteful addition...
- The bike looks to have a chopped rear frame loop where the tail light and license plate ass. used to be mounted. There are plastic plugs on the frame which was cut around where the helmet lock originally was. The light and plate mount seem to be relocated forward on the bike where the passenger portion of the seat once sat.
- The rear plastic tail piece was moved forward, to start where the shocks are mounted to the frame and is angled oddly upwards (and was zip tied on, but I wouldn't expect anything else)

The bike stopped running for the previous owner due to unknown reasons. This led him to believe that it was seized because it simply wouldn't turn over one day. The owner proceeded to leave the bike in a parking lot for the duration of the summer and when I took possession of the bike in the fall of that year the sun and weather had taken a heavy toll on the bike.

The Bad:
- The paint on the entire bike is chipping, uneven, faded, rusting and is just bad in every aspect.
- The header pipe is entirely orange with rust
- The engine is chipped where it was once black
- The wiring is fried from the sun, cracking sheathing, and very oxidized connections
- The blinkers don't work.. well some do, but overall they don't work.
- The controls on the bars are bleached and pitted from the sun
- The 1up seat is cracked and split and ripped over the entire thing, and the foam is beginning to deteriorate
- The tires which haven't seen more than 100km of road use are now dried and beginning to crack due to the sun
- The frame is showing signs that it is beginning to rust where the paint has been chipped off
- The gas tank has some small dents and is showing signs of bubbling rust at the seams under the paint
- The gage cluster is cracked horizontally and is held together with duct tape
- The headlight is foggy
- The ignition may be funky (dropping a cylinder for some reason, randomly and will run absolutely beautifully other times)

When I took possession on the bike, i became a passive member of the forum and learned a lot about this bike from what I originally knew. I determined that the issue was that the starter had exploded inside and that it could be relatively easily repaired with a $30 rebuild kit from eBay, which I quickly purchased and installed.

- After the bike was able to turn over, I began cleaning the carbs and rebuilding them with a fresh gasket kit from eBay.

- With the carbs rebuilt I set them to the recommended settings that I found for pod filters on this forum with the assumption that the jetting was previously completed to compensate for the POD filters.

The bike then ran very well and I was able to look into getting it certified and put on the road ASAP with the visual restoration and electrical restoration to come with time and money.

This is the point where the bike rests now:

I have been quoted for insurance on the bike - as a rider under 25 in an urban area, the bike being considered a "Sport" class, and with the displacement being relatively large - and the price was jaw dropping. After inquiring about the price of insurance on other bikes that suit my fancy, I have learned that an Enduro 250 or 450 would cost me 1/4 of the price of this bike per year on insurance, not to mention fuel costs.

The way the bike sits, it looks like absolute crap but runs relatively well. The bike has about 600 invested into it and I would like to get at least that back. I'm aware that I probably made a bad decision with this bike and my foresight about polishing this turd was probably very much over estimated but I wasn't into it for the resale, I was into it because I had a plan to get this bike to something that I loved for around $1500 total investment that would be something that I could keep until I was an old man and tell my grandchildren that I was a badass and rode this cool looking bike (once I was finished re-restoring it)

Now to the purpose of this post:

I would like to take this bike to a point where I can cut my losses and put the cash towards something that will get me out riding before the summer is over.















What is the minimum investment I can make on this bike (my time included), that will generate the best results in terms of value increase?
- Should I sell it the way it sits and take what I can get?
- Should i use man hours - that I could be putting into a bike that I am going to keep - to add value to the KZ and if so, how much work would correlate to what value increase?
- Are there some parts (OEM or Aftermarket) that I can buy that won't break the bank but would add to the value?
- Are there further custom modifications that would increase value?

I have a fairly extensive mechanical knowledge base that I can rely on as far as repairs and modifications that I am able to complete on the bike, and my only limiting factor is the cost and time associated with completing any task.
I am able to complete any and all:
- Engine work
- Suspension work
- Paint and body work ( to a professional standard )

I am limited in my knowledge of:
- This specific era of motorcycle (my experience is with motocross bikes, snowmobiles, and muscle and import vehicles)
- Electrical restoration (although i have experience as an electrician's apprentice and have completed college courses on applied electrical theory)

Any input would be greatly appreciated and I will attach links to comparable bikes in my general area, and photos of the bike as it sits.

Ask $750 and take $600.
Steve

Well that sure is a dog's breakfast isn't it? No amount of time and money will translate into any gain on your investment. Around here that is a $500 ask with a sale some what less than that. Unless you can find that guy who wants a bike that looks like that.I don't think he is out there. Good luck.

Yeah... that's tough a sell.
I think you might find someone (who hasn't done much of this, especially the body and electrical work) or a newbie who doesn't know yet what it really takes to bring one back to life, could pay $600-$750 but for someone with experience needed to buy it and do all the work... I'm also thinking you'd have ask + $500 or so and be prepared to take something much less... plus, that buyer probably would have access to a parts bike or at least a very cheap source for used items.
Where is the bike? That makes a huge difference if value too.
Out here.... with a clean title and if the engine runs a bit, it's probably $350-$400 bike right now.

I agree with mission, that's a $300-$400 project bike. I bought a 650 that looked like that with a spare engine and some other parts for $300. If you had the factory seat and can put the tail piece back that might actually help you out.

Good luck.

The previous owner pretty much killed the value of that bike with his hacksaw and paint bomb. You could clean it all up, tune it right (which may require an airbox), paint it, etc., but the frame has been cut off, so most folks are going to want to pay peanuts for the bike unless you spend a bunch of money to make it something really special.

If mine I would bite the bullet and sell as is for <$500. At least it would be gone. Ed

I bought a bone stock kz750 3 years ago for $125, a carb clean a battery tires and points and err, struggled to sell it for $700, theyre fine bikes but not worth a lot.

Plus with the way it looks (sprayed rattle can black, chopped frame) anyone with mechanical knowledge would give you an offer of maybe $300 at the most. Where is your location? Might vary a wee bit depending on that answer

Judging by the sale of the 550, I'd say ask high and expect low. My bike was worth the price I was asking, got offered half for two weeks. Found a buyer that gave $200 less than I wanted, the next day another guy wanted to give me what I wanted but he waited too long. "Missed it by that much."
Steve