How far have you all ridden your old KZs (on 1 trip)

I'm getting ready to go down to Gulf Shores, AL for a vacation. I'm planning on riding my 1980 550 ltd since my KZ1000 project is far from finished. It's 317 miles 1 way down there, never ridden more than 100 miles at a time before. I'm excited (and a little nervous at the same time). My bike is in awesome shape, and I commute 45 miles 1 way to work on it everyday. My wife will be riding 2 up with me some of the way, and in our chase car (friend's mustang) the rest. Anyone take 250 mile + trips on their old kaw's, any suggestions besides the normal maintainance stuff? I also just put new tires on her 100 miloes ago, so should be good in that department.

No problem for an old kaw! A friend of mine has made 2-3 trips on his 4-cyl 750 to sturgis and back. From my house sturgis is probably 350+ miles. I guess last year we had to take a minor pit stop because his bike was leaking alot of oil from the tach output on the head.

Here is a picture of his bike being loaded up after his oil leak. Notice that I made sure to capture the trailor in the background. We broke down out in the middle of nowhere on the reservation!

for those of you wondering, yes the bike in the pik is a 750. Although it does have non-vacuum style carbs removed from a 650, and a tank from a 1000.

Nice... FOrtulatly I recently replaced my tach seal...lol I think it's going to be an awesome trip. Hope the weather cooperates

Most already know my trips. Longest was 10,800 miles in 13 days back in 1991 on the 79 KZ1000MKII. Of course in 1991 it was only a 12 yr old KZ :laugh: I always rode alone and packed everything but the kitchen sink. 2 gallons of spare gas, few quarts of oil, spare spark plugs, tire goop in case of a flat tire, also tire irons, spare tubes, spare headlight bulb and other bulbs, spare chain, plenty of tools. Of course if riding double you probably can't pack this much. Be sure and lube the chain frequently, take plenty of spare clothes. Even in the Summer I'd pack 3 or 4 sets of extra Winter gloves, 2 or 3 jackets get one of those mesh Vent-Tech for hot weather because if you ride coatless, you'll get dehydrated, spare set of shoes or boots ect. Longest I went on a KZ650 was 3200 miles and that was well enough of that. For long road trips a 1000 or bigger is definately the way to go, so on a 550 you may get a little tired of the road, but best of luck. I enjoyed my long trips. 10 straight years went on a 4000 mile plus ride each Summer. Those were the days.

By my reckoning the longest trip I ever made on my KZ900 was 1050 miles round trip from Portland Oregon to Glacier National Park and back.

KZCSI

Done a few 650 mile one way in one day trips,
one on H1 500 triple took me two days, but that's
a trip I'd rather not do again.

I'd like to do some longer trips, if I ever get over this falling down streak I seem to be on.
Getting kind of tired of repairing the bike every time also

A couple of months ago I did 950 miles on my 1100 in 3 days, including 412 miles in one day: Spring Break 2008 Casino and Natchez Trace Motorcycle Tour . (Eight days from now I plan to ride the Tennessee part of the Trace. )

I only did normal maintenance for the trip, and did not carry much in the way of tools or spare parts.

I'd recommend some sort of windshield if you don't already have one. The wind can really wear you out on a long trip.

Stay off the interstates if you can. They're boring, and the buzzing of a 550 at interstate speeds wouldn't be any fun for long; it sure isn't on my CB550. My friend Steve with the Victory also has a GPz550 he rode for 100 miles on the interstate once. "Never again," he said.

Have a great trip!

I've done several one-day 500 milers on my Kaws. Every year, 2nd Saturday in May, the Rose City MC Club here in Portland hosts the Oregon 500, a one-day road rally. Every year, it draws about 300-400 riders.

Every year offers a different route. Sometimes they go to the coast, sometimes up the Columbia River Gorge, sometimes out to the desert, mountains. You never know where you're going until the day of the event. The route is usually broken up into 4-5 legs, and they only give you directions one leg at a time.

I've done this every year for the past 5-6 years, except I missed it this year. Other things going, and I couldn't do it this time.

The first few years I did it, I rode my KZ440. The first two years, I won a plaque for having the smallest bike in the field. Then some guys started doing it on 125cc bikes. :blink:

These days, I do it with one of my KZ1000s. Last year, I came close to winning the "oldest bike" prize with my '78. The winner rode a '76 BMW, I think. I just checked the results for this year's ride. The winner rode a '70 Moto Guzzi.

Best summer of my life - 1976. Took my 75 Z1B from London Ontario to California ,up the west coast of the US and then across Canada. Left in late June,came back for school after Labour Day. Met all kinds of great people and had the experience of a lifetime. I didn't want to be 57 and wishing I had done this while I was still young...

In the summer of 2001, I took my KZ750 pictured in my avatar (with superbike bars and no rear-sets) on a trip of 4000 miles in 9 days. Left WI and went up to Jasper, AB, down to Kamloops, BC, over to Glacier National Park, then to Devil's tower and back to WI. Longest day was 675 miles. My tach cable broke the first day, I needed a new rear tire in Calgary (after ~1200 miles; TJ's Cycle salvage where I also got a tach cable) and my chain snapped on the interstate 25 miles outside of Sioux Falls, SD on the last day (fixed in a parking lot). What a blast! The KZ's can take it.

I've done a couple 400 mile days, one 500 mile day, and a mess of 200-300 mile days. My trips have been a 3day 800 miler and a 3 day 1000 miler.

On a 650 with a beaded seat pad, and Monkey Butt powder:lol: :lol: