Possible KZ1300 Purchase

Hi all. I'm a new member that found this place while doing a bit of research on a possible purchase and thought I'd make a post and ask a question or two.

My buddy's neighbor has a 1982 KZ1300 B2 (I believe) that has been sitting in the garage for the past 4 years. I haven't seen the bike yet (will do that tomorrow), but this is what I know:

The bike was running well when parked 5 years ago. It was parked in the garage for a year, then brought out and fueled up and was running rough. For whatever reason it was then parked again for another 4 years, which brings us to now. It has full fairing with radio/speakers and also has the hard bags and trunk. I showed my buddy a picture of the B2 model online and he said it looked exactly like it.

I know that isn't a lot of info. I haven't talked to the guy yet and have gotten the info I have from my buddy who spoke to him briefly. As of right now I don't know the mileage, color, or overall condition (although my buddy did say it looks to be in good condition).

I'm thinking that if I buy the bike, I'm looking at a new battery, new tires, fluid change, & a carb/tank cleaning to start with.

Can anyone let me know what else I may need to replace or service?

How much should the above items cost to replace/repair (roughly)?


By the way, he's asking $300 for the bike.

For US$300.00, do not hesitate, running or not!!!!!!!!

I suggest you join and visit www.kz1300.com the owner of the 1300 site appears to be helpful

Post edited by: Mcdroid, at: 2008/03/07 14:05

KZ1300s are cool. For $300 you should grab it. If it turns out to be a junker you can sell the fairings etc. for more than $300.

I looked at a 1300 last year but decided not to buy it and got the 1100 instead. The 1300 was in good shape cosmetically, with fairly low miles, but didn't run well. For the price the guy was asking, $3500 I think, it should have been near perfect.

If you have not already done so, read everything at www.kz1300.com , especially the part about the cam chain tensioner.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Having two of them this is what I can tell you. you will have to replace the coils for one. I reccoment "Nology" coils, and place a heat sheeld between them and the engine. The 1300s FRY coils. Second you will have to do something with the stock cam chain tensioner. The stock ones go bad and you can do a lot of damage to the engine if you don't catch the problem in time. Thirdly check the rear brake master cylinder. They totaly rust out and are next to impissible to replace. I bought 7 before I found one that was good and they are not available new. The carburetors will require a total strip down and rebuild. Check the alternator, the 79-83 bikes ate them up like candy. Here is a link to one of my projects.
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab.../catid,11/id,104002/

When purchasing a bike that is almost 25+ yrs old, some thought should be given not only to the purchase price of the bike but to the price and availability of spare parts. Some bikes where produced in small quantities so finding parts can be difficult. Even if the bike is free it may not make sense financially to spend thousands of dollars in parts to get it running. As tjhiggin pointed out you might be better off buying the bike and parting it out. If you like the kz1300, you might want to buy this one and keep it for a parts bike so that you can restore another kz1300 down the road. Motorcycle parts are not cheap, it easy to spend a couple hundred dollars on only a few parts. I'd go look at the bike. Post some pics if you get a chance.

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Thanks for the replies. I talked to the guy this weekend and apparently the bike was parked because he was quoted about $1500 in engine work that needed to be done.

I don't want a bike that I have to dump that much money into just to get it road worthy, so I passed.

I ended up picking up a running 77 Honda CB550 for $500 instead.

Sounds like the cam chain tensioner gave out on the 1300.

The guy over at www.kz1300.com might want the bike for parts. You should send him the seller's contact info.

Good luck with the 550, they are fun little bikes.