Almost new 78 Z1-R on Ebay

The Gringo wrote:

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.<br><br>Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2007/11/12 11:03

Well...I can see both sides of this argument...if I had money, I might buy a pristine bike...but I'm not sure I'd ride it alot (I'd feel guilty about ruining (essentially) a piece of art. At some point, really clean older bikes cross a magic line and become 'Art'. Consider the $24000 Z1 that is owned by a KZR member...that bike is so spectacular that it maybe gets ridden to and from the trailer at bike shows...if it gets ridden alot, then it will decline in value. The flip side being maybe that's why I ride everything I have...I don't have any concours quality bikes...

Not too shabby, fetched $13,999.00.

A. Having the "best/most perfect/nearly new/ect" bike that just sits there to look at!

B. Having a very nice really clean everyday rider that I am happy riding and proud to be seen on it.

DING DING, the winner is B!!!!!

No offense, but if I wanted "art" I would get some art, hang it on a wall and show it off to my firends, THEN we would go riding!

dreamsofaz1r wrote:

A. Having the "best/most perfect/nearly new/ect" bike that just sits there to look at!

B. Having a very nice really clean everyday rider that I am happy riding and proud to be seen on it.

DING DING, the winner is B!!!!!

No offense, but if I wanted "art" I would get some art, hang it on a wall and show it off to my firends, THEN we would go riding!

Which is exactly why you need to have more than one motorcycle. Lets face it, if you have 14 large to spend on a 29 year old vintage bike, odds are pretty good you have enough extra cheddar laying around to afford something decent to ride on a daily basis. You could still put a couple hundred miles a year on this bike and not hurt the value much at all.