Almost new 78 Z1-R on Ebay

I saw this bike up for sale on Ebay and figured I'd put this up for all the Z1-R lovers here. Pretty pricey but I'm betting that it will sell. I've seen several other Kaws this seller has listed in the past and they have all been first rate. There are 24 really good pics of the bike as well, so if you are wondering what they really looked like back in the day you can download the pics as a reference. This one looks just like the one I put into a ditch at 90 mph trying to outrun the local county mountie back in the spring of 1978 :pinch: .
Link

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2007/11/11 16:36

Post edited by: kzrider, at: 2007/11/11 17:10

And to think, I had a chance to buy a brand new one back in '79 or '80, when they found that warehouse full of them. Hind site....

If i only had the money, I would buy that bike and ride the hell outta it...


To me its a shame, Kawasaki builds these bikes that were, are and will be as long as they run a blast to drive...and some folks who have more money than brains leave them stored away never to see the road....


THEY ARE MOTORCYCLES NOT BASEBALL CARDS!!!!

That is a heck of a nice one. I would have bought one new back in 78 if it wasn't for that silver paint which I wasn't particularly fond of. They sold new for around $3200 and later they were selling new ones for around $2300 to get rid of them.

Man thats a beauty! I kept a few of those pics just for reference while I am putting mine back together.

Wow, that bike sure is a beaut! :woohoo:

A co-worker at the Kawi dealership I worked at back in the 80's had a pristine and well cared for '78 Z1R that he bought new in '79.

I contacted him a couple of years ago to see if he'd be willing to part with it. Unfortunately he had sold it just the year before that for a meager $1,200 in the same pristine condition with less than 30K on the odo.
I would have gladly given him twice that for it.

Tis the story of my life - a day late and a dollar short! :pinch: :S

Pretty bike, but I wonder about the seller's statement:
"Walter had the carbs on and off the bike several times to get them clean and jetted properly." I understand the carbs needing a cleaning, but they shouldn't have needed to have the jetting monkeyed with on a low milage sotck bike. My bike has original jets with 46,000 miles, so I don't get it. Ed

Mine looks just like that. Had it since new. Mine has a few les mils than this one, it will be nice to know what mine is worth when this one sells. I bought mine in 1980 brand new off of the show room floor. They just did'nt sell back than. I bought it as my third bike at the time already owning a pretty hopped up Z1-R 1103 and a 79 KZ1300. I don't think I bought it because of forsight, just because I was in the military and had money to burn.

Wow that's sweet!


Does Z1 sell that reddish vent tubing off the carbs? I can buy clear but I haven't seen taht color before. Also, where do I find those silver clips on the carb overflow hoses? All the hoses were off my bike when I got it.

How in the world did they keep the pipes from bluing? My bike has less than 3K miles but the pipes are discolored already.

Wow that's sweet!


Does Z1 sell that reddish vent tubing off the carbs? I can buy clear but I haven't seen taht color before. Also, where do I find those silver clips on the carb overflow hoses? All the hoses were off my bike when I got it.

How in the world did they keep the pipes from bluing? My bike has less than 3K miles but the pipes are discolored already.

ok, i guess i learned something. why is a z1r kickstart screwed on under the seat? asthetics? by not having it on the engine. kinda like the old goldwing emergency kick starter in the gas tank?

hardr0ck68 wrote:

If i only had the money, I would buy that bike and ride the hell outta it...


To me its a shame, Kawasaki builds these bikes that were, are and will be as long as they run a blast to drive...and some folks who have more money than brains leave them stored away never to see the road....


THEY ARE MOTORCYCLES NOT BASEBALL CARDS!!!!

I couldn’t disagree more. What would be a shame, is to see a bike like this fall into the hands of someone who would, at this point, just “ride the hell outta it”. Someone has taken the time to care for this bike for the last 29 years, so that today it is as close to new as you are likely to find.

You are looking at this from the perspective of someone who does not own multiple motorcycles. This bike is kind of like finding a very rare and excellent case of whiskey, using your logic, you should just break open the case and chug it down ala John Bellushi in the movie Animal House because whiskey is meant to be drunk. Using the logic of a collector, he might break out a bottle from time to time at a party to share with special friends who can truly appreciate just what they have been given. I only hope that whomever ends up with this bike will treat it like a case of rare whiskey and dole it out sparingly to people that can appreciate it, at bike nights, shows etc. A survivor like this has earned the right not to become just someone’s daily rider.

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2007/11/12 11:03