newbie need serious advice

ok, so here is the situation, i have always loved classic kawasakis, and i have decided it is time to make a serious investment in them. so, i have decided i am going to buy a z1 900. it is pretty obvious that the 73 is the most valuable year, so i am wondering if it would be worth it to pick up a really good 74. i cant decide between a 73 with 8000 miles in excellent condition or a 74 with 10 miles also in excellent condition, they are the same price, so i am wondering if i should go with the 74 because of the milage or if that will even matter 10 years from now. any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks
austin

Are you buying it to ride or to show? If you will be riding it then go with the 73. A 74 with only 10 miles is going to need lots of work to get it back onthe road. All the gaskets will be dried out, tires will be dry rotted, carbs will need to be rebuilt and so on. The 73 with 8000 miles is still very low miles and a very desirable machine. Thia is all assuming that the paint is orginal on both bikes. More details will help us give you better advice.

ok well, to be clear, i will basically be riding neither, it is an investment, it will be stored and maintained, and ran 10 miles a month, the 74 is in perfect running condition, i know that the year of a vehicle can be very important, so i am just trying to figure if the 73 will end up being worth much more than the 74 all things equal, also do you happen to know someone selling a 900 in rochester, i remember seeing one for sale there recently, thanks for the quick response

You might want to check out the Z1/Z900 Worldwide Owners Community on MSN Groups. The most serious collectors in the country/world of Z1s are on that board.

BTW: Get the Z1 not Z1A for value/restoration.

Post edited by: wiredgeorge, at: 2008/01/03 15:25

I second WG...get the Z1 over the Z1A if you are 'investing' in the bike...the Z1 is a proven bike...the Z1A/B are still appreciating but not to the level of the Z1's...remember though, there are many many factors that influence the value of a Z1...the mere fact that it is a Z1 is serious weight but deviations from the 'ideal' can really affect the value. Again, check out the MSN site...

Are you familiar with the Z1 line? If not you will need to take many pictures and post at the Z1 owners sites so they can tell you if the bike is original or not. It is very easy to make a bike look original even if many things have been changed. A replacent tank looks very close to original if you do not know what you are looking for. Same with pipes. Lets say a very nice original 73 Z1 is worth $14,000. The same bike with replacement tank, seat and pipes is now worth $8,000. Those are just numbers I pulled out of thin air but you get the point. It would suck to buy a bike for an inverstment only to find out that it is not what you were told it was

thanks for the advice, i am very familiar with these bikes, and am sure that they are both original, and i am thinking the 73 is the one to go for, i will try that other site also, thanks
austin

You are about 15-20 years to late to buy a Z1 as an financial investment, if you are looking for a bike that will have serious appreciation over the next 10-15 years you need to be looking at the early to mid eighties models. Off hand I'd guess the 1980 KZ1000G, 83-85 GPz1100, 79-80 KZ1300, or Honda CB1100F will be the next collectors bikes, the Z1 has peaked and I doubt it will go any higher.

Take a look at the history of The Barnett-Jackson auctions, every decade the cars that bring the big bucks are a decade newer.

If you want to spend big bucks for a pristine Z1 just for your own collection, or just for the pleasure of owning it (and have the money to do so), then go for it, but don't expect to pay big bucks now and turn around and sell it for twice as much 10 years from now.

Of course if we experience rampant inflation, then all bets are off, but in that case gold would be an awful lot better investment.

That's my opinion, for what it's worth, but it's your money and you are free to spend it as you like

Bill:
We don't know your situation, but if you have the money, buy the Z1. That said, I'd personally be afraid to own an "original" Z1. They are valuable as show bikes or maybe even museum pieces, but I'd be scared to ride it for fear of damage.
I do ride an original (mostly) KZ900 LTD, but I didn't buy the bike as an investment (I'm planning to be buried on it, ha!).

Post edited by: ltdrider, at: 2008/01/03 14:27

I do a lot of restoration work on Z1 carbs and there are SERIOUS collectors on the MSN Groups site. The bikes with the most value to collectors will have a 72 build date (titled/sold as 73s). I have sold and rebuild multiple carb assemblies for some of the owners and I know that some of these guys own as many as 30 Z1s. I am not a restoration expert as I only do refurbs for my personal riders and am not keen to ride a Z1... the frames on the 900s family are kind of dainty for my taste and I prefer to ride the 79/80 KZ1000E1/2 shafty which is a MUCH heavier bike and more suited for a geezer like me. There are members on the MSN site who can pick up extremely arcane tech issues that affect the "correctness" of the Z1. As was very aptly pointed out, there are lots of nice looking 73s out there that are far from correct or original. The best bet is a reasonably priced all original. The bike CAN be repainted but it is hard to get paint done correctly. The fella from a place called Paintwerkz (I have the link on my site under the links tab) is one of THE guys who does correct restoration work on paint. If you buy reproduction parts to restore with, Jeff Saunders at Z1Enterprises.com can tell you if the part is identical to the original. MANY of the parts he sells that are repro parts are made by the ORIGINAL manufacturers who were jobbers for Kaw... like the exhaust system, carb holders, etc. He is also a great source for OEM stuff but little of that is listed on his site as it is specialty stuff that only rabid restorers are interested in... call him and ask if you need a part.

As far as Steells comment regarding the collectability of various models, he is probably mostly correct. If you luck out and find a reasonably priced Z1, then you made a good buy. If you buy the bike on eBay or in a market where you are bumping heads with other collectors, you are less likely to steal the bike. I agree that the 80s vintage bikes have a better chance of becoming real money makers; like the GPz family and others because their value hasn't yet started to appreciate noticeably so collectors are not vying for the good examples. Good luck and keep us in the loop for developments!

Yeah.....they said the 69 Camaro has peaked also. Try and find an original Z/28. Better have some coin ready.

I have some friends that have a Z from every year. I have yet to see thier 1973 Z. Someone asked them why they don't ride thier 1973 Z's and they said ,"everyone brings out Z1". Every year at the mid-Ohio meet i ask them if they want me to put "Not For Sale" signs on thier bikes because of the flood of people asking,"are they for sale"?
You could probably find better examples of the Z1A and Z1B at a better price than the Z1.
idf i had a chance to buy a KZ900A5 that is where i would put my money.
The very last of the last 900cc bikes.
Check out the two center bikes. They have won more trophys and awards than i could tell you about.