140MPH KZ650?? (eBay)

I just remembered one thing. The first bike which Kawasaki claimed could hit red-line in top gear was the 79 KZ1300. This in response to the post with all the hard effort in the math (thank you by the way) With this said; I have never been able to take my KZ1300 to red-line in top gear. Now may be after I have it finished in this new project I might be able to.

KZ Rider link

The thing I do not understand is how anyone can take a stock KZ650 frame to that speed and be able to withstand the front end shimmy which hits in speeds that most of us are more familiar with. Without looking up the specs I believe that a stock Gpz750 has more BHP than a punched 650 and a previous post stated that a 750 turbo can touch that mark on a very good day. I think the points might be 1) is the bike worth $1500? Here the answer is YES. 2) Is the seller telling us the whole troth? Here the answer is; most likely not. I would just say “Buyer be ware” unless you really want a 650 which you can work on. This I believe is just common sense when ever on eBay.

Post edited by: otakar, at: 2008/02/13 17:13

Post edited by: N0NB, at: 2008/02/13 18:15

I have a stock 650 and I have had it past 100 a few times, very few times, the front end wanted to start walking on it, so for now I am going to have to call the bet

Well tuned stock KZ650 118 mph, well tuned stock KZ750 twin 111 mph, GPz750 Turbo with K&N filter on the turbo intake, straight through exhaust, race mode enabled, easy 150+.

KZ650 and 750 twin measured with radar (cop bought the 650 ) GPz750 Turbo no radar, just "Oh My God!!!"

KZ650 64-65 hp
KZ750 twin 54-55 hp
GPz750 Turbo 120+ hp (modified as above)
GPz750 85 hp

If anyone can run a stock KZ650 to 140 mph, I want to know their secrets

Oh yeah, when I was flying C-130's (four engine turboprop) in the Air Force I was on one that had a ground speed of 748 mph, but that was because we got in the jetstream

A 400+ mph tailwind really helps :evil:

well it is interesting that the kid came back to make more comments, but in my 20 plus years of dealing with KZ's and old bikes in general there are a few phrases which make me raise an eyebrow or deem it an outright lie, such as..."just needs the carbs synched" "shes a little cold blooded" anything to do with "buddy" ie. my buddy painted it for my, my buddy says it must be the timing, or a combo line, my buddy did the carbs for me, so all that is left is to sync'em. "my buddy had er up to X mph."
i don't think anyone said a 650 cant do 140mph+. we would just like to know how you did it. a 4 into 1 and proper jetting will not do it. saying my friends buddy "tuned er' up an she'll do 143" but i don't know what he did or how he did it does not help us believe the claims.
you have walked into a community that has worked with 1000's of 650 and mid-litre bikes and we know that 140 is an outragous claim without proper documentation.
there are member here who have taken 650/750 based machine and exceeded 200mph, so of course anything is possible, but we will need more than a baseless statement from "buddy"
oh and strapping on a GPS for an accurate reading is recommended. even if you 30 year old speedo is off 10%, you are only going 130mph which is back close to reality.
rant done
and please tell me how "buddy" screwed you. mine involved an old CB750, and i have hated "buddy" ever since.

My '78 SR topped out at 115 (back when I was 155 lbs). I just don't see any way to get another 25 mph out of a 650 without MAJOR engine mods and/or radical gearing changes. As was pointed out earlier in the thread, the math just doesn't ad up. I don't care how fit you are from riding the treadmill or how tiny your brain is, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN HERE ON THIS PLANET. That is why we all got such a kick out of the ad originally. Not to rip on the bike, but the very confused seller.

Just for info, it was the 82 Suzuki 1000 Katana that was the first production motorcycle that had a top speed of 140 and it had 2 things the KZ650 did not, less air drag and more power. You'd have to have a KZ650 with quite a bit more horsepower than the Katana had to do 140. Other higher horsepower motorcycles like the GPZ1100 in the early 80s, GS1100 ect could not do 140, more like 132-135. Stock KZ1000 in 1978 was only 123mph. So even if the odometer is pretty optomistic and the motorcycle was actually "only" going 130 at an indicated 140, would this be a believably story? Bull sheet is the only answer. Plus as previously mentioned even going an indicated 140 is really not possible because of the gearing. I'm going around 5200rpms at 70mph indicated, that would mean 10,400 at 140. Bull sheet I say again:laugh:

otakar,
I don't know where you got your info regarding the KZ1300 being the first Kaw to hit redline in top gear, but it simply is not so. I have had my '77 KZ650C1 at redline (9000rpm) in top gear numerous times since I bought it new in 1977 (measured with 2 new tachs over the years) and it will still do it. I never take it above 9000rpm in ANY gear, so I can't say how much above that it might be able to go. At 9000rpm the speed is an indicated 120mph. The speedo could be off by a little, but I don't believe the 2 different tachs are wrong. Regarding the "shimmy" - if your bike shimmies you need to find and correct the problem. Mine has never done this at any speed. In fact, it is a very stable bike even flat out. Of course, I always keep top quality tires on it (been using Michelins for the last 25 years) and I keep everything lubed and balanced. Also, I replaced the stock shocks at 12k miles with high quality replacements (S&W's and now Hagons) so that may have prevented the shimmy from appearing. Having said all that, I don't believe there's a snowball's chance in hell that the bike on eBay ever saw anything even close to 140. Ed

Post edited by: 650ed, at: 2008/02/13 19:25

Hey guys, I've been bragging for the last 28yrs that I had my '79 KZ1300 up to an indicated 147mph with a buddy on the back hollering, "Faster! Faster!" Crazy to have done that, I know. Was that weed batch that good? Or, could my speedometer have been that far off? I think I remember someone back then (it's been a long time) telling me that those were track tested and hit 158. If that's true, that was before '82. I'm still learning...so be gentle, please.

I have managed (barely) 8600 rpm on my 650 on a looong downhill stretch in top gear. Then I raised my head to look at the tach, nearly broke my neck and immediately went home to change drawers. I don't know how fast that was, but I'd say surely not more than 115. The wobble showed up for me as soon as I raised up, and I was all too excited to shut her down. So count me in with the faithless.

KZErider wrote:

Hey guys, I've been bragging for the last 28yrs that I had my '79 KZ1300 up to an indicated 147mph with a buddy on the back hollering, "Faster! Faster!" Crazy to have done that, I know. Was that weed batch that good? Or, could my speedometer have been that far off? I think I remember someone back then (it's been a long time) telling me that those were track tested and hit 158. If that's true, that was before '82. I'm still learning...so be gentle, please.

I have seen similar #s but not quite as high, on my 1300 (soon to be 1500) but once again we are talking about spedo error +/-. This year I have a GPS mount on the front of all the bikes I plan to ride and I am courious at the results so I am not making any claims only conferming this quote.

I realized after posting that the point Ron was making was that the '82 Katana 1000 was "the first production bike to redline in top gear", not the first production bike to hit 140. Sorry about that.

The 79 1300 redlined in top gear, so that is a bit before the Katana. This would make the 1300 capable of 152+ on a good day.