another kz

5 blocks from my house i saw a 78z1000 3years ago. I asked the guy and he said he might sell it. He never called. last year he had a rummage sale and the bike was on a trailer across the street. He told me he just got it back and it did'nt run, the guy that bought it tried to rewire it. I said i'd buy it and would be back in a month. He wanted five hundred for it and i think it had 20some thou on the clock. Yesterday i stopped buy (year and a half later) He said he still had it and he got into an accident with another bike and wanted to get rid of it. I told him i'd buy it and he took my number. Score. That bike is complete and in very good condition. This one is going to for anyone who wants to ride with me. There is a guy here in ND that has a load of bikes and parts in an old building. He has alot of stuff. alot of 650bikes and motors and many many more. It's just a hobby to him and he is rarely ever at the place. I got his number and adress and all that. I got one 650 running for him and replaced the top end on a 900 and shimmed a z13 for him. He sold those bikes and made good. few yrs ago he was outside playing with an rd350. The bike was mint. He sold that one on ebay for good money. Noticed he has a couple kaw triples setting out in the yard too. It's a shame he doesn't have a roof over the yard. His building is crammed with bikes too. Friend of mine a block away called and asked me for help with a yamaha he got for his son's birthday. I went over and turns out it's an rd350. He did'nt know what the bike was or of it's history. It was practically mint. I cleaned and set the carbs and it ran like a new bike. His son traded it for a car. None of us even rode the dang thing, what a shame when you don't have money at hand. That bikes probly sittin in a garage somewhere with no rider for it. I know of a couple more bikes, a 900 and 1000ltd that might still be around. Some day i'd like to own them all cuz what am i gonna do if mine breaks? The 900 I have is proved to be the toughest bike engine i know of. Earnhardt needs a four pack of these under his hood im thinkin.

I know how you feel, every time a good deal slips by me I feel bad:( I always keep my eyes and ears open , hoping to find a good deal on another old collectible bike.

A stone Kawi-phreak I know rides into the bike salvage yard where I work on an absolutely gorgeous KZ1000A1 in the black with gold stripes paint. It has ~ 30K miles on the clock and is bone-stock except for an oil cooler and recovered seat (and modern tires, of course). He bought it off the second owner about 2 weeks ago. I said if I'd seen it, he wouldn't have had a look-in. Maybe next time....:laugh:
He said it'd never be for sale again in HIS lifetime....

I get a high out of rescuing old bikes, cars, trucks, tractors..... I love old technology/mechanical stuff. How did we get so far from the simple, cool stuff?
One of my favorite projects was the Triumph chop I loved and "dealt" with. 1968 Daytona 500. It was a hard tail with about a 6-inch over frontend.

Mellvis wrote:

I get a high out of rescuing old bikes, cars, trucks, tractors..... I love old technology/mechanical stuff. How did we get so far from the simple, cool stuff?
One of my favorite projects was the Triumph chop I loved and "dealt" with. 1968 Daytona 500. It was a hard tail with about a 6-inch over frontend.

Now THAT'S what a chopper is supposed to look like.

Post edited by: Talman, at: 2007/09/24 19:13